lคץ ๓є l๏ฬ

[assassinrue]

Cassius smiled softly. "He's a good man. Although perhaps he sees the world too optimistically for my taste. He will always be a good friend but Luca is a hard man to beat."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"How do you an Luca know each other?" Averyl asked curiously.

[assassinrue]

Cassius's face darkened and brightened in the same moment. "We fought, killed, and survived together. For a long time it was just the two of us. My wife and child had died some time ago in the fighting and Luca had never really had family. We survived until no more men were alive to come for us then we hid away in our separate worlds. We thought staying together was too suspicious."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"He sounds like a brave and loyal man," Averyl said. So do you. She didn't say the words because she knew it would embarrass him, and then he'd probably deny it or play it down. She didn't want that. He was loyal, and she'd never met someone so brave. Someone who would risk his life for her.

[assassinrue]

"He is the greatest man I have ever met. I think now we are both happy to be near each other."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Averyl glanced away, down at her hands, before meeting his eyes again. "Why did you do it?"

[assassinrue]

"Do what, my lady?" Cassius looked down at her, his dark eyes bright and curious.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"Come rescue me," Averyl replied. "Risk your life for me. I understand that you're my subject, but beyond that..."

[assassinrue]

Cassius shrugged and glanced away. "I suppose I've lost too many people already. And I can see you Averyl. You are young and brilliant and beautiful, you have too much of a future ahead of you to let it go to waste."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"You think that?" Averyl asked quietly. It wasn't the beautiful part; she'd been told that before. It was the fact that he said she was brilliant and had a great future, and more than that it was the way he said it.

[assassinrue]

"More than you know."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Averyl watched him with her slate gray eyes, her mind wandering back to the day she'd slipped up and kissed him. Just how wrong had she been to do that? He was her servant, and a good six years her senior. I must seem like a child to you. Yet, a part of her ached to kiss him again; a real kiss, not the fleeting brush from before. "Cassius?" she said quietly.

[assassinrue]

"Yes, Averyl?" Cassius looked at her, his blue-green eyes warm and bright.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Averyl's breath was shallow, her chest hardly moving. Her stomach felt like a flurry of wings. "Kiss me?" she whispered.

[assassinrue]

Cassius's composure dropped just a little, his eyes flew open and his breath stopped. "Sorry?"

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Averyl was pretty sure he was shocked rather than not having heard her. "Please?" She said. "For real."

[assassinrue]

Cassius was absolutely certain he forgot everything that had to do with kissing. He took a tentative step towards her and like an avalanche the realization that he wanted to kiss her tumbled him into motion and he gentle guided her towards him and touched his lips to hers.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Averyl's eyes fluttered shut as she leaned against him, feeling his warm solid body against her small frame. Her hand tentatively rested on his shoulder, close to his neck, though she wanted to wrap her arms around him and pull him closer.

[assassinrue]

Cassius felt a tumbling of emotion for this girl-woman in his arms and pulled her tightly against him, pulling his mouth from hers to nuzzle her face in the crook of her neck. He inhaled sharply and sighed. "My dear Lady Averyl, I do believe I am fond of you."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Averyl couldn't help but smile at those words. Fond? It seemed an odd word choice to her. "I'm rather fond of you, too, Cassius," she murmured in reply. An older man and certainly one with far more experience--in love and life in general--not to mention a servant in her household. Those lines didn't matter to her right then, though.