Levi peered at the face reflected within the glistening mirror. A face even fairer than that of a lady stared back at him. Long, silky strands of golden blonde hair tumbled down to his shoulders like a permanent halo of sunlight.
His delicate nose and sultry, thin lips were complimented by a pair of hazel brown eyes framed with unusually long and thick lashes that are the envy of women. His slender build further blurred his real gender. If it were not for his protruding Adam's apple, most would really see him as woman.
In truth, when he applied at the Amaranth Household as a knight even the steward doubted him. Except, his face may be stunning and all that he still had the upbringing of a man, the aspirations of a man. Though he didn't really like fighting, his father trained him in the ways of the sword. And later on, Juliann ensured he was skilled in it as well.
'You need to be a good, if not the best, fighter. Lest you can't defend yourself from malicious people.'
Juliann's bitingly cold tone reverberated in his ears. Levi knew the underlying meaning in them. He needed to be good in defending himself for he might get abducted again. It happened a few times back in his younger years. Juliann never failed to save him and brought him back.
'I did become good in it. But never good enough to beat him.'
Levi pursed his lips in annoyance. He gingerly traced his face, feeling the smooth and unblemished skin. A ripple of unknown emotion flashed in his eyes.
'Juliann never did like this face of yours, though.'
His thoughts mocked him. As they grew up,
Levi noticed that Juliann refrained from looking at him straight. When he confronted Juliann about it, the man just coldly replied that such soft features were an inconvenience. Levi was offended so much back then, that he ignored Juliann for a month.
He took one last glance at the immaculate face and brushed all the memories away. He turned back and silently headed out. It was time for him to stop running away. He had no concrete reason to anyway. Juliann didn't know in the first place. He didn't know that Levi left because he had started to treat Juliann something more than just a brother.
Levi ran away from the rearing head of a love that was not supposed to be.
---
"President, someone is making a ruckus in the camp. He wouldn't budge from the entrance."
Juliann Ross turned his head to the person who intruded unceremoniously in his tent. The frost in his eyes intensified. The man shivered in fright. It was known in the whole of Merchant Guild that the president absolutely hated being disturbed without rhyme or reason.
"And this concerns me because?"
Juliann put down the quill in his hands unto the pot of ink in his desk. His cold eyes stared directly to the employee.
"Apologies P-president, the... person was insisting on seeing you. He said he wouldn't leave until you meet him." The man stuttered slightly as he answered. A slight tremble evident in his voice.
The president wasn't really a scary person. Only, his cold and distant personality made it hard to approach him. Within the years he had stayed with the Guild, no one has ever seen the President show a semblance of warmth or any other emotion aside from cold indifference.
"Who is it?" Juliann asked curtly. Although he still retained that chilly expression, anyone could feel the slight impatience he was exuding.
"He did not say, President. But he's really pretty. We even thought he was a woman at first." The man answered sheepishly as he scratched his back with uneasy hands.
Juliann froze when he heard the man's reply. He knew a certain guy who fit the description of being as pretty as a woman. He only knew one who does and that one had been missing for years now.
Juliann had been looking for him ever since, looking for that little rebel. But it was as if he vanished from the ends of the world. He did not want to be found, Juliann figured as much. His knuckles tightened unconsciously as he recalled that flawless face which haunted his nights in the past years.
'So he finally decides to show himself.'
He breathed in deeply as he tried to reel his emotions which were normally calm as a lake but were now chaotic as if someone had ceaselessly thrown pebbles in it. He called to the man who had intruded his peace.
"Bring him here." Juliann waved to him dismissively. When he saw that the man was gone, his face which was frosted over showed an undeniable anticipation. Unconsciously, Juliann ran his fingers to his hair and fixed his ruffled sleeves.
It wasn't long before he heard two sets of footstep coming over to his tent. One in particular made him tense. He knew those strides well. Held it in his heart and boggled his mind for years. Juliann heard his staff's request for permission to intrude; he gave his assent after a short pause.
The shuffle of their steps tickled Juliann's ear. He tried to focus on reading the last paragraphs of the document in his hand. He failed. He was stuck on the same sentence, unable to settle his thoughts.
That was when his visitor spoke.
"Still so uptight Juli." The silvery voice rang in Juliann's ears. It was pleasant as ever and he couldn't help but lift his eyes to the speaker. The face that engraved itself in his mind finally appeared in the flesh. He couldn't help the flow of relief flooding his being. Even the perpetual chill of his aura warmed considerably. Except, no one was aware of this except Juliann himself.
"My parents named me Juliann. I'd have to trouble you to struggle saying it all the way through." He stated tonelessly, ignoring the remark Levi made.
"You finally decide to show up. Why so after all the years of running, Vi?" He raised a questioning brow at the man in front of him.
"My parents named me Levi. I'd have to trouble you to struggle saying it all the way through." Levi mimicked his words from before, his cheeks puffed up in irritation. He stomped closer to the chair at the side of the desk where Juliann was seated behind.
"Have you been well?" Juliann inquired, catching the knight off-guard. His exquisite face turning to Juliann's with apparent surprise.