Airea shot her eyes wide open, revealing their dark green colors as she woke up from her sleep. She found herself inside the room she was given in Rhapsodia - the room at the end of the west wing. Even though she had been introduced as the future queen of the kingdom and the king's fiance, they still stayed in different rooms. That is, until they actually get married.
She woke up in the wee hours of the night. She wasn't used to the place yet, she was still adjusting to her new home. It would be a sleepless night, she thought to herself. Pushing the blanket aside, Airea got up from her bed and picked up the robe that hung on a nearby chair. She wore the robe around her and moved towards the door. Perhaps taking a breather would help her relax and hopefully, sleep would soon come after taking a walk. She gently opened her door, making sure that it wouldn't make a creaking sound so not to disturb anyone.
She stepped out of her room, the dim lit corridor of the palace greeted her. Lighted torches hung by the walls, lined next to each other, extending down the corridor. Then she walked down the corridor as silent as she can be. She wouldn't want to wake anyone up, nor alert anyone and have them thinking that she may be a spy. That wouldn't be impossible, right?
She walked down the corridors of Vermillion palace, the moons' light flickering as she walked past them. Her shadow was the only companion she had at the moonlit night. As she walked, she wondered how her brother was doing ever since she left. It would take a while for her to fully adjust to her new home, and stop worrying about her brother. After all, Lyon is the only family she has left. If she were to lose him too..
Soon, the Moon Nebulum princess saw a door opened ahead of her, light escaping from the room. Who could still be possibly awake at this hour? Curious, the young princess walked towards the room and took a peek.
"Oh.." was the only word that escaped from her lips as she saw the young king, Mayhem, her soon to be husband, sitting in front of his desk, almost buried with a lot of paperworks to deal with. When the king let out a sigh, the princess quickly pulled herself away and leaned her back against the wall, hoping that Mayhem haven't noticed her or anything. Then she let herself slowly slide down into a crouching person, her hands clasped together in front of her chest. Was she hiding? Yes. She wouldn't want to disturb him on his work now, wouldn't she?
However, a worried expression soon had taken over her. The king was still working even up to this time of night, as his kingdom's denizens are all sleeping so soundly in their own home, without worrying about anything. She glanced over her shoulder and inside the room again, looking at Mayhem, seeing the tiredness all over him. But, he wouldn't stop working, nor does he seemed to plan on stopping either.
"Staying awake at this time of night would have you feeling drained of your strength, your majesty," she said, as she stepped inside his room, after deciding to show herself to him. The king was put to an abrupt stop as he looked at her, an inquiring look on his face. "I.. I think you should at least.. take a break. You're overworking yourself.."
"Why are you still awake, Airea?" he inquired, a small smile on his lips. The young princess jolt from her place, before quickly averting her eyes away from him, a flustered look on her face. Then she heard him let out a chuckle. "And please, you can drop the formalities when it's just you and me."
"Well, I.." she meant to continue, but decided to forgo the decision. Tilting her head down, the young princess tried to conceal the slight hue of redness on her cheeks.
"M - Mayhem.." she whispered in a gentle voice. Mayhem let out another smile, delighted upon hearing her addressing him with his name. The princess' blushed more, her cheeks flared up, as she wasn't really used to calling him with his name.
"I'll head to bed soon, once I'm done with this. You should head to bed yourself," he replied as he continued back on his work. Then there was a brief silence upon them. And soon, he heard the door shut, denoting that the princess left. However, when he looked up, he was surprised when she saw her planted herself by the doorway, sitting like a little kid. Both knees closed to her chest, she placed both arms over her knees and propped her cheek over her arms as she stared at Mayhem.
Mayhem sat there, a baffled look on his face.
"I'll stay here," she stated, her dark emerald eyes gazing at him. "I'll stay here and look after you, to make sure that you'll head to bed as you've said."
The young king then let out a sigh as he rested his back against his chair. His eyes concealed by his hair, there was a small smile that was visible upon his lips.
"Princess, don't you know that you sitting there is actually distracting me and preventing me from finishing my work sooner?" Airea tilted her head slightly to the side, her inquisitive eyes upon the young king. "Ahh.. you're making this hard for me.."
"Would you like me to help you?" she inquired, oh so innocently, with the slightest idea of what the king meant. Mayhem chuckled. "I just want to make sure that you're going to take your rest."
"Alright, you win," he said in defeat as he straightened himself once again. "Once I'm done with this, I'll head to bed."
The princess nodded her head, the king smiled at her. Then he continued to finish his work, as the princess sat there, watching him. She would watch over him, she would keep him company, she wouldn't leave him alone. This man, she would make sure that she wouldn't lose him from the darkness that was in his heart.
This young man, that held her heart as she held his.
Soon enough, the young king finished his work and walked over the princess, who had fallen asleep. Leaning down to so he can be of the same height as her, he watched as the princess slept so calm and peaceful. Letting out a scoff, Mayhem gently carried the princess in his arms as he exited the room and walked towards Airea's room. And once they arrived, he gently laid the princess back to her bed, and pulled the sheet up to cover her from the cold.
"Good night, Airea," were the king's last words before exiting the room.
She let out a slight groan as she slept, rolling over to the other side. When she realized that she was laying down on a comfy bed, Airea's eyes shot wide open as she quickly got up. Looking around, she found herself inside her room. How did she get there? She remember herself staying with Mayhem in his office, watching over him as he did his work. So how did she get there?
She quickly fixed herself, picking out the same gown she used to wear in Moon Nebulum, only that it was made from Rhapsodian's finest quality specially for her. Once she was done fixing herself, she quickly ran outside her room and down the hallways, her destination was none other than Mayhem's office.
"Your majesty!" she called out to him as she pushed his office door open and made herself inside.
Inside, there was the young king, sitting in front of his desk, but was sleeping so soundly. She slowly walked over to him as silent as she can be so not to wake him up. She stood beside him, watching him on his sleep with a smile on her face. She unwrapped the cloak around her and gently placed it over him, as the king continued to slumber. She was about to take her leave when she suddenly noticed the paper that was in front of Mayhem. Taking the paper, Airea read through the report and was surprised with what she had read.
The knights of Eau had just burned down a small farming village in Rhapsodia. None survived, the Rhapsodian orc Yazdak killed in battle. It all happened when the king was away and had been staying over at Moon Nebulum.
"No.." she whispered as she looked down on Mayhem.
"You.. you've lost something again.. didn't you..? But you didn't bothered telling me.. even though I was near.. still, you smiled so gently at me like nothing was wrong when in truth.. you're actually hurting.."
'Oh, young king.. what is it that you truly desire?'