Angelique stared at Julian's resting eyes. His long eyelashes and strong jawline could be seen in the moonlight, and flashes of lightning far away. She could feel him grabbing her waist, shivering slightly from the cold.
‘This is so cliche.’ Angelique lifted his arm from her waist, but he held on tight. “Let me go!” she whispered. Her finger poked his face, nudging his head bit by bit farther away. ‘He’s out cold. I just have to accept my fate.’ she groaned. With one hand she lifted the blankets and tucked herself in beside him. ‘At least this is rather comfortable!’
Angelique took her hand and began running her fingers through his hair. Its black color seemed to have bits of blue intertwined, and as the light of the sky shone on each strand she could see it almost glow. ‘He’s like a pretty cat. He has claws, he's fussy and greedy. But he has such soft hair!’ she giggled to herself, stroking his head fondly. ‘I’m so dead when he wakes up.’
…
Thomson and Richard stood outside the Alishe’s bedroom door. Their duty was to always be on guard and defend the Alishe during the night shift. Thomson had been trained since birth to be a knight and a guardian of the royal name and was assigned to dutifully serve the Alishe. Richard was new there, only recently assigned.
The morning had come and the Alishe still wasn't out of his bedroom. Richard turned to Thomson, his hands nervously twisting. “It's past his waking hour, isn't it? What are we supposed to do?” he whispered, leaning towards Thomson. “I don't know, I think we just stay on guard. This has never happened before!”
Richard peered at the door behind him. “He may be sick, should we check on him?” Thomson shook his head. “His butler is here, look. He’ll walk in with us.”
“When did you call his butler?” Richard gasped, watching the elderly man in a pressed suit pace down the hallway. “I didn't, he comes at this time regularly to clean the Alishe’s room.” Richard gasped. “So the Alishe gets dressed by himself every morning?!”
Thomson nodded and moved aside for the butler. “Mr. Bentter, the Alishe has not left his room this morning he may be sick.”
The butler tapped his chin. “Yes, He was looking very pale the other day. Let us see,” he said, opening the door.
The room was dark. The windows had their curtains drawn, and the light from the door illuminated the floating dust in the air. “Is he dead!?” Richard whispered, following the butler carefully. The butler first walked to the window and opened the curtains, golden light shining into the room. In the corner, a heap of sheets was seen in the bed. The butler walked over, the two guards carefully watching from behind.
“Good morning, Alishe.” the butler said, lifting the blankets from the bed. Mr. Bentter almost had a heart attack at that moment. The guards saw him clutch his heart and stutter. “Hmm? What's happening?” a small and feminine voice said from beneath the sheets.
Richard turned to Thomson with wide eyes. “When did a woman come in here!? Was that a woman!” The butler ripped off the sheets, revealing Angelique rubbing her eyes, wrapped in Julian’s arms. Julian was fast asleep and did not seem to be awake at all. “You! It's you! Why are you here!” the butler shouted, his hands flailing around his head.
Angelique stared at him lazily, trying to turn around in Julian's taught grasp. She hadn't realized she had fallen asleep, but now she had been caught in the same bed as Julian. “Oh! It's not what you think!” she laughed, nervously, desperately trying to get him to let go of her.
The butler signaled for the guards to come over. “Get her out of this bed this instant!” The two guards ran over, putting down their weapons and grabbing Angelique’s arms. “Wait! Don't do that!” she shouting, her arms shooting back from their hands and to Julian's arms. “I’m trapped, if you pull you’ll tear me in half!” The butler turned red with anger. “Guards, don't believe her! Grab her!” The guards once again pried her fingers from Juliands arms and tried to pull her out.
Angelique was shouting, the guards were shouting, the butler was nervously pulling out his hair. Through it all, Julian did not let go, nor did he wake up. “What is wrong with him!? Is he dead!” Angelique shouted, struggling.
Julian, while this was happening, was asleep. He hadn't had a sleep this amazing since he was a child. He recalled this, since he never actually slept at night, only stared at the ceiling until daylight came.
Slowly, he was waking up. In his dream, he was holding a sun, with a comfortable warmth emanating from it. Slowly, that sun was being pulled away from him. That was how he woke up. He didn't wake up angry, simply confused. He was holding something soft, and thin. There was distant shouting in his ear. He blinked a bit and looked around.
He saw the butler, on the verge of tears with hair in his hand. In Julian’s arms was Angelique, being dragged away by guards. Angelique looking furious, trying to explain that he wouldn't let go. “What's happening?” he whispered groggily. The butler burst into tears and dropped to his knees. “I’ve failed you, master! Please punish me! This woman snuck into your bed at night and refuses to leave!”
Julian looked at Angelique, who was still stuck in his arms. Julian yawned. "Leave her, I’ll be staying in my room for today.” he said, waving his hand, still wrapped around Angelique. The guards all stared at each other, and then quickly left, with the butler still kneeling.
“You can leave as well, Mr. Bentter,” he said. Angelique gasped. “Wait! No! Take me with you!” she shouted, reaching towards the butler as he left and shut the door.
She turned slowly to Julian, eyes wide and lips quivering. “Please don't kill me! I was ready before but now I’m not! I’m sorry!” Julian yanked her back down onto the bed and buried his face in her neck. ‘Warm.’ he thought, rubbing his head into her hair.
Angelique blinked and tried to push him away. “I’ll leave, don't worry!” she chuckled, tears in her eyes. ‘I don't wanna die!’
Julian mumbled from within her neck. “Don't move. I’ll kill you if you leave.” Angelique bit her lip and stayed stiffly in his embrace. “O-okay then.”
Julian fell asleep within a minute, clutching her waist and laying on top of her, his head pressed against her neck. Angelique lifted her free arm and stroked his hair. ‘I’m stuck here, for the entire day…’ The thought sunk in deeply. ‘I need to use the restroom…..and eat….and eat more. I wonder if Minnielle is okay.’ Angelique waited for 20 minutes, checking if he was asleep. Gently, lifting her hand, she pushed him slightly away. She slid out through his arms, and stood, her legs buckling from the hours she spent stiffly laying down. “Ow ow ow!” she whispered, tripping and stumbling to the window.
A large metal sword swung in front of her, cutting a strand of her hair. “Don't move, or I’ll take your head.”
“You sleep with a sword!” She shouted. Angelique turned with a smile, sweat beading down her head. Julian was there, half up from his bed, his shirt disheveled and hair matted. Angelique swallowed her words and held her hands up. “I’m sorry! I need to use your bathroom!” She said, shaking with fear. Julian looked at her up and down. “Why should I let you?” he said, the sword still outstretched. “I just need to use the bathroom! Like a normal person!” She pleaded. Julian withdrew his sword. “Use my bathroom, it's over there.” He pointed to the corner. “If you think of escaping I will find you and I will kill you, and your precious maid, Minnielle.” Angelique ran to the bathroom, crying inside. ‘What a monster, he’s gonna murder Minnielle!’
…
News traveled fast around the estate. “Have you heard, the Alishen was caught in the loving embrace of the Alishe! He said he would keep her in his room all day!” The maids gushed, running around the halls. Since the Alishe and Alishen were not requiring any servants, they had all gathered in the Alishen’s hallway, where Minnielle listened.
“The knight posted out there says that the Alishe wouldn't even let her go! What a difference!” they all squealed. “But, I thought he hated his wife!?” All the maids nodded furiously. “Yes, what is going on!?”
A small maid leaned in beside them. “Actually, I heard the Alishen is very kind, ever since her fall in the lake. Maybe he’s had a change of heart!” The maids all gasped and giggled. “That's too strange!? How weird!” “When she comes out from his room we should test her!? I really want to know!” The girls all nodded and moved away to the window. Minnielle was nervously biting her nails in the corner.
She had woken up and found that the Alishen was missing. She had heard the rumor just minutes after and was both relieved and terrified. Now, she was stuck, waiting for her lady to return.
…
The afternoon light shines through the window, bright and orange. Julian was the first to wake up. He felt like he was on a cloud. His usually cold body was warm and a soft smell surrounded him. He opened his eyes to see soft peach lips and the small face of Angelique. She was softly breathing, clearly asleep.
Julian lifted himself to sit up and stared around his room. Ordinarily, he would take medicine to help with his insomnia. But it didn't work anymore. He would take the medicine and still be tormented with no sleep. He would freeze in the night, and his eyes never closed. It had been two weeks since he last slept, and he actually got terribly ill. Now, he had slept for nearly a full day. His hand went down to Angelique’s soft face, and he gently brushed her hair. ‘What is wrong with me?’ he thought, rubbing his head. His headache was gone, in fact, all his pain was gone. The memories of the previous night seemed to appear in his head. She had carried him to the fireplace, fed him, cared for him. His eyes once again saw her frail wrist.
He carefully lifted it in his hand. The first thing he noticed was how small her hand was, fitting perfectly in his palm. Then, he saw the messy bandages and blackened bruise. He carefully unraveled the bandages to reveal to the nasty wound. His heart hurt slightly. ‘It must have hurt a great deal.’ he thought, slowly getting up and walking to his door. He called for a doctor, and a man with a first aid kit and large glasses ran in.
“Are you sick, My Alishe?” he bowed.
“No, fix her wrist,” he said, pointing to Angelique who was calmly sleeping.
The doctor sat beside her and lifted her wrist with a wince. “This is not so good.” He said, taking out his medicine. “What do you mean?” Julian asked, walking forward. The doctor pointed at the blackened area, in the shape of a hand. “It wasn't treated in time, she may have difficulty using it in the future. Just look here, it's clear she used the hand afterward regardless of the wound." The doctor shook his head sadly. “It must have been very painful for her. What kind of monster would do this.” Julian felt another pang of guilt within his heart and quickly shook it away. “What can you do?”
The doctor got up and stood in front of Julian. “She needs two weeks to rest, and she cannot move that arm at all. I’ll put it in a binding, and give it a medical lotion. Hopefully, that will work, but if she must move it, I cannot ensure she won't be without permanent damage.” Julian nodded and sat down on the bed. ‘She’s an idiot who can't even take care of herself.’ he thought, his brow furrowed. ‘Though….it was mostly my fault…’ Julian turned back to see her calmly resting, and let out a deep breath.
...
The doctor left with Julian, and Julian headed to his office. ‘First things first, I must find out why I can sleep when she’s around.’ he thought, taking a seat at his desk.
He summoned his butler inside. "Mr. Bentter, you have served two generations of my family, the previous Alishe of this home, and me." Mr. Bentter nodded.
"You know me well, you watched me since I was 12, and my insomnia. After my medicine stopped working, I hadn't slept for weeks. So, why did I fall asleep with the Alishen in my arms?" Mr. Bentter shook his head. "It may be connected to your illness the other day, you didn't pass out, but you were in very much pain. She may have just been there at the right time to convince you that she help your sleep."
Julian shook his head. "I doubt it, she does not know about my insomnia."
Mr. Bentter bowed his head. "I regret to say this, but how about an experiment." he offered. "Yes? What do you have in mind?" Mr. Bettner shook his head slowly. "You can sleep with her for a week, and if you aren't able to fall asleep during that time, we know that it was simply a coincidence."
Julian looked up at his butler. "That's a brilliant idea, Mr.Bentter. I'll do it, instruct the maids to have the Alishen prepared for tonight, and every night for this week," he said, standing up. "I'll have my dinner now."
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