Darkness into Light - Espresseleine

Chapter Thirty ~ An Indirect I Love You

It had been ten, fifteen minutes perchance? Since the two had begun their day's journey towards the outskirts of the Cacao Kingdom, just as it was marked on the map given to them kindly. They moved into some sort of formation, Madeleine leading and Espresso covering from the rear. It was an effective battle formation, ensuring that the paladin would be able to shield the mage while he strikes any enemy who would dare attempt to delay their journey. Except, it is questionable how the mage would be able to attack without strong enough magic.

The only problem with that was, Madeleine had his back turned to Espresso, dissipating any opportunity to chat. In fact, they hadn't said a word to each other since the brunette had greeted him awkwardly at the gate.

The blond only kept his eyes downcast while his lips remained pressed into a thin line.

So Espresso did the only thing that would keep him entertained for now. Think. And perhaps silently dwell over the fact that he should have brought some instant coffee with him.

What if Pom finds out? Does she know I'm out here right now? What did she mean when she said there would be consequences?

Espresso chewed on his thumb nail mindlessly, brows furrowed in slight dread. Somehow though, his mind drifted back to his conversation with Pure Vanilla, remembering why Madeleine was even here in the first place.

He was given the opportunity to fix his mistakes. And right now, he was doing anything but fixing it.

The mage really did like the way Madeleine always came to his defence for the smallest things, never hesitating to protect him. But he'd made a big deal out of it. Such a screw up, he'd mentally yell at himself.

Espresso glanced upwards, looking at the cookie he was currently thinking about. He sighed quietly when the knight commander remained silent and distant.

The Vanilla Kingdom was weird. And with it came the various cookies and the countless opportunities to pursue his own passion that made him feel weird too. It was so different compared to the castle of the Cookies of Darkness. Back there, every one of him and his siblings had a certain path set out by Dark Enchantress. A path they had to follow until they crumbled. A path that would leave them clueless and miserable if they strayed too far from it.

But the difference was, this time Espresso had somewhere to go. If he attempted to stray from Dark Enchantress' path just a tiny bit, the warmth of the Vanilla Kingdom would be right in front of him, welcoming him with smiles as bright as the blazing sun. Compared to the last time, he felt lost. He had nowhere to go.

Espresso glanced upwards once more, catching a glimpse of Madeleine's armour reflecting the sun's rays. He smiled, remembering the last time he'd hugged him in that armour.

He liked his random acts of affection. His caring nature, the way he'd always check on his well-being, whether he'd eaten a meal or if he'd gotten enough sleep. Which the mage would always lie about. But he had a feeling he had picked up on his lies already, due to his eye-bags and the constant tired look in his eyes.

Espresso averted his eyes from the blond in front of him and looked up, staring at the bright blue sky above them as they trekked through the thick forest.

He liked his eyes too, the most gorgeous blue he'd ever seen. The captivating colour hadn't left the mage's mind since they locked eyes in battle for the first time. Had he really been drowning in the colour of his eyes for that long?

Without thinking, the brunette walked at a slightly quicker pace, moving so that he was now walking side by side with Madeleine. The paladin side-glanced him, a little surprised.