Whenever he look at her in such a fashion, Reinette was compelled to maintain his gaze. Because to look away was a form of submission. Because it sometimes seemed to her most important to meet, rather than submit with this man. Not that she sought to submit by her nature, but she could play at it well enough. And because, Reinette rather thought, that there was something inherently compelling about the chocolate depths of his eyes.

Her chin lifted slightly as their profiles faced one other.

"Because they told me I could not."

It was at one both a simple and complex answer.

"Because they presumed to think I was not high born enough, not school enough. Nothing that would hold his appeal long enough to prove any real threat."

Her voice is direct, and clear. Reinette does not care of they hear.

"So I prove them wrong with my mere presence. I do as they do, only with more skill. I go where they go, only further. I continue to hold the heart of the King, even as our relationship changes, when they cannot even hold his attention."

A whisper of smile appears.

"And I miss no opportunity to remind them of this."