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[center][color=lightgray][h3]*   *   *[/h3][/color][/center]
[center][sub]Interacting with: [@PrinceAlexus][/sub][/center]

[color=lightgray]Katherine’s chest rose and fell in long, steady breaths as her emotions began to settle. The storm inside her hadn’t passed completely, but the worst of it had ebbed, leaving an all-too familiar exhaustion in its wake. She focused on the rhythm—[color=19CACA][i]breathe in… hold… breathe out[/i][/color]—forcing each breath to be deeper, slower than the last. The darkness around her still lingered, clinging to the walls like ink spilled across parchment, but it no longer pulsed with the raw intensity of her fear.

She lifted her head and opened her eyes, her pulse quickening for a moment as she was met with nothing but an inky void. Her little loss of control had swallowed up everything.

She couldn't afford to lose control like that. Not over a kiss. Not with the weight of her secrets pressing down on her. And yet… when she closed her eyes, Daphne was still there. The warmth of her hand, the spark that had ignited something raw and terrifying in Katherine’s chest. The gentle touch of her lips.

Nothing she’d experienced before had ever compared. The rush of adrenaline that had shot through her like a lightning bolt, the curiosity that she could both feel in herself and see behind Daphne’s eyes.

And yet at the same time it terrified her. Katherine hadn’t torn down her walls for anyone since her father had betrayed her trust. Why did it feel like they crumbled almost immediately for Daphne?

Daphne’s voice almost seemed to echo through the darkness, despite the door that currently separated them. It was distant, yet wrapped around her like a warm blanket. It was soft and muffled, yet gave her a feeling of unwavering safety. 

[color=19CACA][i]And I probably crushed her with a single look… a single action.[/i][/color]

A tear rolled down her cheek as the guilt rose in her chest and tightened around her throat. She planted a fist into the floor, letting the pain ripple up her arm. Daphne hadn’t deserved a reaction like that, and she certainly didn’t deserve to be left alone immediately after. 

[color=19CACA][i]Get up. She deserves better than this. You’re better than this, Katherine.[/i][/color]

Her own voice was vicious in her head, likely a product of both her current state of mental exhaustion and the years of torment before it. 

The darkness still flowed from her core, the room still bathed in black. Her only guide to the door was the voice of the Aurelian sage addressing Daphne. With a shaky exhale, she wiped the tear from her cheek and rose to her feet. A few soft steps and she closed the short distance to the door. She paused for a moment as her hand rested on the door handle, steadying her breathing and heart rate to the best of her abilities.

As the door opened before her and Daphne came into view, she felt the spark in her heart once more. It grew like a roaring hearthfire in her chest, threatening for a moment to rip control right back out of her hands. The raging storm of emotions was still ever present in her mind, but had calmed as she’d practiced controlling her breathing. Her breath caught in her throat as she tried to speak, to say something. Anything. Instead, she stared into her violet eyes and hoped that her own eyes portrayed enough of an apology.

[color=19CACA][i]I’m so sorry… I didn’t mean to push you away. There’s so much on my mind, in both the figurative and literal sense.[/i][/color]

Goddess damn it all, why was this so hard?

After a moment of silence between them, she stood as tall as she could on tippy toes before wrapping her arms around Daphne’s neck and returning the kiss she’d been given. Her movements were slow and cautious, giving Daphne ample time to pull away if she wanted to. She pushed herself into the taller, sturdier woman knowing well that Daphne could easily resist the movement. Katherine’s touch was tentative at first, almost unsure, but when Daphne didn’t pull back, she melted into it, letting her lips linger in a silent apology. It wasn’t desperate or heated—this wasn’t a kiss meant to steal breath or set nerves aflame. It was something quieter, something raw. A plea for forgiveness. [i][color=#D3D3D3]A[/color] [color=#C4D2D2]w[/color][color=#BCD1D1]h[/color][color=#B5D1D1]i[/color][color=#ADD1D1]s[/color][color=#A6D0D0]p[/color][color=#9ED0D0]e[/color][color=#97D0D0]r[/color] [color=#88CFCF]o[/color][color=#81CFCF]f[/color] [color=#72CECE]p[/color][color=#6ACDCD]l[/color][color=#63CDCD]e[/color][color=#5BCDCD]a[/color][color=#54CCCC]s[/color][color=#4DCCCC]e[/color] [color=#3ECBCB]s[/color][color=#36CBCB]t[/color][color=#2FCBCB]a[/color][color=#27CACA]y[/color][color=#20CACA].[/color][/i]

When their lips parted, Katherine looked into Daphne’s eyes with yet another wordless apology, before breaking the silence with a real one.

[color=19CACA]“Daphne… please forgive me.”[/color] she let the words hang for a moment, [color=19CACA]“It wasn’t you… … it wasn’t the kiss or anything between us. There’s so much more going on in my head… and I can’t put any of it into words.”[/color] Katherine knew she was toeing a perilous line with her words, one drawn in shadows and consequence. With each step closer, the tension in her chest coiled tighter. A warning from her dark passenger no doubt. It lingered just beneath the surface, watching, listening—always present, always waiting.[/color]