Unbeta-ed chapter. Thank you for the reviews and follows
Title: A Cure for a Loyal Aide, a Dilemma for a Growing Love
Inspired by: Chapter 28 of the Manga Akagami ni Shirayukihime
Character: Izana Wistalia, Shirayuki
Wordcount: 1066
Rating: General
It started with a dawning of light on her face, followed by a blink; the sudden rigidness on her back, as she sat up straight. The moonlight piercing through the clear glass window behind us made her skin looked pale like finely carved marble. Even the red of her hair turned a pale shade of lavender when the blue-tinged moonlight has thrown its shade on it.
"I got it!"
She tried to swing her feet down, but I was blocking her space when I took a seat near her. Shirayuki, for all her enthusiasm and intelligence in medicinal herbs, has another bad factor in her character.
She gets clumsy when she is a little over-excited on something.
"Ack!"
I caught her immediately before she stumbled head forward to the ground from whence she is sitting. In her excitement, she did not even noticed the gravity of the situation should she really injure herself. It is lucky I am there to break her fall.
"Will you pay attention to your surroundings?!" I scolded her gently, still holding her my arms.
"I am sorry, Prince Izana!" she continued to turn the glass phial between her fingers which she held above her head. I am mesmerised by her changing expressions. It reminded me of the unpredictable tides crashing onto the rocks of Grisaille castle which I gazed into when I find myself unable to sleep into the night.
I half-carried her, half-cradled her, as she fumbled to steady her foot. I gave an annoyed hiss and stood up, practically hoisting her and putting her down to her feet.
I sighed wearily. Shirayuki can be a handful sometimes when she is in this state. Does Zen ever get weary too?
And yet, even as I continue to study her while she scrambled for quills and notebook to record down her sudden findings, I find myself looking quite content to see her enjoying her work.
Shirayuki is unlike any other woman I've yet to meet. She is, admittedly, without guile, loyal to a fault and brave. She is generally innocent in the ways of the world, that I can be sure, for her displays of naivety can never be acted upon, however good one person can be as an actor. Discovering these details about her made me want to know more, greedy for more information about her. Does my brother feel the same way about her too? I am betting he does. I know Zen all too well for we share many traits.
I felt the familiar painful knot in my chest. Why do I feel both happy and rotten? Shirayuki is Zen's intended, and yet, here I am taking advantage of his absence and monopolising her time to spend with me. I should be thinking about my future wife, someone who is respectable and can be expected to act and fulfill the demanding obligations of a queen befitting Clarines. Shirayuki can never be a queen. It would be cruel to put her in heavy regal clothes and force her to fulfil duties that she doesn't even have knowledge about, let alone care.
"It's the moonshine." She murmured to herself, turning the phial again and again, letting the flower inside get the moonlight evenly distributed.
Fascinated, I quietly watch the petal change its color from pink to blue.
"Excellent!"
"Finally, I can complete the antidote!" She looked up at me, quill ink staining her fingers, hair still disheveled from the almost fall. How beautifully innocent she looked underneath the moonlight. Shirayuki is not a bird to be caged.
And yet, I find the idea even more tempting. The idea of taming the exotic bird and make her a willing prisoner of my will. As a man, here is a woman brilliant enough to pique my interest, rousing all that is positive and negative in me. I do not know whether it is good for my sanity or not. But I have never felt even more alive than when I am near the people I am comfortable with.
I bit my lower lip from reacting further. My attraction to the young pharmacist may be getting nowhere, but I am still treading on dangerous grounds.
I gently squeezed my hands into fists. The urge to hug her tight is so profound and deep, I find myself scared of what other things I wish to do to her. Make her mine to keep.
"Come!" I interrupted her, my hand brushing against her elbow. "The sooner Mitsuhide is cured, the better for Zen's peace of mind. The trip to Fontainebleu is waiting."
She nodded. Taking her notebook and a couple of books with her, we made our way out of the library. I escorted her all the way back to her office, where the rest of the ingredients for Mitsuhide's cure has already been set up. Now that she has the final piece to her puzzle, Shirayuki looked eager to finish what she started.
Before, she entered her room, however, I found myself pushing her against the door, trapping her between my arms propped on both sides. She looked up to meet my gaze, puzzled by my sudden actions, as if she didn't know how she reached her office without my guidance- all her thoughts are concentrated on the cure; she paid very little attention to her mobility.
"Finish the antidote and go to sleep." My voice sounded silky and deep. I hated myself for not controlling my emotions. But the look on her face is just too irresistible to be left alone like that.
She nodded absentmindedly, eyes drawn to the phial she held between her fingers.
It's bad enough I have to compete with my brother for her attention. But even with our combined forces, it probably is not enough to deter her from her obsession with plants and medicine. She's worse than Garack Gazelt!
I gently ran a finger to her jawline, fingering a few strands of her hair, a little bit more insistent in commanding her to look at me. My face lowered closer to hers, eyes heavy-lidded with desire barely controlled. I wanted to crush her against my chest and absorb all that she has to give.
"Goodnight, Shirayuki." I whispered huskily, before I spun on my heel and walk straight back to my apartments - back to my own bedroom to punch at my pillows and yearn madly for her.