Behind the Mask | Garroth x Reader

| Part Fourteen | Protectiveness |

The rocking of her chair eased me into my sleep. The yelling and fighting from outside had woken me up. When Papa came running in with blood on his hands I freaked out. He was always having to settle the fights at work, and yet it still scared me to think I might lose him. 

"She still seems a bit fussy. Maybe she should sleep with us tonight." His voice came from the kitchen as he slowly came over to stand beside us. I laid my head against Mama's chest and reached out to hold Papa's hand. Mama had her arms around me and kept rocking us.

"She's always been so calm when held." I look up at Mama who smiled and started to hum softly. "Baby mine, don't you cry. Baby mine, dry your eyes. Rest your head close to my heart. Never to part, baby of mine." Her voice was sweet and soft. Her heartbeat was slow and calming. I nuzzle up closer to her while holding onto her shirt. 

"Little one when you play. Don't you mind what you say." Papa was never a good singer, but it was nice to hear him. To know he was safe.

"Let those eyes sparkle and shine. Never a tear, baby of mine." When Mama and Papa sang it always made me happy. It made me feel safe. 

Papa would lean in close and place a hand on my arm, giving it a gentle shake. "It's time to get up Y/N." I groan a little and cuddle closer to Mama. This doesn't stop him, he grabs both of my arms and pulls me to look him dead in the face. "Please Y/N, I need you to get up!"

With one last shake, I was pulled from my peaceful lullaby and was looking up at Laurance standing over me. I'm guessing he could see the growing concern on my face since he quickly covers my mouth.

"Shh, it's okay. It's just me. You left your window open and your door unlocked... I'm sure Garroth told you what happened, it's not safe for you like that." I reach up and push his hand away before grabbing my blanket and pulling it up to cover myself. 

"That doesn't mean you can sneak in here and wake me up!" I grip my blanket a bit tighter and glare up at him. Besides being woken up in the middle of the night, I was far from decent. 

"I'm sorry, but I need your help. I caught wind that your Lord, Aphmau was taken into custody at Chocolate Village. You know her better than me and can help speak for her innocence. If I can give you time to get ready will you come with me to get her out of jail?" His expression looked serious and didn't even look away for a moment. 

"Garroth said not to lea-"

"She is your lord, isn't she? If we don't go to prove she was here yesterday, then who knows what they might do to her." Part of me knew that I made a promise to Garroth, that I shouldn't leave, but this was Lady Aphmau. She pulled me away from just letting myself rot away in my sorrows... How could I not want to help her?

"Fine. I'll go with you. Please just give me a moment to get... Decent..." His eyes look over me and the serious look he had before faltered and a smirk came through. 

"You might not see it as decent, but you sure are beautiful. And even when you're mad it's kind of cute." He sends a wink my way before turning away, leaving me alone. I let out a small huff and let my blanket fall onto my lap. I look beside me and see the letter Garroth wrote me last night.

"I'm sorry Garroth... I'm sure that once you know it's for Lady Aphmau then you will understand." I push off my blanket and quickly throw on some clothes. I could hear Laurance tending to his horse just outside of my house. Once I was finished up I peeked my head out to see him stop and turn to face me. 

"Thank you again Y/N for your help with this. They might be more understanding if they have someone from her village to speak of her innocence." He takes the reigns for his horse and leads them up to me. "I take it you're ready to leave?" I nod my head and watch as he approaches me. "Did you need help getting onto my horse?" I shake my head and attempted to climb on myself. I guess a mixture of just waking up and my lack of height made things a bit more difficult. I could feel Laurance's hands quickly move to my waist to keep me from falling backward after my failed attempt.