Hopelessly Devoted ~ Garroth x F!Reader

Ch. 5: Panic! at the Plaza

Beauty is not the rent you pay to exist in this world. Society's construct will try to tell you differently, but society is also a big fat liar, so jot that one down. It's time for it to be socially acceptable to live in our leafless, unclothed state. A state where we don't have to pay extra to look nice. A state where we wouldn't have to pay at all to replace a paint-stained outfit, because then you wouldn't have ever needed fresh clothes in the first place. In this essay, I will be endorsing the benefits of a communist nudist colony—

The lackluster point is, you need a fresh set of non-paint-stained clothes. Which you can't exactly afford. Talk about rock bottom.

You gripped the sides of your head in frustration, trying to prevent further pounding in your brain. It would help if you knew where the heck to find discounted retail. Of all the places you could've ended up, fate chose the expensive plaza as most befitting—where faces zoomed passed every which way. The crowd could easily have swallowed you whole, the weight of the world crushing you from the outside in. Booming voices. Heavy, incessant breathing. Babies wailing. Eyes fixed pointedly on you. Barrels thrashing across the streets. Decaying tuna. Body odor.

Then came the pièce de résistance to tip you over the edge: a spray of running water struck against the metal rungs of a washboard, resembling the would-be tranquil percussion of a flipped rain stick's beads rushing down its dried cactus-branch body. You could feel the surroundings savagely picking apart at your skull, begging to be let out. Your focus narrowed on a single pebble in a river-rock-paved wall, the surroundings going blurry. You tried to scream,ᵇᵘᵗ ʸᵒᵘʳ ʰᵉᵃᵈ ʷᵃˢ ᵘⁿᵈᵉʳ ʷᵃᵗᵉʳ

ahaha, not really tho. Your lungs had actually scrunched too tightly to allow it.

You clutched your head. Voices faded around you to the point of echoing. Then came spots in your peripheral vision, fuzzy and inconsistent. Without you, the world would go on turning. Nobody paid any mind to the girl who'd lost hers.

If the world wouldn't stop responding, then your body would have to. There was a lasting silence, static emptiness numbing your mind.

When your surroundings flashed back into view with blinding light, you weren't in the plaza anymore. You were inside, where a face loomed over yours. A tanned round one with hazel doe-eyes and a defined frown. That frown turned hopeful at the sight of your consciousness, then breathed out a sigh of relief.

The room remained silent, excluding the thunking of your heart. A few beds down, you envisioned the outline of a little boy. Shaggy black hair and deep brown eyes. "Aaron?"

"Who?" Lord Aphmau asked in a nurturing tone, that youthful glow diminished. Your estimation of her age seemed off now. She had to be at least twenty.

You blinked. The little boy was gone. "No—" your breath hitched in your throat, "nobody."

"Are you ready to talk?" Lord Aphmau asked, not pressing the previous matter any further.

You nodded.

"Has this ever happened before?"

You nodded, slightly reluctantly.

"More than once?"

You nodded one last time, then quickly shot your hands out in defense. "But it's been a while since last time!" You slowed your tone and dropped your hands back onto your lap. "I swear it's gotten better," you promised.

Her eyes studied you in admiration—like she understood. And maybe she did. "So this wasn't the first time? I thought so. . ." She immediately covered her mouth with her child-sized hands. "Wait, that came out wrong. I didn't mean it like—"

She was definitely a little young—still learning and caring with all of her heart.

"No, no, it's okay," you reassured lightheartedly.

"So you'll understand that I've brought someone here to help you?" Lord Aphmau asked, as if still unsure of her boundaries.

It actually sounded kind of nice, but you weren't sure you were getting the entire gist. "What do you mean?"

"Since this does happen often,"

Your gaze averted to the floor. Not that often anymore. You'd actually gotten a much better grip on these incidents.

"I sent out for a guard to be your new companion. I chose the one you're most familiar with, so hopefully the adjustment comes a bit more naturally. Think of him like . . ." Lord Aphmau racked her brain for a comparison. " . . . A protector. He'll aid you in situations where you feel overwhelmed."

A rigid set of chainmail appeared in the doorway. Lord Aphmau swiveled her head in his direction. "Ah, Garroth, you're right on time."

Having this particular knight by your side all of the time? However much good that might do couldn't possibly outweigh the bad that was to come of it.