Somnis (Peri and Charlotte)

After spending the better part of her afternoon striking a Killer Axe across the faces of various pirates on a failed boat heist, Charlotte sits at a table roughly half-way into a novel. As she turns a page, her attention is drawn to the front door of her quarters; she can discern the sounds of the door being unlocked, and opts to bookmark her current page and set her book down. Rising from her seat, she can see the door swing open at a medium pace. Her eyes are immediately drawn to a familiar head topped with bubblegum blue and cotton candy pink hair. Once Charlotte adjusts to this, Peri's full splendor comes into view. The knight sports her usual cheery expression, accentuated by her humming and light bouncing.

Next to this outlandish ensemble is the likewise familiar brown, albeit sometimes black in appearance, hair color of Cyrus. In contrast to Peri, Cyrus' expression is rather placid, comparable to that of one lost in meditation. His eyes are closed, evoking a sagely visage that is unlike him. Charlotte shrugs at this, paying little heed to the matter, and instead turns to address Peri.

"If it isn't my favorite killing machine; how are you, Peri?"

The grin that plasters onto Peri's face is enough of an answer to the query, but the way Peri struts into the living quarters, practically skipping as she does so, suggests that she is far and away feeling better than usual. Cyrus steps in as well, closing the door behind him, but not locking it. He then stands at attention, looking to Charlotte despite keeping his eyes closed.

"I'm feeling just great, Charlotte!" She then wraps an arm around Cyrus' furthest shoulder and pulls him close, lightly crashing her right cheek against his left. "I had a blast with your husband today, and wanted to thank you."

"Thank me for…what, exactly?"

"For picking someone super strong, obviously."

Before Charlotte can make a reply to this, Cyrus looks to her and asks, "Shall I prepare tea?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, sure thing, darling; that sounds lovely." She watches as Cyrus slips out of Peri's grip, bows to the both of them, and then disappears into the kitchen to prepare an as of yet unknown blend of tea. Turning her attention back to Peri, she jabs a thumb towards the kitchen as she asks, "Is there something wrong with him?"

Peri shrugs in response, giggling before she replies, "Beats me; he was fine before we got here."

The two find themselves on a minor tangent discussing their respective results of the most recent battle. Charlotte's joyous expression is uncontainable as she boasts about how her enemy tally scored higher than that of her husband. Peri, in contrast, laments how Corrin allowed Shura, the army's most recent recruit, to live in spite of his transgressions. Cyrus returns to the area before long, holding a decorated pot of tea with his only hand while using magic to levitate the tableware in the space next to him.

With a flourish of both dexterity and magic, he serves a cup to Charlotte and Peri before taking a step back to bow to them once more. After taking a sip of her tea, Charlotte lets out a contented sigh. "How delightful; you really are quite skilled at this, my love." She looks over to him, seeing that he is standing in such a way that implies he is awaiting further orders. Charlotte smiles at this, thinking he's just getting into a role. "Thank you, Cyrus; that will be all; you are dismissed." Much to her surprise, Cyrus bows, gently sets the teapot at the center of the table, and then climbs into bed. Charlotte's face twists into an expression of bewilderment, with her only vocal response being, "Eh?"

Peri laughs at this before saying, "I guess I really did tire him out."

"What did you two do, exactly?"

"Well, I was getting bored a few hours ago; so bored that I was about five seconds away from swinging my weapon at the first living thing that popped into view. Then Cyrus showed up and offered to spar with me! What a guy!"

Glancing at the sleeping form of her husband, Charlotte dons an amused yet bemused expression as she thinks to herself, 'He takes the self-sacrificing thing way too far.' She chuckles, albeit out of confusion rather than amusement. "You must have been really energetic if you managed to tire him out."

"I think his earlier spar with Lord Xander played a part in that." She pouts at this, looking at Cyrus as she follows, "It's a shame, too; he's really fun to fight. You know what's a bigger shame, though? That you have to share him. Were you really OK with that?"

Charlotte's expression shifts to one of contemplative uncertainty. "I wasn't at first, but Cyrus was upfront about the matter when we started dating so I wanted to give him a chance." She takes another sip of her tea, using the moment to gather her thoughts and properly recollect the past. "You know, the weird part is that I fell for the guy before I found out he had money."

"Maybe you liked the way he beat up the bad guys; I certainly did!" She pouts again, resting her cheek in her hand as she follows, "Though I was disappointed that he could follow Lord Corrin's merciful ways so easily. A real waste of killing potential."

"I don't think it was that, either." She pours herself another cup of tea, holding out the pot towards Peri's cup to silently ask if her guest would like a refill. Peri smiles and nods, prompting Charlotte to pour her cup as well. Staring into her own cup, Charlotte can see her reflection just before it is distorted by the rippling waves of the tea contained therein. "I guess…I was drawn to him because he saw right through me from the start. He knew the kind of person I was and yet never drew attention to it." She frowns, setting the cup down. "I thought he had an angle, like I did, so I tried to figure him out."

Peri snickers at this, lightly dancing in her seat as she comments, "You went looking for trouble but found love instead." She then starts laughing, causing Charlotte to pout in turn.

"Yeah, I guess I did." Glancing at Cyrus again, she says, "He doesn't really act like a guy with a harem, let alone one as big as he has now." She puffs out her cheek, looking back to Peri as she follows, "Then again, I don't exactly know too many men with seven other wives so I don't have a frame for comparison."

"Wow, seven?! That makes you the eighth, right? Are the others as strong as you are?"

Angling her head towards the ceiling, Charlotte takes a moment to reflect on the things she's been told about the other women that are a part of Cyrus' life. "There is one woman named Terri; she's apparently suplexed a wyrm before, albeit an adolescent."

"How big are those?"

"An adolescent wyrm, at least as Cyrus described it, is a little larger than a two-story house. To be honest, I think he's overplaying her strength. He also told me that Terri's younger twin sister can punch people so hard that they disintegrate."

Peri's expression brightens with surprise and admiration, but then quickly shifts to a frown when she realizes, "Wait, disintegration means there's no blood, right?" Charlotte nods. "Boo~"

"That can't possibly be true." Peri snickers at this, causing Charlotte to frown and ask, "Just what are you snickering about?"

"You say that's impossible when I've seen you punch a tree so hard that it fell over."

Charlotte stares at her for a moment, an expression of abject shock and horror on her face. 'Oh, shit, she saw that, too?!' Before she can turn the subject towards a different direction, a thought occurs to her, compelling her to ask what she deems a pertinent question. "Was there anyone else nearby when you saw this?"

"Nah, just you, me, and Cyrus."

A sigh of relief escapes Charlotte as she leans back in her chair. It takes a moment for her to think on it, but she soon says, "I'm not even sure why I'm still worried about people seeing the real me. I've found a man who both meets my standards and knows full well who I am, so I shouldn't be bothered with others seeing the same, right?"

"I don't see why you were so bothered in the first place." She takes a sip of her tea, licking her lips and smiling just before setting the cup back down. "Did it really matter if you acted differently in front of people? Charlotte is still Charlotte behind all of that, right?"

Charlotte groans at this, leaning back in her chair while resting her hands behind her head. "Ugh, you sound like my husband." Peri laughs at this before the two are left with a moment of silence wherein they simply enjoy their tea, as well as each other's presence. "I haven't really asked Cyrus about his other wives, but these months we've spent together lead me to believe that I won't regret this decision."

"If you ever get worried that he's not giving you enough attention, just challenge the others to a battle royale and beat the crap out of 'em." The sincerity of her suggestion causes Charlotte to sputter her tea and burst into laughter. This brings a grin to Peri's face; "Cyrus appreciates a strong woman, right? It's the perfect plan and you get to beat up the other wives; that makes it twice as perfect!"

"Never change, Peri; never change. How long can you stay? I could bake cookies or something." She leans a bit forward in her seat, shading her eyes and forming a conniving grin on her lips as she follows, "I'll even make them in the shape of gingerbread men; I know how much you love chomping their heads off."

"Aw, that sounds so good right now!" She frowns, accentuating such with a disheartened expression. "I'd love to, but I gotta meet up with Laslow and Lord Xander pretty soon."

"That is a pity." She sighs, rising from her seat to open the door for her departing guest. As Peri steps outside into the light of the ending afternoon, she and Charlotte share a silent knowing glance at each other. They both smile, with Charlotte saying, "The offer for the cookies is always open, so stop by whenever."

"Sure thing; those gingerbread men won't know what hit 'em!"

She waves as she closes the door; for a few seconds, the sounds of Peri's armor striking against itself can be heard as the knight presumably departs with a certain vigor to her steps. Charlotte finds herself smiling softly at the sight, in spite of not being able to actually see it. A rustling brings her back to the machinations of her quarters, prompting her to turn around and see Cyrus waking from his brief slumber.

He lets out a loud yawn and wipes his eyes before looking around. "Why am I in bed? Wasn't I just walking with Lady Peri?" His eyes eventually fall on Charlotte, who is staring at him with that same soft smile on her face from before. "Greetings, my dear; I have no idea when I got home but…hey, I'm home."

"What? But you only just went to sleep."

"I had the weirdest dream, too."

"Oh? What was it about?"

"I dreamt that I served as a butler for you and Lady Peri. You were a courteous mistress."

'By the gods; he can take care of me while sleeping?' Stepping away from this revelation, Charlotte giggles to herself and walks over to Cyrus. In an effort to change the subject, she says, "I hate to bring this up when you're barely conscious, but I've been thinking about something for awhile now…"

Another yawn escapes the man as he sits himself on the edge of bed. Seeing the despondent look on Charlotte's face, he shoots a soft smile towards her as he says, "No need to hold back, you know. What's on your mind?"

She looks him in the eyes, a serious expression beaming from hers to his. Nervous though he may be, Cyrus doesn't break eye contact. "Cyrus, you have seven other wives; what makes me so special?" Much to her surprise, Cyrus lets out a loud sigh of relief at this question, practically falling onto his back as he exaggerates his current state of emotion. Charlotte giggles at this odd form of expression, despite her bewildered face showing that she has no idea what she is expected to make of it.

"I feel as if the things I went through before we met made me mature enough to stand on equal footing with you." For a moment, his eyes look towards the floor, distant and forlorn in their visage. He looks back up before long, though his downtrodden expression still persists. "Normally, I'd pretend that there's nothing wrong, and would act as an affable person to avoid suspicion."

Charlotte quickly pieces together where this explanation is going, but folds her arms and presents forth an expectant look rather than looking surprised. 'Is he seriously going where I think he is?'

"You were the type of person who could see through that façade from the outset, which made it easier to avoid a relapse. You're a strong person, Charlotte, much stronger than I am. You're a lot like Terri, but unlike her, I don't feel as if I'm dragging you down by being your lover." He blushes, struggling to find some object to focus his eyes on as he says, "I found some much needed confidence in myself when we started dating." This momentary embarrassment persists, but he finds it in himself to look Charlotte in the eyes again. "I've found a fair bit more since we got married."

She looks away from him, though she is unable to do so before he can see the blush form on her face in turn. "You know it's not fair to look at me like that." She glances at him for just long enough to see that his expression has yet to change. Try as she might, she is unable to keep herself from looking at him for too long, and eventually finds herself taking a place on the bed at his side, resting her head on his shoulder. "I love you."

Cyrus' initial response is silence. He rests his head against hers while wrapping his arm around her furthest shoulder to bring her just a bit closer to him. He closes his eyes, getting comfortable as his soft smile returns once more. His voice is barely a whisper as he finally replies, "I love you too."