Lost Love [~Toffee~] ((COMPLETED))

Chapter 10

Toffee smiled as he watched Elara run her hand over the cool water from the fountain. They sat along the side, taking a moment from their long walk through the courtyard. He had seen every flower, every tree, and every topiary, but even their beauty could not surpass that of the lovely Butterfly princess before him. The way the sun shone down on her pale skin, and the way her blonde hair reflected the same beams of light; she was stunning, like a gleaming gemstone just waiting to be discovered. 

He admired her greatly, but knew better than to get too attached. Even though his whole body reacted to her in a way that was nearly uncontrollable, he had to keep his distance - for his people and Elara's kingdom. 

Though it was difficult to deny that every time he looked at her his heart wanted to skip a beat. 

"The water's so cold..!" Elara giggled, still submerging her hand in the sparkling fountain. She looked so happy, so different than when she was around her mother, Toffee noticed. And she was; being able to spend time with Toffee made her heart soar like it had never done before. Almost as if nothing could bring her down from the high.

Toffee felt the same. Especially while they had held hands and walked around the garden. His hand still tingled from her touch, like she had brought upon a warmth he had never experienced before. But, every time he thought about things of this nature, his mind would push him back into worry. What if someone found out? What if someone saw the way he was treating the Princess and instantly knew it was love?

He had no idea what he would do.

But he also had no idea how in the world he would live without Elara. In his mind, he was truly conflicted. He knew exactly what his heart and body wanted, but it just could not be. It was impossible. No one would accept them - Monster or Mewman. 

"...Toffee.. Toffee? Are you ok?" Elara had finally turned from the water to see that Toffee was lost, deep, deep in his own mind. She didn't know what he could possibly be thinking about, but she could tell by his expression that it bothered him. With Elara's words, Toffee was slowly pulled back from his troubled mind, he nodded in response to her question and cleared his throat before speaking.

"Yes, I'm fine." He smiled as he said this, trying his best to curve himself back into his normal, stoic behavior. It was in vein, however. There was no going back for now. He had now felt what it was like to show an emotion, mostly love, and liked the feeling. He was fond of seeing how she loved him back. "You don't have to worry about me, Elara." 

Her eyes glittered as he said her name and he desperately wanted to see more of that. He desperately wanted to see more of her, in more ways than one.

"You know I will..." She mumbled under her breath before turning again to face the water. She didn't think  he heard her, but, of course, he did. Chuckling lightly, he pressed a hand into the middle of her back and leaned in to whisper coarsely in her ear.

"As will I, Princess."

Bam. He had let even more of his love push through his steadily falling barrier. 

He backed away to try and keep a hold on himself from saying or doing any thing else, while Elara's whole face turned bright red like an overripe cherry. She looked as though she was going to be sick and completely refused to turn towards the tantalizing Septarian general. Toffee noticed seconds later and stifled back a laugh. She looked so cute.

"Please forgive me, your Highness," He said impassively as possible - to no avail, "That was much too bold." 

Elara noticed the change in his voice and finally turned to gaze into his beautiful golden eyes. His expression was pained, somewhat, like he regretted what he had said. In a way, he did, even though he had meant it with every fiber of his being. He was always taunting with his words, his eyes always lowered in a very secretive and seductive sort of way. It was just his attitude, the way he carried himself; professional, but cunning. Like his tongue was made of silver.

Elara loved that about him. How mysterious he could be at times and how his words wrapped her up in a silk-like embrace. Still, to her, he was the image of perfection. 

In response to his statement, she shook her head, the tinge of red still burning beneath her cheeks, "N-no... It wasn't. I - uh - I liked it." She said this quietly, knowing that someone could possibly be listening in on their conversation. 

Toffee looked deep into Elara's beautiful, light-brown eyes and saw sincerity, as well as a dull lustfilled sparkle. He smiled. "I still must apologize."

"Oh.. Ok.." 

Their cute little moment together was very rudely interrupted by Toby, the skinny little butler that Toffee had really come to despise.

"General," He bowed hastily and stood back up with his nose pointed to the sky, "The meeting over tea with your King and our Queen has ended. Your King is waiting for you in the foyer."

Toffee could have growled in disgust and beat the man into the ground, all in a second flat. And when he turned to see Elara's expression, it seemed as though she could have done the same. But, he had manners that no Butterfly Queen could ever hope to have, so he stood, held out his hand to the princess and bowed. 

Elara, of course, took the general's hand and was pulled up from her sitting position on the side of the fountain. 

"I had such a wonderful time with you today, Princess," He stooped low and, to Elara's dismay, let her hand go, "I hope to join you again sometime."

"A-as do I..!" She added in last second, as Toffee had already turned to leave the courtyard. 

But her words were drowned in his thoughts before they could even reach his ears. What had he done? How could he have let so much of his love show towards her? and how in the world was he going to be able to let her go now?

"Damn it.."

"Damn it.."

**EEKK!! Another chapter, another day. Whooo, this one was a little easier to write, and hopefully it's good and you guys like it (crossing fingers for that one). I'm really, really having conflicting feelings about how I want Toffee to act in this story. It started out like the actual, REAL him in the beginning, but now he's evolved into a lovestruck version of himself. Which, don't get me wrong, the way I think the actual Toffee would handle a situation like this, but I'm really worried about how you guys feel about it. Overall, I'm still enjoying this story a whole lot, so don't worry about that :) I'd just really like your help with how you think I'm portraying Toffee: Good, bad, inbetween - it doesn't matter. Your feedback helps SO much and I enjoy reading all your comments. Thank you so much for the continuing support and love, Stay toasty, AND don't forget to vote and comment! :D Love you all!!**