Lovely (Ruby x Dyrroth)

twenty-four

However, before Ruby could say something, the prince was suddenly in front of her cage in an instant, his hands grabbing the rusty iron bars. And, much to Ruby's surprise, his beautiful magenta eyes were glistening with tears. 'Ruby, I don't want you to go,' he whispered. 

Not having seen him behave this way before, Ruby couldn't help being incredibly startled. And touched. 'Dyrroth,' she said, faltering, not knowing how to respond. In the end, she only responded with the truth. All of a sudden, her eyes were filled with tears, too. 'I don't want to leave you, either,' she said with a wistful smile, reaching through the bars to cradle his cheek in her hand. 

She hadn't seen this sad, vulnerable side of him before, and neither had he seen hers, but despite not being used to it, Ruby knew that this moment was something she would cherish forever. Because however heart-wrenching it was, it was still lovely. 

Ruby hastily reached behind her to grab the key to her cage and unlocked the door, then leaped into the prince's arms without another moment of hesitation. His embrace was so warm and comforting, she felt tears spill down her cheeks at the thought that she might never be able to touch him again. 'I'll miss you,' she whispered. 

She heard Dyrroth let out a sob. 'I'll miss you too,' he said, nuzzling her soft golden locks with a tenderness Ruby had never thought possible. There was a great sorrow in his voice that nearly broke her heart. He pulled away from her first, holding her cheeks in his hands, gazing at her with a mixture of hope and wistfulness in his eyes. 'When...will I be able to see you again?' he asked her softly. 

Ruby didn't know where the sudden rise of determination and yearning inside of her had come from, but it was what made her speak the words she wanted to say next. 'I don't know when,' she answered, 'but I promise, promise, that we'll meet again.' She managed a small, bittersweet smile. 'Even if our paths weren't meant to cross and aren't ever meant to again, I believe we'll find our way back to each other eventually.' Ruby glanced up at him, something akin to hope inside her. 'Don't you?'

The prince close his eyes for a brief moment, then smiled sadly at her. 

'I believe we will, too,' he said.

---

Just as Ruby was about to open the door of her friends' room, Dyrroth stopped her, placing a hand on her elbow gently. 'Ruby,' he said in a quiet voice, getting her attention. He hadn't had to follow her here, but since he'd claimed he still had time, Ruby wasn't complaining.

Ruby looked at him. 'What's up?' she asked. 

Dyrroth glanced around them warily. 'Um, I know doing this here is a really terrible idea, but...' he turned back to her with a serene smile. 'Honestly, I don't really care.'

He reached up to cradle her face with his right hand, then leaned in to kiss her with excruciating slowness. Ruby had never experienced anything more passionate than this moment, this very minute. She kissed him back, all her senses utterly aflame, and when they drew apart for breath, his silvery blond bangs brushed softly against her face.

'Ruby,' he whispered into her hair, combing her ragged blonde locks tenderly. Ruby really liked how warm it felt this close to him, and when she remembered that she'd never be able to experience this again, her heart seemingly wrung itself dry of blood. 

That was when she thought of an idea, one that filled her with newfound hope. She couldn't help going utterly still, and Dyrroth gave her an inquisitive look. 'The place where we met,' she said suddenly. 

He blinked at her. 'What?'

'The place where we first met. You went there almost every night in the past, right? We can do all that again. And since Lesley's house isn't far from mine, I can walk there if I want to see you.' All of a sudden, her green eyes were alight with hope, and her heart no longer felt filled with misery. 'We can still meet each other in secret. Though we'll have to be careful.'