His Majesty simply watched her. He didn’t say a word, and neither did he make a move. His body looked completely relaxed on the throne, his long hair sparsely disheveled around his face and back. He was putting on the same clothes she had last seen him in, and nothing had changed about his demeanor. That sudden change that reeked and flowed with some dark and terrifying wasn’t reducing in any way, and the inflamed darkness in his eyes could burn down houses. His lips were still as red as ever, but he looked very gloomy.
Slowly, he trailed his black irises down to her outstretched hand and kept his eyes there too for a few seconds, and Raziah patiently waited for the man to make a move. She thought of the reasons why he hadn’t stirred from that position and thought of the possibility that they had done something to him that made his body numb and paralyzed in that particular spot. Raziah didn’t realize how nervous she was about the whole situation, whether he would take her hand or not, or he would walk down by himself and simply walk away just like he did the last time, but she diligently waited for his response, till his eyes moved back up to meet hers.
Her eyes didn’t change, and neither did his. Raziah didn’t know what he was looking for, but his intense gaze gave her the feeling that he was trying to find something within her before he would make his move. Both of them stood there, unmoving and even though it was just for a few seconds, they both knew it felt much longer than that.
Aragon stirred in the slightest, finally raising his hand and placing it on her hand. He emerged from the throne and stepped down the small steps to meet her.
"Are you well?" She enquired, even though there wasn’t a scratch on his body. He didn’t reply, instead, he took the lead, pulling her with him as they walked out of the room, leaving acacia and Tati’s mouth hanging as the couple walked past them, heading out of the cave-like house. Aragon was holding Raziah’s injured arm, but both of them didn’t seem to care or even notice, and Raziah was mostly relieved that he was at least not too mad at her anymore.
They proceeded out of the place with him still leading the way, and once they came out in the open again, Aragon switched places with his wife. No words left his lips, but the way he softly nudged her forward made her believe he was trying to tell her that she would be the one to protect him Incase anything comes up, and Raziah wouldn’t have had it any other way.
They walked out with Raziah lowering back the visor. Even though it was already dark outside, she still needed complete darkness for her senses to awaken, and she was fully alert to every small noise around her. Aragon disregarded the bodies around them, focusing on her alone. He wanted to know why she turns herself into a blind person whenever she was in battle because even with his vast knowledge he just couldn’t comprehend her most of the time. That spellbinding moment she had trapped him in when she asked him to take her hand was almost enough to rock his world, and reminded him of the night he had married her.
These little things didn’t bother him in the past, but now...
Raziah tactically crossed over the bodies around him, while making sure his Majesty was still close behind her. It seems like the battle was already over, and since they had gotten back the hostage, Erandell must have won right? Now it was just left to her to get him back home safe and sound, except that she had no idea where to go.
Once they were safely far away from the battlefield with only mild attacks from the men who were still crawling lazily on the ground, already half-dead, Raziah pulled back her visor and opened her eyes. The air was clear around where they stood, and she could breathe a little better now.
She was just about to look at him when that sense of insecurity rocketed around her again. Staying around her husband’s range of aura was already making her feel insecure, and now something that felt different than his made her goosebumps even worse, then she felt herself getting pulled into a race as Aragon grabbed her hand once again, and they sprinted into the forest.
Raziah kept glancing back, knowing whatever it was is after them, following their tails fast. She ran with her husband as fast as she could, because it was already clear enough that whatever this new threat was, she wasn’t strong enough to take care of it, or else he would have nudged her forward. What shocked her now was how he knew the presence was dangerous too, and they needed to get out of there.
He suddenly gripped her hand tighter, and his course drastically changed when he monotonously swept her off her feet smoothly, pulling her a little roughly into his arms... And then took off like the wind itself.
Raziah’s eyes widened in shock, but she quickly grabbed onto him as he moved through the forest fluidly, the wind crashing onto her face. It didn’t help that Raziah was even more terrified of him now, and worried at the same time because she recalled what Acacia had told her about the drug that could give them heightened physical strength, and thought maybe her husband had also been drugged. The worse part of it was that the presence behind them wasn’t getting any further away, like this frightening speed her husband was moving at wasn’t enough to outrun whoever it was.
His hair danced with the wind, and her focus came back to his blunt face, and everything else disappeared. Being uncomfortable around him wasn’t an option anymore, or else she might not be able to carry out her duties properly. She needed to find a way to turn him back to that wicked and dubious human he used to be.
Her hazel eyes zoned in on the area around his neck, and that was when she noticed something there. It looked like a burn on his skin, and she wouldn’t have noticed it if not that the wind had shifted his shirt a bit, and she was able to see it. Raziah had bathed her husband before and was more than sure that wasn’t on his skin before.
’ Are you well? ’
’ What happened back there? ’
’ Who touched you? ’
’ I arrived too late, right? ’
’ What made you like this? ’
’ How long will you remain like this? ’
’ What can I do to help? ’
’ You’re scaring me ’
The words kept repeating themselves in the princess’s mind, but they could hardly make it to the tip of her lips. She already knew that she was a failure to him. She already knew that she couldn’t be a perfect wife to him, and she was trying her best but sometimes...she fails because she makes the wrong decision. It was already a blessing in itself that a man like him would choose someone as uninteresting and laid back as herself, and it was driving her crazy that she wasn’t even trying. She knows she can’t change herself, but according to her mother’s words, she could... Try for him while finding a way to break their relationship.
It was more difficult to do than said. But she would try, all for her mother.
"Your Majesty," She gulped softly, "I’m sor.. "
The sound of heavily rushing water had Raziah snapping her head from his face, staring to her left. It seems like they were approaching a cliff, and there wasn’t without a doubt a waterfall there. But her husband wasn’t slowing down, and that was when she noticed her goosebumps had calmed down a bit and the presence following them was gone too.
"Your Majesty, I think..." She tried to alert him when he turned to look at her, and she knew her answer.
He wasn’t planning to stop. They were jumping.
In the night, his lengthy movements and Shadow moved past the trees, hardly making any noise with his foot. The moon was out already, casting its light upon everything except the man who kept himself hidden, with the woman holding onto him. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢
They came into an open field, where the waterfall was located and Raziah sighted the cliff they were jumping off from. The waterfall was right opposite them, but nonetheless, they were still gonna descend into its raging waters. But... The location looked so similar.
The fireflies were all around the waterfall, and the golden red hue it gave the environment was something she could gaze at for the whole night. The greenish color of the rocks gave the water the same shade of color, and it Looked just like the lake her husband had brought her to the other day, the only difference being this one was a big waterfall.
And then, He jumped.
She held onto him even tighter, her eyes moving back to his dim face. Suddenly, she started recalling Caius’s words to her for the remaining half of their journey to Erandell. The little boy didn’t shut up about how weird she was, and how much she resembled snow-white even though Fabia had yelled at him times without number for him to hold his tongue. Caius had told her about the other stories he knew about princesses, but Raziah remembered one in particular - and it made a bit of sense when she correlated it with her mother’s words.
Raziah didn’t bother to think it through. All she knew was that they were close enough now, and even in the slightest maybe it would work. Her mind went blank as she reached out with her bloody hands, and tipped his face to look at her.
And as they fell under the moonlight, and were surrounded by the beautiful scenery, she reached in and pressed her soft lips against his parched ones.
Just then, A firefly passed between their faces.
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