Safe

"What are you doing, you fool?" Maven muttered to himself as he crept through the palace hallway to Mare's room.

If he got caught, he couldn't even imagine the severity of the scolding his mother would lash out. He could always use the excuse that he was just visiting her to get her to further trust him.

Except he wasn't so sure Elara would buy that. She wasn't an idiot, and had seen the way her son had been looking at the little lightning girl. He was falling for her, and everyone knew it.

Finally reaching Mare's door, Maven hesitated before knocking. Would she even still be up? He didn't want to disturb her sleep, but he also had to make sure everyone was asleep before sneaking over.

Deciding to risk it, he went ahead and knocked while waiting patiently.

It took a couple of seconds for Mare to answer, in which he was considering just leaving and forgetting this whole foolish idea, when the door quietly creaked open.

Mare's face was a mask of relief when she saw it was just him. "You scared me! What are you doing here?"

She was wearing a long white nightgown that looked absolutely stunning against her tan skin. Maven thought to himself that she was making it very hard not to form an attachment to her.

'Get a grip. Mother would be furious if she saw you now.'

"I was wondering if you'd like to sneak out and see the gardens with me?"

Maven was about to scrap the idea and go back to his room when Mare surprised him with a smile. "Of course, I would, Maven. Just let me get dressed quickly, and then we can go."

She came out shortly after wearing a light blue dress and laced their hands together. Maven tried his best to suppress a shudder at the feeling of her warm skin against his much colder hands. She was always so warm.

They snuck out quietly, Maven gently guiding her to where the gardens were. He was careful to avoid the routes where he knew the guards were and hoped none of them would bother checking in on his fiancée. He tentatively placed a firm, but reassuring hand on Mare's lower back.

Mare smiled gently at that and followed his lead.

When they eventually reached the gardens, they both sat down on one of the stone benches, behind a huge fern, effectively blocking them from any guard that might happen to pass by.

Mare looked around at the garden, admiring the wildflowers and exotic plants of every kind. "It's so beautiful here. You're lucky to live in such a nice place."

Maven dropped his eyes to the freshly manicured grass, and mumbled, "Not as lucky as you think."

Mare furrowed her brow and leaned forward, "What did you just say?"

Maven shook his head and grabbed his fiancée's hand, lifting it up and pressing a gentle kiss against the back, her smooth skin brushing against his lips. "Nothing. I'm just glad you're here with me tonight. I wasn't sure if you would accept my invitation or not."

Mare smiled at that, so radiant and beautiful, and Maven knew right there that he was lost. He was such a hypocrite. He told Mare to guard her heart, yet he couldn't even guard his own. Suddenly he got very angry at himself. Why did he have to form an attachment? Had he not learned from before?

Maven swallowed past the lump in his throat and blinked back the bitter tears at risk of escaping. No, he couldn't think about him. Not here, not now.

Mare took notice of the tears in his eyes and cupped his face gently. "Hey, are you okay? Talk to me."

She was so sweet and understanding. Which made the plan even harder to follow through with. He knew that once she learned the truth about him, she would never forgive him.

Maven nodded tightly, putting on the carefully worn mask he had been practicing using since he was 6 years old. "I'm fine. It just gets so lonely here sometimes. It is, of course, beautiful, but what's the point of living in such a palace if you have no one to share it with?"

That wasn't a lie. All his life he had been so lonely here. His father was completely out of the question, he would probably sell him for a bottle of wine. Cal and him were close when they were younger, but over the years they had grown further and further apart until some days they didn't speak a word to each other, and if they did it was meaningless pleasantries that Maven cared little for. His mother was probably his biggest rock in life, but he constantly wondered what his life would be like if she didn't exist. Would he still be this bitter and cynical, his soul rotting and peeling away from the very inside?

And then there was...... him. He was probably his only true and pure connection until Mare. But he was gone, and Maven had no one.

Until she came along.

And soon he was going to lose her too.

Mare considered his words, and Maven couldn't stop staring at her soft red lips. He wanted to feel those lips on his again, but this time wanted to taste her fully, and never stop kissing her. She made him feel something he hadn't felt in a long time. Safe. He felt safe with her.

"I see your point. Before I came here, I didn't live in a place as nice as this, but I was never truly alone. I had my family. Or, well, I hope I still have my family. I wish I could see them."

Maven felt a twinge of sympathy in his ice-cold heart and clasped their fingers together. "I'll make sure you see them again. I'll try to convince my mother to let us visit after the wedding."

A lie, one that Maven felt horribly guilty for. They weren't going to get married, and she would probably never see her family again if his mother had anything to do with it.

Mare smiled. "Thank you. You don't know how much that means to me." She leaned in for a kiss, and Maven met her halfway, the kiss light and brief. Maven wanted more. He always wanted more.

He guided her quietly back to her room, their hands intertwined once again, and Maven felt so content, he wished for a second that they could run away together. Forget the crown, forget the plan, even forget his mother. Just her and him. Maybe they could start their own kingdom together.

But that dream was shattered as Mare tugged on his hand to signal him that they had reached her room.

"Well, I guess this is goodnight." Mare said, leaning back against the door and looking at him as though she didn't want them to part just yet.

'If she keeps looking at me like that, I never will', he thought to himself.

"Goodnight, Mare." Maven whispered, leaning in for one last parting kiss, this time deeper and much more passionate.

Her small, but strong hands came up to grip his shoulders tightly, and he felt as though he was floating in outer space. Kissing her was like an out of body experience.

They eventually broke away and she gave him one last smile as she retreated into her room and shut the door.

A guilty look broke over his face, one that he didn't need a mirror to confirm, and he slowly walked back to his own room, expecting nothing less then yet another sleepless night, tossing and turning over the plan.

But sooner or later he had to follow through with it, no matter his feelings.

'Cheer up' his mind told him. 'Soon you'll have everything you've ever wanted.'

Well, almost everything.