Sunbeam

Sunbeam Noble Outcast ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

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^^^From the moment she was born, Sunbeam was destined to become the new head of her family house, to take over her father's seat. Raised to rule and command respect, never allowed to waver or doubt, with only her duty before the Empire and the pride of the noble house standing behind, she barely knew any other side of life. Always surrounded by the stories of the great houses, told how she should live up to her name, Sunbeam became determined to do just that, whatever might be the cost. ^^^Sunbeam wanted to be perfect; she knew the smallest details of rules of etiquette, became a great diplomat and an erudite scholar, trained in swordsmanship and learned mechanics. She strived to be the best in everything. But what Sunbeam could never grasp, was relationships. Her perfectionism, sense of duty and relentless pursuit of excellence quickly caused her to become uninterested in making friends or seeking romance, and she had no time for these sorts of things anyway. In her eyes, it was just diplomacy, and never personal feelings.

^^^Many saw her becoming colder and colder as the years passed, but barely anyone knew just how deep these roots of indifference went. Only when the time for her to take position of the head of their house was approaching did her family realize what endless pressure and Sunbeam's own persinality resulted in. Sunbeam didn't see value in others anymorel the only thing that mattered was family name and her duty to the Empire. But by then, it was late to change anything.

^^^Sunbeam raised high in the Empire, and quickly became known for her exceptional skills - and her indifferent, unfeeling personality. And as her wealth and influence grew, many a young dragon tried to pursue her in hopes of raising their own status, securing an allience between noble houses or even for the challenge of winning her heart. But Sunbeam rejected all advances - she didn't see anyone who could stand with her as an equal, and saw noreason to find a lover otherwise.

^^^But then one night, when Sunbeam was attending one of the balls in the Imperial Palace, she caught an eye of Emperor's son, a young charming Tundra named Dew. Known for his recklessness and easy-going character, living in laziness and wasting time on partying and drinking, Dew was lower than low in her eyes, despite his heritage - his heritage was the only thing he had. No sweet words or optimistic nature mattered to Sunbeam, and she ignored his flirting for months. ^^^Soon after, atmosphere became tense around Sunbeam. For all that she was ever so polite and diplomatic, other nobles could feel her disregard for them, her lack of knowledge of actual emotions shining through and letting her be caught on her actual feelings. Her attitude slowly drove other high-standing dragons annoyed; rejected suitors and their houses felt insulted; even the Emperor started to watch her, for even him Sunbeam didn't respect - she had a duty before the Empire, not its ruler.

The stress of being constantly observed and judged, together with all of her personal studies and projects, started to get to Sunbeam. She forgot that she was still a dragon woth emotions, however weak, and sahe was approaching her breaking point. The last straw became Dew - the young noble just kept following her around, demanding attention and pridefully announcing just how little he cared for his responsibilities. And eventually, Sunbeam snapped. When once again he followed her until they were alone, she yelled at him all what she thought of him: that he was a spoiled child who had no useful skills and was unworthy of being a new ruler, just wasting her time for the fun of it. Fuming, she left the Tundra stunned and confused.

^^^When her anger passed, Sunbeam regretted what she had done. Not only it was a very dangerous move diplomatically, but she doubted that Dew was as useless as she said; she still didn't respect him in the slightest, but he had something she lacked - charisma and empathy. And even if these weren't even his personal merits, just something that came to the Tundra naturally, Sunbeam could see at least some use for a silver tongue and approachable personality. And to make it worse, Dew wore his heart on his sleeve, and the fact that he stopped trailing after Sunbeam didn't pass unnoticed.

^^^To her surprise, soon Dew actually approached her again - this time with an apology. Even more she was confused by the fact that Tundra then proceeded to ask her to help him become better as a person. From his point of view, it meant explaining skills required of a noble, and Sunbeam reluctantly agreed to teach him; part of her counted on this as a political move and another, the one she refused to acknowledge, was curious. And as they spent more time together, the Fae found herself growing attached. Dew wasn't perfect, very far from it, and he wasn't her duty - but she stayed, listening to him joke and flirt, confused why she didn't wish to leave.

^^^The feeling reached its apogee when the whole Imperial court turned agains Sunbeam. A travelling mage who claimed to have prophetic sight entered the capital, and proclaimed for everyone who wished to hear that Sunbeam was a curse of the Empire. That her blood will be the reason why Empire will eventually fall - and with her already being not in favour with the court, other high-standing nobles jumped on the opportunity. Her own house turned on her and joined in the demands, and Emperor himself was eager to declare that she should be exiled. And then, Dew stood up in her defence; and she didn't know what to feel when he accepted being exiled with her in punishment for his defiance. No one really expected it, she thought. ^^^And like this, the two were forced to leave the Empire, having nothing and unsure where to go. Both Sunbeam and Dew quickly discovered that they lacked skills they needed to live as commoners; even Sunbeam quickly admitted that despite what she told Dew earlier, she didn't think of simple skills. She told him about sword-fighting and diplomacy, but neither of them could cook or sew, and they got lost in the desert almost immediately. ^^^The duo were lucky to stumble upon an oasis. A spirit that lived in it noticed the intruders, and liked watching them with each other - essentially left alone, both of them were clinging to each other, and finally started to truly see one another as friends. Intrigued, the spirit helped them to find a way through the desert in exchange for them letting him follow them.

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