"Marry me, Sheila!"
"NOOO! STOP SAYING THAT ALREADY OR I AM GOING TO CAVE YOUR HEAD IN!"
Sheila screamed her reply whilst sprinting away from the lovesick prince.
At this point there was no denying it. Something had gone wrong with the prince.
He had gone completely nuts.
"STOP CHASING ME YOU STUPID PERVERT!"
She ran despite her threat of a world of pain. From the moment the prince had brought her into his room, locking out her maids and his guards along with them, he had been shoving his declarations of love against her face, so much so she had no choice but to flee. But the doors were locked. She could only run circles around the confined space and try as much as possible to avoid hurting him.
"Kyaah!"
He dived and caught her just as she tried leaping over the bed. They rolled across it together, nearing the edge before stopping, and then he pulled her into a bear hug from behind.
"Alright, calm down. I'm just playing with you," he whispered in her ear.
She groaned and stopped resisting.
"...Let go already," she said after about twenty minutes, during which his grip had not loosened even slightly.
"Please... a little longer," he responded.
She caught the tone of his voice. Something pained. Something that made her frown.
"What's wrong, El?" she asked. "Did something happen with Aegon?"
He gave no reply.
She decided not to press the issue. Instead she made herself more comfortable in his arms, shifting until she settled.
"I can't stay too long, mind you. It took a lot to get father to allow me to come here on my own. If I don't keep my promise of returning before sundown, I don't even want to imagine what he'll do," she groaned in annoyance, then slowly reached her hand back until her fingers slipped past his cheek and into his hair.
"...You're sure you're not doing this for perverted reasons?" she asked with squinted eyes, feeling something hard pressing against her from behind.
The young prince said nothing.
"...Hey. Why didn't you visit all this time?" she asked, a little more quietly. "I'm definitely not asking because I missed you, but... why?" She paused. "If you wanted to see me this much, why didn't you just visit?"
Still nothing.
She closed her eyes and let herself feel his touch.
Until she noticed something.
"AURELIUS, YOU BASTARD!"
She spat it out the moment she realized where the young man's hands had been this entire time. She tried to pry them away but he was adamant.
"Let go, you pervert!"
She twisted and turned until she was finally able to see his face.
That froze her instantly.
His eyes were shut tight. He appeared to be asleep. A single tear was making its way slowly down his cheek.
"El," she said softly, feeling his hands begin to loosen. She caught them before they could drop, turning to cradle his face in her hands.
"Just what happened to you?"
She bit her lower lip.
Then she pulled him into a hug, wrapping herself around him fully.
"Is this good enough?" she asked, then held tighter, her legs hooking around his as she rolled them both toward the center of the bed, reaching for the bedspread and drawing it over them.
He really fell asleep. He must have been so relieved to see me.
With the rolling he had ended up on top of her, his face close enough that she only had to lean in slightly.
She pressed a quiet kiss to his forehead.
"...You haven't been sleeping at all, have you?" she asked no one but herself, scanning every detail of his face.
She exhaled slowly.
Then closed her own eyes.
"You're getting me scared, El. I don't want to lose you..."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
"She left."
Lorrelle mused it quietly, sitting upright on the bed.
He looked around for a moment before catching a glimpse of something on the desk at the corner of the bed. He crawled toward it and picked it up.
"A letter," he muttered, then unfolded it and read.
"Dear idiot Lorrelle, since you have refused to wake up on your own, I thought it best to leave you be. But bear in mind, you still owe me the reason for not visiting for the past six months, and will definitely pay a gruesome price for forcing me into your bed."
He paused at that part with a slight grimace, wondering what would happen if her overprotective, monstrous father were to read that particular sentence out of context.
"Don't make me visit again or else I will permanently disfigure your balls. Yes, this is a warning, a threat, or whatever you prefer to call it. So see to it that you visit me more often than not."
"From your beautiful fiancée, Sheila."
He read it to the end, then smiled.
He folded the letter carefully and tucked it somewhere safe.
Then he heard the sound.
Click.
The door came open, and in walked Sarah to which he frowned.
"...What is it?"