HOW TO LIVE AGAIN (girlxgirlxgirl)

Neljätoista; Men against men

"Fight me, you f*cking coward"
14

🦚

⚠️ death, murder, violence, blood, fear of death ⚠️

Sixteen days after Andra's escape

The evening started out normally. A whole day after the group of women had snuck into the city.

"This is crazy Dermot!"

A hushed whisper echoes in the kitchen. One, single candle is between Elias and Dermot, standing on the low wooden table. Everywhere else around them it's pitch black, and it has Elias curling in on himself. He never liked the dark. Usually people see him as the taller and stronger guy, because he's always around Dermot who appears small because of his feminine look. But in reality Dermot is taller than him, both figuratively and realistically. It's only at night, when insecurities and fear and stress catch up with him, that Elias actually appears to be what he actually is. Small and scared.

So before Dermot could fall asleep next to him on the thin mattress in the living room, Elias dragged him to the kitchen to talk with panic in his voice. This whole thing has been bugging him ever since he was dragged into it two days ago, and he is constantly shivering from fear. The thought of getting caught has him up at night. He never thought spontaneously hanging out with Dermot one evening would lead to him being mixed up with a highly illegal rebellion and princess who is challenging the line of succession. He never wanted this, it kinda just happened and now he's basically stuck for life.

"Calm down Elias, everything has been going smoothly, just like Dana predicted"

But it doesn't calm the shorter's heart. Elias comes from a poor family just like Dermot. But he didn't use his good looks to get to the top, he used his charms and connections to climb up the political ladder. He's just another official who works in the city, just another half politician half errand boy for the seniors at the governmental house of external relations. This far, Elias has done everything to appear as an average guy with an average life, from an average family with average looks. He's got the long hair and jewelry like everyone else, he's got the blue gown with a purple silk belt, he's got the serious face and proud smile. And then suddenly, after all that hard work, Dermot and Dana drag him into a political and royal mess that is princess Andra and her rebellion.

He's not okay with it. He wants to run away and tell on them, but he also doesn't want to hurt his friend, nor does he want to risk getting into trouble himself. No matter how much Elias tries to scold Dermot for being so... open minded, he loves his best friend and relates to him a lot. They come from the same village, the same poor background and have faced the same challenges to get to the top. They just happen to live completely different lives now, with different opinions.

"I can't calm down! We're living at the brink of being discovered by the royal guards, who have definitely heard of the rebellion by now! At any second we could be beheaded Dermot, and I didn't sign up to die!"

Dermot's expression softens. He fully supports what they are doing, helping the rebellion gather members so that they can attack safely in a few days. Ever since Dana explained it to them in the evening two days ago, he was on board. He'd do anything to get his old life back, the old country back. Where he didn't get judged for being feminine and the women could still be rich and powerful and have money that they could spend on him. But he also knows that Elias is more of a held back guy. He doesn't want to be involved with anything, he isn't ready to die for anything yet. And he also knows how panicky and scared his best friend can get sometimes.