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 Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2025 8:12 pm
Quote: When Anika asks Syena for supplemental lessons on how to rule a kingdom, how can he say no?
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Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2025 8:13 pm
  Thank the gods above that the last two months of classes had been fairly normal. Performative, trite bullshit. But at least it was normal performative, trite bullshit. None of this zombie or dreamscape nonsense. It was relieving, knowing at least that the wastes of time that they called classes would be just that. A waste of time. One that did not linger under his skin or in the back of his mind as he worked into the night.
It made everything so much easier.
Especially when those night frequently also included Anika.
She had come to him some weeks ago, a growing concern in her as she realized that she didn't feel prepared to rule her kingdom. At least, not in the way that she watched him rule. How she watched him pour over his paperwork and reports night after night, often staying up later than would have been considered healthy by the finest physicians. That she wanted him to come to bed sooner, a whisper that had been so tantalizing in his ears that teaching her what he was doing and accepting her help had been the only answer his lips seemed to form. Even if Syena's first reaction would have been to bear the weight of her burdens for her, they were burdens that were not yet hers. How could he deny her access to his wealth of knowledge and still claim to love her?
The sleeves of his shirt had been rolled up, his attire changed into the casual wear he found himself in after classes, but it was slowly slipping back down his arm as Syena reached around Anika to point at a figure on the sheets of paper they had been pouring over for the last hour. "Jaanu, careful. Do not move on so quickly." His voice was a low murmur in her ear. The only downside to teaching is that it usually took longer to complete the same tasks until the other person was competent. "You have done well to assist with the solution of the low grain yield this year, but we have yet to determine a course forward to prevent the same low harvests next year." And gods above had she done well. His negotiations with Musique would have fallen through without Anika's influence.
Pulling Anika up and out of his desk chair, he shifted them so that he could rest against the desk and she was standing between his legs. Gentle fingers reached threaded through her bangs, pushing them out of her tired eyes before running the pad of his thumb down the side of her face affectionately. Then it dropped down to her neck, slipping back behind to rub out some of the strain from her muscles. "Think, my love, what can we do for the farmers to help?" He could think of a handful of answers, ranging from subsidies for homesteads that planted gardens that would feed themselves to additional inspections or even looking for a heartier strain of rice that would do better in the soil now that Winduria had lost some of it's valuable farmland to the initial peace negotiations from the end of the war. But it wasn't a question for him to answer this time. Instead Syena had to be patient, working over the question in his mind as he waited for Anika to answer.
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Syena's Room ☁︎ Anika ☁︎ Suit
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Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2025 9:58 am
ωith: Syena︱ ωhere: Syena's Room︱ мood: Hopeful︱ σutfit: ✖  "Talking" "Thoughts" Was Anika fooling herself, thinking she was ever capable of ruining an entire nation? Her father had led her so foolishly astray with thoughts of images and appearances but never focused too heavily on the nitty-gritty of what it actually meant to rule. Many meetings she had been kicked out of, and posters she was forced to pose for, but it meant very little for her true knowledge about her nation's economy and the well-being of her citizens. With the appearance of Francesca, Anika feared what this could mean for the village of Musique. The crown princess wanted to leave a legacy if she was to escape, not turn it over to an unknowing trollop and her brother, who had been biting her ankles trying to get into the spotlight since he was born. Turning 25 meant the next few years of her life needed to be calculated, prepared, and all-knowing in a way that she had only seen one man in her life accomplish: Syena. The man of her dreams was able to become her guide and help her navigate the minefield that was the crumpling nation of Musique. The first few nights they had spent together, Anika was admittedly annoyed that the man would leave his bed to scale over an endless stack of paperwork. It was hard to be him when there was another mistress keeping him up at night, but then, after her father’s disappearance, she started to understand further and admire the man more and more. The dedication was something she had never seen before; her father had been more focused on his appearance than the actual events transpiring that were affecting the citizens. Syena had been kind enough to aid her in her efforts to fix Musique, a country she had lost love for but was trying to right the King’s wrongs one act at a time. Tonight’s task focused on Musique’s lack of harvest over the past few years, something that Syena had brought to light when Anika had brought him all the files she could get delivered to her after her father’s “break”. The solution was rather simple, leaving Anika ready to move on and return to bed with her beloved, but he had insisted that she stay to consider the matter further. " Of course, Bello," She refrained from rolling her eyes despite her annoyance about wishing to return to bed. Instead, she looked into the man’s eyes, ones that she once thought of as cold but realized were just careful and calculating. A trait needed if you wanted to take care of those you cared about so deeply. As his hand wrapped around her face, it was hard not to think about her body wrapping around his, as it often was for a reward for his assistance or her efforts, whoever broke first. But tonight, it appears that he was not the one willing to break on the matter. Ever strong, Anika wanted to prove that this was something she was more than capable of doing. If she were to be his queen one day, she needed to prove she could do this and so much more to help remove such burdens from his shoulders, just as he was doing for her. " Perhaps a stipend of sorts for those farmers who are able to hit their crop yields…" Her voice trailed off as she thought further about the issue, " But that wouldn’t solve the issue of tons of infertile soils, we would need a new crop that would be better suited for the about of clay in the dirt. Would Winduria be interested in a trade at all?" Her hopeful eyes met his, unsure if this was the solution he had been expecting, but trusting her heart wouldn’t fail her this time. OOC:
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Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2025 1:21 pm
Amusement danced in his eyes as he watched the visible effort it took for her not to roll her eyes. It wasn't that it was something Anika took lightly. No, he knew that she was starting to open her eyes and realize the amount of effort and perfection that was needed to rule a kingdom. Every breath mattered.
Something he took personally in more ways than one.
Syena was the king by proxy. Every life in Winduria was one that he held firmly in the palm of his hand. Each one necessary and needed for him to be elevated into height of luxury he deserved. Weavers to make the find silks and cottons that graced his body, farmers to grow the grains that graced his plate, and so one and so forth. Every single person a necessity. And it was his burden to keep them alive and well. Like a father watching hundreds of thousands of his children and guiding them not to trip into a knife.
More than that, he was the one who opened up Anika's eyes to this reality. That this was their lot in life as the divine messengers of the gods who were chosen by birthright to guide their little sheep. Though it didn't stop her frustration from bleeding through. He could see the toll the long nights were starting to take on her.
At her answer, his hand pulled out from behind her neck. It wrapped around to her chin, tilting her head up so he could catch her lips in a chaste kiss. Affection shimmered in his dark eyes as he addressed her question. "That could be a solution, yes. Stipends would give the farmers more ability to hire helping hands to maximize their yields. As well as rotating out the crop. I have heard tell that certain crops will dry out the lands of nutrients and it can make growing the same thing year after year hard on the land."
Once again his hands were on the move. This time trailing down her body to hold her hips. "That being said," His thumb stroked idly over the bone there, rubbing soothing circles like it would help her think. It wouldn't. He just wanted to touch her. "I would be happy to trade seeds to see what would grow well in what soil. I am unable to offer you a decent trade without consulting advisors. Which would have to wait until tomorrow evening to get a response back." Amusement laced his tone, his eyes crinkling as he watched her face. "Or was that your plan all along, little minx?"
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Syena's Room ☁︎ Anika ☁︎ Suit
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Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2025 6:07 pm
ωith: Syena︱ ωhere: Syena's Room︱ мood: Annoyed︱ σutfit: ✖ "Talking" "Thoughts" The high she felt as she earned her reward for a well-earned response. His lips had escaped hers as quickly as they had appeared, leaving Anika feeling restless. There was still more work to do, which Anika understood, but it didn’t help how late into the night it had gotten, and the silk pillows on Syena’s bedframe were starting to call her name. But she was no quitter; this was important work that she was doing. Something her siblings would never understand. As his hand started trailing her hips, Anika started to feel her body buzz once again. Had she won after all? A sly smile filled her lips, " I have no idea what you mean." She shrugged her shoulders as she turned to face the man more directly. One of her hands spiraled around his chest, and the other fidgeted with the large crucifix on her neck. The symbol had no true meaning to her; it was more of a way of getting Syena to focus his attention elsewhere. " I am just here to learn." Her lip twitched in excitement as she laid eyes on Syena, " Gods know my siblings could never do anything to exercise their minds in such a way." She rolled her eyes, thinking about the nosy mouse and overeager beaver attempting to do half mental gymnastics she was being tasked with. " Ugh, I hate that they invade my mind even when they aren’t in the same room as me." Leave it to her siblings to ruin a perfectly good moment without even being there. " How do you deal with being associated with such underachievers?"Anika thought more about it as she played with the man’s chest hairs. It was fun for her to see his blood boil, especially when it wasn’t at her expense. After seeing his brother in action, Anika didn’t know how Syena could stand it. At least the two weren’t related by blood, but the man reeked of failure with every breath he took. It was surprising his engagement to Gwen was still standing, given how terribly he was performing; it had to be a slap in the face to the woman. OOC:
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Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2025 4:16 pm
There was a swirl of anxiety thrumming through his chest at the idea of leaving unfinished work and choosing to go to bed instead. It always settled there, a faint whisper that was harder than expected to ignore telling him that if he didn’t do everything he possibly could that his kingdom would crumble overnight. In these peace times it was nonsensical. And logically he knew that. Which was why he leaned back into the desk in a fairly casual way as his thumb continued to stroke absently over Anika’s hipbone and his eyes trailed down to watch her hand fiddle with the pendant on her necklace.
A knowing smile curved his lips as he met her eyes at her insistence she didn’t know what he meant. It was the most blatant lie she may have ever told him. ”If you insist, I suppose I must believe your innocence.” A lie to match hers. One that harbored a deep amusement as it was spoken. The little vixen was aware of exactly what she was doing, and it was sparking a war inside of him. One side of him rallying to finish his work before his parents replaced him, while the other was eager to take a break from being the perfect ruler for just one night to breathe.
But then her casual mention of siblings threw him off balance. Anxiety was prickling at the back of his neck as her hands came up to trail patterns on Syena’s chest. For years he took solace in knowing that he was an only child. Liu’en had been taken and after so many funerals and memorials he’d had to organize in her honor it was easier to believe she was dead. Less painful. How was he to know that she would burrow up out of the woodwork sixteen years later alive and well? What rational person would believe such a thing was possible in the middle of a raging war?
Still the truth of the matter seemed stranger than fiction.
Syena crumpled forward, long years of exhaustion weighing him down as his forehead came to press into Anika’s shoulder. His grip shifted from teasing strokes to pulling her against him. He was seeking comfort. Comfort he’d long assumed he could never have. Letting his arms trail up her back to hold her there, he let out a long suffering sigh. ”With Oliver it’s easier.” It wasn’t a lie, yet he couldn’t help the way he bristled as the little imposter’s name left his tongue. ”It brings great comfort to me to know that he’s little more than my queen mother’s lapdog, only good for pets and barely a whisper of a thought behind his eyes. He will never be the king I could be, even should something happen to me. Soon enough he won’t be my problem anymore either, though I suppose I should offer Lady Gwendolyn a gift basket and letter of my condolences upon their marriage - assuming he doesn’t ******** everything up before then.” The dark chuckle that accompanied the sentiment was unintentional. All the same it seemed to capture what little emotion he could conjure up for the pest.
The fingers against Anika’s back flexed as his thoughts turned back to Liu’en. ”As for my sister…” Even saying the words left the tempest within him swirling in a heady mix of emotion. It was nearly impossible to tell if he was angry, sad, or something unnamable entirely. Every year of her life that was robbed from him. The crass way she held herself and spoke from a lifetime of being raised by her kidnappers. He didn’t know if he should rage or cry. Worse, his parents had already made the - incredibly stupid and entirely their own - decision to massacre her entire pirate crew so that he could not do the honors himself.
Several moments he stood slumped to Anika, trying to find the words to illuminate just what he was thinking and feeling. None seemed to satisfy the ever building storm under his skin. Finally he shook his head, pressed an affectionate kiss to her neck, and pulled back. He glanced at the desk, a mental list of everything he still needed to do - he’d been drafting a proposal to properly document healers and the specialties in Winduria to give easier access to all to find the care they needed depending on the condition while Anika had been looking over paperwork on her own - weighing down on him as he added more and more to it. Then his eyes turned back to Anika, going soft as he took her in. ”Perhaps, just once, I should let you win for the night. Work will be here in the morning.”
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Syena's Room ☁︎ Anika ☁︎ Suit
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