Fighting is Meaningless

14. Snowflakes

"Make sure to tell me if it's too cold, your Highness"

Dan Heng sighed for yet another time as he was walking next to Blade, who had an amused grin printen on his face.

"We've been walking for just few minutes yet you told me this four times already" the Crown Prince pure blue eyes looked at Blade "Are you perhaps trying to say I am deaf?" he muttered innocently and Blade laughed a little to then get closer and wrap the arm around his waist with the excuse to adjust a little the long black mantel he had.

"I just don't want your Highness to feel sick again and pass out in my arms" Blade said with an innocent voice and Dan Heng nodded a little, letting him do whatever. The duke tilted his head "Oh? Weird, you're not trying to say anything against, I was getting used to it"

Dan Heng felt his cheeks red. Honestly he saw sometimes Blade doing that with Irene, so he thought he could just experience his arm around the waist as well and it wasn't that bad. It was actually.

Pleasant.

"I have experienced those hands of yours when truly willing to end my life even for a moment" Dan Heng said with a calm voice "Also as a tease... I can recognise when someone is approaching to backstab me or hit me... Right now your touch is pleasant, Duke"

Blade felt surprised by those words. He felt somehow his heart pounding for no real reason. Simply, the Crown Prince was allowing him to walk by his side with the arm around his waist. He felt really so good. His fingers sometimes might slowly trace some lines like he really wanted to touch more, but he knew he couldn't, else the Crown Prince would have pushed him away... maybe?

Dan Heng smiled a little as his blue eyes were focus on looking at the snow falling. He opened them up when some snowflakes fell on his face and he did giggle, feeling the cold in his skin. Blade looked at him and somehow he could feel the Crown Prince was enjoying something like he rarely had fun in general. It was pretty easy to see it as he was giggling and getting distracted by something so... simple as the snow.

"Do you like snow, your Highness?" he asked and Dan Heng nodded a little "Do you wish to see more snow?"

Dan Heng tilted his head at that question "More? The whole place is white" he looked at the plants "And those poors ones are dead" he muttered as he reached to touch a dead frozen rose to then block when Blade wrapped the arms around his waist and laid the chin on his shoulder.

"Your Highness" Blade whispered, pulling him back "It might be dead, but its thorns are still full of poison" he smirked when Dan Heng opened up his eyes, he looked so cute.

"What? Do you really have poison roses in the garden?!" Dan Heng asked as he was letting the duke take his time to pull him back, away from the roses

"Few have the access to our gardens, and whoever dares to go without a guide of the manor meets death. It's karma and and easy way to see who dares not to follow the North Family rules during events... My father has his way to keep the manor safe from people who peek too much" he explained to then notice Dan Heng looking at the rose still, like he was thinking about something.

Blade moved the arm from his waist to his chin, gently moving it in order to make Dan Heng look at him "Your Highness, what are you thinking about?"

Dan Heng looked lost for a moment in his thoughts "Hm... I wonder how that rose was before suffering the pain of death. I bet it was beautiful, yet..." he looked again at it "Is it normal... all beautiful things lead to death? I had the desire to touch it, even if it's poison, I still would like to touch it and risk it..."

"It's not fair" Blade muttered "A single rose managed to capture your attention more than I ever could with you" he sighed as his red eyes were locked on his blue ones. With all that snow around them, Dan Heng's fair skin looked even whiter, and his blue was indeed just like he did predict, aquamarines.