Chapter 232: This Feels Perfect
"Maurice. Maurice. Maurice, wake up..." That clear and familiar, feminine voice kept murmuring his na, driving him into consciousness.
For a while longer, Maurice felt his body falling into the endless abyss, his environnt enshrouded in the sa darkness that effortlessly sucked him in.
He felt weightless as the gravity slowly pulled him deeper into its depths, calling for his soul, but he made no effort to fight it. His initial motive was to succumb to the darkness, but when he heard the familiar voice that continuously uttered his na, his eyes snapped open in his subconsciousness, also snapping him awake in reality as his eyelids fluttered open.
When his vision cleared, his sister’s face ca into view, like a light driving away the darkness that nearly consud him. Her worried green eyes softened into relief, and she exhaled a breath he guessed she had been holding for too long. Taking quick notice of his environnt, he no longer found himself in the abyss but in his room in the Palace.
He was resting on the comfort of his mattress, and he could perceive the odd scent of Herbs. Everything was as it should be, and he blinked, as though he feared he may have imagined his sister’s presence and his present environnt, whilst he pulled his body to sit upright on the bed.
"Sister?"
"You’re finally awake." The relief in her voice as she spoke, and when she held his hand, Maurice knew none of this to be his imagination. While his mind was still in the process of rebooting, he felt his sister’s soft, delicate palm on his cheek, and that made his brown eyes shift to et her green orbs.
"I’m not dead?"
"Were you planning to die out there? Of course you aren’t." Samantha reciprocated sharply, as if she couldn’t believe he would dare say sothing like that to her. When he was brought back after successfully getting his hands on the gemstone, her heart almost left her chest when he passed out in front of everyone. She stayed by his side till it clocked midnight, hoping he would wake up soon, and now that he finally regained consciousness, he was talking about death.
"What.. what about Jack and Bryn? Are they fine?" He asked, his eyes veiled with worry at the rembrance of his teammates. The last thing he saw was the dungeon crumbling to pieces, the foundation crashing before his eyes, and after that he saw nothing but an impenetrable darkness. The world fell silent, and that’s when he heard his sister’s voice.
"I’m not familiar with those nas," Samantha answered softly, her eyes inspecting his physique for any evident signs of injury. "...but if you are referring to your teammates then they are fine. Everyone is fine, but when you were brought back, you passed out in front of everyone. We had to bring you back here and call for the physician. Thankfully, it wasn’t anything serious." She explained to Maurice who took in her words slowly.
"Then... the Dragon scale, the gemstone? Where’s my bag?"
"Everything is with Helena." Samantha added upon noticing the slight panic on her brother’s face, and then her lips spasd into a smile as she held both his hands. "You did it Maurice, you won!"
"I... won?" For a brief mont, Maurice’s eyes squinted in confusion, as though he just heard his sister speak a different language. When she nodded her head enthusiastically, the aning behind her phrase finally sank in, whilst his brown eyes expanded in surprise. He looked as though he just won a lottery which in this case, could not be far from that.
"You an I won?.. I won!" Overjoyed by the news, Maurice forgot about the sore pains he was experiencing and jumped out of bed. His actions made Samantha laugh heartily as he paced back and forth, his body shuddering with excitent. He looked at his sister who had a proud look on her features, and she crossed her legs confidently while Maurice took his seat beside her, as though he still couldn’t believe it, and he moved closer.
"How did you know? Was it announced?" He inquired from Samantha who silently folded her arms. " I know that look, co on, tell , did they announce that I’m the winner of the clash of Valor event? Did they?"
"Mhmmn!" Samantha nodded with a beaming smile, "it was publicly announced, but due to your sudden pass out on the field, the celebration had to be shifted till tomorrow morning." Samantha explained how everyone had been overwheld with joy at his victory, and that only made Maurice’s smile brighten, enhancing his handso features. He lay flat on his bed, gazing at the ceiling as though he couldn’t believe what his sister was saying to him.
He won!
"I... really did it. Didn’t I?"
"Yes, now freshen up quickly so you can rest fully for the night." Samantha instructed her brother, and only then did he realize he looked disheveled. Since he passed out, he wasn’t able to get himself cleaned, and unlike his sister who looked neat and pleasant to the eyes, Maurice couldn’t say the sa for himself, and that was enough to irritate him. However, he wouldn’t admit to such a thing, especially in front of his sister.
"I still look good even covered in the dirt." He self-praised, and that only made Samantha force an irritable smile his way.
"Good as in, you stink terribly right now. Rember those hot sunny afternoons when you pull off your socks from your shoe after spending a really long, hectic day outside, that’s how you stink right now." She elaborated flatly, to her brother’s dismay, "That’s not sothing worth praising, but... as the good sister you have been righteously blessed with, I shall set your bath for you. The physician dropped a few herbal lotion you could bathe with, so I’ll use them."
"I want my water to be dium-warm." He comnted, "don’t make it cold." He said it loud enough for her retreating figure to hear as she went into his bathing chamber. Falling back on his bed, he let out a satisfied sigh. It felt good to have an older sister who was willing to pamper him at this age, and he wondered what he would have done if his family didn’t bless him with a sister like her.
When Samantha was done getting his bath ready, she helped him lay out his nightwear on the bed before leaving his room. Returning to Ivan’s chamber after feeling at ease, she found the vampire sitting up on his bed, but he wasn’t working on anything, nor was he going through any of the royalty records like he normally would before going to sleep. She wanted to ask him while he was still awake, but when he stretched his hands out, beckoning her to co into his arms, Samantha’s face brightened, and that was an offer she couldn’t bring herself to reject.
Climbing his bed, Samantha went into his open arms. When he kissed the top of her hair, her smile stretched, and then she heard him release a sigh that expressed his ease, as though a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders. For the first ti, he felt peace, he felt he had nothing to repay for, and everything suddenly felt... perfect in his eyes.
"Ivan?"
"Hmm?"
"I love you." She tilted her head up to look into the eyes that she no longer feared. She once abhorred those eyes, deeply, those blood-red eyes– but now, she could hardly recognize the feeling of hating them. For the first ti in a very long ti, she could feel the stars within her begin to shine.
She watched as his lips curled into a tender smile at her devotion, and his fingers snaked into her silky-like soft hair.
"My beautiful girl." He dropped a lingering kiss on her forehead. "Loving you is like breathing to ... it’s impossible to stop."
He noticed the way her eyes lit at his words, and he embraced her once more, closing his eyes as though his needs had been fulfilled from rely hugging her. She was with him, in his arms, and that was all that mattered to him. He cared about nothing else.
"This feels perfect." He sighed, and Samantha couldn’t help but silently agree more.
{ This Chapter is dedicated to Beauty_San_0404, thank you so much for the super gift
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