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with every passing moment between them her shock begins to fade and her anger takes the forefront, emerging deep within her at the knowledge that he had been alive all that time. years passed with him alive and not even bothering to send word of it. "around?" she scoffs, shaking her head. "i've not seen you for fifteen years and all you have to say for yourself is you were around?" her anger only flares when her eyes catch his, noting the same familiar look in his eyes that he used to use on her constantly. "you damn well better explain yourself to me. you owe me that much, charles." she'd been in love with him when he'd left, uncaring of the fact that he was going to be king one day if she could only steal one more kiss from him, one more lingering touch. she foolishly thought that one day they'd even marry, that she'd be deemed good enough for him. "and do not look at me like that. you don't have the right to."

she wasn't wrong, something terrible had happened to him, and in all technicality; he was dead. however, none of that could've prevented him from reaching out, apparently. but he was a beast, a monster that he still didn't quite understand and he'd always known he'd be damned all the more if he pulled her into the depths of depravity that his life had become. the man, who'd once been the heir to the throne, was now a monster whom needed blood to sustain him. he wasn't what she'd known, he wasn't what she could possibly fathom and if he cared about her, which he did, leaving her be was the best thing he could've done. still, he knows that the slap to his cheek is well deserved, the force enough to have his head flipping to the side. he laughs, breathless, the feeling of it far more enjoyable than he knows makes sense. his fingertips raise, gentle in stroking the cheek she'd inflicted the much needed pain against. "i've been...around," he admits then, looking back at her, with the same old look of adoration in his gaze. "hard to explain away not aging in a decade, don't you agree?"

his face has been ingrained in her memory even after all these years. after all, she'd once pictured and entire life that would be lived at his side. even when she went on to marry someone else, even when that husband had died several years ago, charles was still a haunting memory that wouldn't leave her alone. yet even in fantasies of seeing him again, she had never expected him to look exactly as he once was rather than ages like her. "how..." she murmurs quietly, shaking her head as she takes tentative steps towards him. "you look exactly the same." she mutters, confusion awash on her features. all this time she'd thought something terrible had happened to him, that he was long dead. without thinking, her hand snaps up and collides with his cheek, pain radiating against her palm afterwards. "where the hell have you been?"

a part of him had thought -- had hoped -- that she wouldn't recognise him. after all, it had been years...a decade and a half, yet the moment he sees the look in her eyes, the moment the pastries fall from her grasp, before she's even said his name he knows; he knows she knows exactly who he is. lips part, but no words or sound fall - just a slightly shaky breath at first. he tries to collect himself in the moment, he hadn't anticipated her seeing him. had been skillfully missing her gaze for years upon years, had gotten too cocky, it seems. rolling his shoulders back, he slips closer; slowly, hesitantly. "yes, it is me..." he can lie, but he doesn't want to. he's missed her, never stopped missing her, craving their closeness, but he was afraid. of what he'd become, of what he was capable of. "hello selaena."

when she had left for the markets that morning, selaena had expected a rather unexceptional day. she had most certainly been wrong about that. she had barely stepped away from the bakery, tarts packed away safely in the box clutched in her hands than blue eyes land on his frame. he hasn't changed since she last saw him fifteen years ago, kissing her goodnight and promising that he'd see her the next day. only that day had come and charles hadn't been there, instead a ghost on the night never to be seen again and leaving a gaping hole in her heart. yet here he stands. the box of pastries falls from her hands, thunking against the cobblestones as she merely stares at him in utter disbelief. "charles?"

open to: w / m / nb (30+ age gaps almost a necessity !).

potential connections: best friend, betrothed, ex, whatever fits.

plot: several years ago, prince charles ferdinand disappeared, leaving a mystery in his wake. to most, he's nothing but a ghost story, but your muse was a part of his life in some fashion. he hasn't seen them for a long time, actively avoiding them since being turned into a vampire.

sleep had evaded him for years, though he supposed it was no longer a requirement of his current species. charlie's mind was far too active, far too full of thoughts of the past, of what could've been - should've been. he'd disappeared for good with intention. there's no way anyone he knew could handle, nor deserved to handle, the state of a beast he'd become. he'd had to become nothing but smoke, everyone was better off for it. still, he'd attempted to keep an eye on them throughout the years, though he had always been mindful to not allow their eyes to find him - until now, apparently. lips purse, and if his heart still beat, it'd be practically ripping out of his chest. he smiles then, hopes he can play it off. it's been enough years, he should've changed somewhat. he hadn't. not one wrinkle pressed against fresh, porcelain skin. "good afternoon. charmed, i'm sure."