arsinoe.

Arsinoe snorts at his smart retort, and rolls her eyes. He’s infuriatingly calm - and Arsinoe finds she does not care for this sort of conversation, where rolls are reversed. Usually she is the one with a carefree tone, not rising to the bait and reveling in how annoyed her ambivalence makes whoever it is she is speaking with.

But she’s hot and exhausted and anxious to return home, so she’s already given away far more to Asmodeus than she ever intended to. But she musters a barb of her own, flicking her green eyes over him, assessing, and then makes a soft little humming noise. “Don’t flatter yourself; it’s unbecoming of someone so clever.” She’s not even lying – she’s got no desire for a repeat. After Vadim left…after losing Sarama as well, she hasn’t been inspired for romance.

Asomodeus, and Aesara as a result, was to punish herself. If Vadim accused her of seeking power over all else, of abandoning her family for a better position…why not actually do it? Why not take the offer of an alliance with an aspiring monarch (and he’d be king over her dead body) and learn what she could? If Vadim and Sarama saw her as nothing but a power-hungry, heartless mare, not worthy of their trust, she might as well live up to the image.

He speaks again, seemingly unphased by her own needling in return. His comment, though, makes her ears prick forward in attention, makes her always-scheming brain slip out of the spiral of self pity. Does he expect that sharing a child gives him some hold over her?

Her eyes narrow, and Arsinoe watches carefully as he turns his attention to their daughter. She’s seen no evidence of cruelty in him - nothing to show her she needs to protect their child from him, and so Arsinoe does nothing more than watch.

Aesara blinks up at her father, extending her muzzle and exchanging curious breath with the stallion. The first she’s met, actually – Arsinoe hasn’t let anyone else close.

“Hi,” Aesara blurts excitedly. “I don’t think I want to swim here all the time, but maybe I can come visit I guess.”

Arsinoe laughs at that, and touches Aesara’s neck gently with her muzzle. “That wasn’t home, darling. We still haven’t made it back yet.” Focusing on her daughter gives her time to digest his statement – if nothing else, Arsinoe has learned from her trip that Asmodeus still intends to become King. Her and Raegar will need to discuss that extensively. Likely Raegar won’t care – not if it doesn’t impact his herd and his current life. Arsinoe is the one with the drive for politics, for forward-looking at just what a change in regime will mean. They barely held on to the Badlands, and she sacrificed everything for them to do so. She isn’t exactly eager to submit quietly.

Aesara looks confused for a moment before she shrugs and then says, “Alright. Mom - can I go look at that weird thing on the beach?” Arsinoe nods her approval and Aesara tears off across the wet sand, all clumsy legs and graceless speed.

“Well,” Arsinoe says to Asmodeus, unsure of what else there is to offer. Aesara is about all that they have in common, and Arsinoe hadn’t exactly planned to see him. “You’ve given yourself quite the deadline.” She finally murmurs, cocking her head to the side. “Have you spoken with either of my brothers, yet?” It can’t hurt to remind him that her family does still hold half of Salem.