The Thief and the Prince || Kustard

Ch. 8 || Laughter and a Close Call

Red and Classic slept in the soft, dark green grass, it was far into the night. The moon shone brightly, her gaze watching over the two of them while they slept peacefully. Red awoke with an unknowingly loud yawn, and once he realized how loud he was he quickly shut up. He looked over at the still face of Classic, who was still sleeping like a baby. A quick look of relief washed over his face, and he went back to observing the area the two of them fell asleep in.

Judging from the position of the moon, Red assumed it was somewhere around three or four in the morning, but that judgement could be off. Red noted the possible time of night it was and remembered the flower crown the sleeping prince carefully crafted him. He noticed a few of the petals of the flowers were bent at awkward angle and cursed himself for forgetting he was wearing it before he fell asleep.

Red nimbly broke of one of the flowers on his crown and put it safely into one of his cloak pockets for safe keeping. He didn't know if one day they had to run away quickly and ditch the crowns they made. He wondered again why Classic chose this specific flower, blue forget-me-nots, but since Classic didn't answer him before he decided not to dwell on it.

Since there wasn't much to do while the prince was asleep, and Red was now fully awake and on alert to see if any predator or person would randomly come upon them. He wasn't willing to get a few extra hours of sleep over their safety. So, he just decided to think.

He thought about Classic mostly, but his thoughts drifted to other things from time to time. What were they going to eat? He doubted they were going into the town undetected again, and there was bound to be more Royal Guardsmen at each post. He could possibly steal some food at night when Classic was asleep? He had to think of a way to put food on the table for them.

Thinking about such concerning things put a scowl on his face and his brow furrowed in a hard look. He was grateful Classic was asleep, so he didn't have to see his face and question was he was thinking in that sweet, melodic voice of his. Classic. And just like that, his mind returned to its thoughts about the prince that slept next to him.

Red didn't know if it was infatuation or just because everyone, including himself, was curious as to how Prince Classic was like. Now Red understood what type of person he was. Someone too good for him, he quickly put the boundary up, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt his soul the littlest bit at the thought. He didn't understand how Classic affected him so much, it never happening to him before. But yet again, Red hasn't understood much of his feelings lately.

After around two hours of never-ending thinking, Red began to see the faintest color of gold and pink on the horizon. He estimated it being around five in the morning, and he would let classic sleep for a little bit longer before they had to leave back to Red's hideout.

The long hour passed, and it was now around five-thirty A.M. Red felt bad about waking Classic up from his peaceful slumber, but they had to move through the forest, and it was better to get an early spot. The prince can resume sleeping when they reach safety.

Red hesitantly but surely shook Classic a little bit, and the prince stirred in his sleep, but ultimately didn't wake up. This time, he shook Classic a bit more forcefully, but still, he didn't wake. Red sighed audibly and went to go grab a handful of water from one of the small streams nearby. He didn't want it to come to this, but he had no choice.

It was now around six in the morning, and the two of them needed to get going fast. Red regrettably threw the freezing water at Classic's face and the smaller jumped up with a squeak.

"Red! Oh my stars, what happened? Why am I all w...et..?" Classic spoke, his voice quieting down at the end due to just waking up.

"I uhm. I uh, I had ta' wake ya' up somehow..? Ya' wouldn't wake up when I shook ya', so I had ta' resort to somethin' uhm... not as pleasant." Red avoided eye contact, as he was pretty sure Classic was giving him eyes that could kill.