mj and ice's excellent roleplay adventure

Now Will really doesn't want to hold anything against Marie. She seems like a nice enough woman who obviously had Kaz before him in this life. It's not the first time the Snake has been married before his arrival. It's also not the first time Will's felt guilty for seizing another person's love. (The whole reincarnation fate thing usually trumps the established relationship, but Will's point still stands.) Will pauses at an intersection in the halls, looking to his right, left and then straight in front. Where is the library- "Excuse me-" He quickly halts a passing servant. "Which way to the library?"

Will enters the library like it's a breath of fresh air. (It smells of old paper, which is practically oxygen to Will.) He passes a young woman in a soft blue tea dress who looks fairly surprised at his sudden entrance. He feels jittery, in need of rapid unwinding before he snaps like a rubber band. He scales the spiral staircase up to the horticulture and biology section, leaning against the back railing to take in the titles once again.

Will decides on a thin book with a soft green spine. It's well worn and probably made for children, but at this point, Will couldn't really care. The two books he was adamant on reading are still in the bedroom and he still doesn't know how to return. He carries down the stairs and falls into a comfortable armchair across the room from the young woman. She looks up over her pages. Will meets her dark silver eyes. She has pointed ears, fluffy black hair, and dark, warm brown skin. "Hello," He greets quietly before reading the title of his book.

"Morning," she responds in the same library voice.

Will had only just flipped through the table of contents before the woman across the table stands up. She shouts, followed by a loud thump. Will sits up and finds her flat on her face, her short heel stuck on the leg of the table.

"Are you alright?" Will quickly sets his book down to help her to her knees. Her face is blushing bright red, eyes wide with humiliation.

"I'm fine, I'm fine…" She waves Will away, looking like she wants to bury her head in her hands. "I didn't mean to disturb your reading."

Completely unaware of the utter bullshit happening in the other room, Will helps the woman to her feet. "Are you sure that you're alright?" He asks again.

"Yes, I'm sure." She laughs sheepishly and tucks a chunk of hair behind her ear. "I'm Eloise."

"William." Will reaches a hand out to shake. She carefully takes his hand in her own and shakes. "I haven't seen you around before."

"Oh, I'm usually here or in the ballroom. My father likes to know where I am, so I rarely stray away." Eloise laughs softly, her voice oddly musical. "And you–"

"I'm–" Will cuts himself off. The word concubine sounds disgusting on his tongue. "The emperor's… companion."

Eloise squeaks as Will introduces his title. She dips her head and pulls at her skirt in a hasty curtsy. "Please, don't do that–" Will cringes. "Just treat me as a friend."

"I'm sorry–" Eloise straightens, the friendly awkwardness from before now much more formal. "I just don't meet a lot of the emporer's… lovers?" She seems juts as uncomfortable at the prospect as Will. "Unless you count Lady Marie, but believe she's much more of political figure than a wife."

"Understandable," Will agrees with a short nod. "I've only known her for a short while but she's been… unpleasant." Eloise snorts behind her hand at the confession.

Eloise grabs her book from Will and carries it over to a vacant slot in a shelf. A poetry book. "I've known Marie for decades. Even before she married the emporer she was temperamental and rude." Her face screws up as she turns to Will. "I don't like talking much about it."

"If you don't mind me asking," Will begins. "How did you become affiliated with the kingdom?"

Eloise sighs. "My father is a member of the king's court. Rhuben Kniyte, a treasurer for the kingdom. He was placed into this position shortly after the emperor returned to power and my father took me with him." She shrugs. "I've been here since I was a teenager. This place is practically my home."

"So, do you know Kazimir?" Will inquires and Eloise looks fairly shocked at the passive use of the emperor's first name.

Recovering from her stupor, Eloise shrugs. "I've been in the same room as him. He made eye contact with me once, and I thought I was going to be struck down by some divine bolt of lightning." She wrings her hands together and sits down on a cushioned loveseat. Her soft blue dress poofs. "He terrifies me."

Will purses his lips. "He's not too bad–"

"You've only known him for a few days!" Eloise laughs. "William, how biased has he made you?"

"I'm afraid he's poisoned my mind already, Eloise," Will teases. "If you don't mind me asking, what were you reading?" He tries to glimpse at the title of the rose-colored cover.

"Oh!" She shows the cover. "Just some prose. I've read it a thousand times." Her eyes glisten. "Here, let me show you the section." She grabs Will's wrist and leads him across the sitting area and past the front door towards a second, more hidden set of stairs. Will just barely catches a glimpse of Kazimir as he's dragged past.

Eloise finally stops her bustling when she reaches a tall, beautiful curved shelf. The titles are in various languages, the colors in every pastel of the rainbow. "My favorite author is Fellinworth–she also wrote a lovely romance series I grew up on, if you're into that kind of thing." Her fingers sort through the shelf, landing on a large dedicated section to Reghn Fellinworth.

"She sounds talented." Will carefully pulls a tome from the shelf and carefully flips through the first pages. From the corner of his eye, he spots Kazimir lingering near the staircase. "Hello, again," He greets softly. Eloise whirls around with her eyes wider than saucers.

Will goes still as the Snake kisses his head, eyes wide as his mind struggles to catch up to the situation. His heart stutters and stops and races all at once and he could very easily fall over if not for the arm around his waist. (God, is he this touch-starved?) "Yes," he agrees after a beat. "Her Highness a hard woman to be around." And then he turns his attention to Eloise. "And yes, I'm sure you've met Eloise? She's the treasurer's daughter." Eloise stiffly raises a hand to wave.

"I–uh, yes, uh thank you your majesty–" Eloise looks more panicked then anything. Her dark blue eyes flit around the room before she slots her book on the table. "It's uh–bye–" And then she's off, her flowing blue dress tailing behind her as she sprints down the stairs.

"You scared her off," Will mutters, finding himself leaning into Kaz's hold. His head drops onto Kazimir's shoulder; his eyes slip shut.

"No," Will murmurs. "No, I'll find her later." The pet name lingers in his mind. It feels warm. Homey, lulling him off to a peaceful state of mine. "I've missed you." The words unexpectedly fall from his lips, but Will isn't surprised at the truth. How long had he spent longing for the hold of someone from lost memories?

"Okay," he mumbles, not entirely sure of what else to say. The moment is soft and tender, nearly delicate as any inconvenience could break it. It's warm and Will never wants to leave. He leans into Kazimir's touch, trying not to think about how those same hands he's leaning into are the ones who have killed him in thousands of lives before.

"What." Will's eyes fly open. "What." He pushes away to arms-length, fingers digging into Kazimir's biceps. He can't even marvel at how sculpted they are because his mind is too busy trying not to explode because Kazimir told Marie what? "You told her I was pregnant?" His voice raises and he wants to shake the Snake senseless.