Selfless Love (Akagami no Shirayukihime x Reader)

Chapter 10: Outbreak (Part 2)

Daylight came and went as we continued digging through rows of books, and finally had a break through on the location of the cure. With one of the patients' friend as the lead, I decided to join Shirayuki and Obi to find the cure, which was a plant's seed. With the search group decided, the rest which comprise of Izana, Lady Haki, Suzu and Yuzuri decided to send us off at the gate. Not to my surprise, everyone except Lady Haki gathered with solemn looks despite countless reminders that we will be back before nightfall.

As everyone exchanged a chain of hugs that was set off by Yuzuri, Izana excused me from the group and dragged me towards the woods. Once we are a distance away, he immediately wrapped me in his warm arms and I could feel his face buried into my hair. As seconds pass, I became increasingly conscious about the hot heavy breaths against my hair. Simply standing in the silent forest and enjoying our companion's presence, I wished that time would stopped to let this moment last.

"I wished I could just lock you up from all these." Before this, I would take those words negatively but now I know that he just wanted to keep me safe. Despite the numerous attempts to distance myself from him, his never ending pursue kept thwarting my efforts to erase my adoration for this fair hair man.

With a defeated sigh, I returned his hug and a little happy to feel his body stiffing in shock. Now that I thought about it, this must be the first time I  returned his affections. Before we could continue, Obi's yell rang out reminding me of my mission, I was thankful though that he did not personally come for us.

"Just promise me you will be careful."

"I will." Without looking back, I ran back to the others with a wide grin.

It was a fruitful trip and we returned much earlier than expected with our rewards. However by the time we reached, just to keep myself standing requires all my concentration. The others also returned not unscathed; our young guide was unconscious and Shirayuki was staggering even Obi's breathe was uneven.

We rushed to the laboratory immediately to report but before I could take a seat, my legs had already gave out from relief. Before I could brace myself for the impact, a pair of strong arms supported me from behind in the nick of time. Turning a deaf ear to my protest, my saviour forcefully carried me out of the lab while Laud Haki's unrefined shouts and yells rang out as we left.

"She is infected too?" Before he could catch his breath from the dash to my room, Izana immediately demanded an answer from Ryuu after settling me in my bed. At this point, my petrified body could not even turned my head but from the corner of my eyes, I could see Shirayuki and Obi followed behind hurriedly. The young lad waste no time to pull up my sleeve and gasps at the conspicuous marks on my arms surrounded me at once.

"Yes..." Taking a closer look on the marks, he squeezed my arms gently earning a loud painful wince from me. "Judging from the stiffness of her arm, she must be infected about 3 days ago... Roughly the same time as the second patient."

"Why didn't you say anything?!" The raging yell now was directed at me but along with the anger, the panic and worry were practically radiating from him. Just from the sight of his pained eyes, his whitened knuckles to his pursed lips made my heart ached painfully. Before I could speak, Ryuu started mumbling about my condition which only stresses the crowd in my room. Before he could do any more mental damage, I immediately request for some medicine to relieve the fatigue from the search. Thankfully the medicine took effect almost immediately, as my consciousness slowly slipped away.

The sky outside was dark with the stars twinkling brightly, when I was woken up by a delicate touch on my cheek. Grabbing the annoying fingers that woke me up, I opened my eyes lazily to face the dark room and a familiar silhouette. Without releasing my grip, I pulled myself up and stretched my sore body painlessly satisfying before confronting the mellow prince.

From the way Izana sat beside me on my bed, I bet he had been there for a while watching me sleep but at least the painful looks had long disappeared without a trace. The lady killer looked haggard from today's event but his bright eyes proved otherwise. The sparkle in his eyes might be due to being off duty since he looked so much more at ease now compared to earlier when he was with Haki.

"I will not mention about your illness again, since you will brush off every word I say." Izana's velvet whisper broke the silence, as he quietly climbed onto my bed. I shift over to make space and waited for him to settled down next to me, when I felt a light weight placed over me. With the dimmed light from the full moon, I realised that it was a dark blue coat and for some reason I fell in love with it at first touch. I caressing the soft fabric as an arm slithered around my waist to pull me close and only stopped when my cheek finally leaned against his firm chest. "This was delivered this morning so make sure you wear it. You just recovered so make sure you always keep yourself warm..."

"I am fine already but do you need to rest? You are leaving early tomorrow, right?" Worry filled my raspy voice although happiness was radiating from me, as I snuggled closer to him. It's weird but my heart felt toasty warm from listening to his long winded lecture. Somehow his nagging and the coat only deepened my feelings for him.

"I will need to prepare for the coronation, but I will be fine. Return with Zen after you rest for a few more days." Thankfully he did not notice the dejected expression I had for a split second when coronation was mentioned. Coronation... The word generated many thoughts in my head but all of them only point to one harsh reality.

"Luna..." His worried voice snapped me out of my thoughts as I was held an arm away without removing his touch from me. Izana's aqua orbs bore into mine intensely as though he wanted to see through me. I felt myself drowning in his beautiful eyes; those eyes that were usually cool and emotionless now reminded me of a raging sea. I did not realise that I was holding my breath till he finally speak. "I ask- no, I beg you please don't let last night repeat again... don't do that to me, I don't think I can stand it."

Before he even finish his beseech, his fingers were already busy trying to stop the tears flowing persistently down my face. This proud prince actually lowered himself for me, and although it sounded weird, but to me this was enough to prove that he love me. Not wanting him to see my humiliating state, I buried myself in his embrace with my arms tight around him. When morning comes, we will be back to being a prince and his aide. For our own sake, I should release him and ask him to leave... but just for once, even if it is only one night I don't want to suppress my feelings and to let my heart and mind to be filled by him. This Izana who is not a prince, but a cocky man who defiantly stole my heart without my permission. Betting on the stars tonight, I know that I will not find someone whom I will love as much as him.

Author's Note
I really hope that this is much better compared to the previous one...
I try to minimise as much change as possible and btw there is no lemon in this chapter...
The end is a little gloomy but I am sure and hope it will turn out better...