Lovers End

Chapter One: Part Three

With the clock nearing 11, Franklin allowed Aurora to leave for the night. Heading through the kitchen door, she ascended a set of stairs leading to their modest living quarters. Grateful for her own room, she discarded her stained dress into a basket for washing, letting her hair fall freely from its messy bun. Despite a yawn, she resolved to stay awake for her meeting with Emeric. Opting for a freezing cold bath, after she was dry she dressed in a long white nightgown, the modal fabric allowing her skin to breathe in the hot summer night.

Emeric and Theodore eventually left to go back to their castle. He told Theodore he would be going to bed but as soon as he heard the castle asleep, he snuck right back out to his horse and made his way back to the tavern. He hated lying to Theodore, but anything for Aurora.

Moving to the window, she looked out it, a large smile coming over her face when she saw him waiting, A short ledge on her windowsill connected to a sturdy wooden lattice– sturdy enough for them to climb

He saw her appear at her window, waiting for her down below with a dark cloak to hide his face. He smiled brightly seeing her beautiful face. She was a princess if there ever was one, he thought. Climbing up to her window was no chore at all when he could have just to have a few moments with her alone. He adored Theodore, but he loved it most when it was just the two of them. He could have her all to himself with no prying eyes or pestering drinkers to pull her away from him.

Emeric hid his horse underneath the steps and climbed up the lattice to her window. He pulled down his hood as he came face to face with her watching as she opened the glass panels. Before either of them could say a thing, his lips met hers.

She felt herself on the verge of melting. The kiss, a desire she had harboured since the previous night, marked the convergence of pent-up emotions, a cascade of passion that had simmered within her heart throughout the day.

With each passing second their kiss deepened with the world around her fading into insignificance. The warmth of the kiss left them in silence so that now, only the rhythmic exchange of breath and the pounding of their hearts echoed. Aurora's fingers instinctively tangled in Emeric's hair, pulling him closer, careful not to disturb his fragile balance.

Reluctant to fully pull away, she nevertheless distanced herself slightly, resting her forehead against his. "You are a dangerous man, my love, climbing walls for me," she uttered in a low voice, tinged with amusement.

Her lips on his tasted like salvation, a sensation that enveloped him in a divine warmth. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he drew her closer, intensifying the kiss. The moments apart from those lips felt unbearable, and the ale only heightened his yearning for her. A soft groan escaped him as her hands tangled in his hair, it was a divine and satisfying feeling. Even as she attempted to pull away, he followed her lips, smirking softly when she eluded him. Opening his eyes, he met hers with a loving gaze. "I'd do much more than climb walls for you, darling," he assured, brushing some hair behind her ear.

As she withdrew further, she glanced down at the ground below. "Father will be occupied for a while longer. Should we run or stay?" Leaving the decision to him, she looked back at her empty room, a slight blush coloring her cheeks at the prospect of being alone with him in there for the first time.

Her words prompted a smile, and his eyes shifted between her bedroom and her face. "As much as I'd love to run away to the moon with you, it's cold tonight, and I don't want you falling ill," he said considerately. He looked around her at the coziness of her space that contrasted with the darkness outside.

His words sparked a chuckle, "The moon is an awful far ways away, but I don't go anywhere with fibbers," she scolded. Despite the night air lacking a chill, she admired his unwavering dedication.