A Bit Different

Chapter 48

Their laughter rang through the sleeping halls, muffled with their own hands, hoping to quieten themselves. The chuckled till they both were in hysterics, slapping the armrests and bending over in tears, completely ignoring the elephant in the room.

After days and days of quiet tension, it felt good to laugh. They both knew that they would have to move on to serious matters, but as for now, both were satiated with a moment of wholesomeness. 

And the prince was secretly glad for the little relief It gave him enough time to pull himself together after barging into her room in the middle of the night. He had finally settled into a comfortable position after wriggling around like a worm, and was ready to broach the topic. Only she beat him to it.

"So I'm guessing you came here for something more than laughing?" She leaned forward in her seat, looking at him with expectant eyes. 
"Yes." He said, taking a deep breath, all the traces of laughter gone from eyes, leaving the twinkling blue a somber grey. The moonlight had transformed her eyes into a dark, mysterious green which were looking at him with empathy as if she knew exactly why he was here and had already understood. It made everything ten times harder. 

But he knew he had to get it out. "I was so ignorant, Percy...making you participate in these tests." He spat the word out like it was poison.

"You don't deserve it, you don't deserve any of this. My father's attitude, the critical people, these blasted tests! None of it! I should have stopped it! They wanted an arranged marriage, they chose you, they shouldn't have forced you. I shouldn't have forced you. I'm so sorry!" He sobbed at the end, his own guilt demanding tears from his eyes. 

He had hunched over her couch, curving into himself, trying not to show her his pathetic state. His shoulders shook in silent sobs, while his head throbbed with the effort to keep the tears at bay. He clenched his fists together, his fingernails leaving impressions on his palms, close to tasting blood. He had been close to breaking down for days and actually reliving what he had done to her just broke him. 

Two strong hands pulled him down on the floor, slamming his bottom to the cold marble. He looked up, shocked, momentarily startled out of his tears. There she was, sitting right across him, still in her pajamas but looking even more gorgeous than he had  ever seen her. He didn't get another chance to look at her because he was tucked into her arms, his ear beating to her heart. And there, wrapped up in her hug, comfort washed over him making him weak. 

He loved this woman. He loved her so much. And with that chant in mind he broke down, his loud sobs echoing in the room as he cried like he had never before.