Caspar listens to Lothar, Fritz, and the other commanders ironing out the last aspects of the attack as he notices a man covered in blood walking around the corner with a rifle in hand. At first, he was confused, thinking that it was a soldier returning from the front to report something. Then he notices the uniform the soldier is wearing.
Caspar jumps towards Lothar as he shouts.
"WATCH OUT!"
But he was too late.
BANG!
As the sound of the shot echoes in the room, Caspar had already dragged Lothar to the ground and covered him with his own body. The room bursts into anarchy as Carsten screams, asking about the prince. The guards raise their rifles and shoot the blooded assailant who falls without any resistance and with a satisfied smile plastered on his face.
Caspar sees the man fall dead and looks at the other fallen man underneath him with unrestrained worry written all over his face.
"Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
Asks Caspar as he runs his hands all over Lothar's body to check for any wounds. Lothar, stunned by what had just occurred and by how Caspar had reacted, finally realizes fully what had just happened. This was an assassination attempt if you could call it that since they are in an until recently an enemy position.
Throughout his life, there had been many attempts to kill him. Some were even closer to succeeding than this. The man was weak and unsteady, the recoil of the rifle had pushed the bullet way off its intended target. But everyone else had not yet realized that.
Lothar looks at the face that is mere inches away from his own and says.
"Get off, you're heavy!"
As he speaks, Lothar, from his close proximity, starts noticing the intricacies of Caspar's countenance. His sharp eyebrows and eyes, his straight nose, and particularly full lips. He then spies the stunned look of horror and worry from Caspar. He almost laughs at the new complicated expression that he learned Caspar can make.
After a few seconds of staring at the perfect smiling face underneath him intoxicating him. Caspar blushes slightly as he rushes to stand up while helping Lothar to his feet. But not before Lothar notices the slight blush and deepens his smile.
"Are you alright, your highness?"
Asks Caspar, trying his best to contain his emotions. He knew what he was feeling then. It was the reason his father sent him to the army in the first place. He was attracted to men. He thinks to himself, 'He is a PRINCE Caspar, you have to understand your position!'
Lothar, now standing, takes one look at the corpse of the man that tries to take his life then answers.
"I am fine, the bullet didn't even graze me!"
The room collectively releases a sigh of relief, Lothar was the commander of this front and a prince of Urmacht. If something were to happen to him right now, they at the very least would get court martialed for allowing him to be in a position to be killed and not sufficiently protecting him.
Carsten rushes to Lothar's side, checking him over for any injuries as he says.
"That's why I was against the idea of you entering the trench before it was cleared..."
Lothar cuts the worried and clamoring Carsten off sternly.
"Carsten! This is war, nowhere is ultimately, and I am the leader of this army. I also have to be here for the next phase of the operation."
Carsten lowers his head as he answers softly.
"Yes, your highness."
Lothar looks at the depressed Carsten as he continues.
"Besides, I am completely unharmed. There is no need to speak more of this."
He looks around the room at the other commanders.
"You all have your mission details, go accomplish them."
The people start filing out to get their men ready. As Caspar is leaving, he hears Lothar speak out to him from behind.
"Stay here for a minute, Hahn."
He turns and stands in position, waiting for the prince to continue.
"You can leave, Carsten."
Carsten takes one last look at the rude man that saved his prince as he proceeds to also leave. Soon Caspar and Lothar are by themselves, staring at each other in silence.
Caspar, though, could not endure the silent staring contest for long. Usually, he would not mind staring at a handsome man, but after the thoughts that have clouded his mind earlier, he feels a bit bashful as a slight blush appears on his face.
"You needed something, your highness?"
"Lothar." answers Lothar.
"What?" replies Caspar, confused by the purpose of Lothar stating his name.
"When we are in private, you may call me Lothar, and I will also call you Caspar" answers Lothar with a smile.
"L... Lothar" replies Caspar softly, with his blush ever so slightly deepening.
Lothar smiles, hearing Caspar call him by his given name.
"I wanted to thank you, Caspar, what you did could have saved my life."
"It's alright, your hi... Lothar, anyone around would have done that." Answered Caspar, remembering midway to call him Lothar instead of your highness.
"You were the only one that actually did it, though. And for that, I will make sure that you are properly rewarded when we make it back to Herzen, not that you need any more merits."
Continues Lothar with the ever-present smile he usually has on his face while admiring the slight blush on Caspar's face, which helps to accentuate his somewhat delicate features.
"Thank you, Lothar."
"But for all that to happen, we need to accomplish our mission and end this war. So, Caspar, be safe out there. I want to pin those medals on you while you are still living. You are dismissed."
Caspar nods as he proceeds to leave to get ready for his mission, but before he gets too far away, he turns to face Lothar, with shyness even more evident on his face and says before rushing out.
"You too, Lothar. Stay safe."
The dumbstruck Lothar stands there, taken by the expression that Caspar had shown, only finding himself more rooted in the entanglement of that man as he says for nobody else but himself.
"Honestly, That man..."