His Goddess, Her Prince PV Persephone Barret

Expectations were a sour thing to have, as the standards of others rarely lined up with your own. Each individual’s set of principles differed in some way or another, creating a junction or fault in any relationship or scenario that could arise; that had been exhibited to Persephone on multiple occasions. If it weren’t the intentions of others that sent the Slytherin’s expectations and plan awry, it would be the work of fate itself. Regardless of being overly aware of this fact, Persephone had dragged herself to the Rehearsal Room carrying them proudly in her holster. The world, though this was no different from everyday life, had conspired against her, however, and instead allowed Shen to fall into the girl’s grasp.

Upon gazing at the host for the first time, the blonde could only describe his appearance as rather insignificant, only enhanced by the atmosphere that soured around him as if under his manipulation. The rose petals that had worked in his favor moments before, though, had disintegrated from her sight, leaving only their subject, who still glowed in the presence of no accessory. Her head tilted slightly, studying him like searching his appearance for an answer.

When Shen knelt down, her eyes widened substantially, the blonde’s surprised gape never faltering as artificial compliments poured out in a single, break-less flow of silver water. Regardless of the fact that his practiced encomium was void of sincerity, the truth underneath it still brought a scarlet flush to her face, a display of humanity no longer avoidable. Yes, the name Persephone couldn’t have possibly been more fitting. Yes, the snake was the epitome of strength and elegance.

But why say it now? To coerce her into capitulating to his will?

These were not concerns that would be vocalized as to alert him, Persy instead continued to stare in silence as he placed a tender kiss on her hand, leading the stricken girl to a table with a sumptuous outlook. Shining through the window was a majestic shine of light, not blinding nor annoying, but bringing a spotlight to their complexions. The beam entangled in his hair, bringing hues to the bronze that only existed in pure gold. Before her, as if at an unspoken will of the enticing host, a beautiful tea set appeared, morphing out of the air around them.

“The idea originated in you, wouldn’t you think you deserve a bulk of credit?” Persephone offered him a smile with her words that were spoken at last. “So many things to compliment about you, I can’t rightfully choose one, prince. If I could reciprocate your words, spoken as poetry, I would, but don’t believe anything can compare to what you have placed before me. Once again, you’ve undoubtedly impressed everyone here.”

Persy’s pale fingers reached up to brush against the rose placed in her hair, the accessory to an ever-dark artwork. “Would you tell me a bit about you?” As the girl asked this of Shen, her hand moved to touch one of the tea cups, fragile in rough hands. Thrusting the underlying purpose of this visit forward without words of sweetness would be foolish, though the lies were hardly wearisome to assemble. A factual truth and a personal truth were consistently different for each individual, it seemed, except Persy, for whom the two intertwined without seam. Today, perhaps, was contradictory.

@Persephone Barret

Beauty was fleeting, and it was a fact well known to Shen. The rose petals floating around him would inevitably wither and die. His own childlike appearance would one day disappear, and even his voice would one day crumple into dust. He had created this club not for the people that would come, or for the hosts and hostesses that would be participating, but so that he could capture a moment of happiness and ethereal perfection. This gorgeously unrelenting young girl in front of him was something he had not initially expected. After she had introduced herself, he knew who she was, the heiress to the Barret Family, and it was quite unfortunate. What pure blood family had not heard of what had happened, and it could always happen to all of them, to lose nearly everything. What could he tell a girl who had lost so much, what could he say to make truly smile, not just with her mouth, but for him to see the joy truly radiate and glitter in her ever melancholy eyes. Of course she had blushed and reacted all along up to this point, but her reluctance, hesitance, and marble like actions had shown that his fawning for her truly was not what she was here for.

His first gaze at her had been one of surprise, not expecting her appearance. The second, a moment of pitying sadness, flashing by so quickly it was imperceptible. The third of hope, and a dedication to her, to see her truly be happy. She was his age, and while he had grown up in a perfect household, she had seen both gold and coal, pristine white and unrelenting black, truly uninhibited child like joy and the ever cloying and grasping sorrows of death. Yet, despite all this, she stood upright, spoke with confidence, and had come to him. What was he to be for her.

They were now sitting face to face, and with the sunlight streaming in, her face and features were truly dazzling and beautiful. He had truly meant everything he had said, but as usual his etiquette might have pushed his words and his actions to a point where they were seen to be fictitious. She was speaking to him now, in close proximity, but the words were but raindrops that easily dripped away. He was caught, unable to stop staring into those viridescent eyes. Enchanting, was but a pitiful substitute for what they were. Her hair drifted lightly around her face, framing and highlighting her features, the liquid locks making her seem as if she could disappear at any moment. Was there truly nothing he could say?

She had asked about him, deflecting his attempts to be attentive to her every need. That melancholy smile was shown to him, and Shen's heart seemed to grow louder, an inexplicable feeling rising and falling, undulating, telling him to be here for her. The silence between the two had grown a little awkward by this point, so unprepared as he was, he had no choice but to speak. He took a light sip of the tea, its aroma and taste barely even registering to him. He placed the tea cup back down on its saucer, cushioning the cup with his pinky as he placed it down making not a single sound. The noise in the rehearsal room had faded to him. He finally spoke.

"How superficial I must look to you. How false all of this must look." Shen gestured at the entire club room. "The decorations, the music, even my actions. I must be a mere jest in your eyes. I wish I had the words to say to tell you that I am sincere with what I have done and said up to this point, but no words in the world will be able to help me would they? You have seen all this and still politely accepted and listened to me, so there truly is nothing else I could request of you. Persephone, if I may use your name, you can choose to have faith in me or not, that is your choice, but I can promise you my sincerity."

Smiling gently and not giving her a chance to speak, he continued, "You wish to know about me. I will tell you then. I am not just made up of my own experiences, but also the stories and tales of those who came before me. My father is Theodore Lee, inter wizard and muggle relationship coordinator, and current head of the House of Lee. I, like him, will one day graduate Hogwarts. My dear mother is Akira Lee, the eldest daughter of the Nakamura family, and the gem of their family. She is a graduate of Mahoutokoro, the epitome of magical study in Japan, and I shall ever strive to let her family, her grace, her memory live on in my life." Raising his volume just the smallest of differences he stated, "I, am Shen Kai Lee, first born and heir to both the House of Lee, but also the heir to the culture of the Nakamura family. My childhood and my entire life has been predetermined for me to nurture and groom me to become who I am meant to be, and I accept it, but I shall retain my image, my beliefs, and my passion for love and life. This is who I am at my core, and it is what i show you. I want to be the cherry blossom that blooms and is never forgotten, remembered throughout time."

He picked up the teacup again, and lightly said, "Now my goddess, would you kindly tell me about yourself?"

@Shen Lee

Disbelief was understandable for Persephone, and Shen displayed that he was well aware of the saddening fact. Perfection was but an idealistic idea created by ignorant minds to influence wants and desires from the majority, yet somehow the host had captured its very essence in little more than a room and a string of embellished words. That achievement wasn’t one to be taken lightly, nor was it one to be taken literally; no matter the majestic nature of his posture and aura, the perfection it radiated was no more than an optical illusion, a quarter behind her ear. It wasn’t improbable or suggestive of Persy to hold this fact higher than the rose petals that graced the Rehearsal Room today, what they offered alongside the romantic atmosphere.

Although the blonde was sure her mindset on that topic wouldn’t shift merely to appease his desires, she found herself with mouth slightly agape and widened eyes, capturing that same shock that coursed through her veins only moments prior when faced with his introduction. No hesitation or reluctance was visible through the facade of charm he wore like armor, rehearsal being Persy’s only reasonable explanation of such a phenomena as the mirage of honesty. Walls protected his fortress, the lies that so surely were residing beneath his divine smile, but the Slytherin felt an indescribable need to rip them away, pry at the information he preserved so vigilantly. Mind throwing the red flag around like a safety blanket, her ears heard only candor at his reassurances, each organ possessing a different belief. They clashed together in that civil war, Persephone moving to speak to only be cut off once again by a further introduction.

A heritage composed of pure-blooded families made sense, resembled her own even in a bittersweet manner, though Persephone was ashamed of her lack of knowledge regarding his blood-line. In the past two years, years that were void of life yet the beginning of it all the same, had deprived her of connection to the elite, constantly existing in a class of the majority. It had never forsaken her entirely, the awareness of her blood and how it painted her scarlet in the eyes of another, but the sense of superiority diminished further each tiredly passing day. In the beginning of that tragic loss, the blonde had worked to conserve it, maintain that which fueled her will to exist among the dead. Against those efforts, it continued to fall to ash, cremated in the graveyard of desires that was ever-expanding. Regardless of the effort so enthusiastically offered through the casual use of words that carried no burden, the outcome remained the same; in regard to knowledge of one another, it was easy to assume Persy was short-handed.

His tone and diction, however, presented a certain fire within a soul of ice. Perhaps even blue with the heat of the flame, cast over by a shadow created by himself, for Shen was his own sun and earth in that regard. Among the living, though, both of them were basking in the light of the true sun, its affection and lack thereof. He intrigued Persephone in a way many of her peers failed to, only a few clinging to that short list, one unavailable to the public. He was musical, a classical piano instrumental such as Moonlight Sonata, one everyone saw and heard yet only a select few truly embraced the grace it held.

Though her soul wished against it, another smile was offered on her behalf, tossing away the staggered expression that had clutched her for unnecessary seconds. Following his rather poetic introduction, one not too long nor too short but an appropriate amount for the task at hand, Shen had inquired about her own self and what that meant. It was doleful that in a moment such as this, individuality had fled the building and the universe consisted of every organism except herself.

“My name is Persephone Vivian Barret, lone daughter of the intertwining Barret and Cooper families. Both of my parents were arranged in marriage to separate pure-blooded families before they eloped and fled their homelands. My mother was from Scotland, though my father and current caretaker is predominantly French, passing more of that culture on to his heiress than my mother was able to. I don’t intend to focus on preserving what should be a long-forgotten family tree, only allowing a few dead leaves to fall, and would rather pursue something more suited to my strengths.”

Details were omitted, this would be undeniable if further questioned. Her parents first names, curses so offensive it would almost cause the young girl to physically flinch. What exactly occurred to erase the Cooper side of that family tree, leaving Persephone with only one ‘caretaker’. And most of all, the nature of that world existing outside of Hogwarts. An unneeded description of her life that would provide no useful information for any interrogator thrown at Persy.

Sipping the tea with a suppressed grimace at its flavor and nauseating scent, the snake attempted to redirect the conversation once again, an attempt that she should’ve learned by now would likely be sent away, a scolded toddler. “How am I to know that your word is to be trusted?” A pale eyebrow quirked in question, small smirk forming on her lips.

@Persephone Barret

Her reaction was completely expected. Her jaw had dropped in disbelief on what he had said, and he knew he had completely caught her off guard. She had quickly scrambled and regained her composure, but this still all seen by him, and it had made her just so much more alluring. She was truly like an injured little songbird, beautiful, fragile, and so heartbroken. His mission was no longer happiness for every young lady that walked in, he had to make sure that this princess of his would finally be whole again, so he could let this caged bird free.

Persephone's response to his question had been highly veiled. Hiding her parent's names, her own past, and even who she really was from him. He wanted to know more about her, but she was making it quite difficult for him. She had now even asked if she could trust him. This young lady was putting up so many barriers, so many. He wanted to, no, he needed to break through them, so he did the only thing he could. Shen sighed, "How my word is to be trusted, darling?" He stood up, and walked behind her chair, turning it so that she would have no problems standing before returning to stand in front of her. Before she could stop him, he acted.

Grabbing one of her free hands, he held it up against the high backed chair she was sitting in. With the other he tenderly lifted her chin so that she was staring straight into his loving eyes, and leaning over her, he sang.

Use as a reference.

I think you're gonna change my plans
With those emerald eyes
But you don't even understand
How much they're on my mind

Grasping the hand already in his own, he pulled her up and out of the chair smoothly.

Feels like I'm breathing in and out without permission
Waiting on your owls all alone
I might be headed in the opposite direction
But I'd love to floo you home

Shen gently twirled her around in a perfect circle, his eyes meeting hers at every possible moment.

Oh, I'm in trouble now
Come kiss me black and blue
Might last another round
But I'm bound to fall for you

Following the smooth motion, he pulled her close face to face, barely any distance between them, continuing to dance with her.

Taking a stranger's hand
I got familiarized
Now without a second glance
I wouldn't save the night
I'd spend it all, every sickle on you
There's nothing in my wallet
Worth a thing I can't lose
I'd spend it all, every sickle on you

Shen extended his arm, letting her spin until they were fully at arms length, letting go, her let continue to twirl gracefully alone.

Feels like I'm breathing in and out without permission
Waiting on your owls all alone
I might be headed in the opposite direction
But I'd love to floo you home

He rushed to her side letting her fall into his arms, and letting her fall elegantly, and quite a impressive distance before skillfully pulling her back up.

Oh, I'm in trouble now
Come kiss me black and blue
Might last another round
But I'm bound to fall for you
We're dancing together now
I don't know what you do
Just know I love it now
I'm bound to fall for you

They were carefully dancing again. Shen in control, perfectly leading, and not missing a step.

I want you filling my lungs and pulling me under
Tip of my tongue, it's making me wonder
Filling my lungs and pulling me under
I think you're gonna change my plans
With those emerald eyes
And you don't even understand
Just how far I'd go

They had ended with her back towards him, in a light embrace, and taking the opportunity Shen whispered into her ear, "It's because I love you. I would do anything and everything for you. I've never lied to you, and I never shall. That's why, my dear goddess."

Shen regretfully let go.

@Shen Lee

Before the restatement of her inquiry regarding his adherence could settle within her stirred mind, the dust still swirling about in the air, obscuring the girl’s vision along with her judgement, Shen had clasped one of Persephone’s hands in a delicate grip. In the span of ephemeral seconds, her chair had been turned, the host standing tall and lifting her chin so their eyes met in a storm of amber and emerald. With his gaze piercing the shields that protected what lay beneath the sea of facades, his reflexes couldn’t be appreciated. Though his auburn eyes, pure and capturing an eternal sunset, could only view what Persy showed him, expressions and body language, the manager for such imperative displays had become lost in the frenzy of bewilderment. Across her face, where a typical apathetic countenance longed to be, was mortification.

As if a button was pressed somewhere, a switch flicked, the world completely froze, the loudest sound of silence erupting. Those who lingered in the background of the Rehearsal Room ceased to exist in their reality, the universe contained two people only, neither moving to disturb the tranquility of the waters. Dead quiet swallowed everything around, the planet no longer turning on its axis, a breath not escaping parted lips, even Persephone’s heartbeat abated in a moment it felt most prominent.

Then, there was a noise, so gentle it could’ve never occurred and perhaps there would've been no significant difference.

Singing.

I think you're gonna change my plans
With those emerald eyes
But you don't even understand
How much they're on my mind

The blonde had stood at some point, though she wasn’t sure when or how, her legs a different entity all their own.

Feels like I'm breathing in and out without permission
Waiting on your owls all alone
I might be headed in the opposite direction
But I'd love to floo you home

A twirl, graceful like a ballerina at her first recital. Familiar, a gaze peering into hers. Cold.

Oh, I'm in trouble now
Come kiss me black and blue
Might last another round
But I'm bound to fall for you

Dancing wasn’t a regular hobby, meant to be special, not paid for. Was this anger boiling in her veins? Resentment? Perhaps, fear?

Taking a stranger's hand
I got familiarized
Now without a second glance
I wouldn't save the night
I'd spend it all, every sickle on you
There's nothing in my wallet
Worth a thing I can't lose
I'd spend it all, every sickle on you

More spinning. The nausea consuming her only increased with each twirl, void of hesitation yet composed of artistic lies.

Feels like I'm breathing in and out without permission
Waiting on your owls all alone
I might be headed in the opposite direction
But I'd love to floo you home

If this was how she’d get her information, then what was one dance?

Oh, I'm in trouble now
Come kiss me black and blue
Might last another round
But I'm bound to fall for you
We're dancing together now
I don't know what you do
Just know I love it now
I'm bound to fall for you

Being led, carefully and with precision. Little did anyone know, she was in control.

I want you filling my lungs and pulling me under
Tip of my tongue, it's making me wonder
Filling my lungs and pulling me under
I think you're gonna change my plans
With those emerald eyes
And you don't even understand
Just how far I'd go

Wasn’t she?

At the same instant their dance concluded in a benign embrace, leaving no trace but a quiet whisper and a patent bright red flush to a pale face, reason swarmed Persephone like flies to a corpse, a quiet buzz sounding in her ears. The girl was smaller than the host, his chest pressed softly against her back in shield. A taut chill was inevitable, shoulders trembling slightly in his grasps before her breath and composure were regathered in a bundle. The words were raveling vines, her struggle only reinforcing their clutch, though lessons were never learned in such an obstinate mind.

"Your love, Shen, is an illusion. We met only moments ago, and I don't fool myself by believing in phantasms like 'love at first sight' or love at all. Who are you to say you love me when I'm sure you don't know what that means? Or claiming such things of a person who doesn't?" He'd let go of her, leaving her withered in uncaring coldness, their eyes meeting once again.

It was a bluff; Persy knew what love was, knew too well what it's capabilities consisted of. Till death do us part was a mere lie proclaimed day after day by young couples enthralled in mirages of their inexperienced minds. Beyond being young, impressionable, there were millions of experiences rolled into one that proved what love was to the blonde: a weapon.

Her sickles did not buy Shen's love. They never would, and they didn't need to.

@Persephone Barret

The blood was still pounding in his ears, and his heart had begun constricting in his chest. Why had he let out of his arms. It had felt so right, like she belonged there with him, the world had cut out, only the warmth he had felt in that moment truly existed. He had wanted to stay in that moment of eternity, to savor it and indulge in that feeling of security. That instant was like none other he had felt, the burdens of his name had been shed, the ambitions and hopes could be finally laid to the side, and he had felt what he could only describe as love. This was different from the familial love he had. Different from the love he had for his hobbies. This was a love smoldering, raging, roaring, relentlessly tearing at him from deep within his own small frame. It burned him from the inside out and didn't leave a cell of him untouched by its unquenchable passion and desire. His own history of etiquette lessons and propriety had rebelled against his wishes at this time, they had forced him to let go.

This may have been the biggest mistake so far in his young life. Dancing with her was something he had not expected to do at first, but it had been worth. Seeing her blush in such a gorgeous manner and to see those illusory smiles of hers had been so much more than he had bargained for. The more she smiled and the more emotion she showed him, the more he fell in love with her. Yet, by letting go he had separated them himself. It was like a fairy tale, they had danced till midnight, but the second the prince let go the princess was gone.

He knew that he had to rectify this. She was questioning the very basis of love itself, and whether he was genuine in his quest for her or not. He gently turned her to face him once more, and placing both his hands on her shoulders and looking into his eyes, he did the only thing he could, he spoke from his heart, hoping with every fiber that some portion of his emotions would make it to her.

"My dearest Persephone, my goddess, I know this will once again sound fictitious, but I am truly speaking from the heart here, not to appease you nor to make you happy, but to show you who I truly am. The boy I am now, the man that I will become. The student I am currently, and the scholar who will emerge. The romantic I am showing you now, but the lover I could be for you. I shall speak, and hope that I can prove that none of my words, however woven they seem, are not fictitious or ethereal."

"I too do not believe in love at first sight. It seems to perfect and too romanticized to truly be a phenomenon of our world, but I still believe in love. Love is a verb not a noun. Love is an action, not a feeling. It is a learned and developed skill, not an experience. Not that the romantic feelings do not exist or isn’t a wonderful part of the relationship, but it does not make it last. Both parties must learn and grow with each other. I am but a stranger to you, but in the few moments that I have been able to spend with you so far, I can say for myself that I have grown to love you more than when I first saw you. Have I not learned much about you? From your perfect name to your history, to the color of pink that graces your cheeks when you blush. Time may have just began for the two of us, and I already know so much."

Clasping one of her hands and kneeling he continued, "You are also not wrong, I may truly not know what love is, but I can tell you that there is an inexplicable feeling struggling to burst from my chest each time I stare into your dazzling emerald eyes. That when I danced with you I truly felt for the first time in my life that I could be without a care in the world. I can tell you that holding your hand is the only thing keeping me from floating away. I may not truly know, I may not be able to explain it to you, but I can tell you that I am living and experiencing love first hand in this moment as I speak with you, for your presence is more assurance than I need."

Looking into her eyes, "I promise to never let you go again, my Persephone, my queen, my goddess. So please give me one chance, a single one to prove myself to you, to love you in every sense of the word."

@Shen Lee

Heat simmered beneath Persephone’s skin, the surface discolored by the pink hue originating from the fire ablaze in the shadows. Warmth swallowed every inch of her body, a certain sensation that’s soulful source could not be identified. The anger, when it came in its random tsunamis of cyanide, was red, the shade of blood and gore starting as a trickle, becoming a flow, erupting into a downpour that resulted in a drowning flood. Pleasure was yellow, like a sun that never shone, never left its mark on her white skin. Everything else, even those barely identifiable emotions on the occasion, was grey.

This was not grey.

It took a few tortuously long seconds for Persy’s vision to adjust to the vibrancy, startled and bewildered by its sudden appearance in a life vacant of such coruscating color. In a moment that was different from none, a perspective that was faded and worn, a discarded garment, became fresh and new like the kiss of an experimental lover. A life that was dull and easily discarded, barely worth the effort to survive it, became polished and genial. After years of allowing the picturesque world to come to life on its own, only assisted by minuscule brushstrokes of expired paint, it changed with a fluid motion from her lively host. A bucket of paint splattered, nothing outside the lines.

She hated it.

She hated it because it was beautiful. Worse, it vanished as swiftly as it came, leaving nothing but a vague, starving memory.

Staring hesitantly into his eyes, twinges of guilt floating around her iris in a personified manner, Shen’s lips began to move, his voice twirling as she had moments ago, tales of love, reiteration, and desire leaving in whirlwinds. Though veridically meaningless, the bronze-haired boy’s tone and flickers of torment in his focus spoke words that never came from his throat, statements that wouldn’t be confirmed nor denied in his engrossing monologue. Reading people was an art, as was interpreting a still image, one that failed at times, specifically now. His lies-- or truths-- were indiscernible from one another, blending seamlessly into his siren’s song.

His statements were sensible, the rationale logical yet poetic in a way that was once not verbally explainable. A phenomenon that lacked any common reason, a creation of nature even varying in illustration in psychology, was oddly described in a philosophical manner that didn’t warrant an eye-roll or an excessively loud sigh of tired breath. Philosophy wasn’t a study worthy of the applause it received, nor did this change given the case before her gape. Merely a single, unimportant exception.

But if Shen could excuse one code of life, how many others would atrophy away in the span of one conversation?

“One chance?” The girl repeated, the question rhetorical. Her suitor, paid suitor to be precise in analysis, had kneeled in the passing time of her oceanic thought. “Of course I’ll grant you a chance, but it is your only. Defining the word in such a philosophical way, using literary devices in so many different ways that only enhance your point, that was rather clever. I appreciate intellect, Shen, though I’d like to see more of yours before that word can be used.”

Persephone met his height, falling to one knee herself, trailing his gaze down until their eyes interlaced once again. “You see, I’m not won over by flattery or compliments, whether artificial or genuine, expensive or free. Rather, you can galvanize me further with displays of mental capability, intelligence and gifted perception of subtle change, things that not just anyone can accomplish. These people you’ve summoned here today,” Forest green eyes fell upon one of Persy’s lesser liked peers, “they can flirt, with enough practice. They can bring redness to someone’s complexion, but true wit isn’t learned, but granted to those worthy of its power. I need to know that you are that kind of person, not another one of them.”

@Persephone Barret

Hope was rising, and with it his love and passion for a future spent with her. Each beat of his heart seemed to echo endlessly with complete and unsettling silence resting between each one. Seconds passed like eons, each blink casting the world into complete darkness before her radiant beauty brought light again. Each breath was once more a gentle breeze cleansing the earth, bringing forth the miracle of spring with each tender whiff. Sound had lost its meaning, he could hear nothing else from around them, only the hushed tones of their breathing creating rhythm, the intertwined harmony of their two heart beats, and her exquisite voice casting a melody into the void of space, a symphony of allure, one to be sung for eternity.

This was the creation of their world, her hand in his bringing him onto solid ground, the tears he wanted to cry washing up upon the shore, her presence alone radiating like the sun, her smile reflecting all like the moon, and her eyes like the stars dazzling yet curious at the same time. From their words sprung up forests, blossoms, and meadows. Her beautiful, the angel's hark that announced this dreamlike paradise.

She had given him a chance, one chance. One opportunity. One, a new beginning, the hope and the start of ambition, the essence of creation, the fate of two had become fate through the manifestation of one. One sentence, one look, one girl. Shen had the premonition that his world would now be revolving around this young lady before, because of this, one, chance meeting. She was the one.

He knew it now, that he loved her. He wanted to be her dream, her wish, her fantasy. To be her hope in the darkest day, to be her love every single second, and to be everything she would ever need. Truly, madly, deeply, in love. The meaning of love drastically changed for him in this instant. Love was security, yet indescribable. Love was about respect, and to give and take. It meant to be in-sync with each other, especially in their commitment. It had come to mean vulnerability, and to let that show so that they would be able to grow together. It was to become truly one as equals. Love was patience. Love was limitless, it knew no restraints or boundaries. He would never be able to explain this, life would never be the same without her.

She didn't want him as a host. She wanted him without the incessant smiles and hair flips, but he would still be her prince. He politely helped her up and stood up with her, before immediately pulling the two of them into a tight embrace, one that seemed like it would never end. His arms wrapping her in warmth and security. He lightly rested his head on top of hers. "Persephone, I, I'm speechless, for what may be the first time in my life," he lightly mumbled into her hair. "Thank you so much, my perfect goddess. I will be yours, until we know if this is truly love, and then for an eternity beyond that. Ask what you will of me, and I will answer from the heart and with my mind. I will be everything you need me to be for you. This is the beginning the epic that shall be our relationship, one that will end in happiness rather than tragedy. One that will let me be with you for eternity."

@Shen Lee

It wasn’t rightfully vexatious to request displays of who he was before diving blindly into unknown waters, infested with novel words that were floating over their millions of different interpretations and meanings, each more daunting than the former. With emerald eyes analyzing him, peering beneath the unabating smile he wore like silver armor, another person lay there, forsaken in favor of the charming prince that stood before her. Perhaps not entirely abandoned, but thoughts were left unspoken in the face of the ghost that drove his vessel. The blonde’s desire, spoken in tongues of literary devices, was to push away the rose petals of etherealism that composed his entire being, that made up each string of matter that presented the interpretation of Shen before her. To know not the host, but the boy her age.

Persephone, though perverse in many scenarios, learned from her worst mistakes. This one would not be repeated.

As the boy stood, light from the sun beaming through the window thereby enhancing his bronze hair and dancing in those eyes, he brought Persephone up as well, gazes still locked though barely seeing. This instant where their brightest star became ensnared in the universe that was before her was short-lived, a ten second melody that burrowed into the deep receptions of memory. With the suddenness of an ocean reflection moving in time with the beat of your heart, he’d pulled her into his chest, grasp gentle yet heavy all the same. His head rested upon hers, a weight imaginary and excruciating. It was a hold doomed to eternal anguish, regardless of verbal reassurances he offered like candy.

No argument could arise that her initial and eventual motive hadn’t drifted afloat, a shapeless idea that had lost its form in the course of climate change. Though, no amount of words or claims that provoked those humanoid reactions within could pierce the chain that bound Persy to these plans, these schemes that would bind her like a straitjacket forevermore. Love, if that is truly what this sickening time was comprised of, was no antidote for the disease that swam through veins, not contagious but still affecting others in all the wrong ways. Endless amounts of love, surpluses of the sickness rather than the cure, would never correct a fault that lay where the sharks dined. Emotions given in excess hadn’t fixed anyone that withered before her eyes, dying of the same mortal thing. All it was, was a thing.

The chain that bound the two, schemer and scheme, was gifted infinite slack. Allow Persephone to drift afar from the roots that birthed her, watch the girl crumble until being yanked back, another lesson for the books.

Oh, how she wished to be that dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it.

“For someone who is speechless, you still talk a lot.” Persy murmured into his chest, muffling the taunt that would see no light. Space came between them, moving to speak to the soul behind his amber eyes once again, voice no longer hidden. “The purpose of your chance, singular and not plural, please take note, isn’t to morph into who I wish, as who I desire is nothing more than who you are. If I were to ask you to carry another persona for my own benefit, then my request wouldn’t be fulfilled, because I would be no closer to learning who you are. You say for me to ask whatever my will sings, but that is not the direction I want to take; rather, you tell. Anything and everything that strikes as fundamental to my perspective of exactly who Shen Lee is, underneath the name and hobbies."