➳ 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐚, wilbur soot

❧ chapter i: petrichor

PETRICHOR - noun, the earthy smell that follows a rainfall.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Thunder rumbled outside, and heavy rain pattered on the window, which stood on the wall beside a h/c haired female. The girl, eyes locked on the pages of her book, payed no mind to it at all.

A dimly lit candle, placed on the table right beside her, illuminated her and the words written in the delicate book in her hands. She was lucky, as if it hadn't been there, she wouldn't have been able to read. After all, it was well past midnight. The moon was high in the sky and stars twinkled above.

"Y/n," A tall, athletic man leaned on the library doorway, dark brown locks falling messily over his eyes.

Startled, he female jumped in her chair, surprised by the presence of another person. Had she not been so invested in her story, perhaps she would have noticed him.

"Wilbur," she replied, eyes wide. "I didn't expect to see you here," she muttered.

"Nor did I," he replied, "Did you have trouble falling asleep?"

The girl shrugged, "I suppose so,"

"Well then, that makes two of us," Wilbur shot her a smile as he took a chair beside her. Y/n closed her book, eyes focused on the man before her. Though he was relatively far from the light of the candle, the moonlight, though dimmed by the dark clouds, lit up some of his features.

"How has the army been treating you?" She questioned.

"I'd say quite well. I've been promoted to a general," He didn't sound very excited. Usually, soldiers were thrilled to be promoted.

"You must be kidding."

"About this? Certainly not."

Y/n shot Wilbur a skeptical glance, "His majesty must like your leadership a great deal. I've heard it's very hard to get promoted?"

"I'd say so."

"Well, congratulations."

"How have you been?" Wilbur then inquired, quickly changing the subject.

"Me? I've been... okay," the female replied hesitantly.

"What's wrong?" Wilbur's eyes shone with concern, something that wasn't very common. Y/n bit her lip. She was never very good at lying.

"It's just.." the female let out a melancholy sigh, "My father's been trying to find me a suitor."

"And I'm going to suppose you don't have a say in this?" Wilbur asked. Y/n shook her head, "It's an arranged marriage. He plans on marrying me to some wealthy man for money. I might never meet them until the wedding."

Wilbur's look of concern morphed into one of sadness, then quickly into one of sympathy.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he muttered, offering her an apologetic look.

"It is what it is," she mumbled.

A silence settled amongst the two of them. The tension grew thick, so much so that it could have been cut by a knife. Y/n had no idea why the it was so dense, however. Shooting a glance at Wilbur, she took note of his downcast eyes, and the conflicted expression etched on his face. She didn't comment on it, instead, practically mirroring his look.

The female remembered when her mother would warn her about all the types of boys that she had to stay away from. Unfortunately for Y/n, and against her mothers wishes, she wouldn't be able to choose someone to marry. It was up to her father. Her mother's wish of meeting the boy that Y/n loved had died with her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Y/n knew that Wilbur was good at comforting, though she declined his offer, letting out a bitter chuckle and muttering a simple "no thank you". The silence solaced her more than she thought he could.

Wilbur's eyes softened, "Y/n, I know you may not want to discuss it, and it doesn't have to be with me, but you must talk about it to someone. Bottling up emotions is a very bad habit, even if it's on small matters. I'm saying this having a lot of personal experience myself."

Y/n sighed, and reluctantly nodded.

"I'll talk about it someday, when I myself can come to terms with it," She knew she was being sensitive, and that others had gone through much worse, but she couldn't help it. All of her freedoms were going to be stolen from her, sooner or later. It was hard to come to terms with.

Letting out a quiet yawn, Y/n's eyelids drooped slightly.

"Getting tired?" Wilbur questioned. Y/n begrudgingly nodded. She did not want to end her conversation with Wilbur so abruptly, as they hadn't spoken in quite a while, but her body was focused on her other needs.

"I can walk you back to your room, if you'd like," he offered, a coy smile planted on his lips.

"I'd like that," Y/n replied.

And so, the pair walked out of the library quietly. Their hands brushed together on occasion, though Y/n fought to ignore it.

"I suppose we're here," Wilbur spoke, standing in front of the female's bedroom doors.

"I guess so," she replied.

A silence followed. It was odd to see Wilbur so forlorn. Usually, he would be all smiles, grinning widely with a flirtatious glint in his eyes. It only made sense, women were all over him at parties. Perhaps he was just tired.

"Well, I must get going," Wilbur finally said. Y/n nodded, crossing her arms and shooting him bitter smile.

"Well then, goodbye, Wilbur."

Brown-haired boy with amber eyes, do our think of me as often as I think of you?

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

✑ AUTHOR- 『 To anyone who has read chapter I already as of May 2022— I republished it and wrote it completely differently. I didn't really like how the story was going. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! 』
► siren, ♛