Today was Princess Nayrorei Rhaya’s birthday.
Her Knight really wanted to do everything in his power to grant her joy on this day, but it turned out that in Kitsune culture, they didn’t celebrate it as cheerfully as the other Zodiac Houses. In Zhafiran’s house, House Lunarian, they would celebrate the entire week incoming towards one’s birthday. It was a time of gathering and vibrant festivals, where even strangers would throw a party for the birthday person.
But here? It was far, far, different. If anything, it became harder on the girl as her father made sure to nail it into her brain that she needed to show improvement today or she might as well throw her body towards her Knight at the end of the day.
Not exactly something a father should say to his own daughter on her birthday…
Zhafiran realised that Nayrorei became more distant ever since they entered her birth month. Albeit, she still remained with her Knight daily as usual, but even when alone, she was back to being mute and often kept her distance away from him. Even Ither wasn’t as present as he used to be, and Zhafiran concluded in assumption that maybe Ither was trying to distance himself away from his sibling to deny the fate his little sibling would have to face.
Nayrorei honored Zhafiran’s secret and kept it to herself, but it wasn’t like anyone wanted to talk to Nayrorei anyway. They were used to her being mute, and probably gave up trying to talk to her entirely.
The girl’s hair splayed across her bedding as she laid face up on the soft sheets. Zhafiran remained on the couch as always, lost in thoughts of the things he possibly did to upset his Seer to make her distance herself from him. He was so lost in thoughts that he didn’t even realise the girl hopping off from her bed and firmly placed herself on his lap.
“Princess—?”
Her arms wrapped around his neck as she leaned in for a hug, and it was then that her Knight realised how much she grew. When he first met her, she barely reached over his knee at height, but nowadays, he finds her just under his waist. Kitsunes were known to be small while they’re young, when they came close to the age of one hundred, they grew pretty quickly.
Today, she became one hundred. It was weird to him, because she resembled that of a child way younger than that. He found it odd that they were only three thousand years apart, which was a shorter gap between the many other couples he’s known of.
The Knight could feel how lost she felt, faint sobs escaped her lips and caressed his ear with her small breaths.
“Princess… I may have agreed to provide an heir with you, but I would never force it on you.” One of his hands crawled up her spine to rub her back, while the other remained down at the small of her back to swirl small floral gestures onto her skin in hopes to comfort her. “I’m proud of you, you have grown a lot since I first met you, but like I said before: we just need more time… Time we can’t be given…”
A loud hiccup erupted from her chest, her sobs became louder as she squeezed herself closer to Zhafiran. Her hand entangled itself into his hair, her tail wrapped around his legs. If he moved an inch, it would be like losing the one pillar that kept her held up, she would lose her will to live if he disappeared from her.
She loved him. She didn’t know why, she didn’t know how, it just sort of happened.
At first, it was because she felt safe in Lunistria’s arms. She felt safe and always enjoyed the gentleness of her care. She never realised it, but she felt things for Lunistria simply because she had fun with her. She had fun interacting with her, albeit Lunistria was always the one doing the talking. Her voice, her presence… everything was exactly what Nayrorei wanted.
She craved for someone to care about her, she wanted someone who could see her more than just a Seer, and Lunistria was that person. Upon finding more about Lunistria, no… Zhafiran, she couldn’t help but love him more.
Before she knew Lunistria was actually Zhafiran; training, where Lunistria would show off what she could do to anger Ither, was something Nayrorei looked to be beautiful and graceful. The way Lunistria made it all seem so easy, she inspired her to become stronger. After she discovered that it was indeed the prince of all Eternals, who made everything seem so easy, she found herself viewing him with higher respect.
He was cool, he was awesome, he retained his gracefulness and made it into something better that she couldn’t describe. She’s more than emotionally attached to him by now, she relies on him way too much for her tiny heart to bear.
Fear and doubt replace the soft hands of Zhafiran’s as negative thoughts intrude her mind. She feels so much for him, but does he feel the same for her? She had given him no reason for him to adore her, he was here to protect her, and he enjoyed protecting people as he had said before.
She knew exactly what her father wanted to happen between the two by the end of the day, she wanted to seek solace in his arms but instead, she found herself weakly holding her own broken heart.
If she was to let him go, she would surely break.
She wept quietly in his arms while Zhafiran remained silent, stroking her hair in attempts to calm her down. Though his memories of being an Eternal were still foggy in his mind, he closed his eyes and squeezed Nayrorei to hold her in place as he readjusted their positioning. His back now leaned completely to the back of the couch, his legs barricaded around her.
He could feel her heart weep gently thumps against his chest, something Crystalians didn’t possess. He found it comforting as it reminded him of when he had a heart of himself when he was an Eternal.
Now that heart is replaced with a Crystal that contained his very soul.
“♪ Happy birthday to you~ ♪” He softly sang against her skin. She’s in pain, he knows she is. He wants to help her, but he’s afraid of breaking what they have already.
“♪ Happy birthday to you~ ♪” He repeated, feeling her shiver as his breaths snuck under her clothes and tickled against her sensitive skin. He pulled back, soft hands unlocked her arms from his neck as he bumped his forehead against hers, their noses touched as she kept her eyes shut tight.
“♪ Happy birthday, little Nayrorei~ ♪”
Why did his voice sound so nice when he called her name?
“♪ Happy birthday to you~ ♪”
He handles her like thin glass, so gentle, so kind. She keeps her eyes closed, afraid of showing how she truly felt towards him if she opened them. Her face was flushed, she knew that her attempts at hiding her feelings away might have already failed the moment he saw her face like this. Her heart pounded against her chest relentlessly, it’s out of her control, and she’s sure he can hear it thrashing against her ribs as the silence of the room grew.
Little did she know, he was fighting a war of control of his own emotions, even if that war was short lived as he closed his eyes and leaned down to gently press his lips against hers. He knew he shouldn’t have done it, she’s a princess and it wasn’t like she had a choice when picking a partner.
He was sure he ruined what they had together, and pulled away with a deep blush on his face.
‘Nice going, idiot, you stole a princess’ first kiss.’ He thought, unable to fully comprehend the consequences at that moment. His mind was plagued with swirling thoughts of the feel of her lips, how soft they were, even if he only did it gently, he felt enough for his brain to continue to think about it. He creaked an eye open to possibly see her disappointed with him, scared of him, probably disgusted with him.
He would be, if he was her, at least.
Though, to his surprise, she cried silently. Her face was possibly far deeper in the shades of red than his own blush, her ears shot upwards as she attempted to cover her mouth with her small hands.
“Nayrorei?” She’s going to go crazy if he keeps saying her full name.
If her heart wasn’t already going out of commission from simply being close to him, it definitely did now. An earthquake was erupting inside her chest, but all her mind could ponder about was that kiss. Her eyes bleed back to her coral tint as she scanned for any regret within him, only to find worry and a growing sense of heartbreak. Her tears wetted her cheeks and hands, finally revealing her lips again as she reached out to his chest.
Her hands glided against his clothed chest with such gentle care, he could barely feel it. “C-Can I see Zhafiranhæir…?” She asked quietly, immediately shying away from his gaze as she hid herself underneath his chin, missing his eyes glow temporarily as he flicked gravity to lock her door before obliging her request, albeit, she said his name wrong by mixing his surname and first name together. He didn't want to ruin the mood by bringing it up though.
His chest became hard, unlike Lunistria’s formed softness, and his arms became bulkier. His physique was impeccable to her, feeling the growth of his lumped throat. Her long ears narrowed away from his face as she realised they were still perked upwards and probably daggered his face unexpectedly.
“Why is my little Seer hiding away from me?” He teased, though she could easily see that he was worried about the kiss he gave her. She saw his worry, he’s scared he did something wrong to hurt her, but it wasn’t like that.
She’s overwhelmed by feelings… she doesn’t know how much she could take before bursting into a million flushed little pieces.
If she was going to be this cute, fuck it.
What little restraint Zhafiran had was now broken as he gently placed his lips against Nayrorei’s head, scooped her into his arms and carried her towards the bed, finding her more adorable when she yelped from surprise at his sudden actions. When his legs met the edge of the bed, he leaned over to gently place Nayrorei on her back against the soft sheets. She looked up to him with wide eyes and an even brighter flush across her face, Zhafiran could also guess her ears would be flushed too if they weren’t tucked behind her head.
“There she is~”
Nayrorei was used to Lunistria saying sweet things to her, teasing her, joking with her, even when severely close to her. But with Zhafiran looming above her with a small smirk plastered on his face? She could pass out if she wasn’t trying to hide away from his gaze. His long, blue, hair curled on his shoulder and dripped down around her, his ocean blue eyes looked at her with such love, love she could see his aura leak like sweet honey.
Love she craved him to show her.
She was too shy, her body curled inwards, her thin tail wrapped around her waist as her hands shot up to cover her entire face again, hearing Zhafiran teasingly whine.
“Awh… did I do something to embarrass my little Seer?”
Yes, you did! She internally screamed, now realising her voice seemed to stop working again. She heard the bed creak as he leaned his face down to her, leaving a gentle kiss on her exposed cheek before traveling more onto the very hands that hid her adorable face from him.
He’s seen every side of Nayrorei in the time he’s gotten to know her, but this side of her was new. He was assuming she loved him due to her reactions thus far, but if she didn’t and simply didn’t want to say no to him because of what he’s done for her, he would back off. He hoped it wasn’t the latter, he doesn’t know how much it would hurt if she was to deny him, yet he will never do anything to force the princess into something she doesn’t feel comfortable doing.
Love is a complicated thing, and he’s never experienced it before now, she was his first. Yet, to Nayrorei’s mind, she replayed the fact that he was a prince. Surely there were others he’s had, she definitely couldn’t be the first.
His lips were gentle against her knuckles, pressing deeper whenever he kissed the knuckles closest to the area of her lips. Her tears had stopped, and after moments of attempts and teasing from Zhafiran, so did his kisses. Within those moments, it finally dawned to him that he was going too far for her, and pulled away from her, regaining his control over his emotions once more.
He huffed, his breaths tickled her hands as she finally drew them away from her face, only to see Zhafiran gone from her vision. Her tail unwrapped from her waist as she frantically looked for him, a soft hand reassures her of his presence, not too far from her at the edge of the bed.
What did she do?
“Sorry, princess, I guess I went a bit too far—” He was cut off when she finally gained the courage to throw herself to him in a hug. His back was faced towards her, smudging her face against his muscled back, her small arms curled around his torso as her tail wrapped around him. His hair looped around her, tickling her nose, combing into hers.
She’s an idiot!
“Princess—”
“Please! D-Don’t stop!” She weeped, she didn’t mean to hurt his feelings, it was her stupid feelings prevented her from uncovering herself. She wanted this, she truly did, she wanted to be close to him, but this was her first time and she’s unable to control herself. He’s her first, and he’s a famous prince, she’s the complete opposite to him, why would he want to kiss her?
She’s nothing, nobody, while he’s everything.
His hands met hers as he unhooked her from him, turning around to her with adoration in his eyes. His aura leaked of concern and tinges of sadness; he’s truly scared to hurt her and she sees he’s the purest thing out of the both of them.
“I don’t want to make you do things just because of me—!”
Before he finished his sentence, she had already lunged herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck once more and nuzzling closer towards him. He nearly loses his balance off the bed, but swiftly catches himself, leaning into the hug with her in his arms. Her ears were close to his face, so he adjusted his head position to plant a gentle kiss on it, causing it to flutter ever so slightly upon contact.
“I love you, Nayrorei…” He chimed in a quiet whisper, breaths caressed her ear, making her shiver into a melted mess in his arms. She’s unfamiliar with Common, she understood it more than she was able to pronounce the correct words for it. She knew what he was saying to her, and his aura could practically tell the story in itself.
“I love you too…” She whispered, embarrassed by her slip ups in pronunciations. His chest vibrated against hers when he chuckled, feeling another soft kiss against her head. “How would I say it in Kitiri?” He asked, feeling her tense up as his breaths continued to comb the hairs on her long ears.
“Tir ambru teuyu…” It means so much more in Kitiri than in common, because unknowing to her beloved Knight she’s hooked to, it quite literally meant that she would want to spend the rest of her life with him.
Not that she would have anything against that.