Crown of a Prince (Finn Shelby)

33.

The next morning Finn woke first, while Ailbhe still slept. He didn't move, not wanting to disturb her since she needed the rest but he had been lying there, drifting in and out of sleep and just savouring the time that was just theirs. He got a sense of calm when he looked at her, especially like that, wrapped around him, bare warm skin against his.

Lizzie had come up to check on her and to bring her a cup of tea, but when she knocked and came in she realised Ailbhe was still asleep and that she wasn't alone. Finn had panicked when he saw her, not sure how Lizzie would react but he should have known better. Of course, Ailbhe had already told Lizzie just about everything.

"It's alright" Lizzie shushed him, closing the door behind her quietly and putting the cup of tea down on the table beside the bed.

Finn knew Lizzie loved Ailbhe like a sister, that she would do anything to protect her and if that meant keeping her secrets, she would do it. It comforted him to know that Lizzie clearly wasn't against the thought of Finn and Ailbhe, that she maybe even thought he could be both good enough for her and good for her.

She looked at her, sleeping so deeply that she looked at peace wrapped up in Finn's arms. She looked her age then, only eighteen and yet she always looked so much more grown up like Finn. They had seen so much, been through so much for only eighteen years of life.

"Did she sleep?" Lizzie asked.

Finn simply nodded in response, looking down at her and knowing she was nowhere near waking.

"Tommy says she's to take today off" Lizzie told him, relaying what Tommy had told her.

She had been through enough and needed some time to rest, not to go straight back to work. Finn just nodded, promising to tell her when she woke.

"Arthur came looking for you, he says to meet him in Artillery Square at midday" Lizzie whispered, moving back towards the door and taking her leave.

She knew Ailbhe was in good hands. And she clearly had made up with Finn, putting aside their pride and tempers.

Ailbhe woke a few minutes later, her arms stretching as she squirmed in her waking state and opened her eyes. She smiled slightly once she saw Finn and felt him around her.

"Morning" she whispered, her voice soft and hoarse from just waking up "What time is it?"

She asked looking around, seeing how bright it was.

"It's almost eleven. Lizzie said you're to take the day off. Tommy's orders" He told her as he found her hand and linked it with his, her small fingers laced with his.

That was how he wanted to start every morning. She stretched her arms, her free hand snaking around him and he loved how she just wanted to touch him any time she could. He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, noticing how her neck was red and scratched from the noose those bastards had put around her.

Ailbhe felt him tense, knowing that he was looking at the damage they had done and his anger only grew.

"I'm okay" she whispered, looking at how his eyes were growing cold and angry.

She reached up and grabbed his chin in her fingers, tilting it down to look at her and repeating herself

"I'm okay Finn"

She stretched up and pressed a kiss to his lips for good measure but he felt tense and cold against her lips.

"He's gone, they're gone" she whispered, her thumb swiping across his high and sharp cheekbone.

His eyes focused back on her, knowing that the men who had done that to her were both dead, that they were on a boat to London to let the Changrettas know that anyone who messed with Ailbhe would die without their eyes.