forum Cinderella AU // OxO // Closed

Started April 17, 2020 by @ElderGod-Icefire

tune

"You aren't standing by idly, you are healing."

Lloyd sighed. "Healing or not, I'm not doing anything to help."

"Doesn't matter. You need to heal."

"I can heal fully once I've dealt with this. I'm likely to get injured again anyways, so I might as well deal with it all at once."

"Lloyd, you shouldn't endanger yourself like this, please."

"Other people are being endangered, Ellis. It's basically my job to protect them."

"Yes, but not at the expense of your own health and safety!"

"What else am I supposed to do?" Lloyd asked.

"Wait a little while. Put people on the case that doesn't endanger you!"

"But I don't want other people to be in danger, Ellis!"

"Well, you're the prince, so sometimes you have to!"

Lloyd groaned softly. "B-But I can't just let people die for my sake!"

"Lloyd, you are the goddamn prince!"

"So what if I'm the prince? That doesn't make me any more okay with it!"

"You can't act like this. You need to stay safe."

Lloyd huffed indignantly. "I don't see why I shouldn't be allowed to go deal with this when I was allowed to go to war."

"Because this is more…I don't know." Ellis replied, rubbing his face with a hand.

"More what? I don't see how it's much different."

"I don't know. Because you weren't rushing headlong into battle, already injured."

"Sometimes, I was. Do you really think I never got hurt during that war?"

Ellis closed his eyes, shaking his head.

"I wanted to keep fighting. I was young, Ellis. I didn't want to tell them I was hurt. It was always 'just a scratch' with me just because I wanted to keep going for the people. I have to keep fighting, Ellis, or this will never end."

Ellis let out a breath. "Yeah? And then what? You get killed, and Nathaniel takes the throne? And what about Anton? Does his engagement just move to your brother, to happen when Nathaniel's old enough? Because I don't want to see him on the throne with someone so much younger than him, because he will destroy Nathaniel. You he wouldn't, because you're close enough in age and you're more powerful than he is. But a crippled, tiny little guy like Nathaniel? Anton would take control and would never give it up again and I know what he's like, and it would be terrible."

"Nathaniel is stronger than you think… he wouldn't let Anton push him around." Lloyd sighed, holding Nathaniel protectively. Nathaniel himself was still pale and crying softly. "But I'm not going to die. I'm going to try my best not to."

"He might be, I'm not saying he's weak. I'm saying that Anton can be…you haven't seen him the way I have. If he thinks he can take control, he will. Because he will see your brother as someone weaker that he might be able to push around. He gets in your head and makes you doubt your own decisions until you let him make them all for you." Ellis didn't look at Lloyd.