Chapter two: Further into the void called love

It was his first assignment since he'd been told he was to become the heir's footman. And he'd already failed. He felt bad, no horrible, and he felt like he had dishonored them all with his first screw up. He'd been assigned this position because they thought him to be dependable, honest, trustworthy, and especially quick on his feet. He'd failed them and his new princess as well. Her dress was ruined, her shoes left for dead in the slums, and her head specked with god knows what. She'd have to change, wash up, and probably redo all her make up. For, by her eyes, he believed her to wear a good amount of the stuff.

Though, under the fancy dress, the heavy eyeliner, and the newly crusted mud he thought he recognized someone. From when he was young, probably from the time he was still working as a stable boy. Or maybe he had become an apprentice knight by then. He couldn't remember any of it clearly. He just had a serious case of déjà vu whenever he looked into her jade eyes or glanced at her amazingly crimson hair. She was stunning, and this made him feel even worse about letting her down.

"I'm sorry." He said solemnly as he looked back at her. He was now leading her horse, which was still a little on the edge from the sudden jolt of events. As he paused the horse paused, and tried to turn its head towards the princess, too. Gaara-hime, Lee knew to call her now, looked at him with befuddlement in her entrancing eyes.

"What are you apologizing for? There is no need." She said simply, but her humble words were not an act. He could tell she truthfully didn't blame him, but he still felt bad about it.

"Well, I was supposed to greet you at the front gate and escort you from there, but I was late and got lost. And if I had been there to catch you, you wouldn't have ruined your lovely dress. Therefore, I'm apologizing." He said, and took a low bow. He didn't see her face but he heard her make a low sound of disapproval. He quickly turned his head up to face her as she gave him a slight glare.

"This," She used a graceful hand to indicate she was talking about her soiled dress, "is not your fault. My sister was with me; I just lost sight of her, and panicked. I'm glad you came when you did, you were a great help. But it is not your fault, so don't look so miserable." The princess needn't have even said the last part, for his spirits were already lightened when she told him he was 'a great help.' The last part just made him feel like he could fly to the moon and back, that is, if the princess asked him to. He gave her a toothy grin, scratching the back of his head as he looked away from her.

"Thank you, thank you very much, Gaara-hime." He said, and the princess almost scolded him for still being overly polite but stopped and just nodded in reply.

"Good, now get me to the castle, it's been a long day." She said with exasperation in her voice. He saluted her, forgetting he wasn't a knight anymore, but a footman.

"As you wish." He said, smiling once more at her before turning around to lead the horse onward towards the castle.

There was something about this princess, this woman that just sparked a fire in his heart. It felt as if he'd just finished a hundred laps around the outer parts of the town, which he did every Wednesday and Saturday. He felt light hearted, giddy, and accomplished all at the same time! Maybe this was his spring time of youth! His time to finally bloom, to shine and sparkle with his overflowing love! And his peers had accused him of being a queer. He could safely say now that he was indeed heterosexual, for he was in love with the princess! He knew this love could never be returned, but it was still a relief. For he himself had been doubting his sexual preference, especially on that night when he and another guard his age had almost… no, he was in love now. And with a woman, what a woman! It was a useless love, but he didn't mind. For he was her personal footman, and that was enough for him.

But what if they took away his position, now that he had proven unreliable from the start? Oh that would be too much to bear! He had liked being a knight; don't get him wrong, it had been his life long dream! But now he had an even more important job, and he had felt it was to become interesting in the future. But what if it stopped before it even began? If they threatened to take away his new position he'd do anything to change their minds. Beg, get on his hands and knees, grovel, and promise they could behead him if he ever failed her again. Because if he ever did prove false to her again a beheading might be too good for him.

To get his mind off the gruesome subject he decided to list some of the reasons he believed he was in love with the princess.

-Her captivating green eyes, finer than the finest of precious stones.

-Her short, fiery red hair made of stands softer to the touch than silk. (He didn't actually know how her hair felt; he was using his imagination, which was a wild one.)

-Her precise skills in applying that make up around her eyes. It was almost as if it wasn't make up, but actually apart of her skin, it was applied so well.

-Her unforgiving voice, the kind that could strike you down with a single word, but had also said the exact words that he needed to hear. The kind of voice that tells no lies, only the harsh truth and the unforgiving reality of things.

-Her amazing body! He didn't know much other than she had been incredibly light (this was ignoring the fact that he thought lifting 200 pounds was too easy for training) and she was built like most fair women, curvy, skinny, with ivory skin fit for a princess. Oh wait…

-Her… He didn't know much else about her. Her name! Lovelier than any birds singing, a name that rolled of the tongue with a sweet after taste.

-Her unassuming nature! She was kind, but a cold, truthful kind of kind. She hadn't scolded him or been cross with him because she had fallen in the mud. A lesser woman would definitely have blamed him, and might have even beaten him! For he'd never raise his hand to a lady, he would just bear the pain with an apologetic smile.

-What else was there? There were plenty of other reasons, he was sure of it; he just didn't know any of them yet. He would just have to make up some more; he wouldn't be satisfied until he had a list of at least fifty admirable qualities. And then he told himself he'd have to make an even longer one after he'd known the princess a longer amount of time.

-She was a wonderful cook, whose specialty was spicy foods, but could cook anything if she tried.

-She knew how to fight with precision that could out do a man's strength. She was light on her feet and could defend herself if needed. But would never need to, for he'd always be there to protect her.

-She walked with a grace that could not be matched, no mater how hard the other woman tried.

-She could move like a cat, in both daily life and if ever in battle. She also had the cold hard eyes of a feline about to strike.

-She was an excellent lover… He felt his face redden. Why would he think of that? A man should never think such things of his virgin princess. Wait, he did not know her to be a virgin. Could it be that her flower had already been plucked! No, impossible, he reassured himself. She was definitely innocent and pure. Not like his thoughts had been only moments ago. But this was just another reassurance of his heterosexuality; he'd never have to doubt himself again.

They were greeted at the castle gates by the elder royal sibling, Temari-san, who looked offhandedly worried about her younger sister. She'd never admit it, but under her hard glaring exterior she cared very deeply for her sibling. It wasn't overdramatic or very heartwarming at all, but awkwardly formal and nonchalant.

"I see I had no reason to worry, you were found by Lee-san." Temari-san said as her younger sister approached. Gaara-hime nodded in reply.

"He was an immense help, I am most thankful he found me almost right after I lost sight of you." She said, which made Lee feel proud and gave him that indescribable giddy feeling again. But Temari-san was not smiling as she glanced over Gaara-hime's dress.

"But I see you had enough time in-between to ruin that dress." Temari-san said coolly, and Lee was ashamed and embarrassed again.

"I'm sorry, it's all my-" he started to apologize but was quickly interrupted by Gaara-hime.

"I was not Lee's fault, and don't let him tell you otherwise. I fell off my horse, you know how that's been troubling me as of late, and he found me just in time to pick me out of the dirt." Lee was astonished at her ability to admit something like that without the least bit of embarrassment. Temari-san only sighed and shook her head disapprovingly at this. But Lee felt elated. Another reason why he loved Gaara-hime. He had the urge to break out into a musical number his feelings towards her were so strong right now. But he didn't, to the great disappointment of the author.

"Well, let's get you inside so you can wash up, change, and get some rest. We'll have your official presentation in the morning." Gaara-hime nodded again to her and then turned to face Lee, giving him a look that made it seem as if he was supposed to know what to do next. When Lee just gave her a blank look her eyes narrowed so slightly he thought that maybe it had not happened.

"Would you mind helping me down?" She said, her words polite enough but the way she had spat them at him! He immediately started, gave a fast 'yes, of course,' and went to place his hands around her hips so he could carefully get her down. His hands lingered unconsciously for a moment after he placed her in front of himself. He started to move his hands back to his sides when she reached out and grabbed one. He didn't know what she was doing for a moment, but after a few seconds had passed he realized she was just supporting herself.

"Sorry," she mumbled through tight lips, "I think my thighs have gone numb." She said, more to herself than to Lee, who stood there diligently, supporting her.

"Would you like me to carry you?" Lee offered without even thinking. It was in his nature to offer any help that he could give. But he realized that Gaara-hime might take offense to his offer to help.

"No, that won't be necessary." She said in her icy, melodic voice. But as she tried to walk away from Lee's support to show she could make it on her own, she stumbled and would've fallen. But Lee's almost mind-numbingly fast reflexes kicked in before that could happen.

"Please let me at least escort you there, you do not have protective footwear and your legs are numb from the long journey. It's the least I could do." Lee said, practicing all he had learned before given this job. He had been told that being so close to the princess would cost him any informality. He cast that aside with ease but the words were still not familiar to his lips.

"Fine." She retorted, as if it caused her pain to accept help from others. Lee didn't mind, just another reason to love her in his book. She didn't hide anything, especially her feelings. Lee held out his arm like a gentleman should for a lady and Gaara-hime grabbed it, steadying herself. Since Gaara-hime insisted on not being carried Lee respected her wishes and denied his instincts to carry her to her private chambers.

They walked slowly, Temari-san already back up at the castle ordering the servants to ready a bath and new clothes for the princess. Gaara-hime walked with more ease against him the more they walked. He realized that her walking was actually better for her legs than just being carried. This way the numbness would leave her thighs faster. Gaara-hime must have already thought of this, so Lee made a note to himself on her high intelligence.

By the time they reached the main castle door that lead into the main hallway Gaara-hime could almost walk on her own again. Lee grew sad because she was so strong that she wouldn't need his support anymore. Yet, it was just another admirable quality in his book. He had weird preferences in women, and Gaara-hime happened to meet most if not all of them. He had never been gay, just never met the right woman until now. And he was happy just serving her diligently until the day he died.

"Lee," she said in a harsh whisper which caught his attention. He saw that the only reason she had whispered, though, was because she was short of breath. He looked down at her as she looked up at him, their bodies continued to move forward without them. "Why are you smiling?"

He was smiling? He hadn't even realized it. He guessed that being around the princess just made him smile naturally. "Don't know, being around you just makes me smile." He said, innocently enough, but Gaara-hime seemed to ponder the words over again in her head.

When they got to Gaara-hime's room she could stand, not very steadily but nonetheless, on her own. Lee smiled another wide grin, and checked to make sure everyone was preparing things for the princess in her room.

"Well, here's your room." He motioned to the open double doors full of people running around like chickens with their heads cut off making sure everything was good enough for the princess. He could've sworn he heard a small sigh emit from Gaara-hime's lips.

"Thank you." She said again, the words themselves were all Lee would ever need to live. They were his elixir for everlasting life.

"Not a problem, it's a pleasure severing you, Gaara-hime." He said bowing, then turning to make his leave. The princess needed to bathe and get some rest, but he still felt a pang of sadness when he left her side.

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Hey! Here's chapter two, finally! This one's geared more towards Lee, which is more fun for me to write, but more of a challenge. Esepecially when I'm sad and it'd be much easier for me to just write Gaara's emo POV all the time. But with this story I hope to have the POV switch off each chapter, so every chapter can be written differently and can still be exciting and nice to read.

Thank yous to Black Light Princess and Jadeile! My only two fans for this fanfiction right now! This chapter's for you guys. Without people watching for updates I get lazy and don't update. Dx So thanks for the support.