talesofshipping:

The butler appeared not a minute after the call of his master, brows lifting inquisitively as he observed Ciel’s frantic awakening. Immediately, he percieved there was more to the boy’s panicked state than just the fact he had ‘overslept’. Afterall, Sebastian had already made the necessary arrangements to the young lord’s agenda for today as to allow him the extra time— he wasn’t so irresponsible as to purposely attempt to ruin a perfect schedule.

So then, why the temporary flicker of frenzy in his eyes? Ciel had placed the capture of ‘Jack the Ripper’ above saving the life of Madam Red, therefore curing the Queen’s concerns first and foremost. It could not have been guilt, he reasoned, silently analyzing yesterday’s events in his mind. But there was something there, something rare and foreign that Sebastian felt he might not get the chance to see again so soon. 

“Your body required more rest than usual in order to recover completely.” he stated with nonchalance. Maroon strands of hair fell delicately over scarlet hues as he tilted his head innocently to the side, a small smile forming on the edges of his lips.

“…”

“Did you sleep well?”

A heavy, frustrated sigh would leave the young Earl’s lips, shooting the butler a glare. He would stay silent throughout the process of getting him changed — almost even a stubborn refusal to answer him, much like a troublesome child. Only when all was done and the eyepatch had been tied up did he speak, though by his tone, he was quite obviously irritated.

And not just because Sebastian had not woken up on time, too.

He had lost something.

Something he’d never get back.

… not for the first time, either.

“You know very well that no matter how prepared in advance you are, I cannot slack off on my own work. No matter the events of the day before, you must never fail to wake me up early — understand, Sebastian?“ An order, of course. Ciel couldn’t let himself soften up and let ‘small’ things like this slip into his little shell. He had to keep moving forward, no matter what. That was the only way.

That was his only reason for living.

Most would preach to him with no end about how living for revenge was no good, but he didn’t care.

The mark burned into his skin continued to fuel his anger, and it would never go away. Not until he had avenged his name.

Though to answer Sebastian’s last question, Ciel would narrow his eyes — of course, there was no hiding things from the demon — of course, there were things that could be hidden and was still hidden from the butler’s knowledge, but some things he could just see through. Even so, Ciel would avert his gaze. ”Aa. A nice, long rest; all thanks to you. Happy?”

” —And? What do you have prepared today? “ He was talking about lunch, of course — mainly only caring about the dessert. No surprise there.

Ah, there’s so much red. 

You’re covered in it, aren’t you — Ciel?

You, seated upon a tall throne with such a frail body, a crown much too large placed atop your head. One by one they all fall at your feet, sprayed with red; one by one you lose them all, creating a crimson sea below your feet. 

Such an evil king you are, without so much as batting an eyelash do you continue to fight, no matter the consequences. No matter the lives lost.

—- Aren’t you,

—— lonely,

Ciel — ?

Fortunately for the young Earl, the inescapable illusion ended, though he woke up with quite a start. Out of breath for some reason, a temporary spark of delirium could probably have been noticed in Ciel’s eyes, shaking his head in an attempt to clear it. Of course, any death — especially one of such close relations — would affect another. And as much as the boy disliked being called such (unless it was his own words), he was only a child. 

Reaching for the eyepatch at his bedside, eyes would flicker to the antique clock seated atop it — and his eyes widened.

— 1:00PM

“ … “

” Se—ba—stian! Why didn’t you wake me up? I overslept, all thanks to you! “

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How refreshing it was to bring such a pure maiden close to him. Tettere had nearly forgotten the allure of innocence. Despite his princess’ beauty and elegance, she also had the charm of angel; such qualities only strengthened his desire to protect her all the more.

The prince could feel the heat emerging from the pink that adorned her cheeks, giving him all the more motivation to keep them nestled against one another. Oh, but as her lips parted in hesitation to speak, he found his gaze quickly fixated on them. He was captivated; curious of her taste. Intoxicated by her sweet scent, the lids of his eyes began to fall until the sound of her voice abruptly awoke him from his brief trance.

”..Ah?”

The corners of his mouth curved back into a charming smile, their previously intertwined fingers loosening as his hands moved to her waist; Lifting her up into the air, he twirled her effortlessly before allowing their skin to touch once more. 

“A splendid suggestion!” 

“Shall I carry you there?”

A barely audible squeak would escape the young maiden’s lips as her prince hoisted her up into the air, hands tightly but gently holding onto Tettere’s shoulders to reassure herself that she wasn’t about to fall. “ M-My Prince! “ The princess flailed ever so slightly, though as she calmed down, Dorn would wrap her arms around the other, planting a light kiss to his cheek before dropping herself gracefully back onto her feet. Her face couldn’t get any redder than this.

“ It is alright, my dear Prince! I am able to walk on my own, so I dare not burden you with my own weight! “ Heavy or not, she would hate for them to trip and fall somewhere, despite how reliable Tettere was. There was probably no chance that they would fall all over each other, but if it ever did happen, it would indeed be embarrassing — especially if there were to be witnesses.

“ Now, shall we go? “ Maybe if he leaned in close enough, he would hear her heart pounding hard against her chest at the thought of heading for such a beautiful place with her most beloved.

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It was a shame that he was unable to read further into her feelings, having only the ability to take her word; a consequence of not knowing her well. Still, it didn’t appear that her happiness was fake— even if the way she pushed away her thoughts of the bad things to come was only a facade. Perhaps by inadvertently distracting her from the curse, he was merely carrying out his job as her perfect prince.

Redirecting his attention to her, he allowed all stray thoughts to dissipate. Now simply wasn’t the time. He watched as she closed the door behind her, chuckling as she agreed to his request. It was only natural, he concluded, for two fated individuals to wish for the other’s presence. Therefore, he felt little regret in having sought her out.

His head tilted slightly to the side as she finished drying her hair, strands of blonde gently falling past his scarlet eyes. The prince blinked curiously in her direction as she placed the towel away until finally, her hand found its way to his. Seizing the moment, he intertwined their fingers before pulling her closer, lovingly nuzzling her cheek with his own.

“Anything at all, meine Prinzessin?”

There was nothing extraordinary about how affectionate the prince was toward her, but yet; the princess had once fallen into a deep sleep without yet knowing love, and to wake up and to be surrounded by it .. was something that certainly needed getting used to. Though it certainly wasn’t unwelcome — she embraced this feeling with all her heart, this man who had so suddenly come into her life, who had saved her — and arguably, he had saved the entire castle’s inhabitants as well. Dorn was more grateful than ever that it had been he who she had awoken to.

All rambling aside, the princess’ cheeks were now flushed a brilliant pink, mouth widening speechlessly as she made futile attempts to form words. No matter the years she had been asleep, she was of a young age nonetheless. Most would react this way, though that didn’t stop her from getting embarrassed.

“ I— Ah .. “

“ If you insist, then .. it is not much, but shall we take a walk through that lovely garden of mine? I long to see my beloved roses; it has been a while, perhaps they are in full bloom, now ! ” The princess so ardently adored roses after all; most of her dresses and clothing were adorned with them, and she had wanted to bring a vase of a few red ones to place at her bedside for some time now.

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His eyes first looked to the towel that was temporarily serving as a wrapping before raising to meet with her lively expression. He could immediately deduce that she had most likely been showering, considering the current status of her hair. Finding her smile contagious, he nodded and returned the enthusiastic greeting. 

“Guten morgen! I pray this is not a bad time?”

Watching her step aside, he graciously took the invitation to come in. It appeared that his previous worries were for naught, and a sense of relief overcame him as a result. Simply seeing her in such a cheerful mood was enough to relieve him of any anxiety. He should have known better! His ideal bride was obviously perfect.

“I had hoped to spend this day with you.” he added genuinely, bowing a bit out of politeness.  While it was true that he had saved her, and that they were to be wed, he certainly wished to know more about his princess on a personal level and manners were always a requirement for royalty.

“May I have this pleasure?”

” Of course not! So long as it is you, there is never a bad time. “

It went without saying that Dorn would worry about the curse. She has had enough of them for a lifetime, and even Aprikose couldn’t do much about this one now. They could only pray that their future child would not meet such a cruel fate. She wouldn’t allow it, certainly not! .. At least, if only just willpower alone could fight against a curse of such strong magical power. She was a normal human in every sense, but.. ah, it was depressing to think about.

She had simply not wanted to worry her beloved by showing such thoughts, plastering a smile over her features as she closed the door behind her. ” Ah — I had been wishing the same thing! I would love to, my dear prince! “ The princess would continue to brush slender digits through blonde strands of hair, using the towel soak up all the excess water that dripped off as to not get water everywhere. 

Only when it had stopped dripping did the princess hang the towel up to dry, returning to the prince and taking his hand with a bright smile. “ What do you have in mind? I am fine with anything, so long as we are together. “

talesofshipping:

SO EVERYONE DIDNT REALLY KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON THEY JUST KINDA DID THEIR THINGS AGAIN ONCE THEY WERE AWAKE and whenever the prince tells them that he saved the princess from an eternal sleep they just kinda laugh because what eternal sleep when did that happen hahahaha and oh they’re really thrilled with the marriage that also spontaneously came out of nowhere and the royalty are planning a really nice one for them

Yet, it didn’t appear that many had taken the words of AlteRose into consideration. To think that the witch may have damned their future newborn child with an omen was an outrage! The prince couldn’t particularly blame those who chose to forget about her words in favor of the overjoyed atmosphere, but he suspected that his princess would not so easily cast aside the curse.

Determined to seek her out, he searched the castle halls for his ideal bride, stopping several servants to ask for the last time they had seen her— and where. When many suggested that she had not left her room, he decided to pay that very place a visit.

—

Gloved fingertips curled as he gently flicked his wrist to knock against her door. He paused, waiting for any type of response. When only silence was returned, he called out to her softly.

“Meine liebe?”

Having only just awoken, the princess had went off to take a quick bath to refresh herself, and only hurried to finish when she heard that first knock. Quickly but gracefully would she drain the water, drying herself before slipping into a thin, light pink gown, wrapping a towel around her shoulders to keep her hair, still wet, from soaking the dress.

Though they had not met very long ago, this was the man who had awakened her — saved her, even. A prince fitting for a noble queen such as herself, one might even say! Just as she were his perfect Elys, he was her perfect prince, and thoughts like these were what ran through her mind as she made her way to the door, cheeks becoming a tad pink.

Opening the door, Dornroschen would give him a soft smile, stepping aside to invite him in. ” Mein prinz! Guten morgen! “ A cheerful greeting.

It was weird. 

When they first met, she.. she had thought he was creepy. She had wanted to keep as much distance away from him as possible. He gave her a sense of danger, to stay away from him, to avoid him.. but—
Here she was.
Wordlessly caught up in their moment, hands would clumsily fumble toward each other, hesitating a tad as their fingers made contact — Leia’s cheeks became flushed with a warm pink as fingers slid between finger, the man’s bigger hands enveloping her own, smaller one.

It had been so long since they met. Due to a lot of unfortunate circumstances they had run into each other time after time without fail, and though Leia used to think of it as bad luck, that was no longer so. She no longer feared him. And if the other would allow it, she would like to run into him again, day after day, second after second — she wanted to be next to him for whatever forever meant.

“ Thank you for being by my side. “ The meaningful words were whispered under her breath, just audible enough for Jin to hear, the warmth of his hand warming up more than just her own.

It wasn’t enough.

She wasn’t done here. There was still so much more that had to be done, but—!

An injury.

The half-elf had sustained an injury in her last battle, and she was unable to heal it. It dragged her down day after day, her body feeling weaker and more drained by the second. Her stubbornness would be her downfall— Alice had refused to tell anyone about this, not even Decus. Though it was obvious that the other had caught on to something being wrong, he hadn’t spoken up about it just yet, and Alice was glad for that — because even if she lied in response, he’d be able to see through it immediately.

Luckily enough, he had not been there to see the battle that had turned out to be a complete failure, resulting in herself being wounded and — though most of them healed, one did not. 

Despite all this, the vanguard commander continued to push herself, not allowing herself any rest except for nighttime, though most of that rest had been sleepless as well. Knowing full well that she had much harder battles ahead, the half-elf still continued to keep quiet about how much she was suffering, her pride not allowing her to slip even a single word.

— — — 

Unfortunately, Decus spoke up.

And with Alice’s refusal to answer him, it only confirmed his suspicions even more, turning it into a one-sided argument between the two, with Alice stomping off and refusing to listen. 

He was only worried for her — she knew that. But with how prideful the half-elf was, she refused to show weakness. Even if it meant death, she wouldn’t show it.

— — —

.. And result in death it will. 

A moment of hesitation was all it needed.

Even with Decus on the same battlefield, he couldn’t make it in time. It was unexpected that she would just go down like that, and before he could reach her, the blade had run through, large amounts of blood staining her brightly-hued clothing. When she fell, she would find herself in Decus’ arms, and— were those.. tears? No, not his.. they were her own. Though soon, though her vision had become blurred with both the tears and her life slipping away beyond help, the half-elf managed to crack a smile.

It was a warm and genuine smile, fitting of the cute facial features she had. This would be the first and last time that Decus would see this expression of hers. This would be the last time he saw any expression from her at all.

“ Decus.. I’m sorry. “

There was more she had to say — but with the huge amounts of blood lost and the battle still going on in the background, her tiny body would go limp, a tiny hand that had been searching for his dropped, hanging loosely at her side.

Alice was dead.

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“—-?!”

The boy froze in place as she uttered his true name, eyes staring blankly ahead as if he were suddenly drawn into a trance. The mere mention of it caught him completely by surprise, considering he hadn’t noticed her acting any different throughout the day; in fact, it had just been another usual breath of fresh air, so why then, would she bring such a thing up now, of all things..? Of all times..?

Quickly, he lost sight of anything that was happening around them. Memories, ones that had only been given to him some time ago, reverberated in his mind as all of them rushed to be acknowledged. It wasn’t .. physically painful, not like it had been before, but it still overwhelmed him, especially considering this sort of thing wasn’t exactly common.

It was true that he kept most of his past a secret. But somehow, he had been able to trust Mi-ki enough to tell her what had happened to him— how he died. He figured that maybe she knew something he didn’t, or would have been able to see something he couldn’t. In the end, he was right. Her view of things was different, and she alone helped him realize what it was the little, eight-year-old boy inside him had wanted.

To be called back.

Although he felt her hand gripping his, he continued to make no movement. He was still, temporarily, locked in this position until he could organize his thoughts and be able to respond coherently. For a brief second, his lip trembled as he attempted to speak back to her.. but it was to no avail.

Izumi had known many facts about the pasts of the group. Particularly because he had been using such information to his advantage while he had still been the enemy of the trio. He had been primarily discovering more about Takuto and Mitsuki— what he knew of Meroko was little, and had not been as heavily researched. Even when she had first become his partner, he had tried to stay as far away from her as possible. So likewise, he hadn’t shared much about himself to her.

“…stop, Meroko.”

How ironic, the fact that he had called her by her first name entirely and not by the usual nickname indicated his own seriousness. This wasn’t something he could just easily joke about and move on. He wasn’t even currently able to return her gaze, avoiding eye contact in hopes that she would drop the subject. He wasn’t sure just how much she knew, or what it was she hoped to accomplish by repeating his name, but there was nothing more he wanted to say— or hear, for that matter.

” No. “

It was a firm answer, her grip on his hand growing tighter. She realized how much this was hurting him, but .. since he had always done his best to be there for her, to chase after her after realizing his mistake — it was her turn again to be there for him. To show him that whatever had happened in the past was over and done, that they were living a second, better life now. That he had her, that he’d never be alone. That no matter what happened, he would always be called back. And if he were ever to be stuck in that railway crossing again .. Meroko would be there to call him back. If he ignored her, she’d pull him. If he refused to budge, she would stand there with him. 

.. He could assume that this was because Meroko hated to be alone. That if she continued to cling to him, she wouldn’t have to worry about it. That she was only using him so that she wouldn’t have to be by herself, but — although that used to be true, it no longer was. If they were both using each other, then so be it. But what matters is that they’re happy with each other. 

They were happy.

And yes, she was being unfair. If their positions were reversed right now and Izumi had been the one bringing back the memories of her past, she would no doubt break down and resort to violence, even so much as run away somewhere he couldn’t find her, even go so far as to put a barrier around herself so that he wouldn’t be able to find her no matter how he tried or what he did.

She didn’t know anything, no. Mitsuki wouldn’t have told her — it’s why the group could trust her. They weren’t friends, but .. Mitsuki could have been considered a friend they could trust in. And although Meroko would never be able to get rid of that lasting envy of the girl, who, unlike herself, was so strong, Mitsuki would always hold a special place in all of their hearts. And although she didn’t tell Meroko anything about Izumi, she did ask her to do one thing.

“Meroko .. one day, please call him ‘Lio’. Please free him. After all, you’re the only one who can do it.”

With just those words, tons of unspoken things had been told to her. To free Izumi.. although the ending to their little adventure could be considered a ‘happy’ one, there were still a lot of things left unsaid. And no matter how much Meroko would hate having her past brought up, she was bringing up Izumi’s. And although she wasn’t asking for him to tell her about it, all she wanted was to tell him that he was free. Free from whatever chains bound him to how he lived and how he died.

Pulling him close, she would hold his head to her chest like a mother comforting her wounded child, tenderly placing her hand atop his head, gently caressing the younger male’s head. Although neither of them were clear about just how huge their age gap was, right now, Meroko felt the need to act like a motherly figure as opposed to a significant other.

And she probably wouldn’t realize the emotions that she poured into Izumi just by doing this — giving him the warmth of a mother, the loving and kindness that he should always have received without end. It was funny really, that his lover would be the one trying to comfort him like this.

“ It’s alright now—.. “

“ ..—Lio. “

” Li…o. “

It had slipped out.

Izumi Lio. That was Izumi’s Shinigami name, but.. Meroko had spent enough time with Izumi now to notice that to Izumi, the name Lio was.. different. It wasn’t like hers, which bore almost no resemblance to her human name except for the fact that it was just the characters all mixed around. 

The couple had been lazing around doing nothing, watching over Takuto and Mitsuki like they usually did when they had nothing better to do. It was kind of lonely that they couldn’t see each other anymore, and even they had decided not to meddle with the humans any longer, but.. they had to be grateful that they had each other. It may have been even more lonely if it were Izumi that became human alongside Mitsuki, or Meroko. The two were paired up perfectly now, and they were almost even.. happy. 

Although Meroko’s loneliness was something that would never go away — it was the major reason for her suicide after all, and it was something that would haunt her forever — but Mitsuki said that this was a chance. And the two Shinigami were taking full advantage of that chance by being together. Literally all the time. There’s no doubt either to them having done certain things behind closed doors, but let’s not get into that. For now.

But surely enough, a mere whisper of that name had caught his attention, and his reaction made it obvious that all her suspicions were true — even though Meroko vaguely knew about Izumi’s past, she had never asked for any sort of detailed explanation, since she wouldn’t have liked it very much if he asked her for any detailed explanation of her own past. It was only respect, because nothing hurt greater than remembering how they once lived.

But despite knowing the memories she would trigger just by uttering that name, she stepped forward, firmly gripping Izumi’s hand and looking him in the eye.

” Lio… “

She would keep on repeating it, letting the name roll off her tongue over and over — strangely, with just that one name, she felt like she was reaching over to a part of Izumi’s heart that only Mitsuki had touched; ‘she’s the one that i want to be with.. when i’m lonely.’

” Lio, Lio, Lio .. “

Was it jealousy? That it wasn’t Meroko, but Mitsuki who had touched so far into his heart? Even though she knew that there was a big place in his heart just for herself, it still wasn’t enough. She greatly envied Mitsuki, who Izumi could open up to like that, so wordlessly but at the same time crying out a million things to her.