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Céline waited solemnly upon the Somniel, sipping a freshly brewed pot of tea. Usually she would be in bed by this time, but her worries got the better of her on this night. Alear had taken an elite, yet small army with them to Elusia as there was an exceptional outbreak of Corrupted spotted along the outskirts of one of the towns. Alear felt the need to heed the call regardless of it being somewhat late in the day and brought along those who volunteered to accompany them on this venture.
Of course Céline prayed for the safety of everyone who went, but there was one of them in particular whose face she yearned to see return to her most of all. Alcryst was her kindred spirit after all. She could hardly recount every time the two spoke in the late hours of the night about their similar nightmares. His presence in those times filled her with relief and warmth, something she wished to have even after this war’s ending.
Her feelings toward the prince certainly blossomed with much more intimacy during their talks and tea times. Despite his episodes of self deprecation, he was a pillar of strength for her. She planned to reveal the true depths of her feelings for Alcryst when the war ended. Doing so in the midst of war hardly seemed appropriate to her since everyone’s minds were boggled with ensuring the survival of Elyos, but now with his presence in her life being threatened by the war, she contemplated the idea of her never being able to share her feelings with Alcryst.
Such an idea felt much more blasphemous than any declaration of love could ever be. But the outcome now laid outside of her control. Until word of the elite army’s return made it back to her, she doubted she would be able to find sound sleep. It was terrible enough seeing Alfred being ripped away from her in the nightmares, she was absolutely disgusted at the thought of Alcryst joining him.
So there she waited, drinking her tea.
—
Luckily it was only a short while later when good news reached her in the form of a shout.
“The Divine Dragon and the others are back everyone!” yelled Boucheron from a distance. Céline wasted no time in following the booming voice. She needed to confirm for herself that Alcryst was okay.
A small crowd gathered around the troops. Apparently a vicious snowstorm had encapsulated the battlefield they had fought on. Such weather not only made the fight against the Corrupted immensely more strenuous, but the journey back to the Somniel as well. Alear would have wanted to send a messenger back to report their situation, but the risk of being buried in the snow was too high for Alear to be comfortable with picking someone to make the attempt. Sending someone would essentially be sentencing them to death. Alear hated being worshiped as a god, nevermind actually playing the part.
The troops were shivering beyond belief, snow and frost coating them graciously. Jean, Framme, and Pandreo immediately went to work by healing the wounded. Many of them got decently injured in the battle, but Lumera herself must have been watching over them as no one was unfortunate enough to have lost their lives.
However something was immediately amiss to Céline. Alcryst was nowhere to be found in this main huddle of people. Instead, she spotted him in the corner of her eye. He was seemingly headed toward the living quarters, but no one had checked up on him. Céline immediately rushed over to do so herself.
“Prince Alcryst!” she called out to him, causing him to turn in surprise.
“P-P-Princess C-Céline?” Once turned around, he was met with Céline embracing him in a hug. He was freezing to the touch and his shivers shook himself and her violently. Regardless, Céline held her hold on him as she asked him questions.
“What are you doing, Prince Alcryst?! You need to receive medical attention right away!” She tore her face from his chest to look him in the eyes. Terrified concern graced her face as Alcryst himself looked gray. No doubt due to the cold and exhaustion he felt.
“D-D-Don’t worry ab-bout me. I d-didn’t rec-ceive any b-bad injuries…” Céline had doubts of that being the truth, but now was not the time to challenge the notion.
“Prince Alcryst, you’re in a terrible state regardless! What made you walk over her all alone before receiving aid?”
“I’m j-just c-cold is all. It would be a t-terrible shame if anyone focused on m-me when there are others i-in a m-much worse state th-than me.” Céline was appalled at the mere suggestion of such a thing. She felt like crying, but she needed to warm Alcryst up.
“You’re coming with me. I won’t be hearing any back talk on the matter.” She released him from the hug and grabbed him by the hand, leading him to his quarters.
“P-Princess Céline?!” She had an iron focus. Nothing would stop her from tending to Alcryst on this night. Once they reached his quarters, she ignited the fireplace and then turned to face Alcryst once more.
“Quickly now, we need to get those frozen clothes off of you.”
“B-But Princess Céline, I can’t j-just remove my clothes in front of y-”
“Prince Alcryst, now is not the time to worry about such things. You can barely move those freezing limbs of yours and if we don’t get that armor off of you soon, you could lose said limbs. I truly don’t mind, Prince Alcryst.” While she sounded stern in tone, her eyes only showed evidence of such serene kindness and concern. Despite his apprehensions, he decided to trust her.
“Okay th-then…” Céline immediately started removing the armored plates and undoing his outfit. Céline dreamed of removing his clothing at some point, but not under this context. A much more romantic occasion would have been infinitely preferable, but there’s nothing to be done about that now.
Once Alcryst remained in only his undergarments, Céline realized that he had been truthful that no significant injuries had been afflicted on him. Nevertheless, her business was not done yet, so she turned for the door. “I will be back momentarily with some necessary items. In the meantime, change your undergarments and put on the warmest layers of clothing you have.”
The door shut abruptly after her. All Alcryst could find himself able to do was listen to her instructions. He hated burdening Céline like this and he was appalled that he stood mostly bare before her, but her adamant nature about caring for him softened that guilt. In truth, his heart started to beat much faster when she had hugged him and even more so when she assisted him with the removal of his armor. Only she could create this visceral reaction within him. But the idea of someone as beautiful and elegant as her having any deep affiliations with someone like him? Laughable is the word that comes to mind.
—
Once Céline reentered the room, she saw that Alcryst had just finished completing all of her instructions. She had gone to retrieve her teapot and cup from where she had left it earlier. She was very relieved that the tea itself was still warm.
“Prince Alcryst, please wrap yourself in your covers on the bed while I prepare you a cup of tea.”
“Sure thing, Princess C-Céline…” He got into bed and pulled the blankets over himself while sitting against the backboard. He was certainly starting to feel better and surely with the tea, he would improve heaps and bounds. He didn’t know how he could ever repay Céline for her kindness.
“Here you go, Prince Alcryst. Your tea.” She stood at the side of his bed and handed him the cup, intentionally failing to tell him that she had been drinking from the same one earlier. If he knew that, then he would certainly protest over sharing an indirect kiss out of consideration for her feelings on the matter, but Céline needed to get the tea into his system. Prolonging that endeavor just to get a fresh teacup wasn’t worth the time investment. That, and she really liked the idea of an indirect kiss with him.
“T-Thank you, P-Princess Céline…” Unfortunately, his shivering was still rather vicious and it caused him to spill some of the tea onto his blanket. “Oh no, I’m s-sorry for wasting some of your precious t-tea Princess Céline…” He was upset that he couldn’t manage this much after all she had done for him on this night.
“Do not worry about that, Prince Alcryst. Here, allow me to assist you.” She held her hand out to be given the teacup and Alcryst obliged, assuming she would hold the cup to his mouth or something. Her following actions surprised him to no end. She got onto his bed and sat on his lap. She took a sip from the cup and then brought her mouth to his. Even after the tea was passed to him, Céline held the kiss, using her free hand to cup his face.
Shock was only the first thing that Alcryst felt in this moment. Exhilaration, happiness, and longing were some of the others as he could no longer refrain from reciprocating. He brought one of his hands to rest on her back, not wanting this sensation to end.
Eventually, Céline ended the kiss, this time her eyes were full of love and affection. “Woah.” Alcryst was still dazed from what just transpired.
“Woah indeed. I had no idea you would be a good kisser, Prince Alcryst.” she said as she tucked a tuft of hair behind her ear.
“Why would you…with me…huh.” Alcryst felt conflicted. On one hand, the person he loved just gave him a kiss. On the other hand, he did not see this coming at all.
“I’m sure it is evident now, but I care for you, Prince Alcryst. Deeply. So please don’t be apprehensive about receiving aid after battle. I don’t know what I would do with myself if anything ever happened to you.” She set the teacup down on his nightstand before embracing Alcryst in a hug once more. “I want you to stay by my side, Alcryst. Even after the war.”
“Céline…”
“Does that sound agreeable to you?” She looked at him with such unconditional love that only one answer was even considerable.
“I…I’d love to, Céline.” He thought for a moment. Then he decided to rephrase. “I love you, Céline.”
“I love you too, Alcryst.” The two engaged in another kiss. The racing of their hearts could be heard as they held onto each other. Once this ended, Céline finished serving the tea to Alcryst in the more traditional way. Even after the shivering stopped, Céline continued to hold the teacup to his mouth to ensure his recovery was as swift as possible.
“How are you feeling, Alcryst?” She asked, setting the teacup down on the nightstand again.
“Much better…thanks to you.” He caressed her face and she couldn’t help but lean into his touch.
“Hm, it seems that some parts of you are still partially cold.” She then removed herself from his lap and had him adjust his position so that he now laid down on his pillows for a proper night's rest. She then laid down on top of him, her head resting on his chest. “I guess I should stay here for the night. My hair makes for an amazing extra blanket after all.”
All he could do in response was wrap his arms around her before falling into a deep sleep. It was without a doubt that neither of them have ever felt warmer than in this moment.