All Right, What Did You Wanna Say? Truth? Plum. I Am, And Have Been For Some Time, Just Totally, Ridiculously,

All right, what did you wanna say? Truth? Plum. I am, and have been for some time, just… totally, ridiculously, desperately in love with you. 

WILLOW | S01E05, Wildwood

“Oh, no, just Jade,” she gently insisted. Calling her a “lady” always chafed at her. Ballantine would tease her with it when she dressed up for one of the Tanthalos’ parties that Kit would invite her to. The title always felt too fancy and above her station. She had never belonged in the same class as the elite; she knew her place, so the word never felt right when regarding her as such. “Nice to meet you, Ingvar.”

Hazel eyes took in the view, drinking in the moment. She’d never seen a sunset quite like this. Not even from the top of the canyon mazes back home. “Yeah… Wow.” Did he always see the world like this? What was everything else like? “Kit would love this,” she couldn’t stop herself from blurting. Her mind often went back to Kit during moments like this, when they were separated. She hoped the other woman was okay. “What brings you to these lands, Ingvar? Are you from here?”

"My name, Lady Jade," the giant began as he slowly, gingerly stood; while one may have imagined the journey up, up, up in the air with him as he stood would have been stomach-lurching and abrupt, the giant somehow, in no small part thanks to the careful consideration given to each minutest of movements, managed to make that trip far up feel akin to sailing upon calm waters.

"I am being called... Ingvar."

He stood up straight and held his cupped hands out and level with his eyes.

"Can you be seeing it? The sun setting?"

In the distance at the horizon, the sun's honeyed rays spilled out and painted the sky a wash of vivid oranges and pinks and purples. It was far easier to see from up hee, without so many bases of tree trunks obstructing the view.

“I promise I won’t swing my sword around your home unless absolutely necessary,” Jade swore, her tone light and playful. A smile even graced her face, one that often reminded those around her just how youthful she was. She meant her words, though. She didn’t make it a habit of unsheathing her blade unless she were training or in actual combat. While she and Kit had spent years training as a hobby, Jade understood just how serious and deadly her blade was. It was also a sacred weapon to her, a final gift from the man she considered father. It was never to be taken lightly.

“Oh, I’m used to mice,” she admitted, picking at a piece of bread. She pulled a small bit of it between her fingers. “Used to have to get rid of them in the stables or they’d frighten the horses. You never wanna handle a skittish horse.” She tossed the bit of bread into her mouth. “I don’t think it’s silly.” She shook her head and glanced at Marius. “Never had a pet… unless you count the horses.”

It comes with no small relief, seeing Jade nod. It happened sometimes, when your heart refused to listen to your head. So long as she believed Polly, however, that's all that could be asked of her. "So long as you don't start swinging your sword towards any strange sound in here, yeah?"

Polly smirked, but realized what she said a moment later, and rushed to correct herself. "Not -- not that I think you're going to. I just mean that the walls creak occasionally, and I've never fully been able to keep the mice out." She chuckles, hopefully encouragingly, and shrugs as she goes on: "Foraging and trail maitenance keep me pretty busy, actually. But, ehm, I'm trying to teach Marius tricks. He comes when you call, and he shakes, and...sorry. I'm sure it's silly, but it passes the time."

Jade noticed the change in Polly’s demeanor at the mention of horses. It was subtle, but the young knight had always been observant. Even if she couldn’t always read it, she could acknowledge the change. But this one seemed rather obvious. Polly must have had a thing about horses. Jade doubted that she came in contact with them very often in the middle of the forest.

“They’re not really mine. They belong to the royal family. I just tend to them. Have since I was a child,” Jade explained. The only horse that she probably didn’t know more than their owner was Eclipse. Kit had always been attentive to her horse. In fact, she’d always been very specific as to how Jade should take care of Eclipse. “You don’t seem too fond of horses?”

Jade's smile was beautiful and infectious. She seemed suddenly younger than before, with less of the world's weight on her shoulders, and a part of Polly wanted to keep her from ever having to lose that lightness again. But she knew that their time together would end eventually, and she couldn't keep anyone from their duty. Even if, admittedly, the idea of visiting another land did strike her fancy. Just a little bit.

But her own grin faltered, and Polly grimaced. Horses were bad enough as it was. Skittish horses, with their hooves stomping and their tails swishing... "I-I'm sure your rat-catchers and stable cats were well fed." A nervous giggle escaped before she could stop herself, but she shook her head, trying to set the image aside of such a large, uncontrollable animal. "I think if you love them enough, horses can count. Have you had the same ones for very long? I know some people raise them themselves, soon as they're big enough to train.

                        love is an act of faith in another                         person, not an act of surrender.

Read a fanfic that I think @tanthalos and @mythsonly and I would kill if we tried to play out the premise.