The Sixth

3: Coaxing a Strong Hand

Heinrich had been confined to his room since what happened at the graduation ceremony.

He sat at his desk, lost in thought and unable to comprehend how he ended up like this. All he recalled was how... sweet everything was.

Until it wasn't...

Since his dance with Darlin, the air, the tingle in his body, the aftertaste of the wine he'd consumed, left a saccharine caress on his senses.

The stars were beautiful, Flora more so. Sweet nothings were uttered and he couldn't take his eyes off her lips. They were so inviting he simply had to taste them.

The moment he did, Heinrich was almost out of his mind with desire, not knowing when his or Flora's clothes started to come off.

Only when the fireworks exploded in the sky did he realize they were doing something incredibly wrong in an incredibly inconvenient place.

By then, it was too late.

He roughly ran a hand through his red hair. "That wasn't me!"

Heinrich loves Flora with a passion. He loves their walks amidst the flowers, their conversations over tea, and how her eyes light up at the sight of him. Each time her innocent gaze lands upon him, his heart would squeeze, and all he'd want to do is pull her into his arms.

For all his feelings, Heinrich is not lovesick enough to try and take her on a goddamned balcony!

Granted, he and Flora weren't too determined to hide their romance, they were at least mindful to only exchange kisses in shadowed areas of gardens and unvisited corners of the library.

Heinrich had gotten drunk with his friends even before coming of age— boys will be boys, as they say— he knew what he was capable of doing while intoxicated. He would never attempt what he did on the balcony unless... unless something influenced him?

He didn't get to explore the possibility for long as his bedroom door flew open with a bang.

Felicity marched towards Heinrich and landed a resounding slap on his cheek. "INGRATE!"

Heinrich's ears were ringing. The burn from his cheek was all he could feel. His mother's furious screams seemed so far away though she is only a few steps from him, barely being held back by his father so she wouldn't beat Heinrich anymore than this.

As a swordsman, this is certainly not the most pain he's experienced, but it is a new sort of pain because Heinrich's parents have never raised a hand against him.

"How could you?!" Felicity's shrill voice is murder on the ears. "Are you on a mission to destroy this house? Answer me, HEINRICH FRITZ!"

He couldn't, "I... I d-don't..." Heinrich was still reeling.

Duke Vincent pushed between his wife and son, "Calm down, Dearest. Losing your temper won't do a single thing to help."

"It might make that useless child use his goddamned brain for once!" Felicity counters.

In the midst of their arguing, reasoning slowly returned to Heinrich. He voiced against his mother's harshness, "H-How could you strike me?!"

The grinding of Felicity's teeth worsened Vincent's headache. Snatching the crumpled letter from her, he tossed it at Heinrich's feet with a threatening glare. "Be grateful a slap is all you got, boy."

Heinrich glanced warily between the letter and his parents before lowering himself to retrieve it.

~