Review Responses:
pretty-on-point: The enemies are strong, but Shurisu's love is stronger. ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ A few of your questions will be answered in this chapter, so please stay tuned for that! \^o^/
MagicxMusicxMelody: Small spoiler alert : there's not much action going on in this chapter but there will be more intesne moments in the upcoming chapters so please stay tuned for that! （*＾-＾*）
Innocent-Diamond: That's partly the reason! As mentioned in chapter 12, he couldn't visit Alice because he thought that she would blame Klaus' death on both of them and that they shouldn't see each other anymore, but after finding out that he was a wanted man was another reason! And some names of the crime ring will be mentioned in the future chapters, so please stay tuned for that! (❁´◡`❁)
Guest: The Gatsby vibes came in a grand total of once this entire work ○( ＾皿＾)っ Hehehe…
cherry-tree-of-life: I mean, if your lover suddenly hits you with "I'm leaving" all thoughts of your ex-husband is going out the window, lol. Shun and Alice's means of escape will be mentioned in this chapter so please stay tuned for that! `(*﹏*)′
Chapter 14
"As you can see, I must leave - "
"I'm going with you."
"No. You'll be in danger." Shun objected immediately, a frown marring his face.
"I don't care." Alice shook her head, her heart pounding. "I know that it will be dangerous, but I can't lose you. Not again. Not ever." She swallowed hard, feeling her emotions overcoming her. "I'd rather die with you than live without you."
Before she knew it, Alice found herself being pinned down on the bed, Shun's body hovering over her as he captured her lips in a rough kiss.
"Don't. Say. That. Ever." He mumbled fiercely in-between each kiss. "Do not speak of death. Ever. The only time you may speak of it is when you are on your deathbed as an old lady, surrounded by your children and grandchildren."
Alice let out a small laugh, lifting her head up to press a kiss on Shun's nose. "Then let me come with you."
"I cannot. It is danger - "
"You promised me that we would run away and never have to look back at this town ever again. And now is a good time as any, isn't it?"
"We were young and our lives were not in danger then. It is different now - "
"I don't care." Alice repeated, looking intently at Shun. "Living without you is the same as death. And should anything happen to us, I would rather have you by my side then spend the rest of my life alone without you. Let me come with you."
There was a moment of silence as Shun thought his decision over. A pained groan rumbled through his lips before he looked up at Alice.
"Fine." He growled up, hazel eyes flashing in discontent. "But just know that I am not happy about this."
A smile nearly split the redhead's face in two. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." She chanted repeatedly as she peppered her lover's face with kisses, which led to some grumbling on his part. Not that she minded - she was close enough to see the suppressed mirth in his eyes.
"When do we leave?" Alice asked when the high of her victory wore off.
"Now."
...
"You had planned on leaving tonight." Alice stated as she stared speechlessly at the horse that was hidden in the forest a few miles away from the von Hertzon Manor. After Shun's declaration that they were to leave tonight, Alice had scrambled to pack her belongings. She knew that she had to pack lightly, as it would be impractical and burdensome to carry so much. In the end, she had packed some articles of clothing as well as some jewelry on the chance that they needed money. While she did have Klaus' money, Alice felt that it was wrong to take it - it wasn't her money to begin with and it was his money that caused her so much pain and sorrow in the first place.
"Yes." Shun replied easily as he fiddled with her bag, strapping it onto the horse.
"You had planned on leaving tonight..." She repeated, slowly. "And yet, you didn't bother telling me earlier." The words left a bitter taste in her mouth. Alice knew that getting angry and starting an argument wasn't the best thing to do in the moment, but she couldn't help herself. She was upset, and in her opinion, for a good reason, too. She thought that there were no more secrets between them and yet, standing in front of them is their means of escape, raring and ready to go.
"Alice, I - "
"You were planning on telling me that you had to leave and promptly leave thereafter." She continued, a frown marring her face. "Is that not so?"
"Yes." Shun admitted, stopping what he was doing to face her. "I was planning on leaving tonight."
"Do I mean so little to you for you to leave me so easily?" Alice's heart broke as the words left her lips. A sob threatened to escape her, but she willed herself to suppress it - she had already cried far too much for one night.
"I'm sorry." Shun whispered as he came closer to her, enveloping her in his arms. "I'm sorry for not telling you sooner - I didn't expect that you would want to come along. I thought that if I had left immediately, you'd be so upset and that it would make things easier for you to move on and find someone else."
"You're so silly." Alice mumbled through her tears that were now freely falling as she wrapped her arms around his waist in a hug. "You're so silly to think that I wouldn't want to come with you or that I'd ever love anyone as much as I love you."
"I know." He whispered as he rested his chin on her head. "I'm sorry, I just...you deserve so much better than me."
"I don't want anyone else. You're the only one for me." She whispered back, leaning her head up a bit to press a kiss on his jaw. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
...
"Where are we going?" Alice asked as she squirmed slightly, settling onto the horse with Shun's arms on either side of her body.
"Neathia. I'm still on good terms with Queen Fabia and King Ren, and I'm sure that they'll allow us asylum for as long as necessary." Shun replied, flicking the reins which prompted the horse to trot steadily before galloping.
"We're really leaving, just like we said we would." A rueful smile crossed her lips as she turned slightly to look back at the von Hertzon Manor where she had spent the last two years of her life in disappear ever so slowly with each gallop.
"It took us long enough." She felt rather than heard his chuckle. "We should have left sooner."
"And where would we have gone?" Alice looked up at her lover, a warm smile on her lips. Shun returned her smile with a smirk before he answered her.
"Somewhere only we know."
End of Chapter 14.
Note: Happy New Year, my friends! Another year, another update! I hope 2024 has been treating you well so far! But let's get into this chapter, shall we? (〜￣▽￣)〜
Shun and Alice are officially on the run now!...after a lot of squabbling done on both parts, lol. If you were wondering why this chapter wasn't very action-focused, it's because this was a semi-indulgent chapter for me - I just want to write Shurisu being lovey-dovey is that too much to ask for? (;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`) But anyways! They are indeed planning on getting to Neathia to seek refuge until the whole ordeal dies down because what better place to go than to the kingdom where your lover was formerly a war general? ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ
If you're wondering why some parts of this chapter seem rather similar, it's because I took a lot of inspiration from 'Anywhere But Here', an alternate universe oneshot of this work, if you will. So I technically self-plagarized myself, lol. If you want to check the oneshot out, that'll be really sweet of you! \^o^/
On another unrelated note, I am planning on continuing my 'update at least one work a month' goal this year, so you can expect more updates from me as compared to the other years! I'm hoping to finish this work either this year or next year, so we'll see how that goes, but it should be wrapping up soon, I can tell you that! \( ^0^ )/
As always, please leave a review and I shall see you in the next chapter! Bye~! （￣︶￣）↗