Stones
Cephied Variable

Presea is nothing like her sister.

Alicia was a flower- a daffodil, a crysthanthieum, a gardenia. There was always the scent of spring about her. Presea is not the kind of girl one compared to a flower. Flowers are delicate things that die very easily and fall to pieces in your hands. Presea is more like a polished stone- strong, hard and earthy, a bit worn down by life but no less beautiful for it. She had been broken. It was a deep, dark crack in her heart, but it hadn't destroyed her. The more times you break a stone in half, the harder it is to break again.

Regal is glad that she is nothing like Alicia. He's not sure if he could stand this if she were. He wouldn't have been able to watch those strong, steady hands work away quietly or look into her calm blue eyes as the shackles fall away and clatter onto the stone floor with an echo that resonates somewhere deep inside of him. He rubs at his wrists sorely and then spreads his arms as far apart as he can- over his head, behind his back. The muscles in his shoulders ache.

Presea leans back on her heels, a placid but satisfied expression on her young, pale face, "I've forgiven you Regal." she says softly, an entire world of emotion boiling beneath her reserved tone, "Now it's time for you to forgive yourself."