Black Rose

I'll Wait for You

"Nee-san!" Sol stormed into her room looking so frantic.
"What is it, Sol? And please call me captain, I've told you so many times already, didn't I?" Charlotte Roselei chastised her subordinate without looking up from the scroll she was reading. She was reading all the books about forbidden curses she could find these past few days. She wouldn't admit it to anyone but she wanted to help Yami and his squad in any way she could.
"Now's not the time for that," Sol dismissed her dictate, like she always did.
"What got you so upset?"
"Nee-san! The Black Bulls are departing for the Heart Kingdom for their mission today! They might not come back in years!"
Charlotte got straight up. Yami's leaving? Now?
Before she could think properly, she was already running. Her mind's filled with nothing but catching that man.
How dare he leave without saying goodbye? But then again, they weren't a couple. To Yami, she's nothing more than a comrade-in-arms, an awkward and tactless man-hating captain. That idiot. She brushed the tears away that started to form in the corners of her eyes. For someone who's very perceptive in battle, he was quite obtuse.
Charlotte arrived at the Royal Capital's port. She started looking for the ship sailing for the Heart Kingdom. That country was pretty closed off to the outside world. They would only allow visitors on special invitations so there shouldn't be a lot of ships traveling there.
"Excuse me," she approached a young man who seemed to be working for one of the ships.
He was obviously taken aback as soon as he saw her face. "A-aren't you Charlotte Roselei, the captain of the Blue Rose squad?"
He was practically screaming, gaining the attention of passersby.
"Uhmm.. yeah. I'm looking for the ship sailing for the Heart Kingdom today? Would you happen to know where that is?"
Instead of answering her, the guy grabbed her hands together. "Oh my God, I'm a huge fan of yours! You're even more beautiful up close-"
In a blink of an eye, the impudent man was wrapped in a tower of thorns from her Briar Magic. "I was asking a question, not giving you permission to touch me."
"I am sorry!" the guy wailed. "I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!" He was apologizing profusely.
"How about you answer my question?" She pulled the hilt of her briar sword and the pool of thorns around him tightened.
He screamed in agony. "The ship was scheduled to set sail at 2 PM, they're probably gone by now."
Charlotte's shoulders slumped. 2 Pm... had she arrived half an hour earlier, she could have caught him before they left. Now, they might really never gonna see each other again. "That damned stupid outlaw," she whispered, biting her lower lip until it bled as to not completely tear up. She didn't get her chance to let him know her true feelings after all.
"I came here to see what's causing so much ruckuss, who would've thought it's Her Royal Thornness."
Charlotte whirled around to see the tall built man onboard the nearby ship. Yami stood there, leaning against the wooden beam and looking bored as usual with a cigarette in hand. Her eyes grew wide in shock. "Y-Y-Yami?!"
"Osu."
That was it took for her heart to go haywire. Her heart was beating so hard she thought it would burst any minute now.
Since she wasn't saying anything, he put out his cigarette and leaped from the ship's deck towards her in a single stride.
Panicked, she unconciously withdraw her briar magic and let the man she held captive go. He fell straight to the water.
With the little Black Bull robe that he had, he covered her from the water splash, leaving him open.  Needless to say, he got wet. His wet A-shirt clung to his muscular chest, giving her an enticing view of what's underneath. His messy hair was a wet mop about his head. He combed his hair back with his fingers.
Her face turned red at the thought he looked sexy. "Y-you g-got wet," she said in haste, stating the obvious.
"Yeah, thanks to you. You're quite a troublemaker these days, why don't you join my squad instead?"
Her blush intensified. "W-what are you saying? There's no way I would want to be associated with the-" she stopped herself. Why couldn't she be honest for goodness' sake!
"Yeah, you're too beautiful and refined to be in a squad full of delinquents," Yami remarked nonchalantly.
To be in the same squad as Yami... Going on missions together, going back to the same base and eating meals together.. her heart's going to explode!
Then it hit her... he said she's beautiful. In fact, he said she's too beautiful! Yami really thought she's beautiful?
"What does the Queen of Sulkandia doing here?"
"I..." she couldn't look at his face. He's just inches away from her, how was she supposed to breathe? His masculine scent mixed with the faint smell of cigarettes was driving her to distraction.
"You're not here to see me off, right?" He said that but his voice sounded dead, like wry joke.
"W-what.. w-what are you saying? Why would I see you-"
She abruptly stopped talking when Yami paused for a moment and reached out for her face. She stood there frozen. She felt the tips of his fingers against her skin. They were warm and rough to touch. "Why do you have a wound in your lower lip? Did you get into a fight?"
His gruff voice snapped her out of her stupor. She immediately stepped away from him. "I'm fine! I just bit it a litttle. I can heal it with my magic."
His hand was left hanging in the air like he didn't know what to do with it. "Ah, okay."
He totally thought she hated his touch!
"Hurry up and heal it, it's such a shame to have a wound on that pretty face of yours."
He said it again. Her mind's reeling. "Y-you kept on saying that but you just really think I'm troublesome, right?"
He paused to think her question over, still looking uninterested. "Yeah, you're troublesome. You don't ask for help even if you need one. You always do things on your own and spouting things like you hate men."
Her heart sank. She was already aware of it but hearing Yami say it to her face was just devastating.
"But... you're still easily the most beautiful and one of the strongest women in all of Clover Kingdom. Too bad you're so prickly though."

Yami was taken aback by Charlotte Roselei. She was strangely down from the moment she appeared. But as soon as he said those words, her face lit up and turned vermillion. Her gorgeous blue eyes gleamed with mirth.
The most beautiful woman indeed, he thought. He shook his head to clear his thoughts.
"Uhmm.. aren't you setting sail soon?" Charlotte said in a small voice. She's really acting weird these days.
"The loading of the cargo got delayed. I was just talking to the captain of this ship right here, he's an old acquaintance of mine." He motioned to the ship he was on earlier.
"Yami, I-" She opened her mouth to say something but a loud voice interrupted her.
"Captain Yamiiii!"
He knew that voice even without looking, it's their lively brat Asta. For some reason, Charlotte looked utterly disappointed. "I guess it's time for you to go, huh?"
He suddenly had the urge to throw the brat into the depths of the ocean for disappointing her. "I'll be right there!" Yami called out. Since his subordinates were behind him, all they could see was his back. He completely covered Charlotte from their view.
Though he said that, he didn't move a muscle. He just stood there, looking at her. After all this time, her beauty never fail to surprise him every time he saw her. Up close, without her armor on, she looked like a princess with dainty shoulders and delicate features. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he would get the chance to get to be close to her like this.
It's been nine years since he rescued her from her curse. He said that but he still didn't quite get it how her curse worked or how it was lifted. Maybe he'd ask her once he got back.
"We'll get going now," he told her, breaking the silence between them.
"Yeah." Her eyes were downcast, she was gripping her hands in front of her.
He turned around to leave, scratching his head as he did so. He had this nagging feeling inside that he shouldn't leave things as they were.
He sighed and turned to face her again. "Hey, Prickly Princess!"
Her head shot back up.
He chuckled. She looked like a surprised rabbit. "While I'm gone, can you do something about that grouchy attitude of yours? You'll never find a husband like that, you know? Well, if we're still single by then, we can just marry each other."
He was expecting her to reject and insult him like she usually did. She didn't though, she laughed instead. "You better get back alive then."
For the first time in Yami Sukehiro's life, his heart skipped a beat.