No? No!? What the hell kind of woman had he talked to that she shot him down --/him/. One did not simply shoot down Alhazier Varkys - and now he was more determined than ever to win over each and every last heart on this vessel.
God, these women were trouble....and he liked it. They were the perfect amount of difficult to handle, and just challenging enough to give him something to do as a literal 'talking head'.
Zephyra looked down at him with eyes that seemed to be filled with so many thoughts and calculations she just wouldn't share. A rock to crack, sort-to-speak. He bet there were beautiful gems inside that cold exterior, and he wanted in.
He tried again to put a thick layer of pity in his tone to really try to sell himself as being soft. "Well. You just like hurting feelings don't you?"
"No. I just don't like telling lies." Zephyra returned with precision.
"Damn, you really are just cold-hearted aren't you? Most people try to be nice when meeting new people." He answered sorely.
"That's a foolish practice. My mother taught me that people must earn your kindness - and that means you must as well. Kindness is for when you feel safe with someone, or they are empty platitudes to trick someone. Which are you doing to me?" Her words were like knives to his ego - but he had to admit - that was some solid advice.
"Neither. I'm just naturally friendly. It's always been my way of things. You're too high-strung. I will have to show you a good time to loosen you up a lit-OW!" Azier let out as Zephyra's cold hand met with his cheek.
"Do not speak like that to me." She demanded with darted eyes.
Yesssss - he had set this up perfectly. Now to play her right into his trap...
"Hey! You didn't even let me finish. Do you slap everyone without hearing them out? What have I gotten myself into? I was going to say take you to some scenic spots where you'd feel safe. My favorite is the rocky shore at my mother's original castle. It used to be on an island that was rocky and you just can't beat the sunsets," he rambled a little, but he had sort of forgotten what he was on about for a moment.
"Oh. I.... I apologize," the white-haired goddess uttered in embarrassment. Her eyes flooded with embarassment and it made him have to hide a smile that he wanted to let creep across his face.
"It's fine, I get it. I'm a handsome guy, you're a sublime star in the sky. We're hardly compatible - and I come off pretty sleazy to those who don't know me. I promise, I'll earn your trust if you just give me a tiny chance," Azier promised with the most caring face he could muster.
"..." Zephyr looked down at him with a lighter disposition than before and merely nodded.
Perfect. Now he played the quiet game until she started the conversation again. For whatever reason - women seemed to hate silence between them and a man, and even the most cold-hearted vampyric queen would have started a conversation to keep power on her side.
He silently counted in his head as she poured warm water over his gross, filthy head, and then went to work a lightly rose-scented soap into his hair.
Her fingernails were long, and they felt so good against his scalp. The prince closed his eyes and just let her play at his silky strands that had definitely seen better days.
Any second now, she would have to say something...any second now.
3...2...1....
She did exactly as he predicted. "So you were punished for being a fool, is that what I understood?"
"Yeah, pretty much. Look, my other brothers were way older than me, and on top of that, they all had their own kingdoms to marry into, but that was after a bloody war where a lot of male kings and leaders were killed. My brothers took their place for the most part. My eldest got our kingdom, but it seems he didn't do a great job...Oh man did he hate me....not as much as Azreal, though - haha." Azier quipped and gave a soft chuckle to add, "he hated me the most."
"What did you do to earn such anger?" Zephyra inquired with her soft, low voice that sounded like a deep velvet that ran through his ears.
"Well... Azzie-boy doesn't believe me - and I wouldn't believe me either - but I slept with one of his future brides by accident..." Azier answered with just a little bit of real shame in his words.
"Praytell, how does one accidentally sleep with someone?" She didn't sound convinced either.
That was the one thing he never lied about, though. He truly did not know he had slept with his brother's intended. He really didn't.
"No, no - the sleeping wasn't the accident. The accident was that I didn't know she was intended for my brother. I am sure father mentioned it at some point, but nothing ever really mattered to me because I was never given responsibilities - even when I was young."
"Anyway - she came on to me," Azier stopped when he saw the look of 'yeah, sure' on Zephyr's face.
He was immediately indignant. "What? She did! No one ever believes me....It's the truth, though. She came on to me, and I just thought it was one of their servants just looking for a way into the royal line - lots of common folk do that, you know. I was just enjoying her company."
He spoke the truth, and would have looked up at her if she had not just poured another round of water over his head to remove the grime in his hair, and off of his face.
"I think that is the first honest thing you have said thus far," Zephyra finally stated after she took quite some time to do so.
"Maybe - maybe not. I was serious about the sunset thing, though." Another truth, and this time he did see her smile a little half-grin.
"Perhaps you aren't as bad as I thought." Zephyra mused out.
"Like I said, give me a chance and you'll love me. I'm honestly just a puppy," the last part was a small lie.
She absolutely saw that - but instead of going down to flick his nose, she poked it instead. Her tone became a little bit playful. "Oh? Then do you like to be taken for walks and pats on the head, too?"
"Only if it's by someone like you, Zeph." Came his cool, and quick reply.
"Hah. Charm must have kept you out of trouble for a long time, hmmm? Perhaps I could teach you another technique to combat trouble, one more reliable."She offered.
"Oh yes ma'am. Especially if it's in the bedroom," Azier pushed a little too hard on that reply, and earned him a pinched nose.
"Ow..." he complained in a whine.
"Consider that your first lesson," Zephyra replied with a stoic smile and rinsed his hair one last time.
"I'll take anything you're teaching me, beautiful" Azier braced himself for another slap as he closed one eye - but it never came.
"No slap? I was starting to like it..." he jested.
"Compliments are appreciated. I'm not correcting you for that. I'm still a woman after all, and a princess. Now wait here - I'm going to get my dagger set. We're going to cut your hair."
"You have... a set... of daggers?" He asked a little uncomfortably.
"Yes. I have many sets of knives. I enjoy fighting with blades. My younger sister, Evie like to use her fists - but I don't think it's graceful enough. Plus, why get my hands dirty when I can just bloody my blade?" Her response was so casual and it actually made sense to him.
"You are one interesting woman, Zeph. I look forward to seeing your mastery of blades. I am sure it far exceeds what I could do," that was also afib - but why waste a perfect opportunity to charm a lovely lass?
"We'll consider that a second lesson if you can learn from the first." Zephyra insisted and once more looked down to him, but this time she met his red eyes with her purple ones and gave him a true, calm, and subtle smile.
"I'll make sure to do a full book report on it, then. Learning with you is enjoyable," again with the layered sweetness. He truly was harmless - just a playboy with no intentions of doing anything but the desire to enjoy the life that had been stolen from him nearly 400 years or so ago....or..something.
Did time matter anymore? What mattered was that he could now take it back.
In fact, he was glad his father had done what he did - because now he had a reason to live for once. He had the desire to get the ultimate revenge on his father just by going on to live life as he wanted.
The old man could suck it, because Azier had better plans than to mope about his past. His new future looked so much better. Far more than just being able to fuck pretty girls all day and hope to out-live a brother or cousin. Now he start the harem of his dreams. He was going to explore the world with them at his side, and become the most revered Vampire Prince of his kind.
That would teach that cold, uncaring father of his - and he could enjoy the full view from Hell as far as Azier was concerned.