FATE #3 *(A ROSE IN BLOOM)*

HER INNOCENCE*

GENERAL POV

He levitated the blanket and covered her with it using telekinesis, for a moment, he avoided her sight, and helped her wear it , she began jumping with smiles and he wandered what she was trying to do. She signaled him to bring his head down.

Immediately he did, she planted a kiss on his lips and smiled, taken by surprise, he stared at her while she repeatedly did it , she stopped seeing as he only kept looking at her.

" You .. you don't like it huh?" She inquired making jazz hands, in order to not hurt her feelings,  he beamed a smile at her, " I like it, but you're too young now, let's do that to each other when you grow up okay!"  He said , winning a smile from her.

" You will do that with me when we grow? Will we get married too huh?" She asked with exuberance, when he hummed a yes with a bold smile,

"why?  Would you want to marry me when you grow up?" , he inquired and she yelled saying, " yes! I want to kiss you again and again and again, when we grow old, like mom and dad!" he smiled at her innocence and stroke her hair gently  and replied, saying," then yes ! We will get married!" He laughed at that , " promise?" She asked again and this time he said yes, " pinky swear huh?" She raised her little finger up and wiggled it to his face.

" Pinky swear!" He raised his too and intertwined it with hers , he placed a kiss on it as the cherry on top. Just then Lloyd returned with the armor .

She flipped jubilantly at the sight , while he helped her wear it as she danced about happily in it , " come on !, Twin with me !" She invited the king who reluctantly went in there and wore his armor too.

He tied his hair in a ponytail, and she stood awestruck ones her gaze fell on him., " You are so pretty!" She cupped her cheeks in her palms and admired without blinking.

She emulated his style of tying his hair , " look , do I look as pretty as you huh?" She inquired of him,

he deliberately pulled her ribbon so her hair slipped back down, " you look too gorgeous that way , I don't want another friend to steal you from me, so you can't step out with such beauty!" His warm words brought such a bright smile on her face , Nathan wished her reality wouldn't snatch that away from her.

You were so brazen as a child Pearl, I'm glad I got to live this side of you with you!, I'll make sure to bring her back to you one day!, I promise you that my beloved.  He thought to himself.

He felt her trying to push him and struggling to get him moving, " let's get going pretty boy!" She said when he turned to her, " well if you call me that, then what should I call you too!" He asked when she raised her left arm and yelled, " little one!, You know, because I'm so little and cute , look I tied my hair again!" .

He walked out with her as she threw her arms about and literally following his footsteps by stepping wherever he stepped.

Everyone who set eyes on them stared, " Nathan!" Ariana began, " is everything alright huh?" She observed Pearl who shook her head to Nathan not to have a conversation with her !, He just smirked at her and walked away hand in hand with her.

Upon reaching outside, she asked him to take her to beautiful places, then he went with her to the stable and fetched his horse, " he's so pretty, what's his name, Nathan?" He carried her unto it and hopped on behind her.

" He's called Mayhem!" Nathan answered when she looked back up at his face with her lips tucked in hoping he was kidding, " you don't mean it right? you've got such a nice name and you thought of naming him chaos? I don't like violence, I want world peace!" She brought to knowledge.

" Okay! what would you rather I call it? " He inquired when she yelled out 'flamingo!", just then Flamingo neighed in her stable causing her to flinch, " wow ! So accurate , you know what we will do, when you grow up then you name your horse Flamingo okay, come on , give another nice name to mine!" He requested while they moved along southward.

She took a while to think and outrightly suggested, " long hair?, Because it has long furs, or .. Rattan, which means vine!"  Nathan laughed and agreed to call it Rattan .

He rode her around while she admired everything her eyes fell on , and all who set eyes on them gossiped. Nathan patiently listened to her  noise and her getting serious with who she wants to be when she grows up and he felt touched by her idea of life.

Few hours later, he took her back to the palace, they met Ariana dressed like an assassin , she handed out a sword to Pearl setting Nathan and Lloyd in confusion, "A gift for me huh? thank you!, What is this anyway?" She innocently inquired succeeding in confusing Ariana.

" Are you kidding me? Is she alright huh?" She probed, "um!  Aria! What are you doing?" Nathan answered with a question, but she in turn drew her sword out of its sheath and pointed it towards Pearl who stood petrified,

" just want to show my prowess and get validated by defeating her, if I do then , you'll have no choice but to give me that opportunity!" She answered when Pearl drew out the sword, she nearly flipped at what she was holding, but  without a warning, Ariana launched a strike against her shoulder.

Nathan and Lloyd snapped, " ARIANA!" Nathan yelled and snatched her sword with telekinesis, Pearl fell on the ground frozen in fear, whereas Nathan slashed Ariana on her chest, with rage and flashing blood red irises to her, he nearly stabbed her in her chest following his next strike but held himself just at a point she wouldn't have been able to escape.

She gazed at him in shock and he reciprocated quite sternly , Lloyd kowtowed and pleaded on her behalf, Pearl groaned softly and held onto her head, she slowly wagged her head as if to ward off something , " Nathan!" She cried out before losing consciousness.

He threw the sword somewhere and carried her in his arms, he raced to his chambers, took her to his room, and tucked her in bed before baring her wound which was almost healed., he sighed with relief.

He left her to sleep and thought about what Ariana did out there, " I warned you against making mistakes when it comes to her Ariana, how could you flout that  warning?"

Lloyd lectured her in part as he tried to justify Nathan's reaction to what she did and why she shouldn't have gone ahead after seeing Pearl's oblivion.

" Be careful next time, and quite frankly, there's no way you can fight her and measure up, regardless of how equipped you believe you are!, !" Ariana seemed to be getting fed up of hearing her praises  after her brother said that.

"Yeah, I believe for Nathan to have risked a lot to make her existence here possible, she must be that great! I only want to do something okay, nothing else really matters!" She burst out winning a wild stare from her brother.

"lies, little sis! It's not that simple to shed your nature and act normal as a vampire Aria , we are naturally sly, but be careful not to get caught by Nathan, because I know you haven't changed at all, you've got something under your sleeves , just be careful the wrong person doesn't find you out!, Sincerely I don't believe your story I'm only quiet because you're not a child anymore, Stay away from Pearl you hear me!, I'll be watching you!" He walked out on her.