A cloaked figure stood with their back turned facing the window. The room is cast in an eerie darkness, with only dimly lit corner lamps struggling to fend off the encroaching shadows. The air was thick with an unsettling stillness as if the very walls dared not make a sound.
Two men approached the figure with a caution that would prevent their throats from being sliced. Knees stuck to the wood floors, they bowed their head in shame while mumbling gibberish words, unable to admit to their bloodthirsty master that they failed.
"…You failed, didn't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't be trembling like a baby calf before me." The voice of the hypnotic song sounded maturely sweet, compared to aged wine or a siren's melodic tunes that would lead sailors astray.
Both men flinched, their eyes shot with goosebumps and their legs becoming jelly; they bent over, pleading for forgiveness to at least gain light punishment for their crimes. "Forgive us, master! We were ignorant and allowed that wench to live another day though you ordered her death; we are undeserving of forgiveness; please punish us!"
"It's admirable that you admit your mistakes, for this alone I will spare your lives. However, the results of this experiment have proven ever so effective. The cold-hearted Emperor, said to feel no remorse, saved the life of an insignificant woman who had nothing to do with him. How amusing."
"Perhaps it's the perfect time to set things into motion." From the creaking drawer of the desk, the well-taken care of hand, free of callouses, reached inside to pull out a vial of red powder filled halfway of its hand-sized bottle. A knife was dragged out of their sleeve and used to slash the tender skin of their palm through each layer of skin until blood poured like a stream into the vial.
"…Get out, the both of you." With the notion of their tilting head, they scurried along like mice running from a predating serpent. Once the room was left with only their presence, they removed the hood of their cloak to reveal glinting reddish-orange eyes sharp like a blade and waved hair stained the color of garnet crystals.
A sickening smile chiseled into her defined face. After shaking the bottle to mix the blood and powder, she shattered it with a specialized hammer, reverberating the glass until the smoke and blood turned into a demonic spirit enslaved into service of their caller.
"Hello, Master. Have you called for another of my services?" The itty bitty spirit sizing to her palm hovered in the air with invisible wings. Its fading red and white jelly skin became obscure from the dimmed lamps.
"Yes, as before, it's time again to weave a special dream for my dear colleague. We've been idle too long." With a menacing grin that stretched from ear to ear, her lips curled upward to form a smile that sent chills down the spine.
A wicked expression of satisfaction and anticipation, as if relishing the sequence of events, she put into motion like dominos aligned to fall to a light touch.
***
The carriage wheels were covered in every inch of mud from the wet dirt of the passage to Moon Hollow. Finally, they creaked and carefully stopped in front of the enormous mansion, still fully lit from every area.
Two hours passed, and Emris and Ashton had remained asleep by each other's side, her head resting on his leaning shoulder and his near her head, in the area where the sweet aroma of her hair still lingered despite falling into the water.
"We've arrived, My Lady, Your Majesty." The horseman hollered from outside the carriage, startling the two stiff knights on guard with the mention of the Emperor.
Reinfrid popped his head from the window and awkwardly smiled because of the problem he encountered. "Please give us a moment." Reinfrid retracted his head back inside the carriage and fretted, unsure of what to do with the unconscious pair in front of him.
He reached out and tapped Ashton's shoulder, scared to wake him since he tends to be grouchy when waking him from his slumber. "…Yo-Your Majesty, it's time to wake up."
Luckily, Ashton responded well, batting his lashes until he fully emerged from his tired state. Reinfrid felt blessed and thankful that Ashton's reaction was on the mellow side rather than his moody side, where he got angry and annoyed.
"…What is it, Reinfrid?" Once Ashton's senses returned, the first to be used was his sense of smell, when the soft scent of peaches filled his lungs, bringing tranquility to his restless body.
When his eyes shifted to the source, he noticed he'd fallen asleep so close to the person he wanted to stay away from the most. His abyss, the darkening color of sapphire, kept her in his view and clung tight to her sight, avoiding the surrounding scenery.
Breaking the silence, Ashton grabbed Reinfrid's wrist, stopping his hand that almost grazed her shoulder. "What are you doing?" Reinfrid's action broke the connecting gaze of Ashton from Emris' resting face.
"Apologies, Your Majesty, but it looks like you're struggling to wake the lady; I can do it, so no need to worry."
"Who said I wanted to wake her..?" An abrupt line of words tensed the muscles in Reinfrid's face; Ashton's shocking behavior was enough to leave his jaw dropped.
A crooked smile crept upon his face without warning, feeling all the knowledge and sense of understanding of Ashton become useless or malfunctioning, leaving him speechless.
His hand was shoved away from Emris' proximity, "Anyway, we don't need to wake her because… I'll get her off the carriage myself."
"You…????" A brain cell of Reinfrid's popped when Ashton uttered words foreign to his regular language. In a situation like this, most likely, he would crudely wake the woman and kick them off the carriage in a cold manner.
'You?! You don't even like any type of association with people, so why on earth would you offer to get a woman off the carriage of all things???' Reinfrid felt deeply confused, his thoughts fogging up, and he was unsure how to handle such a drastic change in Ashton's personality.
Ashton paid no mind to Reinfrid's dumbstruck expression and positioned his hands to hold her as if she were as fragile as the porcelain of the most delicate doll. He slipped his hands beneath her to grip her legs, then held her thin waist that could entirely be supported with his one hand.
The strands of hair stuck to the seat cushion peeled away when he lifted her into his arms, gently making it so her head was laid on his chest comfortably. Every attempt to move her was handled with care not to wake the sleeping fragile person in his arms.
Ashton got out of the carriage, slowly checking that both her legs and head would not be hit in the carriage door.
"Do you have her penguin?" Ashton moved his eyes over to the side.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Reinfrid raised Conan like one would a trophy, making Conan irritated.
Ashton stepped forward toward the mansion in small strides, enough to keep his body from shaking and waking up Emris.
"Let's head in now, Reinfrid."
***
In a robe and slippers, Warin paced anxiously outside the doorway of the manor. Theodore and the other staff members awake late at night fidgeted at the doorway with him as his quickening steps made them antsy.
"It's gotten too late; Emris should have arrived ages ago. Theodore, gather the knights; I'm going to search for my daughter."
Ella and Theodore's eardrums popped from his absurd stance, though they themselves also worried about Emris. They knew that causing a stir this late at night would bring about only bad things for the Dutchy; praying for a solution, they glanced at each other with Irene, catching the glances in the middle.
"Your grace!" Irene walked up with a brave facade despite her tiny disposition, similar to a mouse, "My Lady is safe; I can feel it! She is smart and cautious; I believe she'll turn up any moment safe and sound."
Her shimmering smile gave solace to the Duke's desperate throbbed heart while also giving the workers peace of mind that the Duke would hold on for a while longer. The new maid brought in by Emris was acknowledged as Emris' greatest supporter by Warin and the rest of the staff.
Irene believed her savior would overcome all obstacles and stand victorious despite all the hardships. She knew that Emris would come home unscathed and safe because that's as much belief she had in her that she would risk speaking out of turn despite her lowly stature.
Amidst the watered-down turmoil, Ashton appeared with a petite lady in hand.
"Emris!" Warin ran to his unconscious daughter, almost losing his slippers in the process. "Your Majesty, what happened? Why is Emris all wet!?"
"It's nothing serious. She fell into the lake, and I saved her as I was nearby. She's only sleeping now, so you shouldn't worry all too much." Ashton felt the stares of the others but ignored explaining all that happened except the part where he'd been following her the whole time.
Warin frowned at her pale face and cold hands; he lifted his hands, waiting for Ashton to pass her to his care, "Thank you for all you've done, Your Majesty. I shall take my daughter and arrange your carriage ride to the Palace."
The grip around her became tighter as Ashton locked her in his embrace. "You shouldn't take her. She'll wake up if you do, Duke Fallow." Warin paused halfway from Emris, wishing for nothing more than to hold his precious daughter and warm her up, but Ashton refused to release her.
"The brisk air and freezing temperature will cause her a cold. Let's head inside before we speak further." Ashton walked ahead of the Duke, striding fast when he felt her body temperature drop an ounce.
Warin and the rest fell mute as if their mouths were sealed with tape while Ashton swept past them in such a hurry that their glimpses of Emris felt like seconds.
"Ella, prepare a warm bath and fresh clothes for Emris when she wakes up."
"Yes, Your Grace." Ella and Irene ran off together to get everything ready in a hurry out of worry that something might happen to their beloved lady.
After giving the rushed order, he headed for the door to try again to remove Emris from Ashton, hoping to pry her from his arms and see her closer himself.
***
Warin followed Ashton, sticking to his side and bringing up any possible chance to take his daughter back from Ashton's anchoring grasp.
"Ahem….Your Majesty, I would like it if you would hand my daughter over to me. I'd like to put her in bed and wake her later when the bath is prepared." Warin outright spoke, his vibrating arms lifting to the perfect length of Emris' petite body.
Emris' damp, stingy hair jumbled up in Ashton's tight-shifting hold; the golden threads of his hair hung loose when he fixed his mind on Emris. He adjusted himself when her hands almost slipped from her lap and waist; he held onto her rather than intending to give her to the Duke.
"Duke Fallow, attempting to take her away will only result in a disturbance of her slumber; I'm sure I informed you of this earlier. Instead of taking her yourself, direct me to her bedroom, and I'll lay her to rest myself."
Considerate thoughts or actions could not belong to Ashton; at least, that's what the people who didn't know him believed. A man with a deposition similar to a lion couldn't be kind; It was illogical, but of all the people who noticed this, Ashton himself didn't acknowledge himself as considerate.
Again, Duke Fallow approached his sleeping daughter, tapping his fingers against her shoulder as lightly as a feather would feel to the touch, and yet she groaned, scrunching up her face in discomfort.
"Ugh…! Mmmm…" Emris turned away from his extended hand, folding inward toward Ashton's chest and clenching his shirt in a fist. Warin flinched when his sweet child he devoted his life to dismissed him for Ashton; he felt uneasy when he forced himself to lift his finger to give directions to Emris' room.
"…Her room…is upstairs, Your Majesty. Down the hall, the first door to the right." Warin sighed heavily, knocking his hand on his forehead in despair.
Reinfrid and Conan stood stiff, unsure of their position in this situation, but Ashton nodded, heading for the stairs with Emris. His coat fell from his forearms and hit his leg as he climbed the marble steps.
'I don't trust that guy, not for a single second. His relationship with her is…abnormal. Right, this isn't good; he shouldn't be left alone with her. I better follow behind and protect her from her ignorance.'
Conan's impression of Emris was that of a baby bird who could do nothing by themselves and always got themselves into danger. The fact she let her guard down around Ashton left him only to believe that she was as stupid as he first thought, but deep down, his soul cracked when danger encountered her first.
Though Conan couldn't admit it, her presence was unforgettable and unimaginable to be without. That's why he hurriedly jumped from Reinfrid's hands and waddled across the floor and up the stairs.
Ashton made it to her room, standing before the wooden carved door with an anticipated cold gaze. He wondered in those short moments if all the answers he'd been looking for would be behind this door.
All he wanted, all he needed, was a simple conclusion to Emris' personality so he could say goodbye to her forever and never be observant of her again. He creaked the door from an inch away since Emris occupied his arms.
A strong sense of coziness and a vivid imprint of habitation presented itself from the small crack of the doorway. It was apparent that she spent most of her time in her room and left her mark all over the walls that now surrounded him.
"So this is what the room of this woman looks like." Ashton peered, examining her closely, "The color scheme fits, and so do the decorations, but I didn't think it would be cluttered with such nonsensical items. These books and paintings of nature hung on the wall; these are all the things she likes?"
His curious eye didn't fade even as he paraded over to her fluffy bed. He threw the sheets away from the spot where he would lay her. He first removed the hand beneath her legs and supported her back while he slipped the coat from her shoulders, then set her down on the untouched cushioned pillow.
The thin cover he placed on her didn't come off as warm to keep her from getting a cold, so Ashton snatched the blankets from her bench in front of her bed and stacked the seven on her to keep her bundled and warm.
Instead of leaving, Ashton pulled a chair by her bedside, sat, and mindlessly stared at her sleep.
"For someone who experienced a close shave from death, she sleeps like an innocent child."
Ashton intensely eyed the careful features of Emris' delicate face, her soft nose, rosy lips, and supple cheeks, and stopped at her closed eyes with her luscious eyelashes. He spotted the redness underneath her eye and focused his stare on that spot specifically.
"Her eyes are red from all her crying; by tomorrow, she might not be able to fully open her swollen eyes. All the tears she shed could fill a couple of pails."
'I've never seen a person cry so much in front of me before. Especially when it wasn't something that I had done to terrify them. For a while, I assumed that she became anxious and horrified when faced with death, that was until her tears became an endless river. It was more she was crying from a depth of pain that she'd been holding back for a long time, her cries more than fear sounded of frustration with what, that I don't know.'
'For someone so happy and loved, I couldn't understand any of her actions. There were times when you appeared fearless and strong as if nothing could break you down, and others when you would become as vulnerable as a scared puppy. Whenever I was sure of who I thought you were, you would flip my judgment of you. I despise the way you were able to make me wonder, but the moment you fell into that water, I knew I had to save you. I was in the water before I even knew what I was doing. This is my duty as the Emperor. Whether I dislike you or not doesn't matter; I'm responsible for protecting my people, including you.'
'You speak the things you want to so freely, and yet you also lie about how you feel, and there's no pattern to the things you lie about. I may not understand you, but I do know one thing: you are a person with a dangerous personality, and I hope we never cross paths again.'
Her motivations confused Ashton, and he wondered what kind of person she was. To him, she looked fragile like glass, but he could also sense her fighting spirit and her desire to fight.
On the outskirts of the bubble that surrounded Ashton and Emris, Conan stood with trembling fists. The eyes that watched Emris bothered him; he felt they were harmful to her well-being; all of Ashton was in his view.
Through all the tension of emotions, a tired hand forced its way up to reach for the air or, rather, someone to come to save them.
"I….I-please anyone….save me. I-I'm begging." Emris cried and pleaded, punching her fists into the air like a claw of a crane, hoping to grasp something in her hand. Her eyelids tightened, and her lips pursed, everything hardening inside her to the point tears were forced from her eyes.
As before, when she called, Ashton reached out and held her hand.
'Was it because of what happened tonight that she is having nightmares?'
Ashton thought it was because of what happened tonight, but for some reason, he felt there was more to her than she'd let on. He sighed and wiped her tears with a single swipe of each eye. Once he laid her hand down on her stomach covered with blankets, he saw the other that clenched the sheets up into a hand-sized ball.
"You're no longer in that place, Lady Fallow. Nothing will happen to you anymore, so rest happily." Ashton patted her hand with a lulling touch, hoping she would no longer be trapped in her nightmares.
Her tears ceased, and so did Ashton's presence at her bedside. At the door, he paused, looking over his shoulder at her one last time with a face of puzzlement. Then, he quietly left not to wake her, thinking it would be the last time he met her.
After he was gone, Conan stomped over to the chair he used, hoping on it, then to her bed. His webbed feet sunk into the stuffed fluffy mattress. The covers slipped a bit, and he moved them, swaddling her like a tiny child.
Once she was okay and secured, he wanted to jump off her bed and sleep on her bench in front of it, but Emris grasped his tiny feathered waist. She yanked him back and held him like a stuffed teddy bear while she slept soundly.
He struggled but slowly allowed himself to feel her warmth, falling victim to her sweet, faint smile and her pungent peach scent that soothes the heart. He hugged her back and let himself be treated as a teddy bear for her sake and secretly for his.
'Never again will I let her walk into danger. I'll protect her using every bit of strength I saved up in my world. If I must waste it, then I'll waste it defending her. Trust me, and you'll be safe from harm.'