Lovely (Ruby x Dyrroth)

fourteen

Alice swept into the room, all grandeur and royalty. She flung open the double doors with force, and Ruby instantly flattened herself against the wall in fear of being smacked in the face. Dyrroth, unfortunately, had less options.

As the door swung towards them violently, Ruby stuck out a hand so it wouldn't smash right into Dyrroth and give them away. He hadn't seen it, since his back was to the door. He shot her a deft smile of gratitude before glancing in Alice's direction warily.

She hadn't noticed them, apparently too caught up with whatever she was up to. The door obscured her from their sight, and Ruby didn't dare peek out to get a glimpse of what she was so busy doing.

The gap between the door and the wall hadn't seemed so painfully small before, but now that Ruby was hiding in it with another person - Dyrroth - it almost seemed infinitesimal.

She suddenly realised she hardly had anywhere to put her hands, and from the looks of it, the very same thought had hit Dyrroth. Without making eye contact with Ruby, he placed his hands lightly on her hips, remarkably casual considering the awkwardness - or some might say, intimacy - of the moment.

Ruby flushed. She let her hands settle on Dyrroth's chest, since she had nowhere else to put them. Putting them on his shoulders would be weird.

She pretended not to notice the smile that had subtly crept across the prince's handsome face. Instead, she decided to focus more on willing her scarlet blush to go away. It didn't work. All it did was make her feel embarrassed, which made her blush more.

Ruby didn't really pay any attention to what Alice was so busy doing in the throne room. The only thing that seemed significant right now was this moment and the entire strange yet beautiful symmetry of it, her and the demon prince huddled behind a door hiding from his evil stepmother. Strange, indeed. Ruby wanted to laugh at it all, but all she could focus on was the feeling of Dyrroth's hands on her hips. And the warmth of his chest under her palms.

There was a not-so-subtle smile on Dyrroth's face throughout it all, and Ruby couldn't help noticing how effortlessly beautiful he was, how mindblowingly gorgeous. She sucked in a breath and held it.

Don't look at him, don't look at him...

Ruby feared what would happen if she lifted her head. Perhaps she was overthinking it or being paranoid, but she still wasn't about to raise her head. Ever. She wasn't ready.

Her heart was beating right out of her chest. She heard a distant rustle of skirts swishing, knowing that would be Alice. Ruby stiffened when she sensed Alice coming near them.

Before she realised even realised it, she'd lifted her head, and met Dyrroth's gaze.

She froze, unable to take her eyes off his. There was an inexplicable emotion buried in the depths of his magenta eyes that allured her endlessly. She snapped out of her trance after a few seconds, and much to her horror, saw the door shift.

Fortunately, the malevolent demon queen didn't think to look in their direction as she left the room grandly, slamming the heavy double doors behind her with a deft flick of her right hand. With a small smirk ever so slightly lifting the corners of his lips, Dyrroth stepped away from her.

Ruby didn't know why a pang of disappointment hit her. Though, in all truth, she had no reason to feel that way. She shouldn't have been expecting more in the first place. Or maybe that was just what she told herself.

Afterwards, Dyrroth took her back to her cell, since they'd both been sort of demotivated after nearly getting caught by Alice. They walked mostly in silence. And, despite that she constantly told herself not to get her hopes up for no reason, she couldn't help noticing something.