Dragon's Blood- Obi x OC // Akagami No Shirayukihime

Chapter 4- Do You Ever Stop Talking?

Obi gently slammed open the throne room doors, causing a ringing to echo through the entire palace. There goes being discrete, I thought. Still, part of me wanted to hide away, even though I suddenly felt unavoidable eyes on me. I tugged back my navy hood over my head, trying to shield my face as much as possible. I caught myself wanting to look down at the floor in anxiety for the argument to come, but I reminded myself of what I told Obi earlier. Izana doesn't scare me. He's just a boy. A prince, sure. A crown prince, maybe. But a boy, definitely.

Instead, I brought my chin high, eyes focused ahead, scanning the room to identify who would be so lucky as to witness a famous Wisteria family rumble. Kiki, Mitsuhide, Zen, Izana, and of course, Obi. He's relatively new here- I think this might be his first time to the show. Lucky him. Obi noticed my eyes in his direction, and sent me a reassuring smile, after which, he abruptly decided it best to ruin the silence once more, disregarding the heavy air in the room and Izana's threatening gaze.

"Master!" He ran over to Zen, who was sitting on the windowsill, eyes fixated in my direction with an unreadable expression. "I found her, Master! Just like you asked, she's back in one piece, and I didn't even have to look that far from the castle." Around my brother, I notice, Obi acts much like a little kid. A puppy, running to their owner with unyielding excitement, even when their owner obviously isn't in the best mood.

"Thank you, Obi." Zen said sternly, as he stood up from his position by the window, and turned in my direction. Kiki, always formal standing by my brother's side, smiled lightly. Mitsuhide, with a knowing grin, sent me a rather obnoxious wave with his hand. I responded with a curt nod, then focused my sight back onto my brother. As he got closer, his eyes serious, I began to speak.

"Zen, listen," I sighed, my curls bouncing in front of my eyes, "I didn't mean to be away for that long, I just needed to grab a few things from town and—"

His arms quickly squeezed my whole body in a hug. Zen's breathing was rugged as I felt his chest move up and down heavily as it was pressed against mine. Gods, is he crying? Were they all really that worked up about me going on a textile run in town for a few hours? I shrunk back in his grasp, my short frame recoiling back in shame. Nothing even happened, yet he looked so torn, he felt so hurt. And it's all because of me.

"Zee." He looked down at me, still holding me in his arms. "Zee." Again, he took a deep breath, whispering my name, eyes looking straight into mine as if I'd disappear at any second. "Zosia."

I inhaled. "Zen, again, I'm so sorry. I didn't want you to worry, I really didn't. Not you. I'm sorry, I didn't realize the time, I didn't realize how long I was out. But for a brief, brief second, I forgot who I was, truly. I forgot why I couldn't be out that late, I forgot that everyone here would worry for me, I forgot that I could've been in danger.

"I just wanted to, for one night, to be able to visit my friend at the textile shop, to buy what I wanted without having a guard suffocate me and examine my every move. And plus, Zen, you know me. You know I can handle myself."

"She really can, trust me." Mitsuhide piped up with a tension breaking expression, rubbing his arm as if in remembrance. I guess I might've hit him a few times, maybe.

Zen looked down at me, his face softening as he backed away, dropping his shoulders in a relaxing position. His cheeks were red and his eyes looked tired, but I could tell that he was okay. He was my older brother, although only by a few months, and I wanted above anything that everything be fine between us. "Well..." he paused, my heart skipping beats and palms sweating awaiting his response, "Did you find the thing you wanted to buy?"

I sighed, the deepest relief I've felt in ages. One brother down, one to go.

"Yes, actually," I said, a little too fast, "Zen, its genuinely the most sought after fabric in the entire kingdom, maybe the world- it's impenetrable, un-ripable. Zen, do you know how long I've wanted this? Can you even imagine the fit I could design? The sleekness, the color, the weight. Everything about this fabric is perfect. All thanks to Jace, of course. He's my fabric guy." I shrugged as if it was obvious, excited to finally talk about the thing I love. "Do you want me to keep going? Because I can. I really can. But only if you want. Wait, I take that back. I'll keep going, even if you don't want me to."