forum The Captive Prince (o/o) closed

Started August 12, 2019 by Deleted user

tune

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It just didn't feel right to order Levi to do this. It wouldn't be the same. It would be stiff and weird and… Fiori didn't really want to order him around anyways. "Thank you," he said, voice small but grateful. "I… um… It means a lot."

“You’re welcome,” he replied sincerely. He reached up to feel his hair again, “And Thank you for doing my hair. It’s easier when someone helps.”

"I'm glad." Fiori stood up from the bed, setting the hairbrush over on the chest, and offered Levi a hand to help him up. "Now, are you ready to leave? We're late, I promised Tharis it wouldn't take longer than an hour but we've already used up a fourth of the time."

Levi hesitated before accepting his help to stand, “Yes, I’m ready to go.” He didn’t like the idea of walking more, but it was better now that he was able to get some much-needed rest.

"You're a little wobbly on your feet, are you okay?" His voice darkened as a thought passed his mind. "Did those men do anything to you?"

He looked puzzled and thought for a moment, then grimaced and replied, "No,no. I'm just achy from sitting in one position for the several-day ride. I'm not…aware of anything else."

Fiori growled at that, hands clenching into tight fists. Just the idea that someone would dare take advantage of a slave in that way made him feel sick with anger. "Not aware? You think they could've…?"

"I don't know, I barely remember anything from the journey," he admitted honestly, "Do you think they're..capable of it?" He doubted it, but the thought of the possibility still made him nauseous.

Fiori let out a soft sigh, unclenching his fists to lay a gentle hand on his shoulder. There was an apology shining in his eyes. "I do not know, but… they don't seem like good men. I would not make any judgments on what they did or didn't do."

“I don’t know them well enough to make judgements either,” he relented in agreement, “Are you still going to try and find them?” Now he was more curious to see these men than before—at a safe place behind Fiori of course. Contrary to his previous belief before he met Fiori, being under the protection of the prince was probably the best place he could be. Maybe this situation was going to turn out alright, maybe not wonderful, but it would be okay.

"Yes," Fiori replied immediately, not a sliver of indecision in his tone. "I will get you the justice you deserve, Leviticus. I can promise you that." He was almost dangerously sincere. It felt a bit strange, to care so much for a slave, but it was also… natural. Levi was no different from anyone else he'd known, not really.

Levi relaxed even more at the assurance, “Alright, thank you. How far away is the place we’re going? Do we have to walk very far?”

Fiori hummed consideringly, trying to figure out exactly how far away it was. "It will be far for you, I think. Will you need some help walking?"

He shook his head, “No, I’ll be alright,” he said, “I’m ready to go now.”

"You can lean on me, if you want," Fiori offered, leading him forward through the halls. Two rights, a left, up the stairs, middle path, right at the fork. Only… a ten minute walk, as long as you knew where you were going. "I don't mind."

“That’s Alright, But Thank you. I’ll make sure to do so if I need to.” He let his arms swing at his sides while he walked with a small limp in his gait. He was still barefoot, and stepped gingerly on the cold floors.

Fiori didn't seem to notice despite the fact that he was also barefoot. In fact, he didn't seem to be troubled at all by the cool air inside the castle, even though he was only wearing a pair of pants. "Can you make it up the stairs?"

“Of course,” He answered, but scanned the staircase for a handrail.
The cold air from outside in his own kingdom never bothered him, especially with their heavy fur coats to keep them warm in winter. Even when he was in his castle he wore long sleeved undershirts and sandals, his feet almost never touching the ground. Except for baths of course. He would have to get used to this new way of living. But until then, he shivered. How could a place like this be warm as the summer in his kingdom, but at the same time cold indoors?

Fiori couldn't help but be amused as Levi took in the castle, walking in front of him to point out the wooden handrail. "Tharis keeps her room much warmer. She is from the south, every winter she won't leave without at least ten layers and a portable lantern to keep her from 'freezing to death'." He laughed at the memories.

Levi laughed along and gripped onto the handrail. “I don’t mind the cold as long as I have a suitable fur coat. For obvious reasons so I won’t freeze to death. But then again, I’m from the high north.”

Fiori trotted up the steps, smiling. "You icebloods have such thin skin. Fur is so cloying, can't you just brave your winters? Or are they that much worse in the north?"

“Winters get pretty bad,” the corner of his lip twitched with semi amusement, “It often gets so cold that even our eyelashes freeze, and the doctors are flooded with cases of frostbite and even blindness from the cold.”

He took the steps a bit slower than Fiori, but continued to follow him bit by bit. “And yet every year in the heart of winter, we all bundle up in our fur coats and scarves and boots to spend an entire night outside with steaming drinks, hot meat soup, and vendors for the Festival of the Sleepless Night. Are you sure we’re thin skinned?”

Fiori laughed, imagining a winter so cold it froze your eyelashes. That people died. "I suppose you may be tougher than we think up here," he admitted, a teasing sparkle in his eyes. "But I'll wait for you to brave one of our summers to make the final decision. You haven't truly lived until you survive a summer hot enough to set fires."

Levi groaned, “If I had any day in the matter, I would be long gone by then. I think I might die,” he chuckled. He lifted a hand to scratch his neck, but quickly remembered it was the collar. “I’ll make you a deal,” he jokingly offered, “If I survive one of your summers, you have to experience the worst day and night of our winter.”