In the Name of Justice: Chapter XXII
It's Christmas Eve! And I'm going to be uploading the rest of Justice today. ^^ I didn't get as many other fics finished as I'd have liked, but I'm hoping to get those up soon. As for now, please enjoy the rest of the story!
Chapter XXII
Agony
Justice turned around.
A figure stood in the clearing before him, cold and unmoving. For a moment, he wondered how he hadn’t heard him coming, but then he realised why.
“Carbuncle?”
The fire vampire made no attempt to move, instead staring down at the two with an unreadable expression upon his face.
Justice sensed a deep feeling of relief flooding him: in the chaos, he’d almost forgotten about Willow and the Guardian. However, when he glanced around, however, he was surprised to see that Carbuncle was alone.
“Where’s Willow? Is he okay?”
Carbuncle’s voice little more than a growl. “Jais Willow is dead.”
The words spread through Justice like an icy wind. “Dead? How-”
“Are you stupid?” snapped the fire vampire suddenly. “Do you know nothing of your own kind? One of the human men had a silver sword. They used it to remove his head.”
There was something about the bluntness of his tone that took Justice aback a little. “But surely that can’t…” He slipped out from underneath Blanche, who sat back on her legs, staring up at the two men with a look of shock.
“Is this a game?” Carbuncle’s voice trembled slightly as he spoke. “Are you playing with me? Willow is dead!” He gritted his teeth and turned his back on the two of them - Justice could hear his breaths shaking the air.
“Carbuncle…”
“No, don’t.” Sharply, the redhead spun around to face him again. “Do you not realise the gravity of the situation? Of this whole situation? You come crawling to us Guardians, asking that we help you find some sword that may or may not exist - and then you betray us!”
“Betray you?” At last, Justice felt his words returning to him. “Are you talking about what happened back at the inn? Do you think I meant for that to happen?”
“No, I don’t think you meant for it to happen; but then again, I don’t know what’s going on inside your head, do I?”
The black-haired man frowned. “What do you mean by that?”
“I think you know exactly what I mean,” Carbuncle hiss.“You never even told us your true motivations for recovering the sword. What is it? Do you want to become the next king?”
“You know that’s not true,” Justice growled - anger boiled down inside of him more with each word.
“Do I?” roared Carbuncle. “I don’t know anything about you! If it weren’t for your eyes, I would still doubt your legitimacy to the throne.” He took a step forward, so that his face was mere inches away from the other’s. “In fact, how do I know for sure? How do I know that you haven’t just been leading us on all this time?”
Justice opened his mouth to reply, but stopped just as the fire vampire’s hand flew upwards. He snatched it from the air, crying out when he realised that it was enveloped in flames - he might as well have been holding a white-hot bar.
“Stop it!”
The sudden voice surprised Justice, and he looked left to see Blanche throw herself at the redhead in an attempt to pull him away. A sharp blow to her face sent her crashing down to the ground again.
An expression of shock hung upon her features, her eyes wide behind her loose fringe. Slowly, she raised one quivering hand to the spot where she had been struck as a figure loomed over her.
“Know your place,” Carbuncle seethed. “I know not what this man sees in you, but you’re still just a servant girl to me.” Then turning to Justice, he added, “And you… You are not my king. Even if you somehow manage to find the sword, I shall not bow down to you.”
“Car-”
“You will never be Dreizehn!” The fire vampire was bordering the edge of hysteria now, a single finger flying up to jab sharply at the other’s collar. “You can try, but the king was kind, thoughtful… Everything that you’re not!” He paused for a moment, teeth gritted in rage.
And then he ran.
“No, stop!”
It was Blanche, calling out from her spot on the ground. Justice shot one sideways glance at her before leaping into a sprint after the redhead; yet no sooner had he caught up, Carbuncle spun around to face him.
“Get away from me!” he shrieked. At once, tides of flames tore forth from his wrists and twisted up to his hands, which he plunged into Justice’s chest - the man was sent tumbling back into the nearest tree. A supporting branch snapped beneath his weight, and before he could catch his balance, he was on the floor.
“Carbuncle.” The word was little above a strained whisper as Justice peered between the trees. The fire vampire’s scent lingered in the air like a faint perfume, but there was nothing else - no flames, no figure receding into the distance. No sound.
Carbuncle was gone.
*
“Here. There’s a small stream nearby, so water shouldn’t be a problem if we need it.”
Justice merely grunted in reply, his eyes fixed upon the fire before him. To his right, Blanche bent down and deposited a small pile of dry sticks, ready to feed the flames if needed. He was half-expecting her to walk off into the woods again, when her hand graced his shoulder, making him jump slightly.
“Your Majesty,” she said softly, “How are you feeling?”
Justice caught her concerned gaze for a moment, then turned back onto his front. “I’m fine, thank you.”
Of course, it was a lie: he felt empty, as though all emotion had been flushed from him. Carbuncle… How much truth had been carried in his words? No matter how much Justice tried to distract himself, his mind kept on returning to the exchange, rolling over it again and again until his mind was sick of it.
A small distance away stood the circle of empty hives, and beyond that was a small shed. When tried, the half-rotten lock had broken away easily, revealing a space conveniently large enough for the two to sleep in. Now, though, a fire was burning on the woodland floor, and both figures sat around it in silence.
Blanche expelled a small sigh from her lips. “Your Highness, I’m sure Carbuncle is fine. He’ll return later when he’s calmed down.”
Again, the man grunted and rolled onto his back to face the canopy. The pain from where he’d been stabbed by Gideon had begun to throb across his back, but it was barely enough to distract him from his thoughts.
“Blanche…” he began slowly. “What do you think of Wilderness?”
“Wilderness?” The girl appeared a little surprised as she looked down at him. “Well, I hold him in my highest respects, of course, as I do all the Guardians; yet if it were not for my master, I would probably be dead right now.”
Justice lifted an eyebrow. “Oh? How so?”
“It’s nothing much, really,” she said. “My parents separated when I was small, and I was left abandoned on the streets by the age of nine. I lived on doorsteps for a month or so before deciding to make the journey to the Castle of Earth. Luckily, Wilderness took me in, and I’ve been in servitude ever since.”
“And he treats you well?”
The corners of Blanche’s mouth lifted slightly. “He has a temper, but I owe everything that I am to him. The others at the castle are nice as well - you’ve already met Frazer, haven’t you?
“Frazer?” The name seemed familiar. “Oh, do you mean Whiteley?” Justice remembered the brief words he’d exchanged with the dark-haired man across the course of their travels, and couldn’t help but feel a smile pulling.
Blanche shot him a sideways glance. “What is it?”
There was no reply, so she smirked softly to herself and leaned over to place another small log on the fire. The flames licked at their figures, casting deep, warped shadows across the ferny ground and tree trunks.
“So, what about you, Your Majesty?” Carefully, Blanche sat back down and bent her knees so that the entirety of her weight was resting upon her arms. “What do you think of my master and the Guardians?”
Justice grimaced. Whilst part of him knew that the subject would inevitably turn to him, he had been hoping to avoid it. Still, there was no hiding from what had been plaguing him for a while now.
“I’m not entirely sure,” he said slowly. “I know each was close to my father, but I don’t want them to force themselves into treating me as their monarch by default.”
“Rafaga sees good things in you - I’ve heard the way he talks about you to the others. But then again, I know from Wilderness that he was close to the king, so perhaps he sees parts of him in you.”
Justice smiled at the thought, though he couldn’t help but feel weighed down by Carbuncle’s words that continued to cling to his mind like an unpleasant smell. You will never be Dreizehn... Did the other Guardians believe that as well? As the ones who had known the king, surely they would be the first to notice any similarities between father and son. What did he have to do to prove that it was not in his intentions to follow in Dreizehn’s direct footsteps?
“Hmm, perhaps.”
Again, there was a period of short silence. Justice allowed his eyes to travel around the clearing, scouring the trees, before resting upon the figure next to him. Blanche was still as she watched the fire, her head tilted in such a way that her eyes caught the flames like mirrors. Her cheek was still slightly red from where she’d been struck.
“How are you feeling now?” Justice asked. “I’m sorry for Carbuncle’s behaviour earlier.”
“There’s no need to apologise, Your Majesty - I was out of place.” She looked at the man, running over eyes up and down before they rested over his chest area. “What about you? Is your back healing well?”
“I’m not sure. It’s been fine for a while, but I-” He was cut off as Blanche unfurled from her position and moved so that she was crouched beside him.
“What are you doing?” Carefully, Justice propped himself up on his elbows, yet still the girl continued to inspect him. After several seconds, she shot him with a look of concern.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but I’m going to have to ask you to remove the top half of your clothing - it’s the only way for me to look at your bandages.”
The man raised an eyebrow, but obeyed nevertheless. Slowly, he reached down and began to unfasten the first buckle at his hip. It was quite impressive to see how the whole piece fit together, what with all its small details and ornaments, yet Justice couldn’t help but miss the simplicity of his own tunic as he fought his way through the various layers. Eventually, he was able to ease it up and over his head.
A small flush spread across Blanche’s cheeks, but she did her best to ignore it as she leaned over Justice and began to undo the bandages around his pale skin. “I hope you don’t deem me intrusive,” she said, “But I’ve always wondered what it must be like to be a vampire.”
“How so?”
“Well, your body, for example. Do you feel pain like humans?”
Justice grimaced. “Yes, I feel pain. Usually, it’s only brief, since my kind’s healing rate far excels that of humans; but then again, you have to consider that I am only a half-blood, so my capabilities fall short of those born pure. I can feel the cold, whereas for the Guardians, the fire is merely a comfort.”
As if to confirm what he’d just said, a blade of ice suddenly trickled down the man’s back, making him shiver. He looked down to see Blanche pulling away the final strip of white material, which she draped over her knees.
“Would you mind rolling over, Your Majesty?”
“Of course.”
The grass was damp against Justice’s stomach, sending more bolts of chill running down his spine. Long locks of raven hair fell over his arms as he rested his head against them, vaguely aware Blanche’s fingers gently brushing the tender area around his wound.
“How is it?” he mumbled.
“A lot better, actually,” she replied. “You must have opened it again when Carbuncle pushed you, but the bleeding has stopped, and there doesn’t seem to be any signs of infection. The bandages can probably be reused too.”
Well, that was one less burden for him to carry, Justice thought. Behind him, the girl inspected the wound one more time before leaning back onto the grass and sighing softly.
“What’s wrong?” The man could sense the tension in her her tone, as if she were holding something back.
Blanche was silent for several seconds. Then she took a deep breath and said, “Your Majesty, would you make me a vampire?”
The question shocked Justice, so much so that he had to roll back onto his front just to stare at her in disbelief. Her expression was unreadable, her eyes fixed upon her lap so as to avoid the other’s gaze.
“No,” he said finally.
“Why not?”
The man pursed his lips in defiance. “Because the idea is ridiculous. I’m not going to rob you of everything that makes you human.”
“Like what, Your Majesty?” said Blanche, leaning forward slightly. “Do you mean my having to drink blood?”
“I mean sunlight,” Justice snapped. “I’ve lived my life without knowing the true sensation of the sun’s rays on my skin, a life of having to shy away from the daylight; but to someone like you, who lives alongside that feeling, I can’t imagine anything more cruel.”
Once again, there was a period of silence which seemed to linger unpleasantly. Justice turned his attentions to the gentle thump of the girl’s heart beside him. From such a short distance, it was easy for him to distract himself by picking out each soft beat from the night, like the graceful rhythm of a swan’s wings in flight.
“Then take my blood.”
The man’s head snapped around. “What?”
“It’s the least I can do, if you won’t allow me to be changed.”
“I don’t know…” Despite the girl’s willingness, Justice was disgusted at the way his own heart leaped into frantic, excitable motion at the promise of blood. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Please.” Blanche’s tone was almost pleading now, her eyes wide as she gazed into the man’s, so much so that he found himself unable to look away.
A small sigh escaped his mouth. “Fine, then. If this is what you really want.”
Gradually, Justice raised his head. One hand slid behind Blanche’s neck and drew her towards him. However, instead of moving any further, he paused a few seconds before touching his lips to to the soft of her throat and pulling away.
Blanche stared down in confusion, though it was Justice who spoke: “I promised I wouldn't hurt you, and I'll stand by that vow.”
For a moment, the girl said nothing, but then she nodded, as if accepting his words at last. “I’m sorry. I didn't mean to put pressure on you like that - it was wrong of me-”
“You needn’t apologise.” Justice’s hand was already over her hand, his fingers curling around hers. Slowly, he raised his arm and pressed the tip of her thumb to his lips.
“Are you hungry?” he asked softly. “I can try to find you some food if you’d like.”
“Thank you, but I had something to eat back at the inn.”
Justice nodded. His memories of the tavern seemed so far away, despite the fact that it had been little over an hour ago since their leaving. It seemed strange to think that Willow had been with them then - as had Carbuncle, for that matter. Where the fire vampire was now, though, was only left to be speculated upon. Had he gone to meet the others, perhaps? Justice didn’t know.
However, one thing was certain, and that was that he had been left without a guide. He was in unfamiliar territory, a place whose name he couldn't even recall on a map.
And it frightened him.
Justice closed his eyes and held Blanche’s hand against his chest, felt the gentle rhythm of her pulse against his own beating heart. Indeed, he had been abandoned, and through his own careless actions; yet there was something he was willing to hold onto, no matter what the cost.
He had found something to protect.
Next Chapter →
Chapter XXII
Agony
Justice turned around.
A figure stood in the clearing before him, cold and unmoving. For a moment, he wondered how he hadn’t heard him coming, but then he realised why.
“Carbuncle?”
The fire vampire made no attempt to move, instead staring down at the two with an unreadable expression upon his face.
Justice sensed a deep feeling of relief flooding him: in the chaos, he’d almost forgotten about Willow and the Guardian. However, when he glanced around, however, he was surprised to see that Carbuncle was alone.
“Where’s Willow? Is he okay?”
Carbuncle’s voice little more than a growl. “Jais Willow is dead.”
The words spread through Justice like an icy wind. “Dead? How-”
“Are you stupid?” snapped the fire vampire suddenly. “Do you know nothing of your own kind? One of the human men had a silver sword. They used it to remove his head.”
There was something about the bluntness of his tone that took Justice aback a little. “But surely that can’t…” He slipped out from underneath Blanche, who sat back on her legs, staring up at the two men with a look of shock.
“Is this a game?” Carbuncle’s voice trembled slightly as he spoke. “Are you playing with me? Willow is dead!” He gritted his teeth and turned his back on the two of them - Justice could hear his breaths shaking the air.
“Carbuncle…”
“No, don’t.” Sharply, the redhead spun around to face him again. “Do you not realise the gravity of the situation? Of this whole situation? You come crawling to us Guardians, asking that we help you find some sword that may or may not exist - and then you betray us!”
“Betray you?” At last, Justice felt his words returning to him. “Are you talking about what happened back at the inn? Do you think I meant for that to happen?”
“No, I don’t think you meant for it to happen; but then again, I don’t know what’s going on inside your head, do I?”
The black-haired man frowned. “What do you mean by that?”
“I think you know exactly what I mean,” Carbuncle hiss.“You never even told us your true motivations for recovering the sword. What is it? Do you want to become the next king?”
“You know that’s not true,” Justice growled - anger boiled down inside of him more with each word.
“Do I?” roared Carbuncle. “I don’t know anything about you! If it weren’t for your eyes, I would still doubt your legitimacy to the throne.” He took a step forward, so that his face was mere inches away from the other’s. “In fact, how do I know for sure? How do I know that you haven’t just been leading us on all this time?”
Justice opened his mouth to reply, but stopped just as the fire vampire’s hand flew upwards. He snatched it from the air, crying out when he realised that it was enveloped in flames - he might as well have been holding a white-hot bar.
“Stop it!”
The sudden voice surprised Justice, and he looked left to see Blanche throw herself at the redhead in an attempt to pull him away. A sharp blow to her face sent her crashing down to the ground again.
An expression of shock hung upon her features, her eyes wide behind her loose fringe. Slowly, she raised one quivering hand to the spot where she had been struck as a figure loomed over her.
“Know your place,” Carbuncle seethed. “I know not what this man sees in you, but you’re still just a servant girl to me.” Then turning to Justice, he added, “And you… You are not my king. Even if you somehow manage to find the sword, I shall not bow down to you.”
“Car-”
“You will never be Dreizehn!” The fire vampire was bordering the edge of hysteria now, a single finger flying up to jab sharply at the other’s collar. “You can try, but the king was kind, thoughtful… Everything that you’re not!” He paused for a moment, teeth gritted in rage.
And then he ran.
“No, stop!”
It was Blanche, calling out from her spot on the ground. Justice shot one sideways glance at her before leaping into a sprint after the redhead; yet no sooner had he caught up, Carbuncle spun around to face him.
“Get away from me!” he shrieked. At once, tides of flames tore forth from his wrists and twisted up to his hands, which he plunged into Justice’s chest - the man was sent tumbling back into the nearest tree. A supporting branch snapped beneath his weight, and before he could catch his balance, he was on the floor.
“Carbuncle.” The word was little above a strained whisper as Justice peered between the trees. The fire vampire’s scent lingered in the air like a faint perfume, but there was nothing else - no flames, no figure receding into the distance. No sound.
Carbuncle was gone.
*
“Here. There’s a small stream nearby, so water shouldn’t be a problem if we need it.”
Justice merely grunted in reply, his eyes fixed upon the fire before him. To his right, Blanche bent down and deposited a small pile of dry sticks, ready to feed the flames if needed. He was half-expecting her to walk off into the woods again, when her hand graced his shoulder, making him jump slightly.
“Your Majesty,” she said softly, “How are you feeling?”
Justice caught her concerned gaze for a moment, then turned back onto his front. “I’m fine, thank you.”
Of course, it was a lie: he felt empty, as though all emotion had been flushed from him. Carbuncle… How much truth had been carried in his words? No matter how much Justice tried to distract himself, his mind kept on returning to the exchange, rolling over it again and again until his mind was sick of it.
A small distance away stood the circle of empty hives, and beyond that was a small shed. When tried, the half-rotten lock had broken away easily, revealing a space conveniently large enough for the two to sleep in. Now, though, a fire was burning on the woodland floor, and both figures sat around it in silence.
Blanche expelled a small sigh from her lips. “Your Highness, I’m sure Carbuncle is fine. He’ll return later when he’s calmed down.”
Again, the man grunted and rolled onto his back to face the canopy. The pain from where he’d been stabbed by Gideon had begun to throb across his back, but it was barely enough to distract him from his thoughts.
“Blanche…” he began slowly. “What do you think of Wilderness?”
“Wilderness?” The girl appeared a little surprised as she looked down at him. “Well, I hold him in my highest respects, of course, as I do all the Guardians; yet if it were not for my master, I would probably be dead right now.”
Justice lifted an eyebrow. “Oh? How so?”
“It’s nothing much, really,” she said. “My parents separated when I was small, and I was left abandoned on the streets by the age of nine. I lived on doorsteps for a month or so before deciding to make the journey to the Castle of Earth. Luckily, Wilderness took me in, and I’ve been in servitude ever since.”
“And he treats you well?”
The corners of Blanche’s mouth lifted slightly. “He has a temper, but I owe everything that I am to him. The others at the castle are nice as well - you’ve already met Frazer, haven’t you?
“Frazer?” The name seemed familiar. “Oh, do you mean Whiteley?” Justice remembered the brief words he’d exchanged with the dark-haired man across the course of their travels, and couldn’t help but feel a smile pulling.
Blanche shot him a sideways glance. “What is it?”
There was no reply, so she smirked softly to herself and leaned over to place another small log on the fire. The flames licked at their figures, casting deep, warped shadows across the ferny ground and tree trunks.
“So, what about you, Your Majesty?” Carefully, Blanche sat back down and bent her knees so that the entirety of her weight was resting upon her arms. “What do you think of my master and the Guardians?”
Justice grimaced. Whilst part of him knew that the subject would inevitably turn to him, he had been hoping to avoid it. Still, there was no hiding from what had been plaguing him for a while now.
“I’m not entirely sure,” he said slowly. “I know each was close to my father, but I don’t want them to force themselves into treating me as their monarch by default.”
“Rafaga sees good things in you - I’ve heard the way he talks about you to the others. But then again, I know from Wilderness that he was close to the king, so perhaps he sees parts of him in you.”
Justice smiled at the thought, though he couldn’t help but feel weighed down by Carbuncle’s words that continued to cling to his mind like an unpleasant smell. You will never be Dreizehn... Did the other Guardians believe that as well? As the ones who had known the king, surely they would be the first to notice any similarities between father and son. What did he have to do to prove that it was not in his intentions to follow in Dreizehn’s direct footsteps?
“Hmm, perhaps.”
Again, there was a period of short silence. Justice allowed his eyes to travel around the clearing, scouring the trees, before resting upon the figure next to him. Blanche was still as she watched the fire, her head tilted in such a way that her eyes caught the flames like mirrors. Her cheek was still slightly red from where she’d been struck.
“How are you feeling now?” Justice asked. “I’m sorry for Carbuncle’s behaviour earlier.”
“There’s no need to apologise, Your Majesty - I was out of place.” She looked at the man, running over eyes up and down before they rested over his chest area. “What about you? Is your back healing well?”
“I’m not sure. It’s been fine for a while, but I-” He was cut off as Blanche unfurled from her position and moved so that she was crouched beside him.
“What are you doing?” Carefully, Justice propped himself up on his elbows, yet still the girl continued to inspect him. After several seconds, she shot him with a look of concern.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but I’m going to have to ask you to remove the top half of your clothing - it’s the only way for me to look at your bandages.”
The man raised an eyebrow, but obeyed nevertheless. Slowly, he reached down and began to unfasten the first buckle at his hip. It was quite impressive to see how the whole piece fit together, what with all its small details and ornaments, yet Justice couldn’t help but miss the simplicity of his own tunic as he fought his way through the various layers. Eventually, he was able to ease it up and over his head.
A small flush spread across Blanche’s cheeks, but she did her best to ignore it as she leaned over Justice and began to undo the bandages around his pale skin. “I hope you don’t deem me intrusive,” she said, “But I’ve always wondered what it must be like to be a vampire.”
“How so?”
“Well, your body, for example. Do you feel pain like humans?”
Justice grimaced. “Yes, I feel pain. Usually, it’s only brief, since my kind’s healing rate far excels that of humans; but then again, you have to consider that I am only a half-blood, so my capabilities fall short of those born pure. I can feel the cold, whereas for the Guardians, the fire is merely a comfort.”
As if to confirm what he’d just said, a blade of ice suddenly trickled down the man’s back, making him shiver. He looked down to see Blanche pulling away the final strip of white material, which she draped over her knees.
“Would you mind rolling over, Your Majesty?”
“Of course.”
The grass was damp against Justice’s stomach, sending more bolts of chill running down his spine. Long locks of raven hair fell over his arms as he rested his head against them, vaguely aware Blanche’s fingers gently brushing the tender area around his wound.
“How is it?” he mumbled.
“A lot better, actually,” she replied. “You must have opened it again when Carbuncle pushed you, but the bleeding has stopped, and there doesn’t seem to be any signs of infection. The bandages can probably be reused too.”
Well, that was one less burden for him to carry, Justice thought. Behind him, the girl inspected the wound one more time before leaning back onto the grass and sighing softly.
“What’s wrong?” The man could sense the tension in her her tone, as if she were holding something back.
Blanche was silent for several seconds. Then she took a deep breath and said, “Your Majesty, would you make me a vampire?”
The question shocked Justice, so much so that he had to roll back onto his front just to stare at her in disbelief. Her expression was unreadable, her eyes fixed upon her lap so as to avoid the other’s gaze.
“No,” he said finally.
“Why not?”
The man pursed his lips in defiance. “Because the idea is ridiculous. I’m not going to rob you of everything that makes you human.”
“Like what, Your Majesty?” said Blanche, leaning forward slightly. “Do you mean my having to drink blood?”
“I mean sunlight,” Justice snapped. “I’ve lived my life without knowing the true sensation of the sun’s rays on my skin, a life of having to shy away from the daylight; but to someone like you, who lives alongside that feeling, I can’t imagine anything more cruel.”
Once again, there was a period of silence which seemed to linger unpleasantly. Justice turned his attentions to the gentle thump of the girl’s heart beside him. From such a short distance, it was easy for him to distract himself by picking out each soft beat from the night, like the graceful rhythm of a swan’s wings in flight.
“Then take my blood.”
The man’s head snapped around. “What?”
“It’s the least I can do, if you won’t allow me to be changed.”
“I don’t know…” Despite the girl’s willingness, Justice was disgusted at the way his own heart leaped into frantic, excitable motion at the promise of blood. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Please.” Blanche’s tone was almost pleading now, her eyes wide as she gazed into the man’s, so much so that he found himself unable to look away.
A small sigh escaped his mouth. “Fine, then. If this is what you really want.”
Gradually, Justice raised his head. One hand slid behind Blanche’s neck and drew her towards him. However, instead of moving any further, he paused a few seconds before touching his lips to to the soft of her throat and pulling away.
Blanche stared down in confusion, though it was Justice who spoke: “I promised I wouldn't hurt you, and I'll stand by that vow.”
For a moment, the girl said nothing, but then she nodded, as if accepting his words at last. “I’m sorry. I didn't mean to put pressure on you like that - it was wrong of me-”
“You needn’t apologise.” Justice’s hand was already over her hand, his fingers curling around hers. Slowly, he raised his arm and pressed the tip of her thumb to his lips.
“Are you hungry?” he asked softly. “I can try to find you some food if you’d like.”
“Thank you, but I had something to eat back at the inn.”
Justice nodded. His memories of the tavern seemed so far away, despite the fact that it had been little over an hour ago since their leaving. It seemed strange to think that Willow had been with them then - as had Carbuncle, for that matter. Where the fire vampire was now, though, was only left to be speculated upon. Had he gone to meet the others, perhaps? Justice didn’t know.
However, one thing was certain, and that was that he had been left without a guide. He was in unfamiliar territory, a place whose name he couldn't even recall on a map.
And it frightened him.
Justice closed his eyes and held Blanche’s hand against his chest, felt the gentle rhythm of her pulse against his own beating heart. Indeed, he had been abandoned, and through his own careless actions; yet there was something he was willing to hold onto, no matter what the cost.
He had found something to protect.
Next Chapter →