CHAPTER 4 – DAY 4
Thanks again to everyone who read, reviewed, followed, and "favorited" this! I'm really happy to know that you are enjoying this story! ^^
In this chapter you'll see things beginning to move forward, as they should! 3
Warnings and the likes are the same as the others chapters!
Merlin was awake earlier than usual, she didn't want to miss the opportunity to go and wake up Escanor, so she had taken precautions and was up and about before anyone else, or so she thought.
"Princess, good morning, you are here really early today"
Elizabeth turned and smiled her way, she was hanging up something on the bulletin board.
"Good morning Miss Merlin! Oh, you look really beautiful!"
The Mage smiled in thanks, she was wearing a light green top, sleeveless, that closed around her neck, it left her bare from her ribs to her belly button, and on the upper part of her back, for the bottom part she had a long flowing skirt, a deep forest green with yellow-gold details, that almost concealed her feet, and some gold heeled sandals.
"What is that, Princess?"
Merlin approached her, curious.
Elizabeth took one of the posters she had with her and gave it to the raven haired woman.
"There will be a semi-formal event at the castle tomorrow night, to thank every knight of Liones' kingdom for their work, it will be fun, there will be food, drinks, and dances! I hope that all the Sins will attend!"
She told her cheerfully, smiling brightly. The Mage stared at the poster and then smiled at her.
"Thank you Princess, I will let Escanor know"
She said, lost in her thoughts, and was already turning back toward the bar, so she missed Elizabeth's knowing smile at her words; to the Princess it seemed that she hadn't even noticed her slip-up.
The Boar prepared breakfast and went upstairs to the Lion's room, not even bothering to knock, entering and then closing the door behind her.
She turned towards the bed but found it empty, frowning slightly, she put down the tray on his desk, and looked around the room, it wasn't very large, so he should have been in sight, unless…
She almost jumped in surprise as she heard the only other door in his room opening suddenly, and turning around she felt her breath catch in her throat: there stood Escanor, obviously without his glasses on, he was still wet from his bath, her eyes followed an interesting droplet of water that has dropped from his face, going down to his chest and following the hard plains of his stomach until it arrived at the towel around his waist, the only thing that was covering him. The Lion was occupied drying his hair with another towel, so he had yet to see her, he went towards his bed, placing his hair-towel on it, he had his back to her, and was working on unknotting the towel around his waist.
The Mage suddenly woke up from her shocked trance, and her appreciative glances at his body, and cleared her throat, to make her presence known.
The reaction was immediate.
Escanor froze, eyes wide and face pale in shock, he swallowed, and very slowly turned his head to look behind him, going completely red as soon as he found her eyes with his, one of her hips was leaning on his desk, her arms were crossed right under her breasts, and she was watching him with alluring eyes and a wicked smile.
"If I had known that you were going to give me anatomic lessons already today, I would have brought a notepad and a pencil"
She grinned provocatively, arching a brow, her voice deep and flirtatious. She has been barely able to recollect herself in time for him to turn her way, but that was only on the surface, she could feel her thundering heart still, and her breath was a little faster than normal.
It was ridiculous! She has seen him without a shirt on many times, why was she reacting this way, now of all time?
Her thoughts were interrupted by his embarrassed coughing.
"A-ah...n-no...I, uhm…"
He was absolutely flustered and, despite himself, aroused, by the situation. He grimaced internally, taking a great amount of air in his lungs, held his breath, and then expelled it, trying to reign himself in, he didn't want to embarrass the both of them, or specifically him, furthermore.
"I, uhm...I did not see you, I am s-sorry...I was not e-expecting you this early"
He didn't even dare to turn fully around to speak with her, gripping his towel tighter.
Merlin smiled mischievously, she straightened up, and put her hands on her hips.
"If I had known I could have come earlier to wash your back, Master"
Escanor turned back from her and her seductive smirk, groaning, closing his eyes and massaging his temples, while she laughed slightly and decided, finally, to take pity on him.
"I brought breakfast, do you want me to leave so that you can get dressed, Master?"
The Lion sighed aloud but shook his head.
"I will go get c-changed in the bathroom"
He quickly grabbed a change of clothes and his glasses with a hand, the other still gripping tightly the towel, and hurried into the bathroom, sighing in relief after he closed the door.
Merlin waited until she was alone to take a deep breath and then let it all out, she could feel her ears cooling down now, and shook her head to try and dismiss her strange reaction towards him and the situation they had found themselves in.
After a few minutes Escanor exited the bathroom, with his glasses and his clothes on, the Mage was waiting for him sitting on his bed, with the breakfast tray hovering near her, she smirked at him and patted the place on his bed right besides her, the Lion swallowed and summoned all his courage to go and sat there with her.
They ate breakfast in companionable silence at first, sitting on his bed, their arms brushing each other frequently while eating, and the tray hovering in front of them.
"Oh! I almost forgot. Downstairs I met the Princess and she gave this to me, she was hoping everyone would attend"
She was showing him the poster of the event of tomorrow night at the castle.
"Ah, w-well, it is really generous of her"
He was reading the information on the poster she had passed to him. There was suddenly a silence full of anticipation, and he felt observed, turning towards the Mage he found that she was looking right at him, intently, piercing him with her gaze.
"U-uhm…"
Her gaze migrated to the poster in his hands and then right back at him, arching a brow and smiling, amused.
Then suddenly it clicked for him what she was waiting for.
"O-oh…oh...uhm...M-merlin"
"Yes, Master?"
Her smile grew slightly and he cleared his throat, but something felt off for him, he wanted to do this right. He stood up, surprising her, and then turned towards her, all his being was full of determination and it reflected in the intense blue of his eyes, that were regarding her.
"Lady Merlin"
His voice was even steadier.
"Yes"
She responded softly, taken aback by his sudden change in behaviour, and unable to look away from his beautiful eyes.
"Will you do me the honor to accompany me to the Castle event tomorrow night?"
He bowed slightly, looking down from her, and offered her his hand, waiting for an answer.
Merlin was shocked, pleasantly shocked, and felt a warmth sensation flow all over inside her body, and her heart skipped a beat, she was sure, and...was she blushing?!
She tried to recompose herself, and couldn't stop a warm and genuine smile to form on her lips.
"Of course I will accompany you, it will be my pleasure"
She put her hand in his, watching in amusement as he straightened up, red faced, and smiled goofily at her. She laughed softly and stood up, their hands still connected, and their eyes locked on the other.
Suddenly Escanor flushed, realizing how close they were. He coughed embarrassed, passing a hand on his scalp.
"W-well… should we g-get going?"
He asked, trying to recompose himself; in the last few days he has improved a lot, he was faster in coming out from his embarrassed state, and he was also able to stutter less, it seemed that the more time he passed with her, the more he relaxed, he felt more at ease around her, and he was happy and proud about it!
"Yes, Master"
She smiled at him, made the tray vanish, and after making sure they had everything they needed with them, she teleported both of them to one of the cities they visited the day before.
They appeared in one of the side streets, less crowded, there was no one around, they walked a few steps toward the main street and there the situation was completely different, they had almost the sensation of being teleported in another reality: there was people all around, chaos, laughter, noisy chatting, loud screams, and a general feel of excited expectation engulfed them as soon as they entered the main street, even staying on the side they risked being pushed over from someone.
At one point Merlin was shoved forward, and they reached for the other at the same time, she turned, searching for his hand, and he trusted his arm towards her, trying to grab her, their hands brushed against each other and immediately they latched on one another, resulting in Escanor exploiting the situation to move forward to her, and Merlin pulling herself towards him. Suddenly they found themselves, pressed close to each other, in the middle of the street, looked at one another and started laughing lightly, they didn't really know why.
"We better stay close or even Aldan wouldn't be able helping me to find you again!"
She joked, trying to shift even closer to him. He squeezed her hand, securing their grip even more.
"I got you"
He said with great certainty, his determined eyes never leaving hers, it was a solemn promise. She didn't know why, but his words made her feel pleasantly warm inside, and while she didn't need a man to make her feel confident, she couldn't help but feel safe with him, it didn't matter the time of the day or night, he has always had this strange effect on her, that she couldn't explain, but she has always welcomed it.
She smiled softly at him and, hand in hand, they began navigating the flow of people.
After some time they finally arrived at the place where the fair was held, and luckily it was very spacious, so that all the people were able to disperse, and let them have a moment of quiet to breath.
"Well, that was intense"
He commented while sighing in relief and looking around. The Mage watched him and came even closer to him, leaning lightly on him.
"Yes, I was lucky to have a strong man, that protected me, by my side"
She grinned at him, teasingly, but her eyes were regarding him softly. For as long as they were at the mercy of the crowd, he had tried his best to interpose himself between her and all the people shoving them, from behind or from the side, and she had noticed it.
Her words had him blushing at her compliment, and went completely still when her lips found his cheek and she kissed him almost sweetly.
"Thank you"
The Lion was blushing and sporting a pleased, goofy, smile on his face, that made her smile in amusement.
"I-I know you can t-take care of yourself, b-but I wanted to be of help, somehow…"
The Mage smiled wider, she was grateful that he wasn't one of those man that thought that a woman couldn't take care for herself, he was always by her side just to make sure that he could be of help if she ever needed it, earlier he knew that those shoves wouldn't have hurt her, but if he could prevent some discomfort for her he would, he didn't step up for her if it wasn't needed, just to show off, he liked to watch her showing off her own powers or her intelligence, he didn't feel threatened by her, he was proud of her, they were equal, and she felt she could be herself with him, more open even.
"Shall we go take a look around?"
She squeezed his hand, not realizing that her gaze had also sweetened while regarding him. He was a little taken aback, but responded with a squeeze of his own and a warm smile.
"Yes"
They began walking around, their hands held tight, and passed a good part of the morning, and the first part of the afternoon, just walking around, talking, laughing, eating, trying some games in which Escanor tried to show off but not at her expenses, and all around they had very much fun!
They were browsing all the various stalls, stopping here and there, looking at most of their goods, at one of them the vendor was very forward with them.
"Oh! What a lovely couple you two are!"
Escanor was blushing hard, stuttering and looking everywhere, embarrassed, while Merlin was taken aback, surprised, but just smiled politely, and tried to not notice her red ears and the slight quickening of her heartbeat.
The Lion was surprised that she hadn't denied right away the words of the woman, and the vendor had him thinking: did they seem like a couple?
Yeah, they were walking around hand in hand for the most part of the time, and were staying really close to each other, but that was only so they wouldn't lose the other in the crowd...right?
He hadn't really been thinking about that while they walked around, it just happened that they stayed really close, and she didn't seem displeased by that.
His thoughts were interrupted by the whispering of the vendor, who was trying to get his attention.
"Here, take this, your lovely lady will like it for sure!"
He looked to the side, noting that the Mage had wander to the next stall, and took the thing that the woman was trusting towards him: it was a very beautiful and well crafted bracelet, it was really elegant, it was made of a few thin gold threads, that were beautifully weaved together, and every now and then there were little amethysts weaved together in the threads, and he had to agree that it would be perfect for Merlin.
He bought the bracelet, thanking the vendor, who had also lowered the price because 'they were just too lovely a couple and she liked to make couples happy', he was grateful, although the wink and the conspiratory smile she gave him at the end of her phrase had him blushing hard.
He put away the gift, and hurried over to the Mage, who was looking intently at something, and when he arrived at her side, she welcomed him with a beautiful smile, involving him in her observations, and taking his hand in hers again when they moved on the next stall.
After a while they arrived at an open space, that seemed to be set up for something specific. While they were musing about it, suddenly some people with instruments, that were hidden from them at first, began playing, and immediately the space was full of people dancing.
The two Sins stayed there, listening to the music and looking at the people moving around, at one point Escanor noticed that Merlin was swaying a little, in time with the music, he had to admit that even he was taken in the rhythm of it all, and suddenly she turned towards him, with an inviting gaze, and almost hopeful, that took him aback.
"U-uhm…"
He was obviously distressed, and she frowned slightly at this.
"I… don't know…how to d-dance…"
He felt completely inadequate in that moment, here she was silently asking him to dance and he couldn't even do that much for her, he felt really sad and depressed, of course he wasn't adequate for her, what was he thinking?!
Suddenly Merlin was in front of him, both of her hands on his cheeks, looking at him seriously in the eyes. She disliked anyone who thought little of him, or made him think little of him, him and her included.
"I can teach you"
She smiled, confident and reassuring, and he was almost shocked and felt like laughing at his own stupidity: of course, if he felt he wasn't enough for her, he just had to work harder and improve himself, and here she was, willing to help him.
"If you want"
She seemed almost unsure, and he realized that he had yet to answer her.
"A-ah! Of course! I...I mean...I would really l-like to have you teach me"
She smiled brightly, let her hands fall off of his face, with a little mourning from his part at the loss, she then looked around, taking in their surroundings, then took one of his hands in hers, pulling him away from the crowded areas, going straight for a more quiet and secluded place.
They found it right behind some stalls, a little way away from the dancing space, but near enough so that they could hear the music.
Merlin stopped and turned, so that they were in front of each other.
She didn't lose time and went right into teaching mode.
"The first thing is to be able to move in time with the rhythm of the song"
She began swaying, right on time with the song that was played.
"Try"
The Lion was unsure and very embarrassed but swallowed and tried to do the same, but wasn't really sure where to look at, and couldn't really concentrate on the song.
The Mage stopped him almost immediately, with her hands on his shoulders.
"Close your eyes, and listen only to the music"
She was smiling at him, he felt encouraged and did as he was told, wanting to prove himself worthy of her attention and time.
He listened closely to the song, and tried to sway again following the music.
"Good, if you can follow the music you can dance"
She seemed satisfied with his first achievement, this fueled his determination, he didn't want to let her down.
"Now, we'll see the position"
She went even nearer and his breath stopped in his throat, he had just realized that in order to dance they would have to be really close together for an extended period of time, and that flustered him.
She took his hands and put one on her bare waist and took the other with her own, putting her other hand on his shoulder.
"This is the base position for the base dances. You want to have a firm grip on your partner but not too strong, you don't want to hurt the other or lose them from your grip while dancing or twirling around"
He unconsciously tightened a little his grip on her hand at the mention of losing her.
"Depending on the dance you can stay more or less close to your partner. You can maintain this distance for the more formal dances"
She went a bit closer to him.
"While this is the kind of distance and position for the slower dances"
She put both his hands on her waist and hers just around his neck, going even closer, their bodies brushing each other and he was sure his heart would jump off of his ribcage.
"And this is the distance for the more intimate dances"
She pressed her body to his, circled his neck with her arms, her voice sensual and her gaze inviting. He was sure that his heart had stopped completely, he was absolutely still, unable to move or to look away from her golden alluring gaze, he couldn't even swallow, totally mesmerized by her proximity, he could feel the warmth of her body and...he absolutely didn't have to think about what other things he could feel of her body…!
"For the slow dances it is enough to just sway together with your partner, I will teach you the base dances, where it is required to move more and stay in step with your partner"
She returned at the base distance and position, watching him with a knowing smile and letting him catch his breath before going on.
"No matter the kind of dance, it is always required to stand up straight. The man usually lead the woman during the dance, you'll have the control on our movements and you'll decide where to go and what to make me do"
Escanor nodded, almost in trance, blushing. It seemed that all this week the thing that it was most required of him was to have control, or to take control, specifically on her.
"For now I'll be leading, so you can learn how to do it"
She switched position, taking the man one, and began leading him in time with the music they could hear.
For him it seemed like she was doing it with no effort, he felt like he had no other choice but to follow her, he was really amazed. She also made him twirl a couple of times, shocking him in surprise.
"Do you think you have the hang of it?"
She asked after a while, she was repeating the movements on and on, so that he could understand what she was doing and how. He nodded with determination, he didn't feel really sure, but he wanted to try and to learn, for both of their sakes.
She smiled, liking the look in his eyes, then stopped and let go of him, taking some steps back from him.
"Well then, try from the very beginning"
She smirked, and had a glint in her eyes, as if she was testing him. He stayed still for a moment, reflecting, he understood what she meant, and then acted. It wasn't so hard this time, as soon as she had stepped away from him he had almost mourned the absence of her in his arms, and he wanted to have her back there as soon as possible.
He walked a few steps forward, and bowed slightly, thrusting his hand out to her.
"Lady Merlin, would you like to dance with me?"
This time he was watching her, looking her in the eyes, she was pleasantly surprised by this, just this morning he wasn't able to do this without looking away from her. She smiled softly and accepted his hand.
"With pleasure Sir Escanor"
He led her back where they were practicing before, taking position, one hand on her waist and the other supporting her other hand surely in his. He was almost inebriated by her, her closeness, the warmth of her body, her silky skin that he could feel under his hands, her beautiful smile and her deep alluring gaze where he could lose himself.
He began dancing, leading her, not effortlessly at first, but gradually he became better and better the more they danced.
Merlin was shocked, she liked dancing but had always refrained to do it as much as possible because she tended to not let the man lead, she was always the one in control, she didn't let herself relax and didn't let her partner have control over her, so she found herself battling with the man for control every time, and she didn't really enjoy herself. It has also become a challenge for all the male to see which one of them would be able to subdue her, when she found out she was almost livid and hadn't accepted a dance from unknown men since.
This time it was different, a very good difference, she found herself relaxing almost instantly in his arms, she wasn't afraid of him to take control over her because she trusted him, she was following him effortlessly, like it was meant to be like this, she hadn't time to overthink anything, his genuinesses was safe, she felt safe and cared for in his arms, and she was enjoying herself very much while dancing with him. Escanor was leading without the arrogance of the other men, he didn't want to prove himself superior to her, he wanted to be her equal, he was leading her step by step, making sure he was doing it right so to not injured or embarrass her, he was trying to lead her right, so that they both would enjoy this, he wanted her to enjoy this, he was focused only on her, on what moves could please her, what he could do to make it even better; and in that instant the thought of what kind of partner he would be in bed popped up forcefully in her mind. The thought was so sudden, random and shocking, that she stumbled a bit, but thanks to her partner she was able to stay on her feet, he was able to stop her from falling down circling her waist with his arm and pressing her to his body, stopping the dance.
"I am sorry!… a-are you alright Merlin?"
He thought her losing her foot was somehow his fault, but she knew better. She was gripping his shoulder and hand as if they were her lifeline, her chin was on his other shoulder, her cheeks were red and she was breathing fast, her heart beating even faster.
...
...
...
...
...What the hell was that?!
I'm particularly proud of this chapter, and also of the next one :D I enjoyed very much writing them, and I hope you'll like them too ^^
Next chapter will be the longer one I have ever wrote so far! It is hard work but I hope you will enjoy it!
I absolutely love how their behaviours evolve towards each other, how they dance around each other, I really really love them! I hope you love them too! ;D ^^