a most beautiful smile

She'd never been considered a beauty, her face had been far too severe for that. She'd never wanted love or lovers, nor any distraction that would keep her from achieving her dreams : power and glory. She had gained power, though not in the area that she desired. She had wanted military might, for the king to know her name and call upon her when the realm was in danger. Now she wanted less and less people to know who she was, to know what she could do, to know what she had done. She was fine being viewed as a goddess, as their Edilow, as long as they kept away from her. Sometimes, however, she and her severe face got lonely, though, and there was a certain beauty she found to being consistently covered in a mask of cool, liquid gold. 

She had never been a beauty, but she'd been reborn beautiful. 

If she saw his anger, his fury, hidden or laid bare, she did not comment on it. Anger was part of life, and meant that you were still breathing. Anger meant that you still cared about the moment, that you had a reason to not give up. Anger was natural, and incredibly unimportant. She listened, eyes slowly losing their focus as she let her mind wander, wander, round and round. They all sounded the same, gave the same reasons she was wrong, vowed to never prove her right. Good, go, leave her alone. If she could make one leave without granting them a wish, her life would be worth living at least one more blasted day. 

She practically crowed when she caught him saying he was a witchfinder. "Child, never have the words 'witchfinder' and 'ability to get things done' been connected without sarcasm. I doubt that you're any kind of exception to the rule." Her smile was full of teeth, surprisingly white against the gold of her living mask. "And a monster hunt is not a fight - it is a doomed attempt to wrest glory from those around you. Do you think anyone will remember your name, once it's defeated? No, of course not. If you even hurt it a moment, you will just be included as one of the 'many'. 'Many fought valiantly,' 'many died heroically,' 'many didn't do enough.' You will not be special, you will not have accomplished much, but if showing up so your name can be checked matters so much to you... oh, child. You are better off playing with dolls. At least you can be the hero there." She grasped the rat, her smile turning real. She did not care for animals, for pets, but if he wanted her gone.... well, she wouldn't say no. "She deserves more than you, and few things truly deserve anything else. Well then, go on, get with you."