Princess Alver (og Cale x Alver)

Part 2

Alver really questioned how things had come to this.

All she'd intended to do was to observe the situation from the outside, she hardly wanted to interfere and she certainly didn't want to actually interact.

However, she also couldn't allow the scene to play out without doing her due part to protect the fool.

The stumbling drunk of a lout hadn't made it three paces from the bar before he was dragged into an alleyway by a group of unsavory characters with clearly foul intentions and even more foul stenches.

They were just drunk enough to think it was a good idea to do something unspeakable to the young master of the Henituse family. It was an act of absolute stupidity but even if Cale was clearly hiding something beneath the surface, he hardly seemed sober or capable enough to handle the lot of them.

They hardly managed a "no one to save you now" like the despicably predictable bastards they were before the one pinning Cale up against the wall was crumpling to the ground after meeting the blunt end of Alver's sword.

She didn't wait for the others to catch their bearings, in a fluid motion gained from years of training, she neatly dispatched the six miserable drunkards who dared to cross her path.

And that's where it ought to have ended. She could have disappeared into the crowd and left Cale to make his own way home. That's how it ought to have ended. But by the time she turned her attention back to the victim of this stupid crime, she noticed that he was slumped over and breathing heavily.

"Shit." She cursed silently, kneeling down in front of him and checking his vitals. Cale looked at her eyes that were blurry and unfocused, his cheeks were flushed, and he was clutching his chest. A quick touch that had her wincing informed him that he also had a fever. "What happened?" She asked, she felt stupid doing so. He was far too out of it to be any good to her.

Surprisingly, he jutted his chin to the fist lackey she'd done away with. Alver left him for just long enough to search for clues, kicking his prone body as she found the bottle. She nearly broke it in her grip after smelling the contents.

They truly were foul bastards. She took the time to memorize their faces, they'd be brought to justice as soon as she'd gotten the lout to safety. She returned to Cale's side and frowned. He was still struggling to maintain his composure.

But that was the thing, he had an awful lot of composure left over for someone who ought to be out of their mind on illegal stimulants.

"Does this happen often?" She asked, using her handkerchief to wipe sweat from his brow before it stung his eyes. Cale shook his head no. "Has it happened before?"

He hesitated a moment but nodded. Alver clenched her mouth shut.

Her to-do list of matters to attend to within the Henituse territory was ever growing. For now, she'd help him and disentangle this mess later. "I'm going to touch you." She warned, knowing well enough that his grasp on reality must be tenuous at best. Anything she could do to ground him would do them both good.

He gave a ragged nod and clenched his eyes shut. She inserted herself at his side and lifted him up neatly. He wasn't nearly as heavy as she was expecting but then again, she was used to carrying dead weight. Alver checked in on him but his head had lulled against her shoulder as though he'd finally hit his limit.

Lord, this damn lout was so much more trouble than he was worth. It was hardly the situation for it, but she couldn't help but think his face looked much cuter when he wasn't sneering, scowling, or mocking. He had a good facial structure after all.

Alver darted up to the rooftops, she could turn him into one of the guards but she didn't want to answer questions like who are you and how did you find the young master. She'd just sneak him into his bedroom and then deal with this matter on the backend.

The journey to the Henituse estate felt far too long because of his fever. She cursed under her breath. She was mostly sure that he'd be fine after some rest but she'd need to check in to be absolutely positive. It was a blow to her pride that he'd gotten poisoned under her protection.

Even though she hadn't had any initial intentions of protecting him at all.

He truly was the definition of troublesome. He was stirring awake as she was circling the manor, trying to determine which window was his.

Cale tugged on her collar weakly and gestured towards a dark window on the second floor.

Alver sighed.

Of course it was the second floor. It wasn't like she wasn't already tired and annoyed.

Using just a touch of magic to ease the journey, Alver landed neatly on the balcony. The window had been left open which she felt was rather reckless of the young master. Should she speak to him directly, she'd have quite a few words with him about basic safety precautions.

Still, it made her job easier as she gently deposited him onto his bed and examined his condition once more. He was lulling in and out of consciousness and muttering something incomprehensible to himself but he was otherwise in fairly good condition considering what he'd ingested.

She was just about to sneak back out the window to deal with the scumbags from the alleyway when his arms shot out.

She could have fought back if she'd chosen to but she didn't think he had any malintent. All the same she hadn't been prepared to get dragged down to his chest in a hug. The delirious man burying his face in her hair and muttering a desperate. "Don't go."

Alver swallowed thickly. Dammit. Maybe she'd just stay a little while. He was still in pretty bad condition and it would be irresponsible to leave him like this without anyone else aware of his condition. "I won't." She said placatingly, relieved to feel his arms loosen and stop trembling quite so terribly.

Ah, what a troublesome young master. Alver rested her head against his chest and listened as his breaths evened out. In some small way, she had offered him comfort. Of course she was under no obligation to do so but it was a relief nonetheless.

She'd need to pull away from his grip soon. She listened to his rhythmic heartbeat and thought it sounded nice.

When was the last time she'd had a hug?

She didn't share hugs that frequently with Tasha, at least not these days with so much to do, and there wasn't anyone who would dare to hug the crown prince. She'd hugged people, of course, in order to establish a shallow and friendly relationship.

But this was a different sort of hug.

She couldn't help but want to sink into it.

There was so much to do and so many things she had to handle and so much stress that was all this damn young master's fault but at the moment, she couldn't help how easily she succumbed to his hold.

Alver closed her eyes, intending to only rest for a moment.