Disclaimer/s: Art is from CLAMP’s Code Geass. All credits for this art goes to each respective owners.
A/N: I know I haven’t updated this story for a looooong time, but rest assured that this story is not lost. I’m just slow, like a turtle, lol.
Arcadian Royal Castle…
It was a case of misunderstanding.
While Resha was on her way to find Azrael, she accidentally bumped into someone that landed her in a rather precarious situation – a stranger landed on top of her due to the collision. While she and her servants knew of what transpired and dismissed it as an accident, to some people, it looked as if the princess was assaulted.
And then, there was that one person who would see it as a rather “poor” attempt on assassination.
Azrael’s voice boomed across the corridor, his rage reaching what seemed to be an all time high. Before she could even react to what was happening, Azrael quickly snatched the man by his collar and angrily asked who he was and what he wanted with the princess. Resha’s servants helped her up on her feet and made sure that she was not hurt in any way.
“Sir Vulgate,” she called out but has fallen on deaf ears. The knight was enraged to the point that could not hear anything aside from the other man’s words. However, she could not let it continue for she knew that she was also partly responsible for what happened due to her carelessness.
Azrael had been shaking down the perpetrator that had knocked Resha down, so involved in his aggressiveness that he completely missed Resha calling out to him. “You know how much trouble you’re gonna get in, you bastard?” Azrael threatened, pulling the man even closer so that they were practically inches apart from bumping into one another’s nose. The knight’s eyes glowed with fury. “You’re goin’ to wish you were some petty thief in the dungeons after this. So, say goodbye to your a-“
Before Azrael could say anymore, Resha’s voice boomed into his ears with authority. “Azrael!” she called in a stern voice. Azrael did not release the young man but did turn his head towards the princess, looking at her surprised. For a small thing, the young woman could carry a loud, stern voice if she wanted. He supposed that was necessary for the future queen of Arcadia.
“Stop this at once,” she continued, now with an even authoritative voice. As soon as she had the knight’s attention, she continued, “What happened was an accident. It was not entirely this gentleman’s fault. I was also at fault for not looking.” Then she turned to the other man. “I apologize for what happened, good sir,” she spoke, as she bowed her head down apologetically. Azrael glared at him but sighed and released him specially when other knights came to the scene and quickly apprehended the latter.
“This is all a misunderstanding!” was what Resha wanted to say. However, before she can say anything, her servants interrupted, telling her that she need not concern herself with such matters. The coronation was almost about to start and she had no time for trivial things. Resha glanced back at the man as he was taken by the knights to the dungeons.
Within all the commotion and the man taken by the knights, Azrael shouted out. “Hurry up, we’ve got a coronation to do!” He barked, his status as the royal guard now given him some authority over lesser knights. Whether they even listened would be another story. With his track record, Azrael did not necessarily garner the respect out of some of his fellow knights.
Resha turned to face Azrael – the person she was looking for and the reason why she got into that situation in the first place. “You know, you shouldn’t have done that. He didn’t do anything wrong.”
Azrael let out another sigh as he turned towards her. “He sure got off easily being thrown in the dungeon!” The knight then puffed, his anger once again coming back as he remembered what had just happened. “If it wasn’t for you, he would be borrowing a dog’s face after I’m done with him!” he exclaimed as he landed a fist on his left palm.
Resha then let out a chuckle. “You still have that temper,” she commented, giggling. “Please make sure to release that man and give him my apologies.”
Azrael let out a grunt in response.
Thinking back to all those days she spent at the magic academy with him when they were kids, Azrael was already that temperamental. She remembered the time when they were first introduced; he was always angry and looked as if he was always itching for a fight that it scared her. It was a good thing that Yuhan was with her that time or else, Azrael may have asked her for a fight as well.
And that was when it came back to her. Yuhan. He was the reason why she was looking for Azrael, hoping that he would have the answers she wanted to hear. She could not wait any longer; she was dying to know the answer. Even if she were to be disappointed by his answers, she would still take it. After all, it would not hurt to try.
“Is… ‘he’ here… with you…?”
Her question was a simple one, but it weighed a lot more to her than what it seemed. Sure, she was delighted to see Azrael again after a long time, but she would be even more delighted if only she could see Yuhan again. Oh, how she wished that, that would be the case!
But then again, Resha also knew to expect disappointment to follow more often. After all, the person she had been waiting for wouldn’t even stay put in one place for a long time. He would always be on the go, satisfying his hunger for knowledge and his unquenchable thirst in unraveling mysteries. The last she had heard of him was from a few years back and she came to know that he left for another journey. When she was a kid, she would try to visit the academy of magic with hopes of even just taking a glimpse of him, though her plan never came to fruition. As a princess, she had her duties — mostly studying and training — that prevented her from leaving the royal castle.
Azrael momentarily raised an eyebrow, but it did not take a good second longer for him to realize who she was talking about. At that time too, Azrael had reached into his pocket, her gift ready to be delivered directly in person. She was asking about Yuhan though. Seeing her face and the way her eyes lit up with hope, he hesitated as he simply stood there. Strange twitches in his chest consumed his thoughts for the moment, but he willed it away. Especially as the sound of a bellowing, laughing noble could be heard to the side. Investigating the noise for the moment, it was one of Eau’s nobles, Lord Alabaster. Azrael have seen the man here and there at a couple of royal events that earned the presence of outside royalty. That was enough though to bring Azrael to reality as he faced Resha once more, who seemed still awaiting his answer.
“You mean, Yuhan?” Azrael clarified, even though he did not need to. His hand left his pocket as he rubbed the back of his neck, looking off to the side. He could lie. Then she would not look for him. Then she would be… probably be disappointed. But then again, he did promise Yuhan that he would get him to see her.
Resha tensed up as she mentally prepared herself for yet another possible disappointment. There was a small part of her though that wished and hoped that she would get the answer she had long been waiting for. ‘Please… Please tell me that he’s here…’ she reiterated on the back of her head. Closing her eyes, she could hear her heart beat louder as she tune everything out around her and focused only on Azrael’s response.
Azrael gave a mental sigh before crossing his arms. “Y-Yeah, that idiot grew too. Now he’s taller than me, haha.” Very subtly, he shifted to grinning his usual and forcing a laugh, though she could never tell. Azrael waved it off for the moment. “He’s here waiting for y– for us. So once this is all done with, we can go see him.” Azrael finished, offering a thumbs up.
“He’s…. here?” Resha asked as if in confirmation, her eyes opened wide in disbelief. Could it really be? Was Yuhan at the same location as her? Did she really heard Azrael correctly? Without hearing his response, Resha soon found herself hurrying away from them and towards the great hall, even though she was unsure of where to find him.
Azrael was left alone as he watched the princess took off with that hopeful look on her face. And when she left, that twitch in his chest never left.
§[] §[] §[] §[] §[] §[] §[] §[] §[] §[] §
It only took the young princess a minute or two to reach the great hall, much to the surprise of the knights stationed there to guard. Resha immediately walked over to the balustrade, her eyes scanning downstairs for any signs of Yuhan. She slowly walked down one of the grand staircases, her hand sliding across the balustrade as she continued to look for him. One of the knights asked her what she was looking for, while the other informed her that she was expected at the ceremony soon and her servants soon caught up with her. When her hand almost neared the end of the balustrade, Resha came to a halt as she saw a familiar figure waiting downstairs.
“Y – you…” she stuttered, her expression was that of utter disbelief. The man stood patiently downstairs with his hand resting on the satchel that he wore around his body, oblivious to the fact that she was there. He was not alone though, for he was with Sol Academy’s Headmaster. The fact that the Headmaster was filled with delight at the young man before him was enough confirmation for Resha that the man was none other than…
“Yuhan…?” she called out with a soft voice.
Despite all the noise that they could hear outside, from the boisterous voice of a certain noble and people merrily chatting, her voice cut through all that no matter how soft it was, Yuhan heard it. The voice was all too familiar to him and he would recognize it no matter what.
Headmaster Triskelle glanced at the young soon to be queen and gave her a respectful bow before smiling at her. “I will see you later,” he said after turning to his son. The older Triskelle gave his son a pat on his shoulder before taking his leave, giving Yuhan and Resha some time alone.
The sorcerer slowly turned towards the princess.
Standing on the staircase was none other than Princess Resha herself, soon to be queen of Arcadia. She wore a pure white colored and elegant gown that complimented her already stunning beauty even more. It was actually a sight to behold and he was one of the few who were lucky to have seen the young princess before her coronation. He could not even keep his eyes off her!
Finally mustering all his courage, Yuhan let out a smile as he mentally searched for words to tell her. Should he compliment her and tell her how beautiful she was? Nah, maybe someone might think that he was trying to make a move on her. Should he address her as royalty? That would be the wisest thing to do.
“It is good to see you again, your highness.”
At that moment, Resha’s face immediately lit up and a smile soon curved up her lips. Their eyes locked into each other’s gaze and Resha could not contain the happiness that seemed to have welled up inside her. She could not believe that he was there, standing just mere steps away from her. She wanted to say something, anything. Heck, she even wanted to yell out at him. However, she was rendered speechless. Awashed with emotions, she stood there as she looked at him. She had been waiting for that moment ever since she left Sol Academy thirteen years ago.
Yuhan then took a few steps up the grand staircase, stopping only at the fore staircase next to the clock surrounded by an intricate oak. He could see the look of disbelief on her face and her inquisitive eyes as if asking if he was real. He could not believe it either. To think that he could get to see her now… well, he had Azrael to thank for that later.
“A – Ah,” he uttered, stammering as he quickly knelt on one knee and bowed his head down. Resha proceeded to walk down and closer to Yuhan, stopping merely two steps away from him. “I apologize for taking your time, your highness. But I assure you, I won’t take more than a minute.”
He then quickly took out the gift he had for her out of his satchel, reaching it out for her to take. “I wanted to give you this present, to congratulate you on your ascension to the throne, princess.”
“Thank you,” she responded as she took the present off his hands. Though he wanted to see how she would react to his present, Yuhan forego the idea, as he kept his head down. The princess accepted his gift and he was able to see her, even if just for a few seconds. That should be enough. That was all he could ever ask for anyway.
“This is lovely…!” he heard her next. This caused Yuhan to glance up to the princess to his surprise. The wristlet had already found its way to her hand and the young Arcadian princess looked so overjoyed.
‘Ah, so she still loves flowers,’ he thought to himself as he let out a smile to himself. “I’m glad that you liked it, your highness.”
“Yuhan, how long do you plan to address me as such?”
Yuhan let out a slight chuckle. He still remembers her telling him to drop the formalities before when they were kids. She hated being referred to as a princess specially by him and Azrael, emphasizing that they were friends and did not need such formalities. “Resha,” he called her, letting out a chuckle as he remembered the fond memory. “You still haven’t changed. Even after all these years, you’re still as bossy as ever,” he teased.
“Am I now? That is only because you have been the stubborn one.”
Yuhan let out a scoff. Him, stubborn? Maybe so. But that was only because he enjoyed teasing her. “My apologies for the long absence but…” he then slowly reached for her hand and imprinted a gentle kiss. “I am back, Resha.”
Resha felt her cheeks flare up and a slight hue of red became visible on her cheeks. “You came…” she whispered as she tried to contain her happiness. She had always waited for him to come and now that he kept his promise especially on her coronation day, the princess could not be any happier.
“Welcome back, Yuhan.”
Unbeknownst to the princess and the warlock, a pair of eyes was watching them from afar, its silhouette hidden from plain sight.
Ayana's corner! 