even angels learn how to fly

Talitha de le Poer · 04-21-2011, 05:58 PM

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How could she know that her father's heart had suffered at the hands of more than one stupid woman? All she knew was Faolin, of her faults and her betrayal, and now of this pretty little bitch from the pack along the sea. Other bodies, other females, other children, these were unknown variables that she preferred not to see; her chosen ignorance left dark spots on her own knowledge of her father, however. Perhaps it was for the better. They had seen how this collie's presence had caused a rift between the three de le Poers. Was this how Talitha would see everything Gabriel had done in the past? If that was so, then secrets were best buried under skeletons that could hide them. There was no reason for the princess to ruin her views of the King any more than she already had.

He acknowledged her claims that there was a trespasser with an explanation: the woman had come with her brother, a fact that stung viciously in the heart of the woman. They had Enkiel — her handsome cousin was clearly adept in his abilities — so why did they need an outsider? He hadn't rushed to find someone else after the accident in the forest. Was she less deserving of the best care, if that was not Enkiel? Unlike her father, she could not hide the dark feelings that welled up in her chest. They seeped through her eyes like water into ground, and allowed the world to know just what went through the mind of the strange first daughter at all times. A curse in the moment, as she knew Gabriel would see, even if he made no mention.

Quickly, so as not to be berated for her continued hatred, her eyes fell to the tattooed brand upon her hip. So many wore the same marking, from her father to her grandmother to cousins, but somehow she saw less meaning in the family crest. It was a physical representation of who she was, of what she was. Her blood ran thick with Kaena's genetics, with the genetics of family that had suffered through years of unspoken life. It was Kaena who was prided, not the grandfather she wished she had known — the wolf at the door, hiding in the shadows of her heredity. Gabriel had explanations for that as well, of course. She was Lykoi for the family that made her. Lykoi, de le Poer, Mogotsi. But Mogotsi was wrong, as she had met Asphyxia and she knew Hybrid and both bore the surname of Holocaust.

Her mother no longer mattered. Faolin was a door closed to Talitha and, though she did still dwell on the red coyote, it was a door that would not be opened again. Much to her surprise, however, Gabriel opened a new one. Her eyes returned to his familiar face as if expecting him to be playing some sort of cruel joke. She would never have asked to transfer her name from the honorable Lykoi to the tainted de le Poer line, yet he offered it to her anyways. She could be who she wanted, a wolf in name while she claimed coyote blood. Queen of hypocrisy and princess of contradiction. An identity she was keen on keeping.

"Thank you." It was simple, but conveyed all he needed. She was grateful for his offer, and she loved him for the leniency she herself could not have. Gently, her nose pressed against his cheek, but it only lingered briefly before she held up her finished piece of work. A necklace of teeth, stained red from the paint she had been using in her den. "I didn't know what to do with them, and I felt you deserved a present. You don't receive the appreciation you deserve, at least not from me." She didn't speak of the murder she had committed, feeling it unnecessary to tell him where the teeth had come from, but tried to offer a smile. How she loved her father.

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