Wildfire

Nineteen

"Emrys!" Hearing my name wailed into my shoulder while Rayne digs his claws into the flesh of my back makes me wish dearly that the two of us were alone, the stealing of a kiss something I am more than guilty of currently wanting to do while he squirms away in my lap with all of his uncontainable joy. 

I can hardly look his father in the eyes when Akeno finally takes mercy on me and clears his throat in order to get his son's attention, Rayne's face still streaking with tears as he settles down and snuggles into me not caring about the awkwardness of my stiffness under his thighs. 

It's all I can do to let the arm not wrapped around his waist lift itself until my hand can capture his as it continues to rub itself back and forth on my chest, his affection starting to pour out so much more freely than it had last night, but now having the backstory Akeno had been kind enough to volunteer before we actually got around to arranging my lovely Moon Beam's dowry and the marriage that I am now sure will be a happy one. 

Rayne had been terrified long before I had ever introduced myself, his fear of the other guests, and their cruelty more than justified... Something that if I had been made aware of, I never would have even entertained the notion of leaving him by himself. 

...

Rayne

...

I know that my tears were unexpected... I've always been easy to weep, my beast not the bravest of us all, nor is my heart the most steady. I am just not used to having such joy consume my heart so thoroughly, though I know that my excitement over the matter is causing a very different kind of joy in my sweet Prince, his hold on me loosing just enough for me to adjust myself to give him a little more room down there so that he might calm himself. 

For a moment I half expect to be scolded, either by Mama or Emrys himself, my lack of self-restraint this morning partially due to my current level of exhaustion, but also from the excitement bubbling through both halves of me knowing that no one shall ever get the chance to hurt me again as long as Emrys is by my side... But instead of enforcing the values that we're all taught to hold so highly, I hear happy chuckles, Emry's hand wandering up to my still tender head to make me lean more into his embrace before slipping down to my jaw and guiding me to look upward. 

For a moment I think that he just wanted to see me... To be able to look at my face while he caresses me with his light hold... But then I feel it... His lips, feather-light as they brush themselves over mine...

It is temporary, the gentle feel of our first kiss, and infringed upon by the soreness still held in my body, but it does indeed quiet me down quite a bit, my mind too stunned by the intimate action to form words, my blurry eyes unashamed as I stare at his face as the hand holding mine gives my fingers a squeeze, "I thought you finer than starlight the moment I saw you, Dearest... Now, tell me what would you like me to call for so we can get some food into you?"

...

Emrys

...

It is almost impossible to stop myself after just a chaste peck, but it seems that it was all that was needed to calm my gentle Rayne, the way he weasels his hand away from me in order to bring his fingers to his lips touching the very depths of my soul as he thinks a moment before managing to answer me finally, "R-Rice porridge..."

"Just rice porridge? Anything else you would like to pair with it my little Moon Beam..." I'll give him anything at all in order to see him eat. It worries me that his body is trying so hard to heal itself while running on empty, his stomach's rumble growing louder with each passing moment though he seems content to ignore it and stare at me though we all know he is not truly seeing my face. 

The kiss seems to have shocked him more than anything else, but I will never regret letting my self-control slip just long enough to sample my bride, his coloring sure to have been stunning if he were not still so black and blue. 

Even partially blinded and still unable to open one of them the golden shards in my sweet Rayne's eyes seem to dance in his silence, his mind hopefully filling with thoughts only of me and our tender day to be spent together and not any of the awful events that unfolded last night after he gives me a weak utterance of, "T-The roasted duck from last night... If-If there is any left might we have some?" 

...

Rayne

...

I feel as though I have no other choice but to tuck myself closer against my Prince, his stiffness be damned in the face of our closeness and my comfort, the feel of his body pressed against mine and nearly glowing with its warmth exactly the shelter my soul has been craving after having been socially isolated from the people who were supposed to be my peers for so long. 

All that matters now is the feel of his chuckle as it rumbles from his chest and the feel of his fingers running themselves through what they can of my hair, the gentle untangling of the knots he finds muchly appreciated, his tender affection something I know that I will come to miss if it is ever taken away from me. 

"That sounds wonderful, my Love. I-" his whisper is gentle when it falls upon my temple, my father cutting off my future husband with a softness he doesn't often show in front of those outside of our immediate household, the rumor of how he dotes on his family floating around the court more than true, my Papa too kind for his own good. 

"I'll send one of the guards for it, Your Highness... And for the sedative. The ladies and I should be taking our leave anyhow if we are to freshen up for the day in our own rooms."

I am sad to see my family take their leave, the touching way they stayed close by to be near me after such trauma speaking volumes to how much they truly care for me despite the fact that the blood running through my veins does not stem from the same ancestry as theirs... But I am also grateful, Emrys somehow becoming softer as they exit, his touches lingering as he strokes my back and gathers me closer ever so carefully. 

I wish I could see his face... Really anything more than just the outline of where everything should be. 

I didn't take enough time last night to really look at him... I had avoided looking at him in fact... And now I regret it so deeply, the urge to lift my fingers to his face and let them explore so that I might try and know the countenance of the man that has so quickly stolen my breath away, my heart leaping out of my chest to volunteer to go with it.