She's sitting at her desk inside her room when midnight arrives. Even though she's been working for nearly twelve hours, barely two pages of work has been done. Her father had told her not to worry about keeping up with all the paperwork, but she wanted to do it as something to help take her mind off everything. Ahren's sudden marriage, her mother's heart attack, and then there was the matter of the selection and him. It's been getting so hard to manage everything at once, and she feels like she's begun to lose her mind.
The tears come before she can stop them. Usually Eadlyn hates crying. It's a sign of weakness—and it makes her cheeks red and smears her makeup. But now… it's more of a stress-reliever. She always feels better after sobbing into a pillow for an hour, which is now a daily occurrence.
By 12:05, her face is pressed against one of many silk pillows. The fabric feels good against her face as Eadlyn lets her emotions out for the first time that day. She tries to keep the sobs as silent as possible, but occasionally they grow louder than she'd like.
A knock on the door interrupts her. Eadlyn gasps and quickly sits up. A quick glance in a mirror confirms her suspicions. She looks like a mess. Her face is red and puffed up, half her hair is loose from the bun and the other half is getting there. She quickly unpins her hair and runs to the bathroom to splash water on her face. It barely helps.
Eadlyn runs to the door and opens it, desperate for whoever was knocking to go away. He's halfway turned away when she sees him.
"Erik," she whispers.
He turns back to her and nearly gasps when he sees her face. "Your Highness, are you alright?"
Eadlyn closes her eyes and answers his question with a slight shake of her head.
Erik presses his lips together. "I'm sorry. I was going to ask to talk to you, but I can leave if you'd prefer to talk later."
She smiles weakly, letting him enter into her room. "No, I'm fine. I just… it's been hard, you know. With work, and mom, and the selection." She closes the door quietly and sets on her bed.
Erik moves his gaze to the floor. "Perhaps I should leave. It may not be the best time for this discussion."
Eadlyn raises an eyebrow. "What discussion?"
He shakes his head,moving toward the door. "Never mind. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"No. What?"
"It will just make you more upset," he whispers, something like shame in his voice. Erik shakes his head. "I shouldn't be here." He begins to move toward the door, but she steps in front of him.
"Tell me what, Erik," she says forcefully.
He refuses to meet her eyes. "No, not yet."
Eadlyn reaches up and grabs his jaw, forcing his blue eyes to meet hers. "Tell me, Eikko."
Erik lets out a nervous shallow breath. "Alright," he says. Eadlyn loosens her grip but does not remove her hand.
He sighs deeply. "Your Highness-"
"Call me Eadlyn," she says, cutting him off.
The tiniest smile plays on his lips, but it vanishes as quickly as it's there. "Eadlyn. I..." He trails off and turns away from her.
Eadlyn watches him curiously. "Erik, are you okay?"
He doesn't answer.
She sets a hand on his shoulder. "Erik, why are yo-"
Erik whirls around to face her, something just short of anger etching his face. "Eadlyn, stop!" His sudden outburst makes her jump back. "Just stop! You can't keep doing this anymore. You're driving me insane!"
"What are you talking about?" she asks, her voice nearly cracking.
"With Henri! You have to stop leading him on!"
"Wha-? I'm not!"
Erik throws his hands up in exasperation. "You are! You can't possibly think it would work out between you two."
"And why couldn't it?" she growls. She crosses her arms over her chest.
"I already told you! It will take years upon years for Henri to learn the slightest bit of English."
"So we'll work around that."
"Really? How would you communicate? Surely you wouldn't want me intruding on your most intimate moments."
Eadlyn grits her teeth. "Leave."
Erik looks down at his feet. "You can't break his heart, Eadlyn. You just can't. He's like a brother to me."
"I know what I'm doing."
"Do you?" He steps towards her. "Do you know how torn up he'll feel when you pick someone else?"
She never was going to pick Henri, no matter how much she cared for him. It wasn't that kind of affection. But nevertheless, it would break her heart if she hurt Henri.
"Is it Kile?"
That stops her short. Kile? she thinks. Would I pick Kile?
"That's none of your business," she says through gritted teeth.
Erik's gaze finds hers. They lock eyes. "Do you love him?"
Eadlyn feels like crying. She does not feel like talking about this now. "I thought you came here for Henri."
His eyes never leave hers. "I came here for me, too."
"You?" she whispers.
Finally, Erik drops his eyes. "I need to leave." He moves to do so, but she blocks his way.
"No. You are not leaving yet." He stops, and his gaze finds hers again. Eadlyn's voice cracks as she says, "What do you mean, Erik?"
Erik turns away from her and sits on her bed. "I need closure. I need to know that you'll be happy and in love."
Eadlyn sits next to him. "Erik, why do you care so much?"
He sucks in a breath. "E-eadlyn, you have no idea how much I care about you."
She leans against his shoulder. "I do."
Erik stands quickly, turning away from her. "No, I don't think you do."
Eadlyn stands and sets a hand on his shoulder, pulling him to face her. She sets her other hand on his face.
"I love you."
The words catch her off guard, but it only takes her a moment to process this. She doesn't stutter when she says, "I love you."
He lets out a strangled laugh. "That's impossible."
Eadlyn smiles. "Nothing is impossible." She pulls his face toward hers and quickly presses her lips against his. She stops a second later. "I love you."
He laughs. "You already said that."
"Not enough." Eadlyn wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him again. Erik's hands tangle into her hair, pulling her closer.
His lips are hot against hers. Though, hot is an understatement if you asked Eadlyn. Steaming, smoldering, burning, more like, she thinks. Nonetheless, she kisses him harder, never wanting to let go. She grabs his shirt and pulls him closer. Eadlyn savors every breath that he heaves, every sigh that he lets loose, every movement his fingers make as they move from her head to her shoulders. She hadn't felt this with Kile. No, this is something more.
Suddenly, Erik pulls away, his chest heaving. "Don't break my heart, Eadlyn."
She shakes her head in confusion. "What do you mean?" she asks breathlessly.
"You can't pick me. We both know that. Please. Let this end without bloodshed. Pick Kile or—or Hale, or Fox, or… I don't know. Eliminate Henri now. Don't let him think he could win."
Eadlyn sighs and squeezes his hand. "Is this about you or Henri?"
"Both," he whispers.
She shakes her head. "I cannot eliminate you. I cannot pick someone I don't love, Erik."
"If you look closer you might see that you do love one of them," he says.
"No. That won't happen. Not with the way I love you."
Erik turns away from her. "You can't keep denying one little detail, Eadlyn. I'm not in the selection."
She shakes her head. "That never mattered to me, and if my parents love me, it won't matter to them either."
"I need to go," he whispers again.
As he stands, Eadlyn grabs his hand, pulling him back down on the bed. "No, you are not going right now."
Erik closes his eyes and lets out a sigh, his breaths uneven, almost as if he's about to cry. "I don't want to, Eadlyn. I really don't. I want to stay with you forever, but I know that's not possible. I have to leave."
She wraps both arms around his neck. "No, you don't. I don't care what people say. I love you, Erik. I've never felt anything like I feel with you. Not with Kile, not with Hale, or Fox, or Henri. I love you."
He kisses her, gently, slowly, like she could break. Her fingers drag through his dark hair as he does the same to her. They whisper into each other's ears things they'd never dared to say in the daytime, they agreed to things they never would have in the light.
And one of which included that she would tell her father about Erik tomorrow.
Hopefully it wouldn't make him like his wife.
(A/N: Hey, guys! Another Eadrik fic! This was an idea I've had for a long time, but I just now got an idea for it! Thanks so much for reading!
Weatherbug02)