Thea would say she "Isn't like other girls," if the phrase wasn't so disgustingly trendy. With a personality more salty than the Dead Sea itself, the attractive allure of a cactus, a peculiar hatred for feminist self-victimhood, and occasionally acc...
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Killian never would have imagined himself falling in love with someone like her. He always imagined she would be sweet, affectionate and kind. He imagined she would fall for him just as easily as he would fall for her. He imagined she would be kind and gentle, someone who would need his protection and desire his comfort.
Thea is none of those things.
She is brazen, independent and smart--wicked smart with a silver tongue sharp as a sword. She is intimidating to anyone who crosses her path and her presence demands attention--reverent attention--but only when she wants it. In the very same instance she can make herself invisible and go completely unnoticed. Nothing happens without her noticing and her intuition makes her a formidable enemy to deception.
Killian never would have imagined himself falling in love with someone like her but damn if it isn't the best thing that has ever happened to him.
Maybe that is why her words hurt so much. She is out of his league. She is a class above him. And he guesses--he guesses he is not handsome enough to tempt her. She is prettier than him, too, but Killian does not think she realizes that--no, she doesn't realize that--not yet, at least.
He wants to make her see that. He saw her hair down and long for the first time the other night. Sif's hair was made of spun gold crafted by the most skilled dwarfs of Nidavellir. If Sif's was gold, then surely Thea's must be copper. Usually a matte rosy brown, it is unassuming, but if you look close enough--wait for just the right moment--you will see it catch the light and glow like wildflower honey in the sun.
And she has the audacity to say she hates her hair.
If only she knew how much I loved it, Killian thought. He supposes that is his job, though--to remind her of things like her beauty--her good qualities. It seems like no one has ever done that for her, or at least not in a really long time. His chest tightens at the thought.
Thea isn't as heartless as she thinks she is. In fact, Killian believes she even feels things on a deeper level than most, she has just trained herself to bury all of it in an attempt at self preservation. He just wishes he could make her comfortable enough--happy enough--to realize she isn't alone anymore.
Thea has only ever been half loved.
It is a good thing, then, that Killian is one of those who loves fully.
He waits anxiously for her arrival. The words she spoke to him those few short days ago have haunted him, their biting sting lingering in the back of his mind, taunting him with their truth and gnawing at his resolve. Unworthy, cowardly, childish... They were all things that brought back into light the things he had struggled to keep hidden for more than a decade.
Killian is not the leader he should be. As so many have told him before, he is a disgrace to his inheritance and a shame to all that his father has built. Why then should an amazing woman--strong, daring and intelligent as she is--be tied to someone such as him? Killian is soft spoken, too easily trusting and struggles greatly under the burden of all the decisions he must make each and every day in his new position of power.
