SIXTEEN – Disgusting Reality

Right after Obi's attempt to bark at his Master, he went right to the castle's kitchen.

Obi was now extra worried about her, forcing himself to do whatever it takes to protect her. He couldn't disrespect his Master, surely, but he intends to have a calm discussion with him. But for now, Obi was going to try his best to make this lovely girl smile.

He decided to take her out for a picnic for her break. She was quite reticent about it, but right when Obi told her he made a basket of food, she easily agreed. So there the two were, strolling on the warm patches of grass far away from Zen's corridors to set down a blanket. Obi held her hand to help her down before opening the basket and setting everything up. Though, he did watch as she removed her brown boots and let out a relieved sigh from it.

"Are those boots uncomfortable, Miss?" Obi asked, Shirayuki glancing back to give him a soft smile.

"It's not that really," Shirayuki responded. She looked back at the view provided with a gentle smile. "Walking so much from my wing to the storage room, to Garak's office, and back to my wing kills my feet a bit."

Obi watched as Shirayuki stared distantly at the rest of Clarines. Although the two mainly stayed at the castle, they always loved to stare at the town. Series of pastel blues and greens were ornate as buildings for the kind people of Clarines, conducting their lives so normally. Sometimes it made Shirayuki wonder what it was like to be an ordinary citizen, even without the red hair that brought her a lot of unwanted attention.

"I can carry you for the rest of our days if you want," Obi commented, taking his seat on the blanket with much space between him and Shirayuki. She glanced at him, giggling at his cheeky smirk before softly shoving his shoulder. "You think I'm kidding?"

"I know you're not," Shirayuki replied with a smile, her eyes going back towards the town. "But I definitely don't want to be carried around forever. I'll forget how to walk!"

"But you won't have to remember as long as I carry you!" Obi exclaimed his point.

"But about when we grow old?" Shirayuki suggested.

"My strength will never go away."

"What if I gain a ton of weight in like, 3 days?"

"Never going to happen."

"What if you suddenly go away?" Shirayuki said softly. Obi snapped his neck to look at her, seeing woe play at her expression with a sad smile. Does she really concern herself over that? Obi found it rather adorable that she did, even though she was looking so upset. Obi then reached for the basket, grabbed two rolls of bread and offered one to the girl.

"I'll never go away so long as you want me around," Obi muttered, taking Shirayuki slightly by surprise as he took a bite of the bread. Shirayuki studied him, noticing a soft pink paint at his upper cheeks. Obi was always so serious and she was used to that. But his words held not only a stern composure, but also had evident sentiment in them. She watched him look at the town, knowing that he was slightly embarrassed by his own words.

"Well then," Shirayuki began with a wide smile. She glanced back and grabbed the small wooden container with butter. She took a knife and cut a small cube of the butter before smearing it all over her roll. "I guess you're stuck with me forever."

Obi looked over, his mouth full as Shirayuki snickered at him. Her cute button nose crinkled up with her adorable tease, having Obi smile widely as she nibbled on her bread. The two ate quietly, but enjoyed the silence between them with nature providing them with sound. The trees rustled quietly from the wind, with very quiet music streaming from the town. They were likely having a celebration of some sort as the sun was coming to set.

"Oh hey, I also brought some grapes if you want," Obi realized, having Shirayuki watch as he reached for the basket to reveal a bunch of grapes hung by a peduncle. The light green orbs hung loose by the pedicels, holding together the sweet juice of the fruit. "Have some."

"Aw Obi, I'm quite grapeful for these grapes," Shirayuki joked, detaching a grape from the stem before plopping it in her mouth. Obi shook his head, chuckling a bit from how silly she was. But it warmed his heart to see her laughing rather than crying, even if the happiness wasn't complete. The bit of happiness she was expressing was real.

"You are something else, Miss," Obi admitted, snatching 3 grapes before throwing all three up in a row. He tilted his head up, allowing the grapes to plop in one by one before struggling to close his mouth and chew them. Shirayuki rolled her eyes, calling him a brag as he struggled to chew and swallow the grapes. "You've got a few crumbs."

"On my face?" Shirayuki asked in embarrassment, having Obi nod as he indicated where with his hand and his own lips. Shirayuki mimicked (or tried to) his movements as she began rubbing her lips with both hands. Obi tried to keep from smiling widely at how focused she was to rid of the carbohydrates on her soft lips. Slowly, but surely, she managed to get them off her face and onto the green scarf around her neck.

"Oi, now the scarf is dirty," Obi pointed out, having Shirayuki look down to see the crumbs now sat on the garment.

"Shoot!" She quickly moved her hands on the scarf and began sifting it off. Obi suppressed his laughter by covering his mouth with his hand. She looked so cute when she was focused on something. Her eyebrows were lowered with her head tilted down, pushing her cheeks up to squish her face a bit. "Gosh, this is so pesky!" Obi finally let out a laugh, receiving a weak growl from Shirayuki before she joined him.

An hour passes, and Obi begins to pack up everything. He removed his jacket to reveal his ivory black shirt, having Shirayuki watch while she was pulling her boots on. She watched as Obi folded the blanket perfectly and put their mess in the basket before closing it. She smiled at how kind he was, not even asking for assistance to do everything on his own.

"You know I could've helped," Shirayuki began quietly. Obi then looked at her with one of his classic smirks, his amber eyes studying her. They twinkled slightly before he closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Nah."

Shirayuki rolled her eyes, rising from the ground to circle around Obi. He noticed this and shook his head with a smile, chuckling at her shake-like actions. She was testing him, giving him a sneaky smile as she stared at him curiously with her emerald eyes.

"Are you a shark or what?" Obi finally commented, bringing the blanket under one arm to hold between it and his side. He bent down and grabbed the basket with his free hand to twirl around to meet Shirayuki's eyes. She giggled at his comment before snagging his gray jacket from the ground.

"No, but I am taking this!" She chanted in triumph as she held the warm garment in her hands. Obi shook his head at her silliness as he reached out to take it back. But she kept dodging him, having Obi huff before trying again. Unfortunately, his velocity was cut due to all the items he carried, causing struggle to erupt in attempts to get his jacket.

"Quit playing around, Miss!" Obi exclaimed with a chuckle. She jumped around some before shooting him a mischievous wink.

"Come and catch me then." With those words, Obi watched as Shirayuki darted forward. He watched her feet dash on the patch of grass, her goal set in running around the castle rather than in it. A good idea for those who don't want to get in trouble.

"Alright then," Obi said calmly, accepting the challenge as he darted right after her. Of course, his running was fine due to the consistency. But, for all jokes and her entertainment, he pretended to be slowed down from the items in his arms. All just to continue hearing her silly laughter from 'stealing' his jacket.

"You're so slow!" Shirayuki teased, glancing back as she flailed his jacket in the air. "Come catch me already!"

"I don't know if you noticed," Obi shouted, practically jogging as he 'tried' to catch up. "But my arms are sort of occupied right now!"

"Excuses, excuses!"

Obi chuckled to hear her voice and the way she laughed with such glee. She sounded so content, laughing uncontrollably just over stealing his jacket. He loved it so much and kept this memory close to his heart. But his chuckling soon dissolved when he saw Shirayuki stop and stood still. Obi took the change and snatched the jacket with the hand holding the basket.

"Gotcha!" Obi exclaimed, but Shirayuki hadn't reacted. Obi moved over to her side, looking at her from there to see a shocked expression painted on her face. His mood dropped a little and was replaced with confusion. "Hey, what's wrong, Miss?"

Obi then turned to see what she was staring at, realizing why she was staring with horror in her green orbs. There was Prince Zen, standing feet from the two as the sun was falling from the sky. They were only able to see his side, but saw him hold onto the hips of who they can safely assume was his fiancé. He and Elizabeth were pressed together, their foreheads leaning against one another as their lips were attached and in motion.

"Obi, he… he's…" Shirayuki's words were broken, pure shock and pain sliding off her tongue. She weakly held up her arm, her hand shaking as she pointed at the two. Obi felt his blood boil, wanting nothing more than to either remove Shirayuki's feelings for him or punching Zen senseless.

"C'mon," Obi muttered, passing his jacket to his other hand to throw it over her head. Shirayuki held it tightly at the zipper as Obi guided her in the castle and dashed her down corridors. She mastered the practice of silently weeping, but the pain she let out was spread to Obi. Even though Obi was in a rush to get her back to her room, he still didn't feel comfortable. Knowing Zen and what he's been doing, he might just come back again tonight.

Reaching Shirayuki's bedroom, Obi shuts the door behind him and puts the basket and blanket down. He tosses the blanket aside, telling Shirayuki that he'll pick it up tomorrow. She merely nods, holding onto his jacket with her head down. He knew she was crying, so he didn't bother looking. His hands clenched into fists, this overwhelming anger taking him over as he let out a frustrated sigh.

"Miss." Shirayuki lifted her head up, looking up at her body guard with a blurry vision. Obi winced to see her face flushed, wet, and in pure pain. He clung his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes with ease. "I'm gonna go and if he comes back tonight, you try your best to push him away. If you can't, please tell me tomorrow and I'll do whatever I can to comfort you."

"Why can't you stay with me tonight?" Shirayuki whimpered. Obi looked down, hating himself and his position as well as his respect.

"I… I can't," Obi admitted. "As much as I'd like to, I know it'd be bad. If Master came in, he'd assume we were having a thing, likely call you a nasty name and start a fight. Or, if he doesn't have the first throw, my anger will take over and I will punch him straight in the face. And really, I don't want you getting in trouble over my instability and bad temper."

Shirayuki nodded, understanding the situation. Obi put his arms firmly to his sides, hating himself for not being able to do more due to his rank. He felt his blood heat up in a frenzy, his anger too strong to ignore. But then, to his pleasure, Shirayuki had grabbed him by the cheeks, pulled him down, and planted a soft kiss on his forehead.

"Thank you for looking out for me," Shirayuki whispered, having Obi's heart hammer his chest with blood surging to his cheeks. He nodded, bowing to her before bidding her goodnight. He grabbed the jacket from her head, having the two share a gentle smile before Obi put it on and exited her room reluctantly.

There Shirayuki was. Alone. She stood dead center of her room, as usual, as she waited for the Prince to come in and do whatever he'd like. She braced herself, trying to build up the courage to tell him to stop and break this affair she never asked for. But as she stood there bravely, her posture faltered with the hours that were passing.

1 hour became 2, 2 ended up being 3, and then 4 came along until it was 3 in the morning. Shirayuki grew tired, taking a seat on her bed as she waited. But grogginess was taking her over right at the lick of 5 in the morning. Slowly, she let her body fall with her head hitting her pillow. Gradually, her eyelids found themselves closing, having the last sight be the door that she waited to be knocked.

As she fell into a deep slumber, she realized something very vital: Zen never came by that night, and Shirayuki didn't know how to feel.