The Guarded Princess

LXXX

The days passed on peacefully and sitting underneath the cherry blossoms, Lucy slept soundly. Masud, who had been roaming around the castle had chanced upon the room that he had been told not to enter and as a child, curiosity got the better of him. Opening the door slightly, he widened his eyes at the scenery that laid before him. The petals - aglow with life - fluttered down gracefully and settled onto the piles on the floor. White, silk shawls hung from the tree as its branches coursed with life, the rukh fluttering softly about.

But, what caught his eye was Lucy who sat there, sleeping. Walking over to her, he reached out to hold her hand but no matter what move he made, she didn't wake up. Fear crept through him as he widened his eyes with horror. With not even the slightest motion, she seemed almost to be a beautiful corpse.

"Lucy-san," he shook her. "Lucy-san. Lucy-san!"

He furiously shook her with fearful eyes as his complexion paled. His grip on her grew tighter and before he could accidentally break her wrist, Masrur - who had seen the door opened - quickly took Masud's hand and retracted it from Lucy.

"Anymore and you'll break her hand," he said with a slight panic in his voice.

Masud looked at Masrur as his lips quivered, his eyes scrunching up as tears began to well up. "Masrur-san...Lucy-san, she..." he began.

Masrur held the child in his arms and immediately reassured the child of his worries as a look of sorrow and anguish reflected in his maroon pink orbs. "It would be meaningless to hide it from you any longer for it was going to be sooner or later that you would find out," Masrur said and Masud blinked his eyes in question. Turning to Lucy, Masrur gazed at her in woe. "She didn't want you to see her like this in such a condition. Lucy asked us to hide it from you."

Masud looked at Lucy.

"After one of our battles preceding the founding of this empire, her inner state became unbalanced. She had used too much magoi at once and no matter how powerful she is, she's still human," he explained, knowing that Masud was aware of Lucy's strength.

"So Masrur-sama went to retrieve the seed of this tree for Lucy-sama in order to save her," Tomoyo appeared at the entrance of the door with a dejected smile as she gazed upon the petals of the tree before setting her eyes on Lucy, the person she so greatly adored. "If it weren't for him, then Lucy-sama would have truly left us," she lowered her eyes, her voice but a faint murmur towards the end.

"Anyone would've done it for her," Masrur simply said. "She's everything."

Masud looked at Lucy who continued to sleep peacefully and then at Masrur who gazed at her with fondness and affection. He slowly widened his eyes in realization, now understanding the feelings that resonated deep within their eyes. Masrur truly loved Lucy with all his heart and with each action he made and with each word he spoke, it showed it all. In his eyes, only Lucy existed. To Lucy, she was grateful for him being by her side all this time and to say in the least, she loved him. The two wouldn't mind doing anything for each other and it was exactly because of that emotion they held that they were able to come so far.

"So rest assured," Masrur reached out and ruffled Masud's head with a soft smile. "She won't be going anywhere anytime soon."

"Indeed," Tomoyo chuckled. "We don't plan on letting her leave us anytime soon either."

Masud turned his attention back to Lucy as the others did the same. With a firm resolution, Masud pulled his lips into a tight line as he balled his hands into fists, his eyes aglow with light. The ruby of the Heaven Vessel that Lucy had given him shone as the rukh fluttered around him. He was going to protect Lucy because for the sake of keeping her safe and free from worry, he was willing to do anything.