Imperial Affairs (Levi X Reader) AU

75. Keep My Secret?

Levi's POV

"L-Levi.... Help me...," The prince grasped at my collar, pleading for help. He couldn't realise his own words or actions now. He was in too much pain.

"Take this off," I tried to unbutton his shirt, "It'll help you breathe."

"N-no," the prince pushed my hand away no matter how many times I tried to help him or even force him to let me help him.

"What is your problem? Don't you want to live?! I'm sure you're wearing a corset or some shit under this too! Take it off!"

"NO!" He was shaking and he mustered up all his strength even in his condition to stop me, "Levi...I can't. Th-they'll kill me."

"You won't die," I told him, holding him in my arms because he refused to let go of me, "You won't die."

"P-promise?"

I didn't say anything.

"L-Levi.... Say...say something."

"You'll be fine," I told him, or rather, told myself.

"Wh-when will the pain stop?" The prince could only cry; his tears washing some makeup off his face. His voice had started sounding very...different.

"We're going to reach the palace soon," I lied. I knew it wasn't going to be 'soon'. The prince had listed the reasons why the trip would take extra time when we were on our way here. There was nothing I could do except lie that his pain would end soon when inside, I was only hoping that he wouldn't die.

I had given him the antidote too late. If only I had taken it with me in the first place....

My mind raced, trying to think of ways to get back to the palace quicker. I came up with an idea.

"Hey!" I called the coachman. I didn't know his name, "Dude!"

No response.

Do these people even know what the word means or do they think of it as a name?

I tried to get up to open the window to talk to the coachman but the prince held me tight. He was shaking and wasn't in his senses so he couldn't understand the situation.

The fuck I should do now?

"Can we go by horse?!" I yelled my question out, hoping he would hear.

"Pardon?" The window opened, revealing the coachman's confused face.

"Since the carriage is going painfully slow, I thought we could go by a horse!"

"How do you expect His Highness to sit on a horse in his condition?! It's a different story if you know how to ride one so you can take His Highness!"

"Don't you know how to ride one?!" I shouted back in panic.

"No! I can only drive a coach!" He answered.

"Surely it can't be that hard?!"

"Why don't you do it then?!"

"Fine," I replied, "I'll do it."

"Are you crazy?! Horse-riding isn't as simple-"

"Do you have any other ideas then?!" I interrupted, "The prince will die soon if we don't get him back to the palace!"

The coachman was silent. I felt the carriage come to a halt even though it was barely moving before.

"Take one of the horses with the carriage and go. As for the route, you'll have to figure that out yourself because I can't go with you on the same horse."

I didn't reply, instead, I just peered out of the carriage's window. We were still inside the city. It looked big and grand and the location we were in now seemed to be the market. Despite it being the late of the night, the capital was bustling with people.

And I had to figure out how to pass unnoticed.

I detached the prince's cape from over his shoulder and took off the coat I was instructed to wear. I hoped it would make us seem more ordinary but it didn't help much. Even the shirt of the prince was adorned with jewels and there was no way he would let me take that off.

I didn't have much time. The prince was dying. Such a heavily decorated carriage stopping in the middle of the market was attracting more and more people's attention. The coachman was likely already waiting with the horse outside and a horse detached from a carriage would likely spark the curiosity of even more people.

"Your Highness," I was stern, "Take it off."

"No!" He finally detached himself from me and pushed himself away until his back hit the wall of the carriage. He didn't seem to mind the fact that he was sweeping on the floor now.

"You will die!" I was more forceful.

"They'll kill me! They'll kill me for lying!" The prince was now attempting to kick me away. His kicks were strong. But not strong enough to deter me.

"Prince!" I grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to look straight into my eyes. A lot of his makeup had been washed by his tears and he had started to look gentler and more and more like Y/N. It proved that they really were twins. But what confused me was why...he had tried to hide his face in the first place.

"I...won't take it off," The prince tried to push me away, but he didn't have the strength anymore. And it seemed he was becoming more detached from reality by the second.

"TAKE IT OFF!" I tried to force it off of him but I was stopped by the sound of his weeping. He was crying before, but not as desperately as he was now.

"Please...don't," He begged. I could never have imagined that I would ever see him in such a condition, "Or everything will f-fall apart. They'll-they'll kill me for lying. They'll all leave me. They'll all h-hate me. I don't want to be hated."

"I'll do anything," I made the prince face me, "Anything. Anything that you say. Just please...don't die now. Don't die after treating me like a human. Don't die after making me not hate you. Don't die after making me choose you."

The prince was quiet as he processed my words. Honestly, I didn't know if he even could process them or not. He seemed to be thinking about something. I didn't know how many seconds passed but the moment felt like eternity.

"T-then...can you...keep a secret?"

A/N = Ten plus ten is twenty. Eleven plus eleven is twenty too.

November 21, 2023

- Heliaxa