accidentally yours | claude de alger obelia

by frost, by fate

with a blinding flash of light and a pop like a firecracker, she vanished.

and reappeared.

in the emperor's lap.

more specifically, the emperor of obelia's lap, while he and his daughter athanasia were enjoying a perfectly civilized tea party in their palace garden.

time stopped.

claude's hand froze halfway to his cup. athy blinked. birds stopped singing mid-song. maids in the distance dropped trays, their gasps blending into an almost comical symphony of chaos.

and the girl-no, the woman-holding a jar, a jar with a severed wyvern head floating inside, landed in his lap with a soft, muffled thud.

claude blinked.

the wyvern head sloshed.

and then she opened her mouth.

"HOLY FUCKING SHIT."

claude was paralyzed.

he didn't know what to do. or say. or think. his fingers were still frozen around his teacup, like he was a statue. athanasia had her mouth slightly open, eyes as wide as saucers, clearly torn between shock and an overwhelming urge to laugh.

the girl scrambled off his lap as if it had suddenly turned into molten lava, sending pastries flying, her hand flailing the wyvern jar around like it was some prized artifact. crumbs scattered. her shirt was stained with jam. her hair-wild, dark, and untamed-fell into her face like she'd just crawled out of a cave.

"i'm so sorry!" she shrieked, hands waving frantically. "i didn't mean to-i wasn't trying to teleport into your-i-oh my god-i-i LOVE YOUR EYES, SIR, I MEAN YOUR MAJESTY-i'll go now-this is so awkward-holy shit-"

claude's eyes narrowed as he watched her, still sitting there, clutching the jar like a lifeline. every ounce of his regal presence emanated outward, the cold, dangerous energy that he'd perfected after years of ruling and surviving this ridiculous court.

athanasia was, uncharacteristically, quiet. but the twitch of her lips betrayed her: she was fighting back laughter.

"who are you?" claude finally asked, his voice low and dangerous.

the girl, flustered, looked around as if trying to find a reason to exist in this moment. she opened her mouth and closed it. opened it again. "uh-" she stammered.

athanasia's brow furrowed. "is this someone you know, papa?"

claude's attention snapped to athanasia for a split second. the girl seemed to have no idea how she ended up here, so the question was probably valid.

"no," claude said slowly. "this is not someone i know."

she looked between the both of them, clearly panicking now. "uh... look, i know this is weird. and i'm sorry. this is-i just-i got a little... overzealous with the teleporting-i wasn't aiming for you! i swear to irene, i wasn't-"

she winced, clutching the jar tighter. the wyvern head inside it sloshed again, a wet, unpleasant sound that echoed through the garden.

athanasia stared at the jar, her eyes twinkling with a dangerous curiosity. "what's in the jar?"

"it's... it's the wyvern head," the girl said, clearly holding back a wince as she quickly corrected, "it's just-uh, some monster parts i'm supposed to turn in to the guild for my bounty. i can't believe i ended up here... gosh, i didn't mean to-"

claude felt a cold chill run down his spine. the absurdity of the situation, paired with the girl's chaotic ramblings, had his mind going in circles. he had seen many strange things, but this? this was another level.