I am taking a small break from writing Kidnapped to work on some other ideas that I have, mostly one-shots but also some multi-chapter stories. This is based of my prompt 'Trapped Confession' and it diverges from canon on Episode 7 of Season 1.

As the arrows flew towards them, Gerald prepared to use his Fire Magic, but Keith was faster and summoned a trio of Earth Golems to serve as a shield against the sharp projectiles. Gerald was a bit miffed at being shown up by Keith but pushed his annoyance aside as he could admit that the other boy's Earth Magic was better suited for dealing with this trap.

He turned around just in time to see the wall his fiancée was leaning on gave way.

Gerald rushed over to grab Katarina's hand, but he lost his footing, and both teens tumbled down a chute, their companions none the wiser.

"AAAHHH!/AAAHHH!"

Katarina and Gerald screamed as they rapidly slid down the carved stone slide, clinging to each other.

The slide soon came to an end, and their eyes widened as it dropped into a large pit. Though rather deep, they could still see the bottom as they approached it. Gerald pulled Katarina close, twisting as well as he could in midair, hoping to protect her from the brunt of the impact.

They crashed hard into the ground and, despite Gerald cushioning her from the worst of it, Katarina blacked out.

Katarina came to a few moments later, groaning as she pushed herself up, then froze when another groan - this one sounding deeper - came from beneath her. She looked down, and her eyes widened in horror at realizing that she was lying on top of Gerald.

"Gah!" she yelled, scrambling to get off of him. "I'm so sorry, Prince Gerald! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he groaned as he pushed himself up. Despite his reassurances, it was evident that he was injured. "My back will be very bruised in the morning, though." He suddenly hissed and grabbed his right leg, his face twisting into a pained grimace. "It seems that my leg is hurt as well."

Tears started welling in Katarina's eyes. "I'm sorry!" she cried. "You got hurt keeping me safe!"

"It's not your fault," Gerald winced as his leg throbbed, but he ignored the pain, focusing on comforting Katarina.

"It is! I-"

"Is not."

"But-"

"It's not!" his voice was firm. "I'm the one who chose to protect you, to get hurt so you wouldn't, and I'll do it again in a heartbeat. So, stop blaming yourself, please."

"… Alright."

Katarina still felt guilty and wanted to keep apologizing, but she wasn't so dense as to not know that continuing to argue with Gerald would be useless. The Third Prince was almost as stubborn as her, and once he set his mind on something, it was nearly impossible to change it.

Said stubborn prince nodded, "Good." He then turned to look at the pit's opening with sharp and analytical blue eyes. "Now, we need to find a way to get out of here."

That was easier said than done.

While not too large, the pit was still deep enough that they couldn't just reach the edge by stretching their arms and jumping; climbing out wasn't an option either as the walls were too steep and smooth. Katarina even tried to use her Earth Bump Spell to create some handholds, but the rock was so brittle that the bumps broke when weight was placed on them.

"It's no use," said Gerald after the third time that Katarina fell off. "We will have to wait for someone to rescue us. The others would have already informed the teachers that we are missing, so we'll have to wait and hope that they find us." He then winced as his ankle throbbed again.

"Here, let me see it," said Katarina as she knelt beside him. She carefully removed Gerald's boot and began checking on his ankle.

Gerald winced a bit from Katarina poking and prodding, but he kept quiet, trusting his fiancée.

"Okay, it looks like you just sprained it," she began looking through her satchel." I'll wrap it up to stabilize it while we wait," said Katarina as she pulled out a roll of bandages.

Gerald watched in fascination as Katarina expertly wrapped the bandages around his ankle, neither too tight to cut circulation nor too loose that they would come undone. "Where did you learn this?" he asked, impressed.

Katarina blushed. "It's just something that I picked up," she mumbled. Her parents in her past life had drilled basic first aid into their children's heads, which was helpful considering how rowdy she and her brothers were.

Gerald chuckled, shaking his head, "You never cease to surprise me, Katarina."

Katarina's blush deepened. She didn't think it was that big of a deal. Sure, she knew a few things about treating injuries but nothing that could warrant the level of admiration present in Gerald's face and voice.

Pushing her embarrassment aside, Katarina helped Gerald move so he could lean against the pit's wall. The prince winced as his bruised back came in contact with the wall, but he ignored it as he and his fiancée began waiting to be rescued.

A while later, Gerald noticed that Katarina was shivering. "Katarina?" he asked, concerned.

"C-Cold," she stuttered, her teeth clattering.

It was then that Gerald remembered how frigid caverns were since the sunlight could not reach inside them, especially at this depth. He hadn't noticed the cold due to his higher-than-average body temperature, but Katarina did not have that advantage, so she must be freezing.

Fortunately, Gerald had a solution to that.

"Katarina."

"W-Wha- EEPP!"

Katarina squealed when Gerald pulled her into his side, his right arm gently wrapping around her waist. Despite her embarrassment, Katarina snuggled into the embrace. "You're warm," she mumbled, an intense blush on her face.

Gerald smirked. "Perks of being a Fire Mage," he said smugly.

Katarina said nothing after that, only snuggled into the comfortable warmth that emanated from her friend. She eventually broke the silence, "I'm sorry."

Gerald sighed, "Katarina, I already told you-"

"Not that!" she interrupted him. "It's my fault that we're trapped down here! I mean, what kind of idiot pushes a random button after being told that there are booby traps everywhere?" that part was said with no small amount of self-deprecation.

"You just made a mistake," Gerald reassured her. "I know that you didn't mean to get us trapped. We'll be fine." He also was worried that any rescuers wouldn't find them, but he pushed that fear aside for Katarina's sake.

"I'm not complaining about spending time with the woman I love, anyway."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Gerald froze as he realized that his last comment wasn't as quiet as he thought. His genius mind pondered what he should do. He could say that it was nothing and let Katarina believe that she misheard him or…

It was a misunderstanding; she had just misheard what Gerald said, right? Because there was no way that he had just said…

Gerald looked pensive for a moment as if he were considering whether he should do something before seeming to come to a decision. He looked at Katarina, and her eyes widened at how serious his expression was, her heart beating a little faster from how intense his gaze was.

"Katarina," he began, taking her hands in his. "I don't know when we will be rescued or if they will even find us, but I am certain that I will not have another opportunity like this." He took a deep breath and said:

"I'm in love with you."

It was silent for a moment, then-

"Hahaha! Good joke, Gerald!"

Gerald stared in disbelief as his fiancée laughed then let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm not joking, Katarina."

"Haha, of course you are!" she continued laughing but stopped when his serious expression didn't change. "You are, right? T-This must be a joke." 'He can't actually mean...'

"I'm completely serious." His following words were filled with every ounce of truthfulness that he had.

"I, Gerald Stuart, love you, Katarina Claes. I've loved you for a long time."

W-W-WHAAAAAAAAATT!" Katarina shrieked and pushed herself away from Gerald, her face burning as she tried to make sense of what was happening. "Y-You are - with me - but you - this is not-"

'He is in love with ME?! Not Maria? But Katarina Claes is the villainess, and Prince Gerald isn't supposed to fall in love with her. That's not how the game works!'

'But this is not a game, is it?'

Gerald felt as if his heart had been stabbed as Katarina shrieked and pulled herself away from him, her expression of confusion and distress making him regret ever opening his mouth.

"W-Why?!" her tone and expression were pleading, begging him to explain, so he did.

"Because you bring joy into my life. I used to be bored because everything I did came easy, and nothing interested me. Then I met you, and you filled my dull, gray world with color and excitement, and every day spent with you always brings something new.

"Because you care about me as a person and see me for who I am instead of just my status; to you, I am Gerald Stuart instead of The Third Prince of Sorcier.

"And because you are kind to everyone you met, regardless of status. You judge others by their character instead of what title they have. I'm not a naturally nice person but seeing you being so compassionate makes me want to be better, more empathetic, and understanding of others."

Katarina was no longer freaking out. Instead, she felt embarrassed by the praise Gerald was heaping on her, though also felt delighted.

Still…

"But I'm not fit to be a princess. I'm not even a proper noblewoman."

"I don't care."

"Huh?"

"I don't care if you are "unsuited" to be a princess," he repeated. "I still want to marry you." Personally, Gerald believed that Katarina could be a wonderful princess and later Queen if she wanted to. But he knew that she wouldn't actually be happy with all the expectations and responsibilities that came with it. "I'm willing to give up my claim to the throne as well as my status and become a farmer if that's what it takes." And he meant it.

Katarina gaped in surprise, shocked that he was willing to give up the luxurious life he had always known for her. "Gerald…"

"Lady Katarina! Prince Gerald!"

"Sister!"

"Gerald!"

"Where are you?"

They looked up at hearing voices calling them, and they realized it was their friends.

"We're over here!" Katarina called back, feeling relief that help was nearby.

"Katarina," Gerald called to her. When she looked back at him, he said, "When we get back, please think about what I said. I'll wait for as long as you need to."

"Okay, I will."

This was originally meant to be a one-shot but I decided to expand into a multi-chapter story. It might not update very frequently since my classes have started and I have other projects that I want to do, but I promise to do my best to work on this and finish with Kidnapped.