Ethereal

Martin the Guardsman

"Ugh! Can you believe the nerve of this guy?!" Astrid said, screaming in the fields outside of Oliver's home. "I mean, seriously, did he think he could keep something like that from me forever?" she yelled, falling backwards into the flowers. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" she screamed.

"Miss, are you alright?" called a voice from above her. She turned to face the voice, only to have them silhouetted by the sun.

"Who's there? I recognize the voice, but I can't see you since the sun is in my eyes." Astrid replied with her eyes shut, turning back around and lying back down. 'The sun is so bright..' she thought.

"It's me, the guard from earlier." replied the voice as they sat next to Astrid, slowly crushing the grass and flowers around them with their armor.

"Oh, hey!" she said, rolling around to face the guard once more. "You know, you can take off your helmet and stuff, right?" The guard shook their head.

"I-I don't know. What if I am needed and I am not ready?" they said, slowly grabbing their forearm. 

"Come on! It'll be fine. I promise." Astrid said as shes sat up and grabbed the bottom of the guard's helmet, slowly pulling it up. The guard was startled and resisted at first, holding the helmet tight on himself but eventually gave up, letting go of his helmet. She was careful not to hurt the guard as she removed the helmet. She finally fully removed the helmet, exposing a very flustered guard member. His features were perfectly shaped and his eyes looked away from her. A red tint adorned his cheeks.

"W-what?" they asked, moving a few strands of brown hair out of their face. Astrid looked at the guard and smiled. 'He's beautiful..' she thought.

"Nothing, it's just you look really cute without your helmet on!" she said, a smile gracing her lips. The guard's face turned bright red.

"Y-you shouldn't s-say things like that.." the guard started, having trouble finding his words and growing more flustered with each passing second.

"Why not?" Astrid asked.

"W-well, for one, it's embarrassing.. and second, you are supposed to be marrying my master.." he said, averting his gray-blue eyes.

"Meh, I don't care. I'm so sick of him. He tried to keep things from me. I mean, keep them from me forever." Astrid said as she began stroking the helmet she had in her hands. She then held it close to her chest. "I wish I could stop being mad and let things go back to how they were, but I just can't seem to do that."

"Astrid, you know he didn't mean to upset you." the guard said, lying down in the grass next to Astrid. "He's.. hard to figure out. I mean, I have been serving here since I was 13, and I still can barely figure him out." he said, covering his eyes with his arm.

"Did you hear him though? When I asked?" she said as she lied down next to the guard. "He said he never wanted to tell me. He wanted to keep it a secret."

"Because he regrets it." the guard stated simply. "He hates what he did. He knows he can never take that back, and it kills him."

"Still! He didn't have to keep it from me.." Astrid said, turning herself away from the guard and setting his helmet to the side. She placed her face on her arms. "Does he not trust me..?" she asked, tears forming at the ends of her eyes. The guard sat up and looked down at the young woman crying in front of him.

"No, no, it's not that!" the guard quickly replied as he pulled Astrid up and into a hug. Astrid was shocked at first and stiffened up, but eventually gave into the hug. "Look, he thought that if he didn't tell you, you wouldn't have to bear his sins with him. He knows he messed up. He wanted to not get you involved." he said, holding her tighter. "It has nothing to do with him not trusting you."

Astrid sniffled, and looked up at the guard. "You really think so..?"

"I know so." he said, wiping the tears off her face. He smiled at her, causing her to smile slightly too.

"Thank you." she said, slowly letting herself out of the hug. "Oh man," she said laughing. "here I was pouring my heart out to you, and I don't even know your name." The guardsman laughed with her.

"My name is Martin." he said, smiling brightly.

"Martin.. What a lovely name." she said, returning his grin. "Well, my name is Astrid. As if you didn't already know." Astrid playfully nudged the guard with her elbow, causing him to chuckle slightly. They both sat up completely and the guard took her hand.

"Well, nice to meet you Astrid." he said, shaking her hand, leaving her momentarily confused. He released her hand and let her put it back to her side.

"Likewise, Martin." she said, leaning against him. He looked down at her and began to blush slightly. They sat in silence, watching the clouds fly overhead. "Hey." Astrid finally said, breaking the silence. "Can I ask you to do me a favor?"

"Of course. What do you need?"

"I.. I'm not sleeping in the same room as Oliver.. I'm still upset. Could you go get some blankets for me? I don't know where they are.." she asked, sheepishly. Martin looked at her. 'She's that mad, huh?'

"Of course I will. Young Master Oliver keeps the blankets in the closet in his room. I know you don't want to see him, so I can go get them if you'd want."

"Really?" she said, looking at the guard. Martin nodded his head, smiling. "Thank you so much!" she said, throwing her arms around his neck, knocking them both over. A blush overtook Martin's cheeks rapidly. 

"I-it's no problem." he said, as he slowly realized how he and Astrid had fell. Astrid's torso was over his own, and is arm was under her. Astrid's face was dangerously close to his own, causing him to go an even deeper shade of crimson. "U-uhmm.. A-Astrid? C-could you.. y-you know..?" he started.

"What? Can't we stay here? It's a beautiful day out, and I'm comfortable." she said as she lied her head on his breastplate.

"You're literally laying on armor. How is that comfortable?"

"I don't know. It just doesn't phase me. I'm comfortable pretty much anywhere. Besides, your armor might be solid, but it's smooth, so it's okay. So can we stay here?" she asked once more.

"I-I mean.. I-I guess so." he said, his faced glowing red.

"Good. The longer I stay out of that house, the better." she said, her eyes slowly closing. "Martin, please watch over me while I am sleeping. I trust you enough to ask you to." she said with a yawn.

"W-wait, you can't fall asleep here. Astrid, we are outside. Not to mention Master Oliver would be furious if he found us like this.." he said, as he looked down at the red haired woman lying on his chest. "Astrid, are you.." he said, as she nuzzled her face against his armor. He sighed "asleep." he laughed. She put her arms around him and continued to make small movements until she was completely comfortable.

Astrid smiled in her sleep, and hummed. "Thank you.. Martin.." she said in her sleep.

Martin smiled at her. "You don't have to thank me. Just promise to wake up soon, alright?" he whispered. In this moment, Martin felt content and happy. He pulled her close once more and put his head against hers, closing his eyes.

It was just as Astrid had said. It really was a beautiful day outside.