"Ajua?!" Artemis gasped, quickly raising his head to gaze into the viridian eyes of the princess. "A-... Avalon?" he breathed, startled to see his very own wife kneeling beside him.

Her expression was unbearable. To say it was blank would be inaccurate, but to say what the expression was, would simply be a guess. Vulnerable, emotional, and embarrassed at being caught in such a state by his strong-willed bride turned his shock into anger.

"Get out!" he growled.

If she he heard him, she made no move to indicate that she had. Instead, she simply stared at him with her undeterminable expression.

"I said get out!" he roared, but still she would not move. "LEAVE!" he all but shouted.

Quietly, she reached out her hands and gently framed his face between the palms of her hands. The gesture startled the prince into silence. His body shook with unnameable emotion as he was forced to look into the shimmering eyes of his wife, whose unreadable expression, slowly turned into the very face of empathy. Absently, he wondered how he didn't notice it sooner. The warmth in her eyes was almost tangible and her tender empathy was for him, just for him. Her touch was soothing, calming, and exactly what he needed in that moment, though he didn't know it until now.