Undying love of the Immortal King.

Only time can tell

Marshall hadn't even realized he was moved from the stairs, he was that out of it. It had been a while since he's been this exhausted, and his body wasn't used to how he'd been doing things. Running off of such a low amount of his energy source, if any at all, was dangerous. Even for him. It would take his body a day or two to recuperate from having been that way for so long. The good thing was that he made sure he had eaten enough to last a long time, just in case he couldn't go out to eat again for a while. // the prince had started to get a bit worried about just how bad off Marshall had been during the time that he hadn't spoken to him... but it also raised a few questions. Why did it even bother him? Why was he upset? Why did he take so little care of himself in that time? Why hadn't he asked Gumball for help? Was there something that happened during that time, that caused Marshall to become so neglectful? Did something bother the king? Was there some sort of news that someone he cared for had passed away? Gumball had so many questions... but he wasn't sure he was in the right to ask. Of course he was worried about the vampire, but at the same time if it was personal, he didn't want to cross any lines with questions he didn't need to ask. For now the prince allowed the other to sleep, also a bit grateful that he had a bit more time to think about what exactly he wanted to tell Marshall, and /how/. He was honestly nervous the night before, a bit afraid he'd say the wrong thing once Marshall came back, but since they hadn't ended up talking like he had planned; he was a bit relieved. There were things he wanted to say... Things he wanted to explain.. and apologies that were needed to be given. For now, though, the prince went around and made sure the castle had been cleaned properly, adjusting furniture here and there, and dusting off some things around the rooms. The ballroom seemed so empty in comparison to what it was only the day before. He did feel a bit guilty to have disappointed so many people, especially the princess, but if he had let it continue.... well who knows how much more disastrous it would've been. A royal divorce would be so much worse than a marriage that never happened, so he was rather glad that the king of the neighboring kingdom -the girls father- was good acquaintances with him. Otherwise it probably wouldn't have ended as well as it had... Gumball ended up cleaning around the castle for most of the day, just to keep himself preoccupied. There wasn't much going on in the way of his usual duties, so he had quite a bit of free time just to do as he pleased. Eventually he ended up just wandering around, trying to make sure that there really was nothing left from the event the day before. He wanted to make sure Marshal was still alright, but didn't want to worry too much and have it take over the main part of his day. /// Marshal had eventually woken up, but since it was still during the daytime he simply got up and looked around quietly. He had eventually found a large library, just wandering into it out of curiosity. He had found a book or two that caught his attention and simply sat down to read them, until it was a bit later and the sun wasn't so bright outside. Occasionally his mind would wander to what the prince was doing, but he just shook off the thought and went back to the book he was holding. He personally loved fiction books, even if some of them were simply twists on actual stories. He found it intriguing and somewhat amusing to read just exactly what people would come up with, either to throw off a story from reality, or just use their imagination in general to make things up. Marshal didn't quite seem the type to read much, but with him being as old as he was he did need /something/ to pass the time every now and then. With how many books there were, though, it was a wonder that he hadn't managed to read them all. Then again so many of them were being published anymore, he wasn't overly surprised. He quietly sat in the corner of the library as he read through the book that was in his hand, eventually getting lost in the story as his mind relaxed. He managed to distract himself from thoughts of the Pink Prince for just a little while. Eventually a few books started to stack up around him as he finished them one after the other.. of course he knew exactly which book went where, so he would be able to put them back without an issue. /// Gumball had eventually wandered back up to where he had left Marshal, only to find that the bed itself was empty. His heart sank just a bit and he started to fret, wondering if the vampire had left the castle or not. Really the only place that he /hadn't/ been was the library, but honestly he didn't think that Marshal, of all people, would be in there. "... well... I suppose it's worth the look, since I haven't been in there all day.. and if he's not there then I can just wait to see if he comes back. It's entirely possible that he has gone back out to eat something..." he muttered to himself as he fixed up the room and left, closing the door behind him. He wandered around a bit, checking random open rooms as he made his way towards the library. He hummed softly, taking his time as he wandered that way, honestly trying not to get himself too worked up. There were things he wanted to know, and things he needed to say... and he still wasn't sure how to do so. As he got to the library, he did notice that the door hadn't been closed entirely. Whether it was from the previous day, or recently, he wasn't sure. He quietly opened the door a bit more and walked into the library, so as not to possibly startle someone, if there was anyone there. "Hello..?" He called out, a bit softly, since his voice would tend to echo quite a bit if he was too loud in here. He didn't hear any reply, not knowing that Marshal was too engrossed in the books to be paying attention, so he walked further in; deciding to look around to be sure. He was no longer humming, and honestly was extremely nervous. It took him a few minutes to wander around the rather large library of his, and ended up climbing a set of stairs to the upper floor of said-library. He kept the books neatly organized and separated by section. The fiction section just happened to be on the second floor. After another few minutes of wandering around he noticed a stack of books by the end of a book shelf. ".. those aren't supposed to be there.." he whispered to himself, decided to go closer to look. He rounded the corner, ready to pick them up, only to find marshal sitting there reading. He stopped in his tracks and reflexively made himself breathe a bit quieter. He didn't want to surprise him, since he didn't quite know how the other reacted when startled. He stayed in place for a few seconds, feeling his face heat up slightly as he stood there awkwardly. 'Hes rather... cute, when he's reading...' he thought to himself, his face turning a slightly darker shade of pink. After a moment he decided to clear his throat, hoping not to scare the other. "Ahem.. uh.. m-marshal..." he eventually managed to say, causing the other to tense slightly before relaxing again and looking up at him. "A-ah.. I apologize for startling you. I simply wanted to make sure you... were doing alright... you hadn't been in bed, so I wandered around to make sure you were alright.." gumball said, sounding a bit awkward as he spoke quietly, though attempting not to. Marshal nodded a little bit before replying. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about pulling so many books out, though." He said with a small laugh. "I didn't realize how many I had gathered." He said calmly before getting up and casually putting the books back. Gumball watched quietly before finally realizing he should reply. "Uhm... no you're fine. Just so long as they're put back where they were..." he said calmly, managing to control himself a bit more and regain some composure. Marshal nodded slightly in understanding as he put the last few back, casually landing back on the ground beside the prince. "I can do that. Anyway, sorry about yesterday... and the months before that... I just-" he started but then stopped, looking away from Gumball. He wasn't sure how to continue. "... anyway.. you said you had something to talk to me about..?" He asked after a moment, causing the prince to stiffen up a bit. "Y-yeah.. how about we get out of the library first..." he suggested, turning to leave anyway before really waiting for an answer. "Sure.." marshal replied back, going to follow him as the other started walking. Gumball and marshal were both silent as they walked along. Gumball was simply headed to his room, knowing that no one would bother them while they were in there. He also felt it was a bit safer to talk there, and somehow help him relax a bit, too. Once they got back to gumballs room, he opened the door, allowing the other in first. Marshal kind of just floated over next to the bed and waited for Gumball to close the door. The prince walked over and sat in the middle of his bed, crossing his legs as he did so. "Okay... Uhm... I guess I have to say this eventually.." Gumball said and chuckles nervously. ".. but I wanted to apologize.." he said after a moment of silence, not quite sure what else he should say. Marshal looked at him in slight confusion before simply sitting on the edge of the bed facing the prince. "Apologize...?" He asked, waiting for the other to elaborate. "Yes. I wanted to apologize for what I had done. For not telling you about the marriage sooner. For ignoring you for so long... for whatever else I may have caused... I realize I should not have done such a thing, and it deserves an apology... and honestly I understand entirely if you are still upset about the situation." The prince said, slowly allowing himself to seem at least a little more confident in what he said, even if he still sounded so quiet. Marshal didn't answer at first, a little surprised that that was what he wanted to talk about. Though admittedly he was... slightly disappointed, yet unsure why... "... it's partially my fault as well, you know. I mean I could've easily tried to contact you as well, if I wanted to.." marshal eventually replied, causing the prince to look at him despite having been too nervous to do so before. "Don't go taking the blame. I understand that you were upset over it. I mean it was something rather large and should have been mentioned much sooner." Gumball stated, causing a small chuckle from marshal. "H-hey it's not funny!" Gumball replied in response. "I know, I'm sorry. You just seem so adamant about it being entirely your fault. I'm almost willing to let you take the blame." Marshal said a bit teasingly, causing the prices face to heat up a bit. "Hey now- I never said it was entirely my fault! I just wanted to apologize for what /was/ my fault.. it just so happens that most of it was.." the prince replied, looking away towards the end of what he said, playing with his fingers slightly. Marshall just chuckled quietly to himself, finding the prince's reaction a bit... adorable. He mentally slapped himself though, keeping himself from doing or saying anything about it even though he desperately wanted to. "Alright, alright. I accept the apology, your highness~" he said halfway sarcastically, though he was serious too. He didn't want the prince blaming himself for everything. Though his sarcasm earned him a half-assed sideways glare from the pink prince, causing marshal to grin. Gumball's face heated up a bit at the others grin, finding it all too attractive for his own good, causing him to look away yet again. 'For the love of glob, Gumball, pull yourself together...' he thought to himself, huffing slightly before he finally replied. "Well, thank you then." He said a bit curtly, attempting to hide the fact that he was embarrassed. He wasn't quite sure where to go from there though, just allowing the other to sit silently at the end of the bed... perhaps eventually he'd be able to work up the courage to tell the other the rest of what he wanted to talk about... but he wasn't entirely sure /when/ he'd be able to, nor what the other would say or how he'd react... for now the silence was the only thing prominent in the room, causing the awkward feeling to grow a bit more. Marshal eventually just shook his head slightly and looked around, allowing the other to calm himself a bit. Perhaps being around the prince wasn't such a bad thing after all...