"Doesn't it? We could go anywhere we wanted, and no one could ever try to stop us." She continued, shifting her head to nuzzle his cheek. He was the first and last person she would ever get this close to, spend this much time up close with. She had hugged her mother, when she was alive, sure, but between her mother's death and meeting Elijah, she had gone without any contact other than being backhanded by tutors, and the fights in that village tavern. Elijah was her exception. He always was.
"Free to do what we please," he added with a whisper, the hand on her arm moving to cup the back of her neck and play with her hair as he turned his head slightly towards Ali. He continued to watch her every move as he held her, wanting to keep her as close as possible as she laid atop him, needing her warmth to make him feel normal, savoring her presence that made him feel at ease and happy.
"Exactly." She hummed, eyes drifting shut as he played with her hair. "Thanks, Ellie. For being there when I woke up." She whispered, pressing her face against his neck. "The nightmares are bad, but….they're not as bad now that you're here. Getting over them is easier."
"I'm glad I could help," he whispered in return, resting his cheek against her head as he continued to play with her hair. He draped one arm across her back, holding her against him in a partial hug. He's begun to enjoy her weight over him, the reassurance that she was here and real, just like her breath against his neck. "And I'll continue to be there for you."
"Now I just wish I could be less useless. Lend you support or comfort." She mused softly, draping her arms on either side of his head. She really did feel slightly useless, like he was here comforting her and holding her after a nightmare, and she was offering nothing in return. Should she be?
"You're not useless," he insisted firmly, lightly pushing her up so that he could look into her gold eyes, his silver-blue ones scanning her face before he continued, as if getting distracted for a moment. "You do more for me than you realize, laʻu afi." And it was true. How many times had he thought about what he would've been like had Ali not showed up at his cave and provided him company and warmth? He didn't know, but it was a lot. She provided him with comfort he could never achieve without her. He didn't know what he would do without her in his life.
"It really doesn't feel like I do anything for you." She said, furrowing her brows in that small pout/frown of hers. Avoiding looking him in the eyes, she chewed her bottom lip, thinking and pouting at the exact same time as she tried to come up with something. Some way to show just how grateful for him. The kitchen is one of the few places in the palace I haven't been banned from because of my fire…
Elijah shook his head and rested his forehead against hers, the familiar gesture comforting to him as he smiled softly. Her frowning pout was adorable as always, something that hasn't changed despite their time apart. "You do. Now, what's going on inside that head of yours? I can practically feel the gears moving." He let go of her as he leaned his head back, letting it fall back onto the bed.
“Muffins.” She said vaguely, still pouting in thought. After a moment, Ali realized an explanation might be a good idea. “They’re all I know how to make, but I could make muffins. I’m not banned from the kitchen. It’s one of the only places I’m allowed, because fire is okay in a kitchen if it’s controllable, and the staff are good at controlling it. But anyway, muffins!”
Elijah blinked in confusion, then smiled before he could realize what he was doing—which meant it was bright and unrestrained. "Blueberry muffins," he said softly, brushing his fingers over her cheek to push back some strands of her hair. "I grew quite fond of blueberry muffins when training as a knight. Plus, you know I love blueberries, even if it's not a typical dragon food."
As Ali's eyes focused back on Elijah, she caught his smile, her eyes widening just a tad at the brilliant expression. He looked so happy. A new goal, now, to make him smile like that as often as she possibly could. "Blueberry muffins it is!" She chirped happily, leaning into his touch. "You always did love them. Though, you ended up eating the bush itself a bit too often. I can't imagine the leaves and stuff tasted too good."
He curled his nose playfully, his smiling fading somewhat once he caught himself. "It didn't, but it was worth it for the blueberries." He couldn't count the number of times when Ali had to pick leaves off of his teeth because it got stuck. He scanned her face, his eyes crinkling as he caught how happy she looked to be able to do something for him—to knowingly do something for him. He didn't think it was necessary, but how could he say no to that face? Or blueberries?
"You know, there's a bonus to being stuck in this form for extended periods of time. You can just go pick the berries." She pointed out, tongue poking out between her teeth as she smiled at him. "There's a bush in the garden! I, uh, planted it a little while after I got back. It's the only plant I've never burned." She admitted, cheeks reddening just slightly. "Had to keep it small, 'cause the gardens are for 'show plants', not sustainable plants, I guess."
Elijah chuckled, smiling softly at the red in her cheeks. He reached up and lightly poked her cheek, then poked her tongue when he noticed it was sticking out. "Ah, the pains of royalty. I suppose being your knight does have its perks after all. I get blueberries." He purposely left out the fact that he got to see Ali all the time, eyes flashing with humorous ice and snow.
Ali's cheeks grew even redder as she pulled her tongue back into her mouth, moving her head back just a bit to make a face at him. "You're the only one I'll share my blueberries with." She said, tapping the side of his face a few times to the beat of a song that wasn't playing. "Royals really don't like anything useful, only things so useless it proves their wealth is limitless."
He chuckled softly and leaned into her touch, letting the hand on her face drop back down to the bed. "What makes you so unique," he murmured, "you don't care for frivolous things, and you appreciate the usefulness of things. Granted, that's partly because of you living in a cave with a dragon, but shhh." He smiled some more and couldn't help himself as he reached up yet again, tangling his fingers into her hair and playing with the strands.
His fingers tangling into her hair was even better than his hand on her cheek, and before she could really think about it, she was pressing her head into his hand, eyes closing happily. "Mmmm, you've got a point about living with you. Though, I will say I've never been too big a fan of useless things. Unless they're small and shiny. I miss the cave. It was so open, and I didn't have to deal with blankets and things catching fire."
Once he was sure Ali's eyes were closed, Elijah smiled brightly. He continued to play with her hair, head tilted almost curiously as he did so. All of this was new to him, but he didn't mind any of it one bit. He speculated that Ali was to credit for that comfort and ease. "I miss it too," he murmured, his fingers following a strand down with his knuckles brushing over her cheek. Once he reached the end, he reached up again and combed his fingers through her hair gently, careful to not pull.
Ali hummed contentedly, almost happily, though she did let out a sort of sad sigh. "I can't go back. That's the first place they would look, and that time, they might catch you." She said softly, still tapping that beat on his cheek with gentle fingers.
"Yeah," he breathed sadly, his lips tipping down in a small frown, "I know." He tipped his head to the side to slightly lean into her touch. He thought silently for a moment, fingers still absentmindedly combing through her hair. "Perhaps we could find another," he mused, mostly to himself.
“Find a new cave?” Ali perked up at that, her eyes regaining a little bit of sparkle. “A new home.” Home. Home wasn’t really a place to her anymore. The castle wasn’t home, and once she’d been brought back, the cave could never be again. But it wasn’t the cave itself that was home. It was the dragon that came along with it. Elijah was home.
Elijah smiled and lightly bumped his nose against Ali's. "A new home," he repeated softly and happily. It would take some time and planning to be able to, firstly, find a new cave that was big enough for Elijah as a dragon and to finally get this wonderful girl out of this prison and back to where she belonged—in the wild, free to be herself.
Ali beamed, sitting up suddenly and pumping a fist in the air. "We could go to Vendi! Look for a cave in the mountains, or Kieves for a cave by the sea. Somewhere cold, not warm, obviously. Neither of us likes the heat that much. But it's gotta be warm enough to grow blueberries." She mused, continuing on with different ideas and things they should factor in when looking. All of the places she listed, though, were far away from where they were now. She didn't want to risk being caught by her father again.
Elijah just lied back with an idle smile and watched her get excited as she thought over where they should live next. It would take some time, he knew, but he was happy to watch her like this, happy to dream for the future. His hands dropped down, lazily folded over his chest as he shifted slightly and looked up at her.
After a little while of rambling on about caves, Ali paused, frowning in thought. "There was something we were going to do after my attempted nap." She said, her hands lowering from where they'd been waving around to emphasize her words. "Oh! We were going to sneak into the library, that's right!"
