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He just nodded and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, without actually touching her, to usher her towards the inn. "Come on," he said softly, sheepherding her into the inn with a gentle nudge as he started to walk. He knew she'd want her space, so he was already queueing up a request for two rooms, or at least one room with two beds. He was so sure there'd be room that he didn't even consider what might happen if they didn't get what they requested.
She leaned into him for a brief second, not much, but the best she could offer by way of general 'PDA' or normal physical affection. Then she straightened again, not moving away from his arm, as she smiled up at him. She wished he could actually wrap his arm around her shoulders, but until then, just the fact that he was willing to hover instead was amazing. Amazing. That seemed to be a word she used to describe him often.
"Ah, hello hello!" A cheerful voice greeted them as they entered the inn, the young woman behind the counter in the lobby-like area smiling brightly at them. "Welcome! Last minute check in, or last minute booking tonight?"
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He dropped his arm and discreetly rid his fingers of any rings that people would be able to identify him, or at least be cause for suspicion. He tucked the pieces of jewelry into his back pocket while offering the woman a dashing smile that made his eyes crinkle—though, one ring mysteriously found itself on his ring finger. "Hello. My sweetheart and I are headed on our honeymoon, and we found ourselves getting a little distracted during our travels. Would you happen to have a room with two beds available?" He offered his signature smirk and added with a wink, "We'd like to save the fun stuff for the honeymoon," as an explanation as to why he'd want two beds.
Lily blinked at Rhydar's words, her cheeks immediately reddening as she muffled a surprised cough with her hand. The idea-wasn't all that bad, if she was honest, but she was trying very hard not to be. Honeymoon. Fun stuff. That was the part that got her right there, and she wasn't sure which part of her to go with. The part that wanted to hide at the insinuation, or the part that-Fates, she wasn't even sure what those emotions were. A mess in general, it seemed.
"Oh, that sounds fun. The honeymoon may just be a bit better than the wedding itself." The woman said, winking at them playfully. Then her smile turned just a bit apologetic, as she raised a shoulder. "Sadly, though, we only have one room available, with a single bed. We're all booked out for the upcoming berry festival this weekend."
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"Ah, that's a shame," Rhydar said a bit dejectedly, but he hooked his fingers around Lily's wrist and offered a light squeeze of apology. "Well, I suppose that will have to do, and it's not your fault. How much?" His kind smile returned, though he not-so-discreetly shot Lily a quick smirk that had a lot of empty suggestions. He and Lily might be the only ones to know that the suggestion in his eyes and smirk was fake, but it was a show for the innkeeper and anyone else that might be around them. He and Lily were, after all, just married.
Lily bit her lip, her eyes flickering up to Rhydar as she smiled slightly to show it was alright. You can sleep on the floor, give him the bed. That would work. They didn't have to share the bed, if she couldn't manage that. Couldn't manage just laying next to him. Bitter thoughts, thoughts she was trying to ignore for her own sake.
"If you're sure you're fine with that, then the room pricing is usually about sixty dollars per night, around festival times." The woman turned around, pulling the last keyring off the wall of hooks behind her. "But because it's so late, I'll lower to fifty for the happy couple."
((In case it isn't obvious, I don't know how money works. But y'know, figuring inflation…I guessed.))
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((hotel rooms are usually in the hundreds, so you're good. It is around medieval times-ish))
Rhydar squeezed Lily's wrist one last time in acknowledgment as he smiled at the innkeeper. "You're too kind." He let go of Lily and dug around for some money, then handed it off to the innkeeper. "This should do?" His tone was friendly and questioning, like that of an unsure commoner. He knew for a fact that he had handed her fifty, but arguing with her or insisting he had gotten the amount right would just cause a scene that neither of them needed at the moment.
Share a bed, he mused mentally. I'll just pick a side and give her most of the room. I don't move much during the night—at least I think I don't. He didn't know how she felt about the arrangement, be he knew that he was tired and ready to crash the moment his head hit a pillow. Prince he might be, but a thief always found comfort in any place he could catch a few Zs.
"That's perfect. Here you go, and let me know if you need anything while you're here." She handed over the keyring to Rhydar with a smile, waggling her eyebrows at Lily, which only served to turn the poor girl a deeper shade of red.
A few minutes later, Lily was closing the door to the room behind them, before turning to take a look around the room. The bed wasn't too small, easing some of the uneasiness in her gut that stemmed from there not being any sofas or chaises she could have used as a bed. "A-honeymoon? Really?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at Rhydar, her cheeks still pink.
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Rhydar held his hands up in surrender the moment she turned her gaze onto him. "I was working off the fly, darling. Can't have exactly suggested we were siblings," he said, raising a brow right back at her. He didn't give her the chance to respond before he lowered his hands and took a step towards the attached bathroom. "I'll be in there for a while, so make yourself comfortable while I do that." He offered a small and soft smile, one he only reserved for Lily, before stepping back then into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.
Lily shook her head, managing a small laugh at that. His smile helped, calming the flurry of emotions that she couldn't pick apart, and at the same time, adding a few more. At least she understood those ones. Looking around some more, she stifled a yawn with her fist, the fingers of her other hand trailing lightly along the frame of a painting of mountains on the wall. I wonder what mountains are like up close. She mused to herself, tilting her head.
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It took him a bit, but Rhydar came out of the bathroom with his shirt slung over his arm and his face and body devoid of jewelry—save for one ring on his pinky, which never came off. He yawned and stretched his arms over his head. "Don't mind the holes in my face," he mumbled after his yawn, rubbing a hand over his face and heading over to some spot to put his shirt and shoes (he was barefoot as well).
When the door to the bathroom opened, lily glanced over, blinking at the sight of Rhydar. It wasn’t Rhydar himself that was startling. It was the lack of jewelry he was wearing, managing to distract her from the fact that he was shirtless. For now at least. “Wha-you-“ She shook her head, blinking a few more times. “You look so different without all the piercings.” She finally managed, tilting her head at him and still looking slightly confused.
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He paused after throwing the shirt and shoes in the corner, blinking over at Lily. "Hm? Oh, yeah, I took them out for tonight." He reevaluated her reaction, and a hidden smirk threatened to show itself as he walked over to her and leaned against the all next to her, arms crossed over his chest. "Am I really that different?" he asked with a hint of amusement.
"I guess I just got used to the metal." She said, turning to stay facing him as he walked over. And there was the reaction to the shirtlessness, despite her pretending she hadn't just turned bright red. "It's uh, different, like I said." She glanced away, chewing on her bottom lip and shrugging a shoulder.
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His lip quirked up in a half-smirk, and he pressed a light kiss to the underside of her jaw, lips just barely grazing over her neck. "It's just for a night, I promise," he whispered cheekily in her ear, then pulled away. He backed up until his legs hit the footboard of the bed, and he leaned on that as he said to Lily, "Bathroom's available if you would like to freshen up before bed, or whatever you ladies do." He waved his hand towards the bathroom lazily, other hand smothering another yawn.
She ducked her head to hide the worsening blush, slipping into the bathroom and shutting the door gently behind her. Setting to work undoing her hair, after taking out the flower and setting it on the counter, she tried not to think too much about sleeping in the same bed as Rhydar. Sadly, that meant her traitorous thoughts turned elsewhere. Turned to wondering, despite herself, what it would take for him to actually kiss her neck. Nope, no. Not thinking about that either.
A few minutes later, she had cleared her head enough, and finished doing what she could to get ready for bed. She didn't have anything more comfortable to sleep in, so the same close she was wearing would have to work. "Is there a lantern of some sort in here?" Lily asked as she left the bathroom, hopping on one foot for a moment as she pulled off her left boot, tossing the other on the floor by the bathroom door.
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Rhydar had settled into the bed already, and he made a small noise in the back of his throat as he reached over to turn on the lamp that was on his side. "Not at all," he said seriously, looking at Lily in the dim glow of the lamplight. His green eyes reflected the lamplight as they lazily flicked over Lily's body.
His head was nested in his arms once again, mouth covered by his arm. He had rolled back onto his stomach after turning on the lamp for Lily, and his hair was already a complete mess despite not even doing much to mess it up. He was close to the edge of the bed, leaving Lily the majority of the bed to herself.
Lily released a small sigh, a breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding, as she crossed the room. He could turn it off once she was asleep, and she would be fine, but trying to fall asleep in the dark…she couldn't do it. The dark hid things she didn't want to think about, things that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't outrun.
She shook her head, letting the light dispel her thoughts as she crawled under the covers, careful to make sure she was only under one blanket. She curled up tightly, her head just barely on the pillow, the rest of her tucked on the edge of the bed. "Seems like I'm finding myself sleeping in a lot of new places lately." She commented quietly, her voice almost a whisper.
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Rhydar shifted slightly so he was more comfortable, his arms sprawled out in front of him and hugging the pillow; his head was turned so he could look at Lily and make sure she was okay. He was quiet for some time before responding with equal softness. "Is that a bad thing?" To him, being in the same place over and over again, even when sleeping, got too boring or old. He needed something new every once in a while to make things interesting and less monotonous.
He didn't turn off the light, figuring she had requested it for a reason and relatively unbothered by it. He and his siblings seemed to have the ability to sleep wherever and whenever—Cinthia being the exception, but she was the same way when she could sleep.
Lily thought over her answer quietly for a moment, before speaking again. Her back was to him, tense, but not as tense as she could be. "I guess not. Just…unexpected, is all." Sleeping in the same tiny room, on the same wooden floor with nothing but a threadbare blanket, every night for eight years, kind of made sense as the cause of that. "To be fair, most things that have happened lately have been unexpected." Rhydar in general was one of those. A pleasant unexpectedness, but unexpected nonetheless. A better surprise, you mean.
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"Hmm," he hummed, taking a few seconds to study her back before closing his eyes and relaxing into the mattress. The blanket was pulled up and over his back, so his tattoo was hidden from Lily still. She hadn't asked about it, so he assumed that she hadn't noticed it. I feel bad, but that's probably for the best. Four years did little to make him miss his wings any less, and it would be difficult for him to explain to her the meaning behind such a strange tattoo, especially the bloody compass—the blood being the only color in the entire thing.
She curled up a bit tighter after a moment, letting out a small yawn that she attempted to cover with her hand. She was more tired than she let on, which was usually the case, but something about Rhydar made it harder to hide that. Her breathing slowed a bit, shoulders relaxing along with it as sleep grasped at the edges of her brain, despite her attempts to at least stay awake long enough for Rhydar to fall asleep. "Goodnight, Rhydar." She whispered softly, fighting to keep her eyes open. Way more tired than she had thought.
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"Goodnight, Lily darling," Rhydar whispered, voice just slightly muffled by the pillow. After his final goodnight, he buried his face into the pillow and hugged it closer. His breathing evened out as well, and it wouldn't be long before he fell asleep. Having Lily next to him didn't affect him quite as much as he thought it would, but something inside of him was jumping for joy at just having her near him while he drifted off into the land of dreams. Something about her presence calmed him, and it didn't take much time before he was just on the edge of consciousness.
TIME HOPPERINO
"You did good to day, sweetheart." The voice came from the corner of the room, where the shadows where darkest, as soon as she closed the door behind her. "But you got one complaint. What have I told you about making noise?" Never make any, unless it's requested, or a noise of pleasure. That was the rule. She knew better than to say that out loud though, or she would be hit for talking back. That was why she didn't show the bite marks her client had left, either. Talking back was one of the worst things she could do.
The floorboards were hard against her back as she hit them, biting her tongue to keep from crying out. There were fingers digging into her hips and hot breath on her ear, a voice that haunted her dreams whispering in her ear about teaching her a lesson, and Elaine's voice bouncing around her mind, the words 'go limp, go to your happy place' playing over and over. But she couldn't. It had been too long, her happy place didn't exist, not in her mind. Her beloved farm, the berry fields she had spent so much time in and the treehouse she spent summer nights in with a book and a sleeping roll, all so faded from her memory that she could barely remember what they looked like. So she was all-too there as the sound of her dress ripping reached her ears, as the breath moved to her lips, choking off her breathing as the hands crept further and further, burning to the touch-
Lily jolted upright with a sob, pressing a fist to her mouth as the other hand gripped the blanket covering her legs tight enough for her knuckles to turn white. You're not there. He's not here. He'll never hurt you again. He'll never hurt you again. She repeated that over and over like a mantra, her eyes flickering around the now-dark room. Looking for him anyway. He always liked the shadows.
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The wind. It stung his face, whistled in his ears, dove under and over the raven black wings that cut through the air like razors. The muscles on his bare back went taut and flexed with each flap of the giant limbs, straining to keep him afloat. It took lots of dedication and training to get strong enough to fly. He loved it all, always finding an excuse to taste the sky and touch the clouds.
But today was different. The clouds were dark with ashes and smoke. The air had the tang of blood and the screams of the dying. It fought back against his goal, switching directions like a haywire compass. It was trying to warn him, but he wouldn't listen. This needed to be done. He didn't see the chains until it was too late.
His own screams joined with those ringing in his ears as the barbed metal dug into his skin, threatening to tear off his wings right off his back. He thrashed and fought to stay in the sky, but something came at him, triggering his instinct to drop down. Closer and closer, the ground came rushing towards him. He'd hit before he could stop at this rate, and he knew—he knew— that the action would tear them off, but it was still pure instinct to flare his wings to stop his fall. . .
Rhydar jolted awake at hearing rustling and quiet sobs, his back flexing as if he had those extra limbs to flare in alarm. His eyes darted over to Lily, curled up and clearly in distress. He disregarded everything he had seen in that memory as he rolled over to her side, going right back onto his stomach, and just offering her his presence as he hesitantly reached out, fingers just stopping a hair's breadth from her.
It took Lily a moment to register that Rhydar was moving, tensing out of habit until he stilled. The fear was still fresh in her mind, the darkness surrounding her and pushing, closer and closer to her like hands, grabbing at her hips and waist and thighs-
She wasn't sure when she had begun to move, but when her thoughts caught up to her, she was scooting closer to Rhydar, closing the distance he had left between them. Maybe that was what she had been missing. The nightmares had always left her hollow and terrified, scared of every noise and shadow movement, but she had never had someone who's presence comforted her there after them. Healing the after effects. After a split second of hesitation, she laid back down, this time turned towards Rhydar somewhat. And her head resting on his back. The shaking eased, slowly disappearing completely with the comfort his presence brought her. She would apologize in the morning. For waking him up, and for worrying him, if she had read the movement right. But for now, she was just glad he was here.
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Rhydar tensed slightly when he felt her head find its way onto his back. He hadn't expected her to move closer to him, let alone use him as a pillow. That wasn't to say he was complaining, but it was just unexpected and he was unprepared.
Instead of saying anything—he didn't dare shatter the silence—he sought out her wrist and hooked two fingers around it, holding her as best as he could out of comfort. It was the most he could offer, besides his presence, and he wanted to make sure she was okay. The memory he had just woken up from wasn't anything new, and he was long past that loss. Now…now it was about making sure Lily's past got burned and buried, and her future began to look like blooming flowers and gleaming strawberries.
Rhydar's fingers finding Lily's wrist eased the worry that had appeared when he'd tensed, and she let out a small breath, curling just a bit close to him. He was warm, too, chasing off the chills that still lingered from her dream. A thank you was in order too. She wasn't sure how he managed to do it without saying anything, but the fear and residual feeling of hands on her skin faded the more time passed just laying there.
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Rhydar didn't move, but he welcomed Lily's presence as she curled against him just a bit. His eyes closed once again, though he knew he wouldn't fall back asleep until he was sure she was sleeping soundly. He didn't know what had caused her to get so distressed, but he was determined to keep whatever it was away from her, as if his closeness to her alone would be enough to chase away whatever plagued her at night. At that thought, his fingers moved so he was silently offering to hold her hand, as he knew she liked doing that.
Lily's eyes were drifting shut again just as Rhydar's fingers moved, the same way he had before when offering his hand to hold. She weaved her fingers through his without a second thought. Giving his hand a squeeze was the closest thing to a thank you she could manage, without breaking the quiet peace that had become the perfect sanctuary. Like her demons couldn't reach her now that she had Rhydar's comfort. Safe.
