𝗠𝗔𝗚𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡'𝗦 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗬! ━━━━ mao isara (on hold)

69. trust (narumao)

ᡣ𐭩 . royalty | angst

Twigs and dry grass caused the noise of crunching with every other step he took. Hollow howls of the wind echoed past the large and tall trees. The branches of the very trees poked out in every way possible, causing Mao to use his sword to slice the branches in half or to at least move them off to the side for him to walk by on the non-existent pathway he made for himself.

The sun was setting slowly past the set of woods, although he couldn't see it due to the forever green leaves that blocked the light from his silhouette.

Mao then comes to a stop as the surrounding lightens from the amount of trees. A small pond with rocks sitting on the edges lay far to the left side of him. On the rocks sat a figure that he knew too well, watching the fish and other critters hold their circus of fun in the winter's cold water.

He takes a few steps forward until he is standing beside her.

"They remind me of us, you know." Arashi Narukami mutters. Her focus was still trailing after a few fish that swam by the edges. Her voice sounded empty for a moment.

"What do you mean?" Mao softly asks as he kneels down beside her, his hands rest loosely on his lap.

"They're trapped. Just like how we are in this region of the world. The kingdoms we're both from have joined forces thanks to the link they forced on us. We can't really leave this country, even if we tried. Someone would eventually notice if two royal kids went missing. Be it an enemy or a friend."

"Arashi..." He worries for his romantic other half.

A sudden giggle then comes from the taller of the two. The broken mask she let fall was slipped back on tightly. Arashi turns her attention away from the pond and towards her small lover with a smile.

"Enough of that dark talk, hey. I want to know how you're doing, Mao~! Tell me... Has anything interesting happened this week for you? I heard around my castle from a few workers that you weren't able to leave your own."

Mao Isara doesn't miss the detail of one corner of Arashi's smile twitching with force.

He takes a low and sharp breath. "Yeah..." The beaujolais-haired prince bows his head for a second, along with switching his sitting position so he was now sitting on his backside, his knees against his chest with his arms wrapping around them.

He then leans his chin on his knees, thinking over the already past memories of what happened not all that long ago. "So much went on in that week. A flu went around the family and most of the workers. Then, three days later, an adult guy during the night attempted to sneak into the castle... from what I overheard, he wanted to kill my father for whatever reason..." he trails off.

Silence falls between the young royal couple for a while. The only noises to be heard were still of the wind, with a few woodland creatures doing their own chores as the leaves of the plantation danced along through the late evening.

Arashi slides off the rock she is sitting on and decides to situate herself next to Mao down onto the grass. Their shoulders practically touching as she leans her head against his shoulder (it was a bit awkward to attempt due to their height differences, Arashi realises, but she didn't really care at that moment).

Arashi then brings her right hand forward, reaching for one of Mao's own. Her grip was tight, but it didn't hurt him once their hands intertwined.

"Mao, do you trust me? Be honest." Her question was sudden for the beaujolais-haired prince, causing a noise of surprise to emit from the bottom of his throat.

"Where's that coming from? Of course I trust you! I love you!"

Arashi sits properly back up, leaning her head away from his shoulder and inches forward to Mao's face. Her breath caresses his fair skin with warmth as Arashi then kisses him on the lips, surprising Mao for a moment as he soon melts into the feeling.

Arashi detached her hand away from Mao's own and placed it on his upper front. With some strength, Arashi pushes him slowly until his back hits the half-soft ground and pulls away from their moment latched to one another.

"Arashi...!" Mao calls out suddenly, but in pain. A cough emits from deep in his throat as the pain burns around his stomach area. He tries moving his head, seeing that Arashi had stabbed him deep into his front in the stomach area with a sword.

(When did Arashi Narukami get a sword? Was it his own? Mao couldn't check behind himself to confirm it... nor feel anything on his back.)

The smile she wore before turned morbid over time.

A hush noise emits from Arashi as she places a finger against Mao's lips, letting the action fall through proof of what she was trying to say.

"I'm glad you do. Trusting me, I mean, and... I love you too. I love you more than you realise..." She acknowledges, her figure practically leaning over Mao's own like a cat to a mouse would. The shades of heliotrope eyes darkened ten times of its original colour. Manic silhouettes shook from behind the panes of the aforementioned heliotrope sight.

"Why did you just-"

"Didn't you hear me before? We're trapped here in this damned country. I was thinking of dying here by myself tonight, but I love you so much... I didn't want to leave you behind. Which is why I sent you that letter to meet me here."

A hiss leaves between Mao's clenched teeth, his eyes scrunching shut very tightly from the horrible pain as Arashi moves the sword further into his guts. He reaches a shaking hand up to the blade that Arashi still has a hold over and hopes to get it out of her grip.

"Don't resist it," she whispers towards him, her words sounding soothing to his ears even if she was being crazy right there. "Let it take you. You said you wanted to leave this place a while ago, too. I remember that talk so clearly in my mind. So please..."

"...Succumb to your fall, and I shall join you, my dear prince. Freedom is just on the other side waiting for us. We can be together. Forever. Sweet little Mao~"