Defender of the Soul

Chapter 13: Trust in Me

"P-Palette?" The prince gasped, their sockets wide in shock; then, as if a switch flipped, their tone quickly turned cold, "What are you doing here?"

The negative response hurt, but Palette tried to give them the benefit of the doubt as he explained himself, "You looked distracted during practice and scared during dinner. I wanted to make sure you're okay and see if I could help."

Instead of clarity or relief, Goth seemed to clam up; their eye light shot anxiously between the empty hallway at their back and Palette as they sidled closer to the wall, all while keeping the barrier between them in place. Eager to dispel whatever fear had taken hold of the young lord, the knight reasoned, "Look, I know being a prince means you have to keep up appearances for the sake of politics or whatever, and there are probably things you can't talk about with someone like me, but if something's bothering you, I don't want you to feel like you need to deal with it by yourself."

Goth's hard gaze took on a distraught edge as their extended hand trembled; it looked like they wanted to say something, but couldn't quite get there. It pained him to see the monster he loved so conflicted and scared; they deserved to be happy and live a carefree life. 

Putting aside his own feelings, he said, "I'm on your side; I always have been and I always will be. If something's on your mind, you can talk to me; even if it's hard to understand, I'll still listen and do my best to help you find a way to fix things." Reaching his hand out in invitation, Palette took a step toward the blockade and pleaded with a sad smile, "Please, talk to me." 

Even if Goth was meant for someone else; even if they weren't destined to be together, he wanted his prince to feel certain they had at least one unwavering ally above all else.

Goth looked away and their breathing became audible; their arm recoiled a slight bit and the barrier seemed to lose some of its stability, but he held his ground and waited with all the patience he could muster. It was difficult watching the internal debate; he wanted more than anything to hold them and make everything better, but he had done everything he could to show he was trustworthy... they had to be the one to close the gap.

Without warning, the barrier disappeared and Goth leaned heavily into the wall. They let out a shaky breath, pulling their previously extended arm into their chest and clenching their sockets. Palette took a step forward, worried something had happened, but stopped when the smaller tensed up. Still seeing the lingering fear in his friend's eye light, he did the only thing he could think of... he got down on one knee and bowed his skull in subservience, "I'm sorry I scared you, and thank you for trusting me."

"... why didn't you say anything while following me?" Goth finally spoke up, "Surely, you noticed I led you in a circle before confronting you?"

"I-" mentally retracing his steps, he realized he had been led in a circle. "I didn't notice," Palette admitted meekly, shrinking uncomfortably in embarrassment, "and I didn't call out because it's late; I didn't want to cause any alarm by shouting, but I can see how it looks now. I'm sorry, I really did just want to help and followed you without thinking..."

There was a snort, followed by footsteps. He kept his eye lights on the ground as sandaled feet appeared in his vision, followed by a hand; he raised his skull to find Goth smiling sadly down at him, "I suppose your behavior is befitting of your character. Please rise." Accepting the hand, Palette found them grasping his hand more firmly with only the succinct request, "Come."

"Where are we going?" Palette asked as he was led back the way they came.

Goth peeked around a corner without looking back at him and murmured in a low voice, "Somewhere away from prying eyes and ears." Silently accepting the explanation, he let himself be led through a maze of torch-lit hallways; the shadows cast by their glow combined with the seemingly random route and the overall silence had him a little nervous, but he didn't comment on it.

Finally arriving at one of the outer corridors, his companion let go of his hand and he was surprised to see them approaching the door to the archives; how had all of those twists and turns led them here? As he thought deeper on it, he realized it was only natural for the prince of all people to know the castle grounds like the back of their hand after two decades of living here.

Pulling the door open and peeking inside, Goth slipped through the narrow opening and beckoned Palette to follow with a wave of their hand. Sliding through the crack, his eye lights took in a room much larger than he anticipated.

Tables were scattered about the middle of the first level while desks with what looked to be storage containers beside them lined the walls under the ornately carved banisters; an equally extravagant staircase in the middle led up to a second level that held rows upon rows of bookshelves that stretched toward the vaulted ceiling like seasoned trees. Moonlight filtered in through the large stained glass windows lining the outer wall's upper reaches, casting a silvery glow across the floor and furniture; it gave the room a mysterious air, especially when coupled with the faint smell of dust and parchment.

Hearing the grate of wood against wood, Palette directed his attention toward his companion; they were leaning against the closed door and taking a deep breath. Goth pushed off of the door and made their way to the staircase, running their hand along one of the volutes before taking a seat on the first step and patting an empty spot beside them, "Please join me." The knight obliged, letting his legs bow outward as he rested his arms upon his femurs and waited for the prince to speak; the silence stretched on and he began to feel uneasy, but he held his tongue; sure, the sneaking around and secrecy were a little sketchy, but he wanted to believe his friend wasn't doing anything bad like Xander suggested. Finally, they opened their mouth, "Wh-"

A loud rumble startled both of them as Goth hunched in on himself, wrapping his arms around his waist as lavender dusted his cheeks; Palette snorted, relieved that their hunger had broken the tension as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the rolls he had swiped earlier, "I guess you didn't eat much earlier; it might be a bit smushed, but here."

"T-Thank you, " Goth meekly accepted one of the rolls, tearing off a piece and popping it into their mouth before sinking down into their scarf. Taking a bite of his own roll, he almost missed the words muffled by their clothing, "What I'm about to tell you must never leave the confines of the walls surrounding us; can you promise me that?"

Looking up, the uncertain yet hopeful expression the prince wore urged Palette to set their mind at ease, "Of course."

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Word Count: 1,224