Twenty Three Nights

by Yuleen75

[One shot] It took her four years to realize what she was feeling for him and twenty three nights to do something about it.

This is a little embarrassing to say, but it took me two years and three months to upload this fanfic. Yeah, I'm awful.

I was inspired to write this fanfic when I started my relationship with my boyfriend. I never wrote a romantic fic before, so it was a new thing for me aaaaaand really weird but hey! Let' do it anyway!

Thanks to Arkueid for beta reading : ) you're just awesome.

Summary:

It took her four years to realize what she was feeling for him and twenty three nights to do something about it.

~ Twenty Three Nights ~

Estelle closed the book roughly, sighing at another fruitless search.

"You will never find anything in all those novels."

The pink haired princess looked at the krytian with desperation, getting more frustrated with the smile that her friend had on her face.

"But they are the only books that say anything about it!" She said in frustration, carefully putting the book on top of one of the many piles on her desk.

The study was the most important room in her villa, since it's where all the activities concerning the Empire were held. Also, it was the most impressive. The floor was covered by a dark purple carpet and three of the four walls were covered by row upon row of shelves, all filled with books, journals, novels and encyclopedias from all over the world. The room was a sight to behold by itself, but the thing that gave the room its majestic look was the wall behind the desk, which instead of wood or concrete it was made of clear glass. The sight was out of this world, with a clear view of the trunk of the Great Tree of Halure, its petals framing the top of the window, casting the scenery with thousands of falling petals each day.

Ignoring the stare of the krytian sitting on the chair behind the desk, the princess took another book and read the gold letters printed on it.

"'Three Steps Away From Love' by Swe Willamette."

"That's a cheesy name." said Judith with a smile, her eyes fixed in the pink haired woman that kept staring at the wine colored cover. With the years, the princess has let her hair to grow and now it was reaching her mid back. While she hadn't filled her chest area as much as she had wanted to, her body definitely had more curves than before.

"Is a romantic novel." The princess said while opening the book, noticing the white color of the pages, the pristine state of the edges and the black crispy letters. Clearly the book was brand new. "They are supposed to be cheesy and overly poetic."

"If that's your idea of love then you are doing it the wrong way."

Estelle sighed heavily, pondering the words from her blue haired friend. With the book close to her chest and her eyes fixed on her naked feet, she started to walk in circles around the room. For four years she has been living in her villa near the roots of Halure's tree, helping the people and the Empire as a Counselor for the Emperor. Living in Halure resulted to be one of her best choices, because it gave her the freedom she learned to enjoy while traveling with Brave Vesperia but still left her in an excellent position to help everyone.

She was grateful for her life, but the princess always felt that something was missing. There was emptiness in her heart, a hole that was missing the final piece to make everything perfect. And she knew which piece was and where to find it. To be truthful, she always had it, but never understood how to make it fit.

Until twenty three days ago.

"Love is more complicated than that." Said someone from the other side of the room, making both women turn their heads towards the sound. The princess was surprised and a little bit ashamed for forgetting that they weren't alone while the krytian laughed, her red eyes closing with the gesture.

"Rita!" Exclaimed the pink haired woman, at the same time that the red clothed mage closed the book on her lap and took off her glasses. She was lying on the floor, her back against a box full of books near the door and surrounded by dozens more, and papers scribbled with formulas and theories. The passing of the years were obvious on the famous genius from Aspio, her body more filled than before, bold mounted glasses and shorter hair with an elegant fringe.

"Rita is right." Judith exclaimed, throwing her long blue hair toward the other side of her neck, leaving it to fall freely on her shoulder. "Love isn't easy and a novel is just a fantasy. It would be a fatal mistake to take what those things say as an advice."

The mage bit one of the temples of her glasses, carefully watching the princess walking from one side of the room to the other. The lime colored dress that the princess was wearing seems to dance with each step, making the frills in the trims to move like snowflakes in the wind.

"I still don't see what's the big deal about it." Rita said nonchalantly, causing Estelle to stop in mid step.

"How can you say that?!" The princess yelled, her cheeks burning crimson. "Love is one of the most beautiful things in life!" She shouted once again.

The pink haired woman turned toward the window with a nostalgic look, making Rita raise an eyebrow from the strange mood swings of her friend. "We do everything in this world for love." Estelle said dreamily.

Rita rolled her eyes. She had been staying in the princess's house for more than a week, working in her compilation about blastia as side project that she started as a break from the Manalogy. But in all this time the princess has been running around searching for an answer to her dilemma, barely paying attention to the genius mage in her home. Everything that came out of the mouth of her friend was about love, romance, eternal happiness and passion. Fortunately, she hadn't reached the state where she was neglecting her duties to the Empire, but Rita was worried that the princess wasn't too far from that.

"I could care less about that." The mage said with a wave of her hand, watching in amusement how the princess's cheeks puffed.

"We all know what your opinion of love is, Rita." Said the krytian casually, resting her chin on her hand. Her red eyes sparkled under the light coming from the window, clearly enjoying the frustration of the princess and the supposedly careless attitude of the mage. "Obviously, is pushing a poor guy around and denying him even if-"

"That's not your business!" Screamed Rita desperately, her face red and her hand trembling in embarrassment. "I don't want anything with him!"

Judith laughed heartily, ignoring Rita's glare across the room. It will take a while for the mage to admit that she can be interested in a guy, much less to say that she likes one. In the meantime the krytian was going to bother her and enjoy every second of it.

Meanwhile, the princess started to walk in circles once again, deep in thought. For twenty three days and twenty two nights she has been reading all the books about love that she could, hoping to find what she's looking for. Sadly, the only books that speak about the subject were novels and like Judith already pointed out, they were pretty much useless.

Estelle sighed deeply, stopping near Rita with her back to her and her eyes fixed on the view behind the wall of glass.

"Then... what do I do?" She said. "What can I do to...to..." She bit her lips. She still couldn't say it out loud.

"Do what?" Asked Judith, standing from behind the desk and walking around it with her hands on her hips and a ever present smile on her face. "Make Yuri fall in love with you?"

The face of the princess became a deeper crimson color, surprised at the knowledge of her friend. Has she been too obvious with who she became infatuated with? She never told her friend that the three weeks of blushing and mind on the clouds were caused by the black haired swordsman. But as soon as Judith saw her in one of her visits, she knew right away that it was about him. Rita took more time to figure it out, but she only rolled her eyes and murmured something with a grin.

"Yuri is too... free." Estelle whispered, sensing Rita's eyes on her back. The two women knew she was in love with Yuri, but they didn't really know why she was so upset. "He's completely devoted to Brave Vesperia, especially after the Union signed the treaty with them. He's a traveler and an adventurer, he lives for the thrill of going to all kind of places and meeting all kind of people."

"Trying to convince him to stop travelling for a month is pretty hard. To ask him to settle down with someone is in another level of difficulty." Judith said, gaining a sad smile from the pink haired woman. "I don't know how to help you. I'm sorry.

Estelle sighed deeply, her eyes now downcast. Judith has always been full of wonderful advices, her wisdom coming from her rough early years and her passion for travelling and trying new things, but even the princess doubts that Judith knows much about love. After all, even to the one-upon-a-time naive princess, it was clear that the krytian knew more about lust and passion than romance and love.

Sighing deeply and with her eyes downcast, Estelle placed the book at the top of the desk. She was starting to feel her motivation slip, until Rita grunted from behind her, gaining the attention of her two friends.

"You're doing this the wrong away." The mage stated, putting her glasses back on.

"I know that!" The princess pouted, not caring how childish she looked.

"I'm not talking about that, idiot." Rita stated harshly, crossing her arms. "You can't change a blastia."

Both the princess and the krytian stared at her, oblivious to the meaning of her words.

"What does a blastia has to do with Yuri?" The blue haired woman asked.

The mage stared at the krytian for a second, hoping that her annoyed look would get the idea across.

It didn't.

"When blastias were still working, a mage couldn't change it to fit his needs. We always had to modify our theories and formulas to find a way to make it work, because blastias were always there, we just didn't know how to use them."

The princess stared at her friend still not getting what a blastia has to do with her problem. In the other hand Judith understood quickly, showing it with a grin.

"In other words," Judith explained calmly. "You can't make Yuri do what you want."

"Exactly." Rita said proudly, looking more relaxed after seeing Estelle's expression changing under the revelation. "If you want this to work out, you have to change to fit Yuri's needs."

Estelle nodded, a wide smile forming on her lips. It was obvious! She couldn't make Yuri stay in Halure, it would go against everything that he does and likes. She needs to change, adapt her life to Yuri's.

The pink haired woman giggled, she finally knew the general idea of what she had to do to get closer to the dark swordsman. She could travel more to Danhgrest to see him and go with him when he's on a job near Halure. She could also dedicate more time to him when he comes to visit, like preparing the meals herself and practicing with him in the morning.

More and more ideas kept forming in her head, from what cake to bake to what route she could take to reach Danhgrest until she remembered something. A small little fact that threw all her plans out of the window.

"But..." The princess said deflated. "I can't leave everything, or even a good part of my responsibilities for him. The people depend on me."

Rita sighed and Judith smiled in understanding, patting the princess's head softly.

"I know. That's why you have to choose by yourself."

The nights in Halure were one of the most wonderful things to see in Terca-Lumiries. It came to the point that dozens of people came each day just to spend one night on the streets of the town to see the rose colored petals shinning under the moonlight. And one would think that this would make the place crowded, but in reality it would only fill the corners and the roots in the base and around the town with awed people, completely dazed with the beauty of the night.

Estelle enjoyed walking a little past twilight. The hope, the smiles and the feeling of achievement in the faces of the travelers was inspiring and fulfilling, it only made her remember her own journey around the world.

"I will be going." Rita said suddenly, taking Estelle out of her day dream and making her blush. Once again the pink haired princess forgot that her friend was there. But before Estelle could answer her friend said "see you later!" and went running out of her sight.

"Uhn… Rita?" Estelle asked to the air, confused with the sudden exit of her friend. A little voice inside her head filled with guilt told her that it was because she was ignoring her since she came from Aspio, but she quickly explained to herself that Rita was a loner, so she wouldn't mind.

Tapping her finger against her chin and looking to the branches of the Great Tree above, the princess tried to think of a reason for the strange actions of her friend. Estelle stood there for a while, ignoring the few people walking past, too absorbed in her thoughts.

It wasn't until she gave up and turned to keep walking that she finally understood the mage.

"Yuri!" Estelle yelled in surprised, her face and neck turning crimson at the sight of the black haired male standing behind her.

"And for a moment I thought that you fell asleep there." He said with a grin, crossing his arms and tapping his foot.

The princess took a deep breath and brought her hands to her chest, amazed by the man in front of her. His black hair was longer now, way below his hips and securely held in a high ponytail. He was wearing black loosed pants, with a tight dark green shirt and black scarf, similar to the costume that he received from the vigilante four years ago. The black boots and gloves were present as well, together with a single blue earing adorning his right ear, the result of a lost bet he made with Raven.

She couldn't figure out what he was thinking, it was always hard to know with him. But whatever he had in mind made his lips widen, showing his slightly crocked teeth.

"What happened? Did Rita run away with your tongue?"

"I talked after she left." Estelle said softly, mentally smacking herself when Yuri chuckled at her ingenuity.

"You never change, do you?"

And indeed she doesn't.

A lot of things had changed since their journey ended, some of them more noticeable than others. Rita got over the loss of Blastia, Judith learned to not hide secrets from them, Karol grew up and drew the courage to ask Nan out, Raven has adapted to his life free of Alexei and she now lives by herself out of the Palace.

But even if things were different now, she knew that the dark swordsman would always be by her side. It was stupid how she didn't realize what she felt for him; the moronic smiles and the feeling of security were caused by simple and pure love.

She sighed deeply at her incompetence, gaining a curious look from the guild member.

"Is something in your mind?" He asked nonchalantly, following her when the pink haired princess started to walk. He has always asked her straight ahead what was worrying her or what she wanted, but in the last few years he started to be gentler about it, his voice missing the usual edge of complete disinterest or urgency.

Another thing that changed with the ages.

"Is just that…" She paused, looking at the man beside her. It was then that she noted that he didn't have his sword with him, a weird detail coming from Yuri. "…I have been having a lot of things on my mind."

He nodded once, crossing his arms again and murmuring something under his breath. She didn't hear what he said, but the serious frown in his features made her ask if something was wrong.

"Nothing's wrong." He said with a shrug, his face relaxing a little. "I also have a few things on my mind."

The princess tilted her head a few degrees, more curious than worried now.

"Is it something with the guild?"

"Yes."

Estelle smiled softly. Yuri took the security of everyone pretty seriously, but since Brave Vesperia became as big and influential as it was now, he has developed a feeling of overprotectiveness that couldn't be described. He has devoted himself to Brave Vesperia and to Karol, the young and brilliant guild leader, to his fullest. He fought, travelled and spoke for what he calls now his home, his efforts only comparable to Karol's and Judith's.

"Remember the 'Treaty of Whitehorse'?" He asked distantly, his eyes fixed somewhere on the branches of the tree.

"Of course I remember!" Estelle exclaimed proudly, her smile widening from ear to ear. "I have been working in that project together with Harry and Ioder for months."

Yuri laughed, making her blush again. This was also one of the few things that the passing of the years has changed in him: his laugh. When they were going around the world he smiled and chuckled constantly, but a he never gave a full heartily laugh. Now, though they were reserved for when he was with his closest friends, he would share one with a big smile on his baritone tone. It made her completely warm and happy, making her giggle.

After he stopped to catch his breath the princess came to notice that they weren't walking anymore. She couldn't remember exactly which road they took outside of the town and around the enormous trunk, but they were standing between the roots of the tree and with a clear view of the flowing and endless petals falling from the sky.

It was a beautiful sight, one that Estelle enjoyed more with Yuri there.

"Well, yeah, that one." He said with a grin, breaking her stare on him. "Harry has been working almost to death to meet all the requirements of the treaty, and like always he pulled Brave Vesperia into the mess."

"It seems that you will never take a break." Estelle said, catching a few of the petals in her hand.

"Yeah, you know how he is. If he's going to go down he will take everyone with him."

The swordsman sat on one of the lower roots, which was partly buried in the earth. Without wasting any second the pink haired princess sat beside him, leaving the pink petals to fall behind her.

For a few moments both the princess and the swordsman were in complete silence.

Those moments without words, where Estelle was just a woman and Yuri was just a man, were the best ones. The long journey, their busy lives, her nobility and his humbleness were less than nothing.

Estelle wondered why she didn't see before that night a few weeks ago that this is when she was the happiest, together with him in any place and in any situation. Why did she take four years to open her eyes and see that everything that she wanted was right beside her?

Unconsciously she reached for his hand, which was resting beside him flat on the root.

"What's wrong?"

She looked up, her emerald green eyes catching his black ones.

"What about the treaty?" She asked unsurely, quickly letting go of his hand.

"They choose the ambassador."

The princess's eyes widen in surprise. Her lips formed a wide smile, feeling proud with the accomplishment. The Treaty of Whitehorse was named in the honor of Don Whitehorse, the former head of the Union, and was the joined effort of the Empire and the Guild to form a solid relationship between the two. This means that an ambassador has to be established in each capital of both sides, and until now this has been the hardest choice to make. The difficulty of this task lied in that the nobility of the Empire and the members of the guilds were too proud and wary to trust in a single figure of the opposite team.

"And who is it?" Estelle asked exited. "It is Raven, right? I suggest him since he has been part of the higher ranks both in the Empire and in Altosk. He's ideal for the job!"

Yuri sighed and averted her eyes, deflating her enthusiasm instantly.

"They didn't choose Raven?" She asked disturbed, a feeling that deepened when Yuri answered with a shake of his head.

"Then who did they choose?!" Estelle asked at the top of her lungs, out of her character. She stood in front of him fixing her worried eyes on his, demanding the information.

He didn't answer.

This means a lot for her -no, to whole the world- and it was a topic that has caused her insomnia more than once before. The pink haired princess couldn't imagine what would happen if they choose a person not fit for the job.

And he still didn't answer.

Estelle took a deep breath to calm herself. She opened her mouth to talk, to say something – anything! – to prevent a nervous breakdown, but the wide and beautiful grin that suddenly appeared on Yuri's face made her stop.

"They choose me."

Her heart skipped a beat.

And then two.

Probably three.

Once again she took a deep breath, only that this time it was to make sure that she was still alive and that she didn't imagine those words.

The information was overwhelming, but her heart rate was on the sky. It took her almost a full minute before the pink haired woman could answer.

"Don't forget to breath. I heard that people die if they don't." The dark swordsman said; clearly enjoying the reaction of the princess.

"Is it true...?" She whispered while her words got stuck in her throat, which suddenly felt too dry.

He only nodded, opening his arms right on time to catch the princess in his embrace. Estelle tackled him with all her strength, almost making him fall on his back from the top of the root.

She couldn't describe the joy that she was feeling right now. An ambassador was a person of high authority, someone above most of the nobility and closer to the King that one could imagine. It will bring such dignity to his name.

It was wonderful!

She hugged him tighter than ever, only comparable to the time that she saw him walking nonchalantly in the Lower Quarters after he felt from Zaude. But the magic of the moment increased tenfold with his laugh, making her skin tingle in delight.

Such wonderful news!

Or at least they were, until she came to a sudden realization.

Estelle let go of him, Yuri looking at her curiously at the sudden change in the princess' mood. She fixed her green eyes on his, serious and with a hint of worry setting on her features.

"Why didn't they choose Raven? What about the guild? Can you leave Danhgrest just like that?" Her question had a hidden motive, obviously. This was the final question to her dilemma of the last twenty three days, one that she hasn't been able to figure it out by herself. Even Judith and Rita couldn't find an answer.

Would he leave his freedom?

He sighed, smiling sadly at her. The pink haired princess couldn't figure out what he was really thinking, what was going on his mind when he looked at her like that. Was it because she was making a stupid question? Was she being too ignorant?

"They didn't even bother to put him as a candidate. He has devoted himself completely to the Union, and he's going to leave neither Altosk nor Brave Vesperia."

His words were completely emotionless, his black eyes fixing somewhere to the right far from her.

"And what about you?"

Yuri turned towards her, catching her fierce gaze with a chuckle.

"What about me?"

"Would you leave Brave Vesperia? Would you leave Danhgrest? The life in the Palace is nothing like you, Yuri!"

The princess was caught by surprise when he smiled at her, warm and sincere, like he found something he was looking for.

He looked… happy.

And now she was confused. Weren't the girls supposed to be the ones with the mood swings? All the novels she has been reading always say so.

"I'm not going to live in the Palace." He said with a shrug, the smile becoming wider with the total confusion of the princess.

Standing and brushing the few petals that fell on him, the dark swordsman crossed his arms with his back turned to the princess. Whatever he was thinking now seemed to be pretty amusing for him.

"And where are you going to live?"

"I have a place in mind." He said while waving his hand in the air. "But I need the permission of the owner."

Estelle tilted her head, staring curiously at the man before her. "Did you ask already?"

"I needed to confirm if the place was available first."

Estelle watched Yuri's back, catching a glimpse of his grin when he turned slightly to look at her from the corner of his eyes. There was something on him; maybe it was the way he was avoiding her gaze or how happy he seemed to be, but she knew that he was hiding something.

"But are you willing to leave Danhgrest?" She asked again and more firmly this time. They were getting off topic.

"Actually…I have been thinking of moving somewhere else for a while."

"You have?!" She asked incredulously.

"Uh-hum…" He simply answered.

Once again the silence fell between then, but this time a little more awkward. She was starting to feel anxious, the way he was acting was strange and she didn't know what to think of the situation. That they had named him as the ambassador was amazing, but there was something more behind his behavior that she couldn't decipher.

He turned towards her with a blank expression. The swordsman suddenly looked too serious, with no trace of the smile that just a few seconds ago adorned his face. This only made Estelle more puzzled and wary of him. He was definitely hiding something.

"Look, I needed time before saying this..." He said quietly. "But I need to take care of this. Now."

What was he talking about? Did something happen to the guild? To the Union? To him? Yuri said that he had been thinking of moving somewhere else, is he talking about settling down? Is he going to leave Braves Vesperia – leave Karol! – just like that? Why didn't he tell her about it before? Is something wrong?

Maybe he doesn't trust her? Isn't she good enough to be with him? Not even as a friend?

A swirl of ideas and feelings made a nest in the princess's head, flooding her mind with all kind of thoughts. She tried to keep them at bay, telling herself that they were friends and they went through so much together to be strangers out of nowhere. But the doubt was there and fear gripped her heart.

He looked at her, his black eyes as night against her green eyes as the deepest forest. He gulped…

And Yuri definitely is not a man that gulps.

During the months travelling around the world she had polished her skills and endurance to incredible proportions. With an increased agility and endurance born only from the rashest environment she was able to survive the final battle. But she spent the last four years living in a quiet town, and even if she had been training she couldn't keep the steps of someone with a life more active than her.

All this was the first thing that came to her mind, of how weak and slow she has become, when Yuri closed the gap between them before she could registered it. The second thought was why the dark swordsman suddenly decided to reach for her when just a few seconds ago he looked at her so expressionless and cold that made her skin crawl.

But in the end her mind went blank and her body in overdrive when his lips touched hers.

It was nothing more than a butterfly kiss, a soft brush that lasted a heartbeat. It was quick and beautiful; bizarre and divine. It made her question if she imagined it in the first place; but the fact that Yuri's face was a few millimeters from the princess, with a tint of red in his cheek, made her confirm that yes, it was real.

Strange and wonderful, but real.

"I heard a story." The dark swordsman said with a grin adorning his face. His eyes gleamed in happiness, but the hint of mischief in there lessened the rarity of such emotions. "That if a couple kisses under Halure's Tree they achieve eternal happiness."

The princess's red checks puffed in annoyance, though it did nothing in covering the smile that bloomed after that. "That's wrong. There is not a single fairytale that says that about the tree."

"There isn't?" Yuri asked nonchalantly and looking to the side as in deep in thought, continuing the game that he started. "Then maybe I confused it with some other place."

"Maybe." She added, understanding his game. "But I believe that you don't need to follow an old story to be happy."

Estelle didn't really know how she was able to follow his lead, as if nothing happened between them right there and now. She was shaking from head to toe, putting her feet apart so un-lady like, all to kept herself on her feet. A pounding in her head made the princess hear her own voice two times louder and her vision to lose all focus of everything but him.

He made a noncommittal sound, narrowing his eyes at Estelle as a bad actor would do on stage. "But I believe that a certain princess likes cheesy stuff."

"Maybe… Just maybe." The pink haired woman felt weightless when the dark swordsman fixed his eyes on her. Her chest was about to burst open in ecstasy, and it practically did when before he could say anything else she told him three simple words.

"I love you."

Estelle couldn't describe how wonderful and liberating was to say that out loud, but the shocked expression in Yuri's face made her giggle and finally made her laugh when he glared at her annoyed.

"I was supposed to be the one to say that." He said with a growl and stopping her following reaction, whichever it was going to be, with a passionate kiss.

This one was longer, deeper and fuller. The pink haired princess didn't know what she was doing, but all her senses were magnified just to feel his strong arms around her, the bitter smell of sweat and wildness of his travelling body and the sour but incredible delicious taste of his lips. This time he made sure to make a complete job, leaving her dizzy and breathless, casting a warm spell all over Estelle and making her feel like her body was on fire. He wouldn't let her go, at least not until he made his point across.

"I love you." He whispered on her ear, the grin on his face being the last thing the princess saw before she fainted.

~ The end ~