"All the quaint stars shine for thee, mine love."
His voice was sultry and soulful against her hot skin, tone far deeper than anything that Alear had ever heard from him before, and considering his penchant for poetry and the dramatics, she had heard quite a lot. His breath hit her skin in warm waves, serving as a painful reminder that this is not a dream.
Louis was real, the thick shackles on her wrists and ankles were real, this was real. Even if it feels like the worse of her nightmares, even if it is more than her limbs that hurt.
Hot, thick tears fell from her cheek to his, his eyebrows furrowing with worry. He stopped his ministrations short, delicate lips twisting from light smile to a deep frown. Warm fingers brushed over the wet trail on her cheek so delicately that she realized that he might just think of her as a doll, her status as a Divine Dragon and his war commander notwithstanding.
So fragile, so vulnerable.
"Why do you cry so much, my love? You do not think I speak the truth?" His voice was low with concern and hurt.
The woman raised her wrists pathetically. "P-Please take these off."
Alear fumbled with the thick restraints binding her wrists, but they were no ordinary handcuffs. The wrought iron clung to her skin only barely tight enough to not restrict her blood flow. The length of the cuffs themselves were almost theatrically long in nature, resembling shackles she would see an actor wear in a play. Without her sword and her Emblem Ring, she cannot summon the power to free herself from them, and so is stuck in this situation.
The thought of being his unwilling actress from then on made her sick to her stomach. Yet, the fires of love still burned no matter what he has done to her, what he will do to her.
Perhaps she is just as crazy as Louis. Perhaps her frustration is just out of the fact that he had this idea first. Perhaps, just like him, she also craves the security of knowing that she will not be losing anyone else.
"But they are a symbol of my love for you. How could I possibly dismiss them in such a way?" His bottom lip trembled at the thought of not being bound to her, of not having she always within reach. "You do not like it?"
She fumbled over her words. The way he pleaded with her using those green, droopy eyes was beyond disconcerting, easily sapping her confidence with a mere look.
"I... I appreciate it, my love, but I am not g-going anywhere. Please, there is no need for them..."
Alear hoped that he does not hear the lie in her words, about the fact that she appreciated the act, but he seemed far more enthralled with running his fingers over the metal handcuffs and her hands, the coldness a stark contrast to her blissfully warm skin. Her skin was always unblemished, always soft and comfortable, regardless of the conditions they faced. She always looked like a blessing, flushed and alive, even in the biting winds of Elusia, even before the chilling darkness of the Fell Dragon.
She always felt like a blessing, and Louis has always loved that mystical aspect about her. Whereas he was as cold as the dead he often hauled in his cart of the fallen, as empty and meaningless as the corpses that once belonged to those he loved, she is still alive, always alive, still idyllically warm and meek.
He simply wanted to protect that fragile humanity, he needed to protect the last kindling of heat in this world. It hurt that she could not seem to understand that.
"Do not take me for a fool, as I certainly am not one. What you seem to miss, however, is that I love you with so much of my heart that I find myself with no other choice. I trust you not to flee, but I must be assured no-one is coming to take you away from me, and the only way to do such thing is to keep you by my side at all times." He managed a guileless smile that unknowingly sent her heart into conflict. "The very instant I saw you, my heart compelled me to be at your service. I exist to protect you. Ask me anything, and I will see it done, but do not ask me to forsake you in that manner."
Bringing one bound hand upward, his curled lips delicately pressed against her skin in an ardent and chaste kiss. His words made her heart flutter. Never had someone loved her so wholly, so fervently and reverently that it made her soul sing. There was no deceit in his words, the slight sheen of his teary eyes was proof enough.
"But..." She started, protests nearly dying on her lips. "Is this really l-love? Love is freedom, love is choice. Moreso, love is about being vulnerable, too. It is natural for you to fear my demise, as much as I fear yours, but you must not let this fear control you."
She turned her hand around, allowing her fingers to tenderly caress his jawline and reddened cheeks. He seemed to relax against her touch, but a tense darkness still lingered in his eyes.
Louis hummed in thoughtful contentment and needily rubbed his cheek against her warm touch like a frightened rabbit. Her heart pounded against her rib cage with both love and fearfulness.
"But is love truly such a tender thing?"
He broke the heavy silence in almost a daze. His voice was bereft and distraught with reflection. Her stomach did flips as he took each finger between his slightly cold lips, laying gentle, individual kisses upon each one, before continuing.
"You might have a thousand years on me, Divine Dragon, but, of love, I have a lifetime of experience over you. Love is much too rough, too malapert, too boisterous..." He briefly trailed off. "And it pricks like a thorny bush, a lesson that I have learned the hard way. But I will happily bleed for you."
Louis laid a final kiss on her lips, taking a moment to savour her warmth, something he will be without for a long while. Alear wanted to cry and beg him to release her, now knowing that discussing her freedom philosophically was fruitless, but the look of sheer adoration in his eyes once again gave her pause.
"I will never allow you to leave me, my love."