gt oneshots

stuck

"How long is he making you stay up here?"
     "Until I turn into a responsible young woman, I suppose."
     "How can you turn into that if you're stuck in your room all day?"
     "Beats me."
     Enya leaned back against a tall baluster, peering out between a crack in the balcony railing. A flowery vine snaked down across the long column and she plucked a white petal off between her fingers, sulking.
     Kairen poked his finger through a gap between the balusters, placing it against the tiny girl's cheek for a moment. The princess looked up at him and smiled, pushing his finger down.
     "You're a knight. Don't you have work to do?" Enya crouched on her knees now, pulling herself up against the top railing so that she could see him without having to stand. She didn't feel much like standing.
     "Are you trying to get rid of me?" He smirked down at her. A stray blonde curl fell out over his forehead and she wanted to push it back in place for him. Or perhaps she just wanted an excuse to touch his face.
     "No, you idiot," Enya said, stifling a laugh behind her hands. "I quite like you here. I need someone to talk to. It's getting rather lonely."
     "Wow. I'm so honored you chose me to entertain you, then." Kairen laughed. Enya did too.
     Soft music drifted up from the ballroom below. A party Enya was supposed to be attending, until her father had grounded her and exiled her to her bedroom where she was only allowed to come down at mealtimes. She'd been stuck in this tower ever since he'd caught her in the royal garden with Kairen. She'd thought she'd timed everything just right, snuck off with him in the dead of night just to be alone for a while. She'd been especially careful as she was leaving, and she was sure she hadn't made a sound. Maybe her little brother had tattled on her. But it wasn't like she'd left to do anything dirty.
     She'd left to see Kairen. She saw him everyday, but that was when he was doing his job. Being a knight. Standing guard and trying to keep a straight face as she practically harassed him all day long, cracking jokes and trying to get a reaction from him. She quite liked him, after all. He was funny, always speaking his mind. (Even if he ended up in trouble for it sometimes.)
     And then she'd found herself feeling more for him. She wasn't supposed to have warm feeling for a knight, and a giant one at that. But she did. She'd never voiced those feelings, of course. But she'd acted upon them.
     She'd only snuck out to talk to Kairen. Maybe they'd kissed a little too, but mostly talking. But one of the guards had seen them. He'd reported them to her father immediately and now Enya was forbidden to leave the castle, forbidden to leave her room. Forbidden from seeing Kairen.
     Kairen had been let off with a warning and allowed to return to his knightly services, but only after Enya had admitted to her father that the sneaking out had been her doing. She wasn't supposed to be seeing him now, but her father had guests downstairs. He wouldn't be coming up to check on her for a while.
     "Must be terrible, being locked up like that," Kairen said, peering down at her with a mean smirk. "I quite like being out here. Basking in my freedom." As if to emphasize that he stretched his arms out over his head, letting out a content sigh.
     "Oh, piss off," Enya muttered, rolling her eyes. She plucked another petal off the railing and tossed it up at him half-heartedly. It didn't make it very far before fluttering back down for several stories until it eventually hit the ground.
     "Not my fault you went out and decided you were so in love with me that it couldn't wait till morning," he said, letting out a laugh that made Enya's stomach flutter. She pointedly looked away from him, sticking her nose up in the air.
     "You make me sound desperate," she said, pushing her hair back and smoothing it down. "And I am not in love with you. Kissing is not being in love."
     "It's not?" Kairen brought his hand down beside her again, the time brushing finger through her short hair.
     "It's not," Enya said, but the sparkle in her eyes as she gazed up at him begged to differ as she raised a hand up to place against his wrist.
     "You're cute," He said, pulling his hand back and shifting to stand up. Enya stood up too, leaning over the edge of the railing to see his face.
     "Shut up," she said, smiling slightly. He smiled too, bringing his hand down to touch her cheek one last time before turning away from her.
     "See you tonight?" Enya placed her hand on her face as he started to walk away, right over where his finger had just been.
     "Of course, idiot."
     Enya slid down against the baluster, hugging her knees to her chest and trying to ignore her own racing heart as she thought about his hand on her cheek and the way his eyes lit up when he laughed.
     Maybe she was in love with him. Just a little.