Jayce could only hold himself back and watch as Mercy was hoisted into the air with cheers and cries of joy from the soldiers. He felt intense rage when he paid attention to where the older solider Gregor was touching her, feeling annoyed that someone other than him was touching her at all. It all melted away when her smiling face turned to him, her pale minty eyes boring into his. The firelight bounced off of them, giving them a golden sheen at the bottom of her iris. Jayce brought his own drink to his lips, trying to erase any sense of unease with a bit of liquid courage. However, something in him was telling him to take it easy and remain sharp. It was a sense of danger pricking at his skin. His gut was never wrong, but he couldn't figure out what it was. It wasn't until he noticed Mercy chugging her second scooner of silver wine that his concerns grew. Silver wine was a specialty of the Cretor, and had an extremely high alcohol content. Some doctors actually used it as a disinfectant when others were not on hand during war. The scooner she had wouldn't have been filled all the way, probably only just about a quarter but even that would make her fall flat on her face. He watched her as she drank and started tugging at her cloak being surrounded by so many people. Her lips were parted and she was panting, waving her hand in her face to cool herself down. His legs surged forward for a moment but a hand wrapped around his upper arm stopping him in his tracks before he could even start moving.
"Don't worry, I got them to refill it with water." The seductive voice cooed to him making his skin crawl in a sickening feeling. Camille stared up at him with her big jeweled eyes, guarded as usual. She looked at the point of contact between them and quickly removed her slender hand, the firelight glowing off of the golden jewelry around her wrist.
"Thank you for that." His response was gruff and he tried to walk forward again but she stepped inbetween and stopped his advance once again. Her graceful features were sharpened and severe, almost angry in nature as she glared daggers at him.
"I've recieved word from my brother." The last word sent rage flowing into his veins. His head snapped down, taking his eyes off of Mercy to snarl at the woman before him.
"I don't care."
"He wants to meet her."
"That's not happening."
"He said he would like her to come to Theosia and has sent word to the Emperor to--" The crackling of metal and the splash if alcohol made her stop her words. He had become so angry at her words that he lost control of himself for a moment, crushing the solid metal mug in his hand and sending his alcohol in all directions. Camille pursed her lips, unfazed by his outburst.
"You don't own her." He was almost hurt to hear those words fall from her lips. He never thought that he owned Mercy, but he knew that while Camille's intentions may be pure her brothers are less so. He could see how his actions were being perceived as so, and guilt started to burn through his body like his own blood. He wanted to retort, but a small and familiar yelp made his head snap up in an instant. Mercy was teetering towards him breaking off from the crowd, looking intently at her feet while holding her mug to her chest. The liquid had sloshed over and was covering her hands. She looked a little shocked at her now wet hands but kept shuffling to him.
"Jaaaaaayyyyyycccccceeeeeeee!" She yelled out his name, hiccuping with her flushed face. His heart swelled at the sight. Her hair was loose and floating around her, and she pulled at her cloak. For a breif moment, she moved the cloak to the side and the world seemed to stop for Jayce for a moment. Mercy was wearing her white button up blouse, only this time most of the top buttons has at some point come undone. They were open to her mid naval, and no one would have noticed it unless she removed her cloak. Even he only saw it for a flash, but it was enough for him to shove past Camille and drop the broken mug out of his grip.
"Jayce...?" She called out again as he was already running over to her. She was close to the fire and tried to move her cloak again, stumbling a bit too close to the fire. He managed to get to her before she fell, catching her by her arms and holding her up. Her mug fell from her hands and onto the grassy ground, sending the water Camille slipped in all over the bottom of her cloak and most likely soaked into her skirt. She tried to removed the cloak because of the sudden splash but he held her firm. He had moved his hand over the front of her cloak to keep it closed. He didn't notice it right away but his fingers were brushing against the bare skin of her chest under the cloak. It flutter around and for a breif second he saw the skin of her chest again, the top of her breasts visible but nothing more than that. He could feel his sanity slipping away a bit as she leaned against him, now realizing the touch of her skin under his.
"What am I going to do with you?" He managed to breathe out, quaking a bit from sudden nervousness. She blinked up at him lazily, her eyes unfocused and hazy. Her clear skin was flushed pink, and her weak fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt.
"I'm really sorry Jayce." Tears welled in her eyes threatening to spill. As they glistened, panic started to form in him. All eyes were on them as all of a sudden Mercy broke out into large sobs that hurt his soul with every cry.
"I'm so sorry!" She cried out, tears streaming from her eyes non stop. Everyone seemed too stunned to do anything as she wracked heavy sobs. It was a strange juxtaposition to her previous giddy behaviour.
"W-Why are you sorry? You have nothing to apologize about!" Jayce was suddenly in a way no one had seen him before. He was stammering, trying desperately to soothe the crying woman. He was frantic, trying to be as gentle as possible while she was distraught and apologizing profusely. The crowd began to whisper for a moment while looking at the scene before them.
"What's wrong sweetie?" Camille basically pushed herself between Jayce and Mercy, slapping his hands away aggressively so she could stand directly in front of her. She cupped Mercy's cheeks in her palms, rubbing away the smallers girls teats like Jayce wanted to do. He had to hold back from throttling the woman before him.
"I-I-I ruined.... his happy ending." She sobbed and wailed, more tears replacing the ones that Camille rubbed away. Everyone stayed in stunned silence at her meaningless words.
"I think the lass had a bit too much." The crowd burst back into giddy laughter, brushing off her outburst as a drunken haze. They returned to their partying, mingling and floating around the trio.
"Maybe I should get her to lay down for a bit." Jayce tried to reach out but Camille used her entire body to block him.
"I think she needs a woman's company right now." Her eyes flicked up and down the Archduke with disdain in the sapphire orbs. Her look sent fire down his back, annoyed and angry at her blatant disrespect. The only reason he was putting up with it was he knew Mercy would be sad if anything happened to her.
"Why don't you let her decide?" He grinned down at Camille, holding back the urge to pick her up and throw her. Before Camille could even speak Mercy pulled away from her and stumbled forward past her, collapsing into Jayce's chest. Her warmth spread across him, but her actions spoke more in volume than anything. He felt his entire body tremble for a moment at the impact, and his skin tingled and heart fluttered at the moment. The soldiers began to loudly whisper and whistle at the situations, Gregor flashing Jayce a hearty thumbs up. Camille could not hide her disappointment, but the thunderous sobs racking from the tiny girls body made her flinch with obvious care.
"I'm too warm..." Mercy said between sobs, trying to pull the cloak off once more. Jayce wrapped his arms around her, feeling her delicate and thin frame bend under him. He knew that he was much stronger than the average person, so he had to use the upmost care. His body always moved instinctually with care for her.
"N-Not here. You need to fix your blouse." His words pierced her crying and she seemed to calm down for a moment.
"Why do I need to fix it?" She looked up at him with her flushed face and teary eyes, making electric sparks shoot down his spine and legs. There was seductive beauty and then there was this-- a pure sense of innocence and fragility that made her absolutely adorable in his eyes. He know that his face was probably as flushed as hers. Her fingers curling into the soft fabric of his dress shirt didn't help him at all. His subordinates turned as if they didn't see anything and even Camille moved away, silently admitting defeat as she faded into the crowd. He could still sense her anger rolling off of her like steam, and he couldn't help the dark feeling of satisfaction making a pit in his chest. He snapped back to his senses after being overtaken but the sight and cleared his throat.
"You unbuttoned it." He finally said after his lips were willing to move. They felt almost numb.
"Because it's warm." She pulled back a bit, lookinging at her now empty hands.
"Where did it go?" Her cuteness was too much for even him to handle, with her mouth curled into a innocent pout. He tightened the grip he hand on her waist in an attenpt to keep his sanity in check. This situation was becoming more and more dangerous for him.
"You dropped it." Confusion overtook her face and she started patting her damp skirt. Her train of thought was clearly off track, but her tears had stopped as well. She seemed to have been rattle for a moment and was trying to regain her bearings.
"Are you tired?" He felt a sense of familiarity with her than made him speak so casually. She took a second to think over his words before she nodded curtly, leaning against his chest again. His breath hitched in his throat as he felt her push against him.
"Let's bring you to bed then." He leaned down, scooping her up into his arms. She was scarily light, and calm at the situation. She didn't even fight it, just leaned into him as he tried to scurry away out of sight from the whistles and the cheers.