* 96 * 3/13/13, 3/14/13, 3/16/13, 3/24/13, 6/2/16

It was as if all air had left the room.

Casavir sucked in a breath to try and remedy this. He had been struck speechless, her direct question a powerful blow to the very core of his being. How could he be vague now? He stood there, mouth agape, not knowing whether to speak, whether to move. He wasn't sure he even knew how to anymore.

He could not lie to her. He knew he couldn't.

"My lady... Lily, I..."

Say it.

"...You are dear to me," he repeated. His voice broke.

Say it.

Silence.

After many seconds during which the paladin said no more, Lily hesitantly tried to fill in for him. "...And…and I'm your liege, right? And you wish to protect me?"

Casavir stopped his frantic brainwaves in their tracks.

"Yes, my lady," he stated with heavy relief.

Lily thought herself silly, even chuckled a little at herself. Of course he doesn't love me. I'm not silly enough to think that, am I?

But, at the very least, maybe he...

"Do you wish to be by my side, in sunshine and in rain?"

"Undoubtedly, my lady."

Lily rushed forward and hugged him. "Oh, Casavir," she said, "I couldn't ask for more." Her visage was tainted by only a little disappointment, but he didn't take notice with her face over his shoulder.

Then, drawing away from him, she corrected herself: "Actually, could you take your armor off?" The smile she gave him was no less than adorable, and it made him let down his guard.

Casavir obediently unlatched his pauldrons, setting the heavy metal against a wall. He then began removing his armored gloves, followed by his boots, leg armor, and finally, his chest armor. He was now dressed in a plain, dark gray shirt and pants. They were lightweight and somewhat loose so as to be comfortable for the paladin underneath all that plate mail.

Lily looked from left to right as she admired his more natural form. Casavir was muscular – as he should be, carrying around all that armor all the time – but he wasn't overly bulky or veiny. His jet black hair made a sharp contrast with the stark lightness of his skin, and even moreso with his icy eyes, and his high cheekbones and arched eyebrows created the severity of his visage all by themselves. Lily always thought the seriousness of his face had been due to its conjunction with powerful, metal armor, but bearing witness to him in plain clothes proved her wrong.

Now Lily hugged him again. This time, his body warmth surrounded her and soothed her to her core, made her as comfortable standing up as she would be lying down. If only she hadn't gravity to worry about...

She began slipping, and Casavir held her fast. "My lady, can you stand?"

"Maybe not," she conceded with a chuckle. But she was just so comfortable here in his warmth; she wanted to be able to let go.

Out of the blue, Casavir bent and grabbed Lily around her midsection and knees, suddenly hoisting her high into his arms. The extra weight didn't bother his sturdy stature in the slightest.

Lily positively squealed. "Casavirrr..." She giggled uncontrollably, wanting to wrap her arms around his neck, but choosing instead to keep them pooled near her chest to try and stop her heart from pounding so loudly. She tried to hide it as the organ beat rapidly at his sudden, very well-received gesture.

He carried her to the bed and set her down, laying her head closest to the corner of the room on his fluffy, pliable pillow. Then, he knelt down by her and looked attentively into her face.

"Is that better, my lady?" His expression softened seeing her lie there comfortably.

"Yes," she agreed. It was an odd feeling, having Casavir call her by such a formal title without being clad in his shining knight armor. He was really just that very rare kind of person. Here she witnessed a plainclothes version of Casavir acting as knightly as the man himself without any of the sharp shoulder armor, or the matching frown. The elf raised herself on her elbows, reached into her hair, and took out her hairband. She shook her head a little to make her wavy locks fall loose before lying back down to relax. He viewed the display with much interest.

"You appear tired, my lady. Perhaps you should rest a while."

"Mmm," Lily agreed. Then she said his name softly.

"My lady?" He relished the sound from her lips.

"You are such an incredible person," she said with wonderment.

Casavir pressed his lips together, as if refusing the compliment. "I do not deserve such words."

Noting his stiff expression, Lily's mouth fell open. She stared at him in disbelief for a moment before sighing in frustration and looking up at the ceiling. Casavir's outlandish modesty was getting on her nerves.

"Can't you just take the stupid compliment?" she grumbled suddenly.

"But my actions do not merit it, my lady."

"You always say that," she complained.

Silence.

"Fine, then nevermind. You're not an incredible person. Forget I said anything." She turned away from him obstinately, staring at the wall with her eyes open as she cursed the obtusely upright paladin in her head. She was so happy with how he carried her there, and felt nothing less than frustrated when he did not surrender to the sweetness of the moment as she had.

Casavir, knowing she was upset, didn't want to leave her to stay upset in silence. On the other hand, perhaps that would be the best course of action to let her let off steam, especially considering he couldn't think of anything to say.

He heaved a sigh and rose to his feet.