💝 Htsbr25 💝

"What was the causus belli for the War of Crystalsummit?"

Lilia was mindlessly skimming through the heavy textbook floating in the air in front of him, his eyes moving at the speed of light and taking in all the small words printed onto the brownish-stained pages. Pacing back and forth in front of the large chalkboard, he hummed an energetic tune as he waited for an answer to his question.

You, who sat at a table not too far away from the chalkboard, furrowed your eyebrows and began kneading your hands, forcing your mind to think up the correct answer. It's been weeks already since Lilia started giving you history lessons, but you still couldn't remember even a fraction of all the important events and wars in fae history; if you thought human history was already hard to remember, then you've seen nothing yet.

"Uhm..." you trailed off, biting your lip unsurely. "The defenestration of the Duchess of Crystalsummit?"

Lilia's red eyes lit up brightly, and he immediately chimed, "Correct!" His praise caused a little giggle to escape your lips, marking a bright beacon in your exhausting and monotonous days here at the castle in the Valley of Thorns. Yet, before you could relish in your success, Lilia had already thought up the next question. "How many years after the Dragonspire Catastrophe did the War of Crystalsummit take place?"

You furrowed your eyebrows, truly not knowing what to answer. Sweat began trickling down your forehead, at least you thought it did with how hard you were thinking. Sighing, you gave up and admitted defeat, merely guessing, "Sixty-nine?"

The heavy history book immediately slammed close loudly while Lilia loudly blurted out, "Wrong! It was four hundred and twenty years!" When your instructor gazed to you again, you looked so shocked that his heart sank in dread. He immediately scrambled over to you, a worried frown on his face. "Oh dear, I didn't mean to startle you—"

All out of a sudden, you were shaking and quivering, caught in a state of despair and hopelessness. All it had taken for the dam to break was Lilia raising his voice, and every failure from the last few weeks came crashing down upon you. "I-I'm doing my best but—" you choked out when Lilia patted your head affectionately. "But I can't cramp thousands of years of history into my mind in just a few months!"

"My beloved treasure, why is everyone scared of me?"

"Hm?"

The two NRC students — Malleus and (Y/n), an unlikely pair of good friends — were peacefully laying next to each on the grassy ground of the courtyard, their eyes trained at the sky where thousands of stars competed to shine the brightest. You loved spending time with Malleus; your nightly sky-gazing sessions were your highlight of the day. Usually, you spent your meetings quiet, just enjoying each other's presence. But today, Malleus heart weighed heavy with self-hatred.

You propped yourself onto your elbows, shooting the male next to you a confused smile. "What do you mean, Malleus?" you asked, laughing softly. At that, the fae started smiling; your laughter never failed to brighten his days. One of your hands reaching out to lay it on top of his that idly lay on his stomach, worry filled your eyes once you saw the pain in his eyes. "I'm not scared of you."

He took a deep breath as he did his best to avoid your worried gaze. "But everyone else is..." he explained, feeling his heart tighten painfully. The only thing that kept him grounded to reality and all its beautiful wonders was the hand that so gently held his. "Why does everyone fear me? Am I that intimidating, (Y/n)?"

"So, are you enjoying your tea, my little treasure?"

"Yes yes, my beloved Malleus! Your tea-brewing skills are amazing! You're perfect husband material for me, (Y/n) (L/n)! Yes yes, I adore you very much," Lilia cooed in a high-pitched tone to imitate yours as he took a sip of the dark liquid from the porcelain cup resting on the fancy table in front of him. The hot tea burning his tongue, he almost spit it out in pain. Wincing, he returned the cup to its original place on the beautifully decorated table. "Although I — your beloved treasure, (Y/n) — do prefer the muffins Lilia made! Lilia's cooking is fantastic, isn't it—?"