A Bard's Tune

Ahhh!! I'm having such a blast writing Lance's romance options — flirting? Teasing? Little hints of interest, small motes of something between you two. It is early and tentative, but, finally, it is here.

(Some of you better pick the option in the Summary to have Lance promise to play you a song — bonus angst points if you broke up with Hadrian or Alessa right before going outside 😋).

I love Hadrian and Alessa with all the devotion of a creator, but I'm so glad to finally delve into the other ROs routes. I know that, in Book One, Alain and Ysbaella got the furthest, but even still, it was just a feeble flicker of courtship. In Book Two, I want all routes to be deep and satisfactory. Can't wait!!

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Edit: Just a little taste 🙈

You smile coyly. "And here I thought the bargaining chip was my pretty/handsome face," you say, only half-joking. 

Lance's fingers make a new rhythm on the lyre. They don't play with the cords, but drum instead on the hollowed end. It's a quick, nervous-like release of some kind of energy. "Ah, but that is just a happy bonus," the bard says then, his accent dripping from every word.

You look at the gold of his tooth, trying and failing to discern what exactly you can read in his smile. The lantern makes shadows of his face and his eyes... his eyes look straight at you. What is he playing at? 

"Is that flattery I hear?" you ask, still coy, but careful. This is a game you didn't expect to enter, but here you are. "Or a slimmer of truth?"

"Is flattery a lie?"

"It can be."

"Then, I speak the truth," Lance declares. 

Liar, it's on the tip of your tongue, but you don't say it. "You speak half-truths, maybe. And here I was only looking for a cheap compliment. Do you make a habit of complicating everything?"

Lance flashes you an honest grin. "I don't believe it's fair for a pot to be calling the kettle black."