Classy, Controlled Chaos - The STEAM Team Adventures

🥀 Wither [1/6] 🥀

Sir Nyx's POV:

I had a list of events and bits of news I had to deliver to the king.

Blizzard was still recovering in the infirmary after I fought against him... Hope he stays there for a while longer.

Subzero, Snowstorm, Glacier, and Whitecap were all knocked out from drinking too much coffee. All four of them crashed and immediately fell asleep the second they touched their mattresses.

Tia and Blanco were out of the palace, out for a chat over some important details entailing the latest developments in some battle strategies the two came up with. King Arthur put them together to discuss the topic since he believed that they were both skilled enough to come up with a couple new plans.

I wish I was there with them, but luckily for me, I get to spend some time with someone even better than those two tonight.

Prince Edward was laid on his throne. Literally.

His back was where his behind was supposed to be, with his long, lanky legs propped up against the back of his seat.

He was lazily staring at me upside down, his arms dangling off the side while in his candlestick position.

"Hey, Nyx." The prince yawned, giving me a somewhat lopsided smile. "How are you?"

My eyes darted to the suspicious-looking bite marks on the side of his neck. "Who hurt you?"

"No one," He mumbled, his emerald-green eyes drifting away from my gaze. "Just a little burn mark or two."

"Don't lie to me, Your Majesty." I warned, approaching him. "We don't have hounds in this castle, either. Who did this to you?"

"I was sparring with Blizzard and he bit me on accident," Prince Edward replied, shifting himself to he sat in an upright position. "We didn't have our armor on, sorry."

"Why would you spar without armor on?" I argued, watching him drowsily blink at me. "Your Majesty, are you sick in the head? Do I need to send you to the infirmary?"

He was silent for a few moments. "Maybe."

I groaned, shaking my head. "You, young man, are going to see Whitecap at once."

"Isn't he sleeping though?" The prince asked, rising from his throne. "We're all supposed to be asleep, actually. It's way past moonset."

He was right; It was in the middle of the night.

I mean, it's always been the middle of the night since the Great War began, but still.

"Heaven almighty, you're right." I sighed, offering a hand to him. "Come with me to the royal guard barracks. Surely you won't mind taking my bed?"

He leaned against me, using my shoulder as support. "I'm so sorry, Nyx... I don't mean to be such a klutz. I think I'm crashing from the caffeine, y'know? Makes me feel good, but..."

"You don't have to speak any further, Your Highness." I replied, laying an arm across his back. "I got you. You're staying in my bed tonight."

Prince Edward gave me a drunken, mildly disoriented smile. "As I said previously, just call me Edward..."

"I- Fine, sure." I sighed, guiding him toward the barracks. "No more coffee for you, young man."

His speech was slurred, which was a really bad sign that he was about to fall asleep on the dot. "Don't take this the wrong way, but... Could you please carry me? I don't think my legs can hold up all the way there."

I gave him a nod, slightly surprised. "Are you sure about this? I don't want to embarrass you."

"It's fine," He yawned, steadying himself. "I wouldn't be embarrassed about it at all. Doesn't look wrong, does it?..."

"Depends on how I carry you." I sighed. "Sit still and don't move, I'm gonna hope any onlookers think you're just a lump of cargo."

With a quick sweep, I scooped him up into my arms, lifting him up from the floor and onto me.

Holding him bridal-style, I listened to his quiet breathing as he slowly drifted into sleep.

I have to admit, he was pretty handsome for someone around my age.

Then, I felt something brush up against my leg.

I paused in my tracks, staring down at the object.

It wasn't an object; It was Sophii, and she was rubbing her furry body against my armor.

"I'm busy, little one." I mumbled, listening to her trying to coax me into petting her with a series of purrs and meows. "The prince needs to rest."

She let out a discontented prip, stubbornly pawing at my boot.

I let out a sigh. "Fine. You stay here and I'll go take care of Edward first; Then I'll come pet you. Deal?"

Her pupils dilated and she immediately sat down, indicating a simple yes.

I smiled at her. "There we go, good kitty."

Once I had arrived in the barracks, which to my surprise, wasn't that far away, I was greeted by the sight of Tia and Blanco sharpening their weaponry.

"What are you two doing up so late?" I asked, setting the sleeping prince on my bed. "I thought you both were done discussing battle plans."

Blanco gave me a deep chuckle. "We went out for a bit of ice cream jus' to introduce ourselves, then had a friendly duel. As expected, she came out victorious."

"We're taking a break before round two," Tia huffed, visibly exhausted. "That was just a warm up, heh."

I rolled my eyes, tucking the prince in. "Word of advice, Tia. Blanco has ridiculously high levels of stamina. He can keep fighting for hours, days even. You sure you wanna fight this battle?"

"I asked if she wanted me to go easy on her," Blanco shrugged, wielding his newly sharpened arming sword. "But the lil' lady's a real fighter. She seems to like rough duelin', and I like that."

I gave Tia a half-lidded side eye. "You guys should totally be sparring partners."

"I believe I've met my match," The ghostly-white knight began, sheathing his weapon. "You'd think that maybe King Arthur could've topped me because he taught this younglin', but she surely packs a harder punch."

He reached out to pat her on the back, but visibly hesitated.

After a brief moment, the captain dipped her head in a gesture of trust, receiving a very gentle rub on the head.

Blanco had definitely met his match.