A/N: It's hard to decide among Angst, Romance, and Hurt/Comfort which ones this story would fall under more than another, so I just put R/H/C since that covers more areas, plus I really hate the word angst. I dunno why, it just sounds like such a trivial word. But this is my attempt at writing it, plus I was bored and have severe writer's block for literally everything else, so here you go.

For all my Controversy readers, I hope after writing this that my style and skill in that will also increase. I uh, kinda had to practice writing this stuff for that anyway /mildspoiler. I hope to update it sometime this week! Thanks for sticking with me!

Anyway, I hope this effectively demonstrates my hatred towards a certain character in RF4 and my undoubtedly biased opinion towards Vishnal. I'd let him comfort me any night~ Hope the lengthy intro doesn't offset anyone, because it was hard and long to write (like an hour and a half). I spent the rest of the day on the rest of it, though, mainly because I get distracted waaay too easily and then my ideas change and I end up deleting entire paragraphs. But this is the final draft and I'm pretty proud of it, though I know it's not even close to my best work. I think it drags on at times and is a little too long overall, BUT THAT'S WHAT ANGST IS. ANGST ANGST ANGST. LONG LONG LONG.

sorry I need sleep, been working on this pos way too long

Enjoy! And remember, faves and follows are appreciated but are just a liiiiiittle less effective than reviews, but I love them all nonetheless, so bring whatever you got on! :)

A Butler's Duty

She didn't even have a name, as far as Frey was informed. He never bothered to ask for it, just went on ahead and grabbed her. That was the reason Frey always told him not to drink, because she knew something like this would happen, just like last time. Liqueur went right through his senses and down to the heart of all problems. Behind every drunk action, though, lies a dormant want, right?

The reason she dressed up tonight was because she'd been talking about it with Meg and the rest of the girls. They insisted that his behavior was consistent with men who are about to propose, but even though it was just idle chatter Frey let her hopes get up, and she went on a rampage trying to find the perfect outfit to wear to the Christmas party. She did, and then she wore it, and he of course was speechless because even Frey admitted it to herself - she looked great in the dress.

After a few moments he finally decided to speak, telling her the obvious. "You look wonderful." And the rare smile appeared on his face, looking genuine as ever, making her melt into her own puddle of happiness. Then the even rarer thing happened: he kissed her, and it was even in front of everybody else! When it ended she giggled like a madwoman, not caring about any of the odd stares she received. For the moment, she really was the princess of Selphia, being treated like that. She thought for sure that tonight would be the night they made it official, with the proposal and everything.

For a long while, the two just stayed in each other's sight, be it dancing or feeding each other (which was obviously embarrassing but they both went along with it) or just talking, and nothing in the world could have felt more right. His scent crept into her nostrils and, with every one of his movements, made her swoon even more. When she thought she was about to fall from exhaustion he caught her without fail. He was like a whole new person, definitely a different man than the one she knew, but not in a bad way.

Well...that was until the certain incident happened, of course. She couldn't even describe how fast everything fell apart. She sat down for a few minutes, just long enough to catch her breath, and when she turned around she caught him sucking face with another girl, just a random townsperson who had nothing at all to do with either of them. It wouldn't have even bothered her that much - she knew he was attractive, and she knew every woman alive knew that as well - if she didn't see him enjoying it. His eyes were even closed, proving he was, and the kiss continued for several moments.

It was nearing midnight so none of her friends were in the restaurant anymore; even Porcoline had gone upstairs for the night because, though it was a holiday, everybody still had to work in the morning so nothing was really any different. The party had "ended" long ago, anyway. Frey and the ten or so other people there only stayed because they lost track of the time - or in the case of two men, so they could continue drinking.

The two lovers of course shared a few drinks themselves, but Frey thought he would be able to handle it because she was constantly hanging on him, ensuring nothing could go wrong - it had been quite a while since the last incident, anyway, when she caught him actually in bed with someone other than her.

But, lo and behold, something did, just for the sake of going wrong. She'd spent all night trying to make sure nothing would go awry so that maybe she could have her special night, and as soon as she sat down for three minutes the inevitable happened.

She guessed it was partly her fault for drinking with him, and even now, two hours later, she still blamed herself. She knew he could get like that yet she still gave him the chance to. It wasn't his fault so much as hers, and she supposed that was why she was feeling so down.

That doesn't mean he was entirely blame-free, though, especially when he took the townsgirl upstairs right in front of Frey. He looked her in the eye, holding the other girl's hand. She felt betrayed, lied to and cheated, like her whole world was crumbling all around her. And that was when Frey lost it.

She slapped him.

With a forceful hand, she snapped him out of his reverie so he could watch as she stormed out of the restaurant and out of his life. She didn't care if he regretted it, she didn't care if he was drunk and couldn't control his actions; they had promised themselves to each other later on in life when they married. Just because it wasn't set in stone when the wedding date was, just because she didn't have a ring and accessories yet, didn't mean that they weren't planning on doing it, and that cut through her like a knife.

He didn't bother running after her, either, perhaps because the guilt already began eating into him. He knew what he did, and he knew there would be no turning back from it afterwards. Just because he lost himself a little didn't give him the right to go ahead with another girl, especially when this had happened before and he made a promise to never let it again. The only thing different about this time was that Frey didn't catch him in the act - well, she had, but this was a different, less significant act.

As she exited the town, eager to get away from everything, she told herself he was trash and didn't deserve her anymore. All the happy times had faded away in her mind already, and she forced herself to forget more and more with each step. She was almost stopped by Vishnal on the way out of the restaurant, still awake for whatever unknown reason, but she kept running and running until her feet carried her all the way to the entrance of Yokmir Forest, where the wind began its torment on the already unfortunate Earthmate.

The chilly gusts whipped mercilessly at the mint-haired girl's face, drying up her tears as quickly as they fell down. That didn't stop them from cascading down, but in the still of the night, only the moon and its light played witness to her misfortune. Nighttime's darkness had never bothered her, nor had the wind, until tonight.

She felt miserable, truly awful and horrible and alone. No matter how much she could muster to forget, she would always remember a little bit. It wasn't always happy memories with him, but it definitely wasn't all sadness that kept bringing her back to him every day.

The sobs wracked her body and, almost as if nature was torturing her in its own cliche way, rain started to sprinkle down in little drops that only seemed to fall on and around her. Of course, that was the least of her worries right now. It was completely and totally out of her character to be this sad, and she knew that when morning came she could afford for nobody to see her like this...but at least for now, she wanted to be alone by herself and cry. She didn't remember when the last time she sobbed was.

So she fell to the ground, scraping her kneecaps as she did so, and just let it all out. Her dark red dress and matching shoes were long ago drenched in both sweat and tears, torn by her constant running and falling, but it was hard for her to notice. The once-sparkling piece of fabric, made to sort of work with her hair to make her attire resemble Christmas, was ruined and tattered: it ran to her ankles before, but she either yanked it off or ripped it while running because now it was barely knee-length. The same-colored shoes had now become a dark brown, covered in all the dirt despite the thick blanket of snow on the ground.

She wasn't the type of person to ever feel sorry for herself, but just this once, she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, to curse everything in existence. She never thought that this sort of thing would bother her to the extent it did, but she guessed it just went to show how much she truly cared for...him.

Frey couldn't even think of his name at a time like this. She wasn't sure whether it was out of anger or remorse. Either way, she didn't love him anymore - there was no way she could after what he did.

More tears fell as her mind replayed all of the events, starting with the party and how much fun it was, ending with the outcome and watching as everything in her life slowly turned confusing, so much that she didn't even know if she wanted to live anymore.

Two years of seeing each other and that was how he repaid her? For all the meals she cooked for him, all the times she went fishing with him despite dreading and hating the sport herself, all the long walks and talks they spent together on the lake...and especially earlier tonight when everything fell apart.

"Merry Christmas," she choked out, bitterly addressing herself. She'd stopped crying a few minutes ago now but the effects had stayed: her eyes were red and swollen, breathing was shallow and shaky, and her body looked as if it had been through hell. Although, it was safe to say she had pretty much been to hell, what with all the battles and dungeons she'd put herself through, and this was definitely not it. She had been through much worse...so she could definitely pull herself together, right?

Wrong, she told herself as she tried to pick her body up. The snowy ground proved to be quite the formidable foe, attacking her with sheer cold while she didn't notice it, too caught up in her own misfortune. Her legs, bare and already beaten up from the dress's lack of coverage, were stuck to the ground as if it were dry ice she'd stuck her tongue on. She attempted to use her hands to drag herself across the chilly terrain, but that only made it worse, stretching her torso while forgetting about the lower half. She cried out in pain and fell to the ground once more, where she lay nearly defeated.

Despite the outcome of tonight, she felt herself scoff and laugh. It was pathetic; she was better than this. She'd been through a number of dungeons, defeated all the native dragons and their clones and the source of them, Ethelberd, but she couldn't handle something like her boyfriend cheating on her. Was she really so strong physically that she forgot how to be strong emotionally? Was that how it worked? Her body was a powerhouse but her mind...was weak?

She watched as a few more stray tears escaped from her eye sockets and fell, burying themselves in small holes they made in the snow. It was then that she had an idea: if her tears were melting the snow at her hands, would they melt that at her knees, as well? It was worth a shot, anyway.

It damaged her pride a bit (like the entire night hadn't) but she forced herself to bring the images back to her mind, which would undoubtedly cause her to cry more and more. Vivid pictures of him kissing her flooded her mind, the bystanders just looking on and watching without the smallest of cares, their worries nowhere near as large as hers. After a few moments she forgot what she was even striving for, too caught up in the events that played out.

Her memory tormented her until, finally, her consciousness gave out and she collapsed, snow now accompanying the rain, making a fresh layer of sleet to cover her body.

...

She opened her eyes and was welcomed back to the world by a warm and friendly hand. It rested on her forehead, and only then did she realize just how cold she was.

"Hey," said a voice. Her eyes hadn't quite adjusted to her surrounding yet so she didn't know who this was, but she could make out light blue hair and a white shirt, probably a button-up.

"V-Vishnal?" she asked, the hoarseness in her voice surprising her. She didn't remember what happened outside, hence she didn't remember her voice sounding this different.

The person moved his finger down to her lips, pressing down. "Shh. Your body is exhausted right now, so try not to move anything, all right?"

She was about to nod until she realized everything hurt at the moment. Her eyes had finally adjusted, though, and she noticed her hunch was correct: this was indeed Vishnal. But why...? She lifted her head but was both scolded by Vishnal and her own body, pain flooding through her neck. Did she sprain it? Was she frostbitten? It was so hard to remember or think of anything right now.

The butler leaned over the side of the bed and Frey could hear the sound of sloshing water. She didn't know what on earth he was doing but she didn't exactly want to find out for herself, being reminded of how painful it was to move anything.

"Now that you're finally awake," he started, "I can get you cleaned up better." A sponge appeared in his right hand, leading her to believe there was a bucket of water over where he was. What was he doing? Was he...giving her a sponge bath?

Frey's cheeks heated up, unused to this kind of attention. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before, and the thought of doing anything with anybody other than him -

"Ah! I'm sorry, is the water too hot? You're burning up, Princess!"

Vishnal frantically took the sponge away. Only a few drops of water had gotten on her body, and it only felt warm, not hot, so she wasn't quite sure what he was talking about. But now that she thought about it...

Despite the pain she received for moving it, she peeked under the covers to check herself. To both her chagrin and relief, she was still clothed in the tattered dress, though her shoes were missing. She didn't care much about those, though. Once she leaned her head back to the pillow she felt better instantly; however, Vishnal stared in shock.

"Doesn't that hurt? You're amazing, Princess!"

If she had free reign of her body without consequences, Frey would have palmed her face, but alas, she was only left with thoughts. Same old Vishnal - even though he appeared cool right now because he was helping her out at...whatever ungodly hour this was, he was still a worrywart and an easily impressed person.

But now the realization was beginning to sink in, and she was confused. "What happened to me? I remember going to the party and obviously drinking a little, and then... something happened and I was out in the cold and my knees were stuck and I fell asleep? Honestly, what kind of memory is this..." she mused. She only remembered bits and pieces from the late night despite knowing something else must have happened. She wasn't the kind of person to run around in the snow without a coat unless she had a good reason.

Vishnal was about to respond, though unsure himself, but Frey heard the chirp of a cricket. What time was it? How long had she been asleep?

"Vishnal, did I really fall asleep? What time is it?" Without realizing it, she had a mini panic attack. "What about my farm, and all my crops, my animals? I have to get up and fix ev - urrrgh, ow."

"Please lie back down," he urged the girl, pressing her back to the pillow gently. "It is around four AM right now, but please don't worry. You were out very late and I can see you're exhausted. You need to rest.

"Clorica and I will take care of everything that you normally do everyday: buying seeds, planting them, grooming and feeding your animals, harvesting vegetables and fruits, and I'll make sure I have her cook all the meals you make for all of us everyday! I originally intended on doing that, but my cooking skills could use a little work, still..."

Frey still wasn't too convinced, the worrywart in her appearing. Her eyes scanned his face. "Why are you going through all this trouble for me?"

He looked at her straight in the eyes. "Because it is my duty as your butler," he told her, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

She didn't know why but she blushed once more, taken by surprise. It felt so odd to know someone was waiting on her, hand and foot, every day. Even when something like this came up, he completely abandoned everything else and rushed to her side? Just how long had he been taking care of her tonight? And that meant he must have carried her all the way here from the spot where she fell down, right? She didn't remember walking back herself.

Frey giggled, feeling a lot better already knowing that her chores were being taken care of. "It's endearing to know you care for me this much. I'll make sure to recover quickly so I don't worry you anymore. Really, I'm feeling better alre - "

She winced in pain but smiled to prove she was fine as she sat up. "See? I'm - ah, just kidding," she said after falling back down to the pillow. Frey sighed, giving up. "I guess... I'm in your care tonight, Vishnal. Please take care of me."

The butler smiled. "As you wish, Princess."

He continued gently moving the sponge across her skin, obviously avoiding awkward areas, and wringing it out. As he repeated the process he felt how cold her skin still was, reminding him of his failure to protect her.

Unknown to him, she had to admit, being babied like this felt wonderful, a nice change of pace from being stabbed by thorns and swords and only bathing when she was completely exhausted. For now, she could just relax and let herself be taken care of, right? It was sort of like when she caught a cold and Dylas took care of her.

She gasped.

In an instant she remembered everything, almost like just the mention of his name snapped everything back into her memory like a light switch. She felt herself tear up, even though she'd never cried in front of anyone other than Venti. At the moment, she didn't care at all, though. Everything was wrong and it was all because of him and his damned intolerance for alcohol.

"Ah! P-Princess, what's wrong? Did I do something?" Vishnal went frantic again.

But Frey basically ignored him, concentrating instead on what had happened. "Vishnal...why did Dylas do that? Am I not pretty enough? Am I stupid? I don't understand, what's wrong with me that he went to her instead?"

By now she was full on sobbing again, bringing her hands up to her eyes to shield them from his view. Though she was asking him all these things, she didn't really want answers, especially not if he was going to judge her because she was crying. Princesses, no matter if they're fake, weren't supposed to cry in front of their subjects, so if she cried in front of Vishnal, what would happen? She wouldn't be fit to rule. She would never be fit to rule. They would ridicule her for being weak and insecure and unstable, and she would lose her status and force Arthur to pick up the crown again and even he would be disappointed in her. It was a lose-lose-lose situation for her.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, Princess, no, that's not it at all," Vishnal sputtered, attempting to calm down the crying girl. It would be bad if anybody saw her like this. He was supposed to be making her feel better, not worse, and though he didn't understand in its entirety what happened he knew enough to figure out that she wasn't herself right now. She could make some rather rash decisions, especially in politics, and could lose her status, depending on how bad the situation was. He certainly didn't want that to happen; he didn't want to serve anybody else but her as princess.

But how does one comfort a crying girl? He'd never been put in this situation before. Despite having many siblings, he left home before being too well acquainted with any of them, so he didn't really know how sadness or comfort or any of that stuff worked. Would a hug suffice? A pat on the back? Or something else entirely?

He leaned down and awkwardly put his arms around her torso, bringing himself closer with the embrace. Frey's sobbing stopped completely but she still sniffled a bit. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing herself into him, feeling better if only because she was slightly warmer. But then she started shivering and they both realized they couldn't stay like that.

"Princess..." he trailed, unsure of how to put it. "I..I'll go run a bath for you, so please stay put for a little while, okay?" He waited a moment for an answer but then left, knowing he could waste no more time. Because of him, she probably already had pneumonia or at least a cold and was suffering. He couldn't dwell on that, though, because while he was berating himself for what he didn't do, he could have been doing something else to benefit her - such as starting the bath like he told her he was doing.

When the butler disappeared behind the bathroom door, Frey allowed herself some relaxation. Of course, she wasn't exactly straining herself while he was around, but just being alone and by herself was a treat to her - it was comforting, since she spent almost all day every day alone.

She sighed, realizing that now she would have to spend a lot more time alone. Her eyes were still puffy, she could feel that, but she didn't feel the urge to bawl anymore, so she supposed that was at least some progress made. But she was still fragile, and she knew for certain she wouldn't be able to look at Dylas for a long time.

Frey inhaled a shaky breath. Maybe being with someone wouldn't be such a bad idea, at least someone to keep her company, especially when she was feeling down. She could think of three people right off the bat - Meg, Clorica, and Forte - who would without a doubt be there for her through thick and thin, but she didn't want to come off as a weak princess. Forte was a castle knight; if she knew just how unstable she was, there would probably be rumors. Frey wasn't one to think so heavily about rumors, but ever since she stepped in as Princess, she kind of had to. Meg and Clorica were always busy... Would it really be such a great idea to bother them? Xiao Pai and Amber, despite their looks, were a fair amount older than she was, but they were a bit too eccentric for her to trust with something such as this.

She bit the inside of her cheek, staring up at the little awning covering her bed, remembering the day she received it from Volkanon. She insisted on leaving the bed plain, since she liked it more that way, but Volkanon paid no mind, telling her that it looked far more regal with the retractable awning. The townspeople of Selphia were funny that way, she supposed, always keeping Frey's best interests in mind.

"Princess?"

Frey had to remind herself quickly not to sit up because the pain would be overbearing, but she glanced in the general direction of the bathroom where she heard Vishnal's voice. "Is it ready?"

He emerged, though she couldn't see him. "Yes. I made it a bit warmer than usual, considering the circumstances, so I hope it's up to par."

"Thank you, Vishnal." She smiled, then closed her eyes, waiting for him to pick her up and carry her like the spoiled princess she was. Honestly, though, she couldn't move herself even if she wanted to, and she wasn't sure if it was because she was just cold or too weak.

Vishnal stared from afar, wondering if it would be a while yet before she went in to the bath. It would obviously be indecent if he stayed, so he started out the door, even saying a quick farewell, but was stopped by Frey's voice.

"You're leaving?"

Somehow, it sounded...desperate, even to her. She never knew she could sound like that, except when talking to Venti. It was like another person was talking inside her body, surprising herself.

He turned around and looked her over, still tucked underneath the sheets and blankets. Then he realized his mistake, blushing, and bowed deeply. "I am very, very sorry, Princess! I'm not used to this sort of thing, so please forgive me!"

Vishnal rushed to her aid, removing the covers and picking her up gently. She fit almost perfectly in his arms, considering their differing statures, and she wasn't very heavy at all - or at least, she was definitely a lot lighter than earlier when he carried her all the way from the Forest. But, then again, she had quite the extra pounds, if only because she was drenched in melted snow and was still wearing the high-heeled shoes. He reminisced back to when he saw her at the party, remembering how wonderful he thought she looked, but then scolded himself for doing such a thing.

She was his master, and he was just a goofball of a butler, not even truly qualified yet.

He entered the bathroom with her and thought to set her down until he caught himself. She was practically paralyzed now, so she probably couldn't even stand up on her own, right? She might have had severe frostbite, or worse, judging on how cold he still felt her skin to be. But what of her clothes...? He felt his cheeks heat up. It wouldn't be too great to just set her in the tub with everything on, because then her body wouldn't dry or warm up properly.

"H-hey, Vishnal," she spoke in a quiet, low voice.

He looked down at her, confused as to why she would use that kind of tone; nobody was awake right now, after all, so they didn't exactly need to be the quietest. Besides, the space between her castle room and the rest of the quarters was rather grand. "Yes?" he replied anyway. She wasn't thinking the same thing he was, was she?

"Um, well..." She took a while to produce an answer. "I really appreciate you taking care of me, because although Dr. Jones does an excellent job, he robs me of every coin I own, and you're really good at it, too, and you're already doing so much and I think you're doing it for free, and even though I'm cold I appreciate you not stripping me of everything, but - "

"What's worrying you?" If there was anything Vishnal really despised, it was beating around the bush. Though he wasn't the greatest at bluntness himself, he tried the best he could.

Frey bit her lip and glanced the other way, though it brought a pang to her neck. The pain was gradually lessening with each movement she made, leading her to believe there was nothing seriously wrong with her, but she still didn't think she would be able to undress herself.

"My body...is kind of numb right now. Everything below my torso, I can't feel at all. I can't wiggle my toes or move my feet or anything. So, um." She gulped. "You already took off my shoes, or I lost them or something, and I'm grateful, but d-do you think...you could take off my dress, too?"

Despite her body temperature probably being much below what it should have been, Frey felt like she was on fire. It was probably a good thing because she was gradually heating herself up, but she didn't feel like she should have been doing this. Well, it wasn't like they were really doing anything, but...just the thought of it made her mind go numb, along with the rest of her body.

Vishnal probably would have dropped her had he not steeled himself prior to this. The heat all rose up to his face and he began stuttering like a madman. "A-ah, if th-that's the only way it c-can happen, then I s-suppose..."

He allowed himself no time to stress about it, because for one, no matter how reserved he came across, something like this had been on his mind for a long time, and for two, if he thought about it for an extended period of time he would back out. But, he had to admit, until now she belonged to somebody else, and by the look and sound of it, they weren't together anymore. While he wasn't going to jump on her first thing, he definitely did want to try his hand at winning her, he decided.

He crouched down and very gently set her on the floor, propped up against the bathroom's vanity. For once, he was grateful for the Western-inspired detailing rather than the Eastern, because that meant there were more things in the space (though he hated cleaning them all) and it was convenient. However, he quickly realized it was far from his best idea when he attempted to bring the zipper in the back down and his face was unbelievably close to hers.

"Err... I apologize," he offered lamely. "It seems I didn't properly think this through."

Vishnal was a little more than pleasantly surprised to find her face matching his own, but he didn't let it bother him, instead continuing, or attempting to, anyway, his ministrations, cursing the tailor for making the mechanism so dastardly complicated. Then again, maybe the zipper had frozen and rusted in the snow or something.

Frey felt a bit helpless, like she was a huge burden, but her emotions for the entire night had been out of whack so she wasn't exactly sure what she felt like at all. For now, she should just enjoy that she was being taken care of and she didn't have to do anything, regardless of whether she could or not.

She winced a bit when he reached the part of the zipper he was supposed to, though she didn't know why. Maybe it had something to do with her being bothered by another man touching her after two years of the same man's touch, and understandably it was hard to get used to. But Vishnal was...very gentle, she noted. With every move he made, he did it with delicate, almost dainty, hands, as if she were a fragile object that could be broken if one handled it too roughly.

Her back seemed to be on its way to getting better, at least, because she could feel a little chill run down it as the zipper did, and she shivered a bit.

"S-sorry..."

"Stop apologizing," she told him, though it was hard to look him in the eye without feeling awkward. She felt like at the moment they were closer than they'd ever been before...and maybe not just in proximity.

Frey supposed she'd never really thought about just how much Vishnal did for her, even without her noticing. She realized more and more how loyal he was, though, as he kept slowly bringing the zipper farther down her back, stopping when there was nowhere else it could go. It actually surprised her a bit that he didn't take it off before she woke up, but in a way she was glad he respected her that much - she'd never pegged him as a man who would steal treasure from another, anyway, but still.

There weren't any words spoken, just breaths being let out, as they both watched the dress slowly come off her shoulders and down her arms until it fell inside out around her waist. The action caused her upper undergarment to be revealed and the two looked at each other, matching shades of red on both their faces.

"Princess..."

Vishnal knew that he was a man. He'd known that ever since he stepped foot into Selphia and saw all of the gods' wonderful creatures they called women, but he especially knew it when he saw Frey appear. She was easily the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, and as he got to know her, he found out that she was hands down, inside and out, the most beautiful. To say he was attracted to her from the start would be an extreme understatement, but she was always with different men. That wasn't to say she slept around, but she was popular, and was almost always seen with the townsfolk or the other males in town - Doug, Dylas, Leon. She hadn't shown much interest in love or anything until she started hanging more and more around Dylas.

But look where that landed her, he reminded himself. If she only would have trusted her butler more, he never would have let that happen. He was obviously being selfish, but...

He would never hurt her.

He was stupid, clumsy, and awkward, and most of the time didn't know when to shut up, but he loved her with all of his heart. And even though he felt himself getting turned on by the circumstance, he could honestly say this was one of the times she looked like a goddess. Sometimes he had trouble believing she wasn't.

Eyes closed, he let out a deep sigh. Truthfully, he didn't have the slightest clue of what happened to her or Dylas tonight, but he didn't exactly want to press the issue, especially if it was the thing that led her to act like this. If she needed him for a shoulder to lean on, well, that's just what he would be.

"I'm going to lift you up and take it off, all right?"

Before she could get a chance to respond she was already up in his arms, quiet but blushing as he struggled to get the shortened dress off her lower half. It wasn't like this was the first time she'd bared (or almost bared) herself in front of a guy, but it felt so different to be with Vishnal. She admitted she never really thought of him like she did any other guy in town, mostly because she relied on him to be a sort of family figure, be it a big brother or even a father. Though, now that he was practically stripping her down, she wasn't sure if it was just the hormones and emotions talking or if it was genuine, but she felt...a little attracted to him.

As soon as he managed to take the dress off her figure he let out a huge sigh, mostly out of relief. Frey couldn't help but giggle at his demeanor.

Vishnal instantly blushed. "W-what?! Princess, are you laughing at me?"

She laughed for a few more moments and wiped her eyes, only then realizing that she was almost completely naked in his arms. Her face took the shade of hers and he was about to ask again but she beat him to a voice. "I... just thought it was kind of funny that you're so nervous when you're usually calm."

He stood, just kind of dumbfounded, for a few seconds, wondering exactly what she meant by that. "Do...do you even realize who I am?"

Frey looked up at him, forgetting about their current situation for now. "What do you mean?"

The butler gulped and glanced away, slightly wishing he wasn't holding her right now so he could tug at his collar - was it getting hot in there or was it just him? "Um... that... well..." He sighed. "I'm an idiot, a real idiot. I don't know much about people or being proper or money or... or like sickness or anything, really, and I'm nervous all the time. I'm almost never calm, I guess I just put up a front for you so you'll rely on me, but obviously you don't put your full faith in me, otherwise this whole mess wouldn't have happened - "

"Hey," Frey said, putting a finger to his lips, mimicking his earlier move when she woke up. "I guess you don't know when to shut up, either." She chuckled. "I don't care about any of that stuff. In case you haven't noticed, I'm still learning about people and being proper, too," she admitted sheepishly.

Vishnal went from looking at her to the vanity to the tub and back to her, not knowing where to rest his eyes. He was listening to her but wasn't sure if she wanted him to respond, so he just stayed silent, battling with himself.

"Anyway, um..." she continued, "I'm... pretty nervous, too, you know."

He grew even redder than ever before that night and coughed over his other shoulder to try and mask it. "Well, let's get you into the bath before the water gets cold."

Frey giggled. "Okay."

She noticed that, even though whenever she and Dylas fooled around he was always a little on the rough side, showing his animal-like qualities, right here with Vishnal, she was treated with the most careful of touches. It was almost as if he was the princess's knight instead of butler and she was a treasure.

Considering the turnout of the night, she really should have been lonely and wallowing in her own despair, guilt, and shame, but being in the cramped bathroom with Vishnal, she honestly felt like everything was right.

Sure, it would take some time to fully get over Dylas, let alone walk around town and not break down at the sight of him, but she was almost positive that, with Vishnal's help, she'd be able to move forward just fine.

Nothing had to happen right out of the blue and so suddenly, but maybe, just maybe, she could start over with him and bask in the glory of knowing she would never be hurt again.

[[originally, I planned for this to be a lime or a lemon, but it ended up getting so freaking long and I was just worn out , I didn't want to write it anymore haha. Hope it doesn't read as badly as I wrote it :p]]

Thanks for reading, everybody!

~CGA