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It was only a couple minutes that he was gone! And this had to happen to her.
Blake gently carried Ella to his bedroom, feeling fierce shivers rack her body as he held her. She was shaking so terribly that he could feel his lungs vibrate.
As she trembled, Blake could hear her quiet sobs. He knew she was in agony. That her arm was on fire. He could feel her sorrow and pain as if it was his own.
Breathing shakily, Ella pulled closer to herself, holding her arm as if she thought keeping it still would stop the pain.
Blake gently rubbed his cheek on the top of her head, murmuring soft sounds, that she was going to be okay, that everything was going to be fine.
It was clear with her sobs that she didn’t believe a single word out of his mouth, but he really meant it.
After walking down the left corridor, Blake pushed open the door with his foot and stepped into his room.
He then closed it, slipped off his shoes, and padded over to his king sized bed, settling down onto it while holding Ella in his lap.
Blake slipped his arm out from under her legs but kept his other supporting her back.
He let his lips softly press against her temple and he held them there. He had his free arm push back the strands of hair that stuck to her cheeks with tears.
“Please...” Ella begged in a whisper, “all I need is some gauze....”
Blake’s voice was soft. “If you want me to help, I have to see the wound again, Princess.”
When he reached for her arm, she recoiled.
“Don’t touch it!” she almost screamed. “Please!”
Lightly, he grasped her hand that was unharmed, and gently pulled it off her injured arm.
Attempting to calm her down, Blake kissed her knuckles, then her fingers, and went down to pressing his lips to her inner wrist.
“Prince,” she said, fear catching her tone.
“I promise I won’t hurt you,” he said gently. “I can heal it, Princess. Will you let me?”
Ella watery eyes stared into his, and she whispered, “You can heal it?”
He smiled softly and nodded.
“Yes... Please, heal it....”
Blake then brushed a kiss across her cheek bone, hovering his hand over her wound, and the skin started heating as yellow magic emanated from his palm.
Ella gasped, but not out of pain. “This magic feels so warm,” she breathed.
She watched in amazement as the skin knit together like yarn, and then the words were gone... All that’s was left was a scar... Nothing that showed the magic was there...
“There,” Blake said. “All better.”
Ella looked up at him, eyes droopy as if the healing took all of her energy.
Well... that’s the side effect of healing...
“Prince Blake...?”
“Hmm?” he murmured, too worried about her to correct ‘Prince’ again. He didn’t want her calling him that.
Ella blinked very slowly. “Thank... you....”
“You don’t need to thank me for helping, Princess,” he said softly. “It’s my job to protect you.”
Ella snuggled into him for the first time, drawing her arms to her chest. “I know....”
There was a moment of silence, just Blake letting Ella cuddle with him while he gently brushed his fingers through her hair in quiet caresses.
“Are you tired?” he wondered in a whisper.
She nodded lazily.
“I can help you sleep. Would you like that?”
“It’s okay...” Ella said groggily, a little of her old, passive self creeping in. “You can go back to your work, Prince... I didn’t mean to disrupt you....”
Blake sighed. “I’m not leaving you, Princess. Not ever again.”
“You can’t do that... Worry about me so much... You have to take care of... everyone else too....”
Blake cradled her to him like she was a terrified child. “I want to care for you,” he said. “I want to care for you the way no one else has.”
“Stop...” she let out a choked laugh. “You’re going to make me cry....”
“Maybe you need it,” he added softly.
“I don’t want to cry,” Ella said. “I hate it when people see it... It makes me look weak.”
“Crying shows that you’re strong, Princess. Not the other way around.”
“I still hate it.”
He let out a long, defeated sigh. “Lay down, Sweetheart.” And he gently pushed Ella down onto the bed, draping his throw over her shoulders as she curled up into a ball, snuggling into the softness.
Blake then rested down next to her, drawing himself to her back while fitting his knees into the crook of hers, tucking her head under his chin, and wrapping his arms around her.
“I watched you sit in the trees,” Blake whispered. “Fall to your knees while the sky dissolves to the night. You cry until you sleep. Rest till you hate life. You’re safe with me, Princess. In your dreams or in real life. And I won’t allow you to break, but I will allow you to cry.”
“That was a really nice poem, Prince.” Ella then was asleep, resting into the mattress as Blake stroked her navel in gentle circles.
*****
“PRINCE BLAKE,” ONE of the guards said. “Where are you going this early in the morning?”
Blake was pulling his black cloak over his head, letting the hood fall over his dark wavy locks.
“I have to go talk to Princess Isabella’s stepmother. I need to make sure she’s not responsible for what happened last night.”
“What about the Princess?” the guard wondered.
“I need you to watch over her,” Blake said. “But don’t make her feel that she’s trapped. Make her feel at home, alright?”
The guard nodded. “About what time will you be back?”
“Hopefully by afternoon.”
The gates screeched as they opened to the early dawn, the clouds shone in orange and grey.
Blake started out the front door. As he got out to the gate, dark wings sprouted from his back and he vanished into the sky.
*****
THE SKY CAPTURED THE light of the sun by the time Blake had made it to Ella’s mansion. The stone was a dull grey, making the house look almost abandoned.
When he stood by the solid oak door, he knocked three times, waiting a couple minutes before it opened.
There was only a sliver of a crack from the wood to the frame, but Blake could see a tall teenage girl poke her head through.
This wasn’t Olivia like he thought at first. This girl had long blonde hair that went down to her waist.
“You’re name is Ava, correct?” Blake wondered to the girl.
“You shouldn’t be here,” she whispered. “You have to go back.”
“May I come in?” Blake wondered.
Ava took a glance further into the house, then she opened the door and stepped out, shutting it behind her.
This girl wore a tattered dress, the fabric a pale blue. Her eyes shone with a deep concern as she bit her lip, staring at Blake.
“I can’t let you in,” she said quietly.
Blake tilted his head to the side. “Why not?”
“Because you can’t be here.”
“You’re one of Isabella’s stepsisters, right?”
A nod.
“But you don’t seem cruel.”
“Ella is my sister,” Ava said, her voice still quiet. “We don’t call ourselves stepsisters because we are closer than she and Olivia are.” But she didn’t hesitate repeating herself. “Prince Blake, you have to go—”
“Is your mother and sister inside?” Blake interrupted. “Ivy and Olivia? I’d like to speak to them.”
“No, that’s what I’m trying to tell you.” Ava’s voice had an urgency to it. A slight hint of fear. “Ella’s in danger. Ivy’s trying to hurt her. She blames Ella for your decision to have her stay at the castle instead of her daughter Olivia.”
“Wait...” Blake felt his stomach stir. “What do you mean, ‘Ella’s in danger’?”
“Prince Blake,” Ava moved in closer, “I know you’re a fallen Angel, and so does Ivy. She wants your power for something I’m unsure of. But Ella’s in the way... she’s an obstacle and something that my mother needs also... but with you two together... Ivy feels out numbered... And she knows that she can’t kill Ella... but she won’t hesitate to cause her immense pain....”
Blake’s lips parted. Then his voice became stern. “You said they aren’t home...” he remembered. “Then where are they?”
Ava’s eyes shone with concern... and Blake knew that look. It meant that they were going to hurt Ella. They burned those words into her skin to trick Blake.
Those words...
God... why had he been such an idiot?
“Thank you, Miss Ava,” he said.
And he ran off, launching into the air without another word.