Street Mouse [Yandere Archduke x Female Reader]

12. Cliff Edge.

Frosino sat impatiently at the desk in the library, waiting for Y/N to arrive for her lesson. She was late. "What is keeping her," he muttered irritably, drumming his slender fingers against the dark wood of the desk.

It was a relief when the doors of the library were thrown open abruptly. Frosino opened his mouth to scold Y/N, both on her tartiness as well as her less than ladylike entrance, when he stopped abruptly.

Tola stood in the doorway breathing heavily, a look of fear on her rugged face.  She hurried over to him and said, all formalities forgotten,  "F-frosino it's Y/N, I-I lost her!"

The Archduke quickly stood, and guided his hysterical housekeeper to sit on one of the finally upholstered chairs in front of the fireplace.

"Tola, you must calm down," he said gently, but sternly. He kneeled down in front of her, holding her cold hands. "Take a deep breath, and tell me what happened."

The woman took a few gasping breaths, trying to calm herself enough to speak. Frosino noticed that she was soaking wet, meaning that she must have been outside when the vicious mountain rainstorm had begun. The wind and rain from that storm were still blowing fiercely against the walls of the stone castle.

"The L-Littlen and ay were out in the forest, looking for ingredients for tonight's dinner," Tola began shakily. "Ay told the littlen to stay close, but... But when ay turned 'round she wasn' there." Tola started sobbing again as she continued, "Ay looked all 'round that place, and called for her... But I couldn't find her... The-The poor littlen in lost out in the mountains... A-and it's all my fault."

Frosino stood, and glanced out the dark, rain-splattered window, just in time to see a bolt of lightning slash through the sky. He walked quickly across the darkened library and pulled a small cord that would ring a bell in the stables.

"If Y/N is out in this storm we haven't a moment to lose," the Archduke said. "I will search through the forest on the west side, while Alfonse looks up and down the west trail, Tola, I want you to change into a dry set of clothes, then I want you to stay here, in case Y/N finds her own way back. That is an order."

Before Tola could even think to protest, Frosino had already left the room. He sped through the castle, not changing into clothing more suited to trekking through the mountains. He only took his riding cloak with him. It was black wool, that thankfully had been oiled to make it water-resistant.

The Archduke hurried down the large staircase into the courtyard, where Alfonse stood with his horse already saddled.

Frosino quickly mounted the back stallion, and turned to look at Alfonse, "You saddle up a horse as well, Y/N is lost in the forest. I will take the deep forest, you search from the west trail back to the castle walls."

Frosino waited just long enough to see that Alfonse had understood his orders, then the Archduke spurred on his horse, and thundered through the front gates into the forest.

. . .

It was now pitch dark outside. The rain was lashing against Y/N's face like ice. She was shaking from fear and from cold. Her wet dress clung to her body, not doing much against the cold. She felt like she had been wandering for hours. She knew that she was most likely becoming more lost as she moved, but she didn't dare stop.

Between the rain, and the thick tree cover, the girl was pretty much walking blindly, hardly able to see the ground beneath her. She heard the sound of a wolf howl and her heart clenched with terror at the thought of being eaten alive. She picked up her pace, and started running through the forest.

She tripped over boulders, low hanging branches striking her in the face. She was covered in scrapes and bruises, but she kept running, the fear driving her on. Another wolf howl was heard and it was much closer than before. She kept running through the rain, trying to escape from the wolves pursuing her, but in her haste to get away, she forgot to check the path in front of her and slipped the mud.

She went crashing through a bramble thicket, thorns scratching at her skin and tearing her dress. She tumbled down, into a ravine. She fell head-over-heels, until she came to a stop on a rock ledge. The landing was rough, and she knew at once that she had landed on her ankle funny.

Out from under the cover of the trees, Y/N could make out her surroundings a little better. The rock ledge was barely large enough for her, and hung out from the cliffside. Looking up, the girl saw that she had fallen a considerable distance down from the top of the cliff, and the side was slick with rain and mud, making it impossible to climb up.

Y/N chanced a quick look over the edge of the little shelf she was on, and immediately regretted it. The bottom of the canyon was barely visible, but she could make out the roaring and churning sound of a river beneath her. Should she fall the rest of the way, it would definitely kill her.

The little girl pressed herself against the cliff, and closed her eyes as she started to sob. She didn't want this to be the end, she didn't want to die. She was so frightened that she hardly noticed the wet or the cold anymore.

Suddenly, over the sound of the wind and rain, the sound of a horse's hooves could be heard. Y/N looked up the cliff, and at the top of the precipice was a lone horseman. The tall figure hurried to dismount the horse, and took from his saddlebags a long rope.

He quickly secured the rope to a sturdy looking tree, and after tying it around his waist, he began to climb down the cliff. Once he reached the ledge that Y/N was on, he hurried to crouch next to the shaking girl and pull her into his arms.

"Sweet girl thank Lady Luccia you are alright!" Frosino gave thanks to the goddess as he held her tightly. "I was so worried about you, we all were." He pulled back, giving Y/N a good view of his rain-soaked clothing and tangled black hair. "What in Lady Luccia's name made you decide to go wandering into these woods alone, it is incredibly dangerous."

"I-I'm sorry," Y/N sniffed as fresh tears started to gather in her eyes, "I just wanted to be able to give you something for your birthday."

She held out a single tattered daisy in her small hand that she had managed to hold on to. Frosino stared at the small flower, shocked by the girl's kindness.

He pulled her into his chest again, embracing her tightly. He stroked her wet strands of H/C hair as he said, "my darling little Y/N, it is more than enough to have you here at the castle. Things have been so joyful since you arrived; you liven the place up."

Frosino felt the girl trembling and looked down. He noticed that her lips were turning blue, and her cheeks were rosy from the cold.

He hasted to take off his riding cloak, and wrap the small child in it, doing his best to protect her from the harshness of the mountain elements raining down on them.

"Rest Y/N," the Archduke said soothingly as he picked her up into his arms. "You are safe now."

She was drifting in and out of consciousness, but managed to nod weakly.

Frosino claimed back up from the ledge to the top of the cliff in only a few short strides with the aid of the rope. He quickly mounted his horse, Y/N still held firmly in his arms, and began to ride swiftly back to Castle de Crivell.

A/N

This chapter gave me all the feels!

These two are just too cute. ≥~≤

Let me know what you think will happen next, and

until next time, I'll see you on the other side

~J. C. Coltt.~