Disclaimer and A/N: Don't own, don't care, lol. All right, sorry for the late update. Excuses are as such: Biology 1442 at UT Arlington is a b**** and friends distracted me from writing. Anyways, better late than never, right everyone?

Child of the Full Moon

By Apherion

Chapter 2

When he encountered Judith, she turned him away, stating simply: "Do you not have faith in me?" Irked, but still not tired enough to want to sleep, Yuri decided to go to the opposite side of camp. Judith couldn't watch the entire perimeter by herself, and it really wasn't like he was trying to take over the Krityan's voluntary guard-shift. He just needed some time to think.

There was so much to think about. These past two years helped nothing. He had tried reasoning with himself that he and Estelle could make something—anything—work in their favor, but he continued to come up short while her advances were becoming even more difficult to stave off.

I might need to speak with Judy about that, he mused silently. Princess Estellise was not one to conceive such lascivious plans.

However, of late, she seemed to be trying to lure him.

Yuri vented his frustration on a tree nearby. He pounded his fists again and again against the tree, numbing his hands. It did nothing to ease his thoughts, though.

His want for the princess, the torment of knowing he wasn't good enough for her; it was becoming too much for him. However, he would keep his word and he would deliver the princess in the same, pristine condition that he had found her in before this entire journey had started.

He paced back and forth, hating the fact that he had this attachment to the princess, hating that they had both become victims of charm. He could see her smiling face as he continued his barrage on the tree that had done no wrong.

"Why are you hitting a tree?"

There she was.

Standing behind him, he looked over his shoulder before turning to face her. Pink hair looking disheveled from sleep, he could tell she had just woken up. I was being too loud, he mused.

"It's not a monster, Yuri." He couldn't get over that she still had so much to learn, despite the two years she had spent abroad, traveling with him and the rest of the group.

"I'm not doing it because of that," he replied with a sigh.

"Then why…?"

"It helps me get my mind off of"—you—"things. You should go back to bed. Tomorrow we've got a long walk." Yuri turned to begin punching the tree again, when he felt her fingers touch his back. He froze—his shoulders stiff and fists clenched.

"I can't sleep." He felt her fingers playing with the purple tresses as if unconsciously. "Rita is chanting and I can hear Karol snoring." Her lips were by his ear. "And Raven approached Judith…" Her arms encircled his waist.

"Estelle, don't do this." She pressed her head against his back.

"I…I'm fine with just this… Please, Yuri? I'd feel better if I could just…stay with you for awhile." He sighed, hearing her heart reverberating in those words that she spoke. He felt his resolve begin to break.

"Please?" She begged once more, and his heart squeezed uncomfortably. "I'll feel safer…and maybe I'll be able to get to sleep again. Please, Yuri?"

It was the last one that did it.

He shoulders slumped, and he pressed a hand to the tree for support. He could justify it easily to himself, so he decided not to think about his decision too much.

"All right, Estelle…you win." She let him go, and he turned around to face her. Her smile was brighter than Brave Vesperia tonight. He held out his arms to her, and she glowed. The full moon affected her in many ways, but this was his favorite.

They sunk down against the trunk of the tree while Yuri petted her hair absentmindedly. She was quiet, save for the light humming coming from her lips. Estelle's green eyes were starting to close, too.

Yuri recognized the tune and joined in, though, the girl soon trailed off. The only noise issuing from her was the soft sounds of her breathing. She doesn't realize what I've promised, what she has to uphold as the heir. He sighed, watching her breathing gently through her mouth as she rested.

Furious with himself for giving in, he did the only thing he could do: shift her gently from sleeping on his shoulder to sleeping in his lap. Her pink tresses glittered as the moon slowly inched to the west, and his fingers were softly tousling them by slow, meticulous pulls. Yuri's actions on Estelle's hair did not wake her, and the same actions were helping Yuri get the rest he needed.

Later on, only a couple of hours before sunrise, Judith and Raven would find the couple and smile happily to themselves, before darting off to part ways with Raven taking Judith's place as guard.

Estelle stirred at first light, blushing as soon as her consciousness allowed her to grasp her position. Through the night, Yuri must have moved her in order for her to be more comfortable before falling asleep himself. However, she was sure that she was the one to move in her sleep to wrap her arms around his neck, with her head on his shoulder again. Turning away from the light, still too tired to want to get up, Princess Estellise fell asleep once more.

This left that Yuri was to wake up and find his arms wrapped around the princess's waist, her scent filling his nostrils, and… This is not good, he thought. Gently, he disengaged himself from her, only to have her looking at him and blinking blearily.

"Wha—?" She asked confused, being roused from a perfect dream involving her sleeping on Yuri's shoulder, straddling his waist with his arms around hers.

"It's morning, Estelle." He looked into green eyes, too pretty to be allowed in his own opinion. Again, he made to release himself from the beautiful girl on top of… Yuri looked immediately looked away, remembering that they had to meet Flynn later.

"Yuri—"

"Could you get up, my legs are asleep." Yuri carefully spoke his lie so not to offend the princess. She blushed, quickly gathering up her dressing gown as she got to her feet. He ignored her as he righted himself using the tree, feeling a sting as blood flowed down to his lower half. So, I didn't really lie to her.

Wincing, Yuri limped towards the tents that had been set up for everyone. Estelle traipsed through the grass after him.

"Yuri, wait!" She caught up to him, reaching for his hand. He turned to look at her, his legs slowly returning to normal. He appraised her with soft eyes, but they were not warm. "I…just wanted to say… Well, I know that you didn't… What I'm trying to say is—thank you…for letting me stay last night." She had dropped her eyes during her speech.

Yuri thought he was going to have to rip his hair out. She made it too easy for him to want to be with her, and she was making it all the more easy by doing things like this—being sweet and vulnerable. He knew he shouldn't, but he took her hand, squeezing it lightly.

She smiled, but he heard the footsteps of others and he removed his hand discreetly.

"Yo," Raven said, scratching his hair noncommittally.

"Old man, isn't it your turn to wake everyone up?" His eyes kind of bugged out of his head, and he looked over his shoulder. Sighing, he turned back to Yuri and Estelle.

"Well, I'm not—I traded with Judith." He then hurried off towards the river. Estelle looked at Yuri, smiling slightly. Yuri tried not to laugh as they entered camp.

"That wasn't at all suspicious," he told Estelle. She turned to him, confused. Just then, Rita tore out of her, Judith, and Estelle's tent. She had a murderous glare in her eyes, and she took in the camp wildly. Then, she spotted the two additions.

"Where'd he go?" Her voice was tinged with venom. She was ready to kill.

"Where'd who go?" Of course, Estelle would be the one unable to comprehend. Rita's eyes locked on Yuri, silently threatening him. Yuri obliged quickly.

"The river," and Rita took off, seeming to fly in her haste. Repede trotted off after her, which was probably for the best. "Estelle, go wake up Judith if she's still asleep, and be ready to heal Raven when he manages to limp back here." Estelle was about to ask why when they heard screams from the river.

"Youch! Rita, stop! No—don't!" More howls of pain followed by Rita's ire-filled voice.

"Bastard! You deserve it!" Yuri could distinctly hear the sound of her fireball. Deciding not to worry about what the older man could've done—as he tended to piss Miss Mordio off quite a lot—Yuri entered their tent to wake up Karol.

Karol was sprawled out, mouth slack with a bit of drool forming in the corner of his mouth. Yuri smiled down at the child, amazed that he was still asleep.

"Karol, wake up." Yuri ruffled the kid's hair, trying to rouse him from his dreams. "Karol," Yuri called, shaking him a bit. He sleeps heavy for a kid, he thought. "Quick, there's a monster!" And Karol leapt up, looking around wildly.

"What, what happened? Where's the monster?" Yuri started laughing, watching as Karol began to freak out. Quickly, Yuri silenced him, telling him it was time to get up. "Oh," Karol rubbed his eyes, yawning slightly.

Yuri left the tent, listening for Rita's furious voice. Estelle and Judith emerged from their tent, looking at him. Judith had her gloved hands behind her head, appearing devious.

"So, has Rita killed him?" Judith's nonchalant tone was curious and Yuri wondered what Raven had done to the now-seventeen year-old. "I mean to say, it was only a friendly goodnight kiss. There's no need for her to get angry." His eyes widened and he whispered too low for Estelle to hear.

"I thought he was still on about you." Judith gave him a sideways glance with eyebrows raised.

"So did I…but now that you mention it…" The Krityan immediately darted for the direction of Raven and Rita. Estelle gave Yuri her usual 'What was that about?' look. He just shook his head, following the blue-haired woman to gather everyone so they could leave.

He had his own problems, one being the princess and the other being himself. Once he dealt with the first, he would have to figure out what to do with what's left of the latter.

TBC...