"I'm so tired of this."

Oralie glanced up at Kenric, frowning. "Tired of what?"

"I'm tired of hiding this," he said, "I love you, Oralie. It's stupid that I can't love you, just because we're councillors."

Oralie went quiet. It was stupid, yes, but it had been a rule since the days of the Ancients. There was nothing the two of them could do to change that. She said as much to Kenric. Though she did love him, too. He was such a sweet guy, handsome too... His heart was hers, she knew it. And hers was his.

But it couldn't be. It shouldn't be.

At this point, she was fairly surprised that nobody had noticed, or called them out on it all.

She crossed the room and wrapped her arms tightly around Kenric. "I love you too. But we both know that we can't do anything about it. Not without both of us resigning."

He leaned to gently kiss her forehead. "I know..."

And then he went quiet. "But... If we can stay with each other, like this..."

"Everything should be fine," she finished for him, smiling warmly.

He nodded, gently squeezing her. "Everything should be fine."