"How Long Until The Crown Breaks?"

9. Dawn wanted to be alone this night, it was tough having to put on a show for the Arcillian family and their son she is not attracted too, well, the man whose face she hasn't fully seen yet, only seeing his thick brown lips, which she doesn't mind but....She needs more.

So far, he seems really shy, maybe he is scared too? I mean, from his perspective, this is a lot for him to handle, the pressure men have is far more advanced than that of a women physcially, so this, this must be taking a toll on him, especially considering who Dawn is.....

A warrior who fought with the nine others to keep the world at peace from the raiding demons, literally.

That is a lot for one man to handle, at this point, Dawn couldn't help but feel for him too.

.....

Smoking a special Nokinian weed plant in her room, drinking from her bottle of wine that she stashed away with the dozen others that she took from the kitchen, Dawn leaned forward in her purple cotton chair, staring out to the large view in the window of the mountains and the glistening towns below.

Letting out the yellow smoke from her mouth that this plant causes due to it's heat, she takes out her smoke and with her other hand she drinks from her wine.

Feeling tired, and even pre menstural, Dawn lets out a small burb from gulping the wine down to were some didn't make it into her mouth, then she sighs as she puts the wine down for a second to grab a small cloth and wipe her mouth before grabbing the bottle again and leaning back unto her comfy chair.

Then a knock is heard at her door.

"Dawn?" The very recognizible voice calls to her.

"Yes!"

"Can I come in?"

"Sure."

With the doors opening to her room, Dusk walks in, instantly looking around from the hall back into her room as he closes the doors.

"Where are your maiden's?"

"I gave them the night off." Dawn says casually while taking another swig of her wine, then going to the smoke right after.

Dusk frowns a little, "that's concerning..."

"What?" Dawn questions, annoyed.

"The drinking and smoking, you look no different than those ragged men I see out in the village streets, it is no good look from a princess."

He sits down on the chair beside her.

Letting out an orange cloud this time, she replies "that's why I do it in secret" Before giving Dusk another look.

Dusk looks over to her, still looking very concerned about her, he leans over and says to her "Dawn, you can talk to me about what is going on with you, I know you and mother were talking about something and it made you upset."

"You saw that?" She looks to him, in wonder of how he saw them.

"Only for a bit as I looked over to see where you two went."

Sighing and looking back to the window, still drinking her almost empty wine bottle, Dusk tries to look at his sadden sister, but as she keeps looking away from him, Dusk stands up and walks before her, then kneeling down before her, he says softly, "you can tell me anything, even if it's a secret, I'll keep it for you."

Dawn stops drinking as she stares at him, thinking whether or not she should tell him about the letter that Morlagon gave her about Takashi. 

Then she makes her choice.

"Dusk...Right before we left Lesothia, Morlagon gave me a letter, and it was about Takashi. In the letter, he told me about this plan that Takashi has, and that he wants to...Marry me."

She turns away from him, taking another swig of her wine until she says again, more so outright this time.

"Takashi wants to marry me."

Dusk leans back a little, shocked at hearing this, but then remembering the 'relationship' they had, he turns to her saying "He is still in love with you?"

"I guess he is."

"What about you...How do you feel about this?"

Not making eye contact, Dawn takes a deep breath, laying back unto her chair as she lets out "I don't know how I feel about him."

"And that is what's bothering you the most, isn't it?"

Dawn lays her eyes towards her brother as he speaks.

"Dawn, you don't want to marry Youin Nebin because you are thinking about what Takashi said?"

"Yes Dusk...But I can't clear any of it up unless I see him again, but I can't, I'm caught up in this." She lets this out with hand gestures before sighing once again, a tired sigh of one who has let alcohol take hold of them.

"I'm not even fit body wise at the moment, I'm still not ready..."

As she says this, Dusk grabs her wine bottle and her joint and throws it away.

Dawn sits up, mad that Dusk took that from her, "hey, I was still using that Dusk??"

"You shouldn't Dawn, you know that is terrible for your health. At the end of the day, they are going to marry you off to Youin Nebin, and in this state you are in, you must clear yourself."

"I'm trying to Dusk!" She snaps at him.

"Dawn, I get it."

"No you don't, you don't get it?"

Looking more distraught as her fluffy hair looks uneven, her eyes watery and slightly red, her lips more puffy from the excessive drinking. Dusk can't help but look worried himself, worried to see Dawn in this state, the powerful warrior she still is, looking this distraught.

"Dawn, please get some help, keep praying, stay in His word, stay strong, don't let fear overcome you this way, don't let demons bring you down, don't let them, you know how to physically fight them, now is the time to know mentally as well."

"Dusk, I tried all of that."

"Well, keep it up! Keep it up so that you don't fall into all your problems even more, stay strong Dawn, like you already are, just keep up, The Creator will make a way for you with this marriage, it's all for reason after all, I believe you will be fine, and we will all check up on you every six months like the law says."

Dawn snickers, "yeah, just to see if I get pregnant or not."

"That's not true Dawn."

"It is, that's why it was said of our past lawmakers."

Flinging her arm to the side in the most tired way, Dusk comes over to her and lifts her up and puts her on her bed, backing up from her and saying "Go to sleep, okay, you need to rest."

Barely keeping her eyes open, she turns to her right side and says in a muffled tone from her face being against her golden pillow, "I can't, I drank too much, I have to sit up..."

Then sitting up, Dusk slightly rolls his eyes and says, "why didn't you mention that before I picked you up?"

"I didn't tell you to pick me up Dusk." She shakes her head, trying to prove she was right.

He rolls his eyes for real this time and then says "Let's go for a walk for real this time, you should let up then."

Dawn nods her head, agreeing with him.

And fixing herself up, she then heads out with her brother to take a walk.

.....

Walking down the palace garden behind the palace, with two of Dusk's guards to accompany them, the two of them walk together, side by side, admiring the view of the garden's waterfall's as always.

Then making it to the well and drinking some of the water, Dawn asks Dusk after "So um...How are you and Jema doing?"

Wiping her bare face as she asks him, Dawn can see in Dusk eyes that he quite hesitates to say "We're doing good, right now she is just being more pesty than usual I would say, maybe due to the pregnancy."

"More than usual eh...?" Dawn narrows her eyes playfully, "that part doesn't sound too good."

"It's fine Dawn, I love Jemastuit, if you are wondering."

Dawn lets out a 'hm' as she drinks more water from the well.

"Dawn, we still need that to wash our clothes too."

"Yeah, I know I know..." She says, her mouth still full of water as she swallows right after.

Turning back to her brother, she asks him again "How are you feeling about all of this?"

"I'm just waiting for my son to be born."

He stops by the well.

Dawn smiles, "I'm excited to see my nephew, but I don't no if I'll be here to see him." She loses her smile once thinking about the marriage again.

Dusk says to her, "we'll have him with us when we visit you."

"Right..."

"We will." Dusk says firmly, trying to reassure her.

"I know Dusk...Anyways, how else well are you doing?" Dawn stumbles a bit after saying this, with the guards helping her in her place.

"Dawn, do you need to sit again? You're still quite drunk, I can assure you." Dusk puts his hand to his chin, "it's really taking a toll on you."

"I have always been drinking like this Dusk...I have been since we got back."

"Well, you need help for it."

"Eh...What's about to happen to me won't help at all, if anything, it might get worse." Sounding like how she looks, sad and trodden, Dawn makes her way past the very green bushes and kneels down beside them, as if too tired to walk further.

Dusk helps Dawn back up along with the guards as she says to them tiredly "I'm okay, I just got caught up for the moment."

Dusk stands right before, stopping her from moving forward. 

Not saying anything at the moment as silence takes over, all is heard is the pond and mini waterfall rushing down behind them.

As the guards stand beside them, one of them finally speak up. Dawn says to Dusk, "I just wish thing were different."

"I know you do, but I'm praying for you" He grabs her hands to where they are balled up fists, "praying that it will all be well for you, all your life."

Dawn only slightly smiles before saying "I hear your prayers Dusk, but I don't think they will work until I hear them from myself first."

"Are you not praying??" Concerned, Dusk says this, stepping back from her to where he isn't so much right in front of her, with him moving by the chairs to the side of him.

"Dusk, that's not what I mean't, I'm waiting for confirmation from my prayers first, that's all. Keep praying, it will help lift me up in my prayers, and I will do the same for everyone else as well."

She smiles again, still in a tiredly manner, but Dusk approves of this one at least as he says "Getting a little sober already, aren't you?"

"I guess."

Then looking over to the waterfall, Dawn suddenly loses her smile as she steps more towards the pond to look over to something....Or someone.

"Dawn, what do you see?" Dusk questions her, then he walks over to her right after. 

With the guards looking as well, Dawn clears her throat and says "It's Youin Nebin."

Dusk over to the waterfall to see Youin Nebin standing there.

Then noticing them, he awknowledges Dawn by saying, "princess..."

He walks towards them, bowing to them as he says after "I have come for a late night walk, you two have done the same?"

Dusk and Dawn look to each other as Dusk says, "yes, I was having trouble sleeping and asked for some company."

Knowing that Dusk was clearing her name of her drunkardness, Dawn smiles to him before looking back to her soon to be betrothed.

"Youin Nebin, would you care to walk with me? I would love to get to know you better."

She turns to Dusk, "do you mind if I walk with Youin Nebin alone? I'm sure you should be quite tired now, you should rest Dusk, especially for Jema's sake."

Thinking about it, Dusk sighs a little, "right, I should get going, but I'll have one of my guards stay with you two, especially since Dawn is quite tired..."

Dusk nods to her as she nods back, understanding his concern.

"That's fine." Dawn says after, as Youin Nebin agrees.

"We won't be too long." Youin Nebin reassures.

Dusk nods his head and slowly turns around before making his leave normally with his one other guard.

.....

Walking together quietly by the waterfall, Youin Nebin sits down with Dawn, with the both of them still not saying anything else to each other.

"So...Do you like this decision?" Dawn asks in a soft tone, trying to make sure she sounds coherent and not crazed by the drinking and weed smoking.

Youin Nebin nods his head, "I fairly enjoy it, but..." He starts to say something, but with giving Dawn a certain look, he decides not to say it.

"Hey, what is it? You can tell me, you know, since we are to be married and all."

Youin Nebin takes his time to answer her, instead, he faces Dawn, the closest he has been to her so far, and looks her in the eyes.

For Dawn, it causes her to stare back into his eyes, instead of staying close to him though, her natural instinct made her back away from him.

But him noticing this, he says to her "I can tell that this scares you, but don't worry about our future together or not, I have my own plan for this, and I will make sure it goes the way it needs to, even if I still have to figure it out."

Dawn looks back over to him, "you're planning to apprehend our marriage?"

He looks over to her, saying deeply in his monotone voice, "it could be that...But for us Arcillians, I can be shot down with spears if I don't follow the law of my father and mother. With each of our rulers, after earning their name by fighting the clans that rule Arcillia, whoever kills the most in battle takes over the entire country, right now, my parents have been in rule for five years, and they still want to make the most out of it."

Dawn looks out towards the waterfall, thinking once again about this marriage.

"Ending our betrothal will cost you your life then?" 

Looking even more worried than before, Dawn turns to him, "don't take that risk, I will marry you, it's law."

Reaching to place her hand on his to try and comfort him, he turns to her with a face of uncertainty, not really knowing how to feel about it.

"Princess..."

"Just call me by my name, Nebin."

Saying this in all seriousness, Youin Nebin says to Dawn, "I see in your eyes...Dawn...That you don't want to marry me. Personally I wouldn't mind you being my wife, you are a warrior, a treasure to all humanity, and I don't mind loving you and learning about you to form a relationship together."

He keeps going on as he holds her hand, "but I see in your eyes, I smell wine and weed on you, I see your distress through your smile. You don't want to do this, and you deserve more than to be thrown into a marriage that doesn't involve us being in love."

"And you still are planning to do something to stop our marriage?" 

"Yes" He stands up, with more passion in his voice now, "I will find a way to end this forced marriage between us, I will do it for you and...Me."

He smiles and then proceeds to speak before Dawn can say anything else, "I will make sure that we will not marry Dawn, it isn't good for us to marry just for the sake of it, we need to marry people we love, I know I have someone...Do you?"

Shocked now, Dawn instantly thought of Takashi for a second when thinking of someone who loves her romantically, "Nebin I-"

"It's okay, Dawn, I'll have my plan set. You need to get some rest like your brother said. We will be doing a lot family meetings tomorrow."

He then kisses her hand and proceeds to walk away right past the waterfall.

Dawn just sits there, thinking on all that he said.

Then she puts her head down and sighs, "okay, I'm ready to go to sleep now..." 

Dawn says this to her guard and the both of them walk back to the palace, so that Dawn could finally rest for the night.