Stolitz - You & I

Part 10

It's been a couple weeks since time had been reversed.

Stolas tried going back to how things were, but he just couldn't stop thinking about Blitz.

He missed him dearly.

"GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE CLOUDS, STOLAS!! YOU SHOULDN'T BE THINKING OF ANYTHING ELSE BUT YOUR ROYAL DUTIES, YOU LAZY BUM!" Stella screeched.

Stolas only stared with a straight face, "Honestly, Stella, don't you ever get tired of shouting?" he flatly asked.

Stella then smacked him across the face.

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME THAT WAY!" Stella sharply spat.

Stolas held the cheek she had smacked with a bit of shock expressed on his face.

"Stella, we can't keep going on like this. I get it, you hate me. You've made that very clear for a long time now. And I'm not too fond of you either, but-" Stolas was interrupted with another smack.

"SHUT UP!! YOU'RE PATHETIC!" Stella shouted once more before leaving the room.

After a moment, Stolas backed up against the wall, slowly slid down, and sobbed quietly.

He didn't hate Stella, but he didn't love her either.

He tried to love her in the beginning of their marriage, but he just couldn't. And Stella never even gave him a chance to start with.

After a while, the tall owl stood up and went off to bed for the night.

But before he could, he overheard shouting coming from Octavia's room.

Once he took a peek, he saw Stella slap Via harshly.

"You're just like your father! Always talking back to me! That is no way for a princess to behave! You must do as you are told!" Stella shouted as she raised her hand to slap her daughter again.

Stolas then swooped into the room and stood between the two as he grabbed Stella's wrist.

"YOU CAN HIT ME AS MUCH AS YOU'D LIKE, BUT YOU ARE TO NEVER LAY A HAND ON MY VIA, EVER!! DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?" Stolas yelled sternly, never breaking eye contact with Stella.

Stella then jerked away her hand and stormed out.

Stolas's attention immediately turned to Octavia in worry, "Via dear, are you alright?" as he gently rubbed her head.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine, dad. . ." Octavia spoke in a low tone as she held her slightly sore cheek, "She didn't slap me like that before. . .so why did she now?"

Stolas replied, "I'm actually not quite sure. . . Maybe some things have changed since we're aware of being reversed in time."

"Dad. . .could you stay with me tonight?" Octavia sweetly requested.

Stolas smiled, "Of course, my little starfire."

The prince scooped her up and snuggled into bed.

-The next morning-

The butlers prepared breakfast for the royals as always.

"I'll be staying with some relatives for the weekend. Think you can handle things around here yourself?" Stella spoke with her usual attitude.

"Oh just how will I manage. . ." Stolas flatly remarked.

Octavia slightly giggled at her father's reply.

Stella only scoffed and marched on out of the palace.

Stolas sighed in relief as he massaged his temples for a moment.

"Dad, you've barely touched your food. I know you're going through quite a lot, but you have to eat. I refuse to see you fall ill." the princess spoke.

"I know, dear. Thank you." the owl warmly smiled.

"How about we go out today? Stroll through the park like we use to when I was little. Maybe find a couple of sweet shops." Octavia suggested.

Stolas's eyes sparked with joy, "That's a wonderful idea, Via!~"

The pair got ready to go and headed out.

They explored some small shops and found some trinkets they both liked.

And of course they couldn't resist the sweet shops and purchase just about every piece from them.

"This was nice. I can't remember the last time you and I just had a day together. We should do this more often." Octavia admitted as they walked downtown.

"I agree, we definitely should!~" Stolas replied happily.

A familiar voice then spoke from behind, "Now, this is quite the sight. Royalty out and about without security? Just my lucky day." the voice hissed.

The two turned around towards the familiar voice.

"Striker!?" Stolas gasped.

"Ahh, so you've heard of me. Well as much as I would love to get to know each other, I'd rather collect my royal bounty." Striker said with a devious grin.

Striker then swiftly cuffed Stolas's hands behind his back and around a pole with anti-magic handcuffs and pinned Octavia to a nearby wall harshly.

"H-HEY! - LET GO OF ME!!" the owlet struggled.

Striker chuckled, "I don't think so, princess."

Stolas tried desperately to somehow break free, but it was no use.

The owlet continued to struggle in Striker's grip as he firmly pressed a celestial gun to her temple.

"OCTAVIA!!" Stolas cried out

*BANG*

A single shot was taken . . .

-End of part 10

~ I just wanted to thank everyone so much for continuing on reading!! It makes me so happy to put something out there for others to enjoy :) ~