Ch.4

Prince Izana would have regretted how lousy he felt at the moment if it wasn't for the small red haired woman sleeping propped up next to his bed. Her hand was still on his forehead holding a now dried out towel. They had managed to break his fever a few hours earlier after she worked tirelessly at his side.

She deduced that his ailment was caused by an allergic reaction though she hadn't been sure to what.. there was no way she could have known that gierlder root had been the culprit.

He watched her steadily rising and falling as she slept. As much as he hated to admit it she seemed quite competent at her job and she was quite patient with him. He'd hoped that this experience would have made his strange feeling toward her diminish. He'd hoped to demystify her existence so he could get back to his daily life forgetting her... but it had been so long, so long, since he'd been shown care that it had done the opposite. Izana had gotten to see a different side of her, one that was tender and gentle. He liked it.

The way she'd looked at him as she touched him hours prior made him want to take her then and there. The crowned prince knew somewhere, that she had felt it too..that there was some mutual fire between them waiting to combust. He'd enjoyed teasing her, pushing her just enough to expose anything she might have felt.

Suddenly Shirayuki lifted her head and looked up at him almost as though she'd sensed him awake.

"Prince Izana.. you're awake. How are you feeling?" She asked.

"I'm much better.. though there is still some pain over my chest and side."

"Let me check you." Shirayuki said while placing her hands on his forehead again.

She smiled.

"Your temperature is back to normal..this is good."

"I had an decent physician to care for me." Izana pointed out.

"Let me check on the rash.. i might need to reapply more of the cream I'd mixed you."

Izana pushed the white sheets down off his torso to allow her to look over him. The rash was still quite visible but he wasn't worried.. it would be gone naturally in a day or so.

"Allow me to reapply more.. it seems that it is still there. Once you're better we will have to test you for allergies.. in the mean time ill have to swap out all of your bathing products, perfumes, and re evaluate your food to make sure you do not re-affect yourself."

"Ok." He said as he watched her run her hands over him again. "Physicians orders."

She blushed every time she touched him.

"There..hopefully the rash will fade in a few days.. i'll have your guard grab you more water. We'll need to flush out your system to speed up the process."

"Of course.. thank you. And...I apologize for having you come here so late. You must have barely gotten any sleep. If you want you can go to your bed chamber.. i think i'll be fine now."

She looked at him for a moment, there was a gentleness about her green eyes. "I'll stay.. just in case there are any changes i want to make sure I'm not far."

He smiled.. he didn't want her to go but he also didnt wan't her to lose anymore sleep. Before he knew if he found himself shifting over in his bed afterall, it was large enough to fit another.

"Then you may lay beside me.. given the circumstances it shouldn't be too wildly improper. You should rest."

Shirayuki hesitated. " I don't think I could do that.. i should be fine here on the chair. I don't want you to worr-"

Izana pulled her arm and before she knew it she was laying beside him. There was a look of sheer horror in her eyes that made him chuckle.

"W-what...I-I don't, what if..what if someone were to come in, they would get the wrong idea. If youre trying-"

"-I'm not trying to do anything." He said cutting her off yet another time.

"Ostir, my guard is keeping watch by the door, no one is allowed to enter without my direct permission and no one is currently aware of my condition except for the both of you."

Shirayuki paused "why?"

"We've blocked trade routes with the kingdom of Lasxaus. They have started a war with an allied kingdom where they are crippling their economy and actively harming innocent civilians. We had to take a stand against their brutality by setting them back..our trade routes offer Lasxaus one of their leading source of income."

"Right now, they are looking for any opportunity to expose weakness in Clairence. If they believe or hear that I am ill in some way they will not hesitate to use it as a chance to attack." Prince Izana told her warily.

"That must be difficult..always having your guard up in order protect your people.."

Shirayuki looked at him with sympathetic eyes as she laid beside him.. for a moment she forgot about how scandalous it was that they were sharing a bed.

"My whole existence is a sort of masquerade. My life has never been my own.. that is my burden to carry so long as i am to be king."

"I never thought about it that way. I guess no one is truly free. In our own way we all have something which binds us."

" Yes...My cage is golden but it still has the same vertical bars.." he told her.

Izana felt himself inching closer to her, some part of him felt raw and exposed and he couldn't help but want for something more..some kind of intimacy. He had remembered a part of himself suddenly that had wanted to be understood.

He saw Shirayuki's mild shock as he drew nearer. He didn't know whether he had gone too far in his actions but he felt bold in that moment.. some part of him beyond doubt knew that he had truly wanted her. That his curiosity, that the fire he'd felt in their first interactions had been a subconscious hope for love. This invoked a sort of deep striking fear within him-but right now he'd push it aside.

"Prince Izana..what are you.." Shirayuki's voice was shaking.

"Shh.. don't worry. I dont have any intention to compromise you. Could-could you just stay here, like this, for awhile?"

Her resolve wavered. He looked so child-like, so vulnerable she couldn't help but stay. In her mind she told herself that it was just for a moment.. that he was sick and just needed comfort from really anyone.

"Just for a moment.." she said. But before she knew it the fatigue of the night caring for him had caught up to her. Her heavy eyes suddenly fell closed and she was sound asleep breathing evenly beside him.

He watched her for a long while.. she looked so small and delicate next to him. Izana was happy that she had laid beside him. It felt so normal in a way for her to be there. He didn't want to give her up to Zen.. he didn't want his brother to marry her, to share a bed like this with her one day. The thought of it tore at him in such an agonizing way.. but at the same time Zen had found her first.. could he actually do that to his own brother? And if she did in fact love the second prince would he be so selfish as to prohibit their happiness?

It felt wrong but he didn't want to stop..what if...what if she could possibly feel something for him? He shook his head.. it wouldn't matter he thought.. she wouldn't be a "suitable" bride for a king. Shirayuki had no name.. no status. His parents would never allow such a union. Zen might very well get away with it if he fought hard enough.. But things were very different for him. There was no hope in it, no use in day dreaming about a life he could never have with her.

For right now though.. he just wanted to take in this moment. Prince Izana ran his hands through her hair.. it truly was a unique shade. He'd seen copper hair before but never crimson, not like this. If people were valued for their rarity instead of name.. he was certain he'd be bowing to her instead of the other way around. The fates were cruel in that way but that was a lesson he'd already learned long ago. And once again, not for the first time, he had wished for a different name.

Then out of nowhere he felt her body shifting.. she reached out and wrapped herself against him, slender arms now around his waist. Izana felt his heart beating heavily against his chest. Was she awake? He thought suddenly.. But as he peered down he saw she was still fast asleep.

"Mmmnuh.." she mummbled against him.

He grinned.. probably looking like a bumbling idiot. The crowned prince allowed himself to ease against her and he too, found himself now fading into sleep.