Elemental Kingdom

Jared eventually found her. "Mrs Delilah?"
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She tried to push him away from her. "No Nathan."

Delilah flinched, automatically bracing herself as if she was anticipating being hurt. Slowly, she rubbed her eyes and then looked up from her hands, smiling weakly. "Master Jared. Good evening."

---

"I'm trying to keep you alive Garnet. Let me do at least this. Delilah can look after herself. She's part something else, her instincts will fight tooth and nail to keep her alive. You, on the other hand, are vulnerable."

"Because I'm an elf." She looked at him. "Yes Nathan I get it, but being an elf I can't be kept in our bedroom all the time, I need to get out and at least walk through the castle. So stop treating me like someone who needs to be locked up."
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"What's wrong?" He asked her as he sat next to her.

"This is the first time I've asked this of you because your life is in danger!" Nathan stressed. "It's just for tonight. This night only, so I can purge the castle over night of those that want to kill you. I'm not trying to lock you up I'm trying to keep you alive. If you want to walk, at least let me walk with you. I wouldn't be able to live if you were killed because I couldn't look after you."

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"Well, I've found out I'm inadequate to my brother. His main concern is his wife and he no longer cares for my feelings. In fact, he just told me the only useful thing I could do for him is walk off and get myself killed by the assassins in the castle aiming for me." Delilah let out a shaky sigh, tears falling down her cheeks. "Though, it seems I can't even do that, if I'm sat here alive and well. I can, however, manage to somehow get my nephew hurt because I'm the target." She coughed after speaking so much, her throat still sore and bruised.

"You know that that isn't true." Jared told her.
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"Then walk with me."

"Unfortunately, with Nathan, it is. He only has room for two in his heart. Garnet, and his son." She hunched her shoulders. "If I disappeared tonight, he wouldn't worry."

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Nathan sighed and stepped away from her, letting her up from the wall as he moved to take her hand.

"He might not, but I would."
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She took his hand.

"The only one, I'm sure. Thank you anyway, I suppose. If you were saying that to make me feel better, you didn't need to." Delilah moved to fold her hands on her lap. "H-Has my mother or father approached you about ending the arranged marriage? T-They're the ones w-who've decided they want me gone, so I assume they're going to contact you about ending it soon..."

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"Are you sure I can't convince you to go back inside?"

"About the arranged marriage, I told them that I won't go through with it, that's what me and your mother were argueing about earlier." He looked at her. "I won't you to marry me if you choose to Delilah, not because someone has told you to to strengthen the alliance between our kingdoms."
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"Nathan, we are still inside the castle."

At hearing he didn't want to go through with the marriage, Delilah had subtly flinched, abruptly turning her head away so her face couldn't be seen. She was biting her lip hard enough for it to bleed and barely registered the rest of his words, mumbling a quiet, "I understand," before she gathered her night dress, got to her feet and quickly walked away.

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"I meant inside the bedroom. The corridors are too open."

He sighed. "Delilah" He managed to stop her moving by grabbing her arm. "Did you even hear the rest of what I said?"
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"Don't want to keep me in one place huh?" She let go of his hand and continued to walk.

"I think it's enough to understand that you don't want to marry me any longer." Delilah would've been warm to his touch since because her power fluctuated with her emotions. "I understand."

---

"I want to keep you alive." Nathan snatched her hand again.

"I want you to marry for love Delilah, and I don't know if you love me enough if at all to do that." He told her, making her look at him. "I'm doing this for you because of how much I care about you."
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"You can do that wthout having me stay in the bedroom." She told him as she pulled her hand away beore he could grab it.

"I-I thought we already w-were marrying out of a-affection." Delilah fisted her hands in her dress. "O-Otherwise Nathan w-would have done s-something drastic to prevent it."

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"During the day time is fine, but during the darkening hours it isn't." Nathan grabbed her sleeve before she could move far enough away.

"Nathan, I'm obviously not tired, so please just let me walk."
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He looked at her. "Your highness, I didn't think you loved me enough to marry me, but if you are sure about your feelings, I still think that we should wait."

"It's fine, you can walk. I'm just going with you."

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"Tis' fine." She shook her head firmly. "It was only supposed to be a marriage of convenience anyway, and I let feelings get involved." Delilah gently pushed his hand off of her arm. "Perhaps its for the best you called it off. If you excuse me, I'd like to retire for the night." She curtsied shallowly and then quickly walked away.

"Then stop tryng to get me to go back to the bedroom." She moved and carried on walking, her arms wrapping around herself.
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Before she left, he pressed a gentle and quick kiss to her lips. "Sleep well Delilah." He whispered.

"I'm not trying to make you do anything, I'm just trying to look..." Nathan trailed off all of a sudden, no longer following her as he moved his hand to just under his nose where a nosebleed had started. Just a few seconds later, blood started blooming across his back, sticking his shirt to his skin with the amount of it, and he staggered against the wall, slumping to his knees.

---

Delilah stumbled and almost fell into the fountain with her embarrassment, quickly ducking around a corner and looking up in shock as she bumped into someone. They immediately held a hand over her mouth, their other hand holding a blade against her stomach.

She froze as she saw what had happened to Nathan. "Nathan?"

"Not just Delilah then," he croaked out, wiping his face absently, though his nose didn't stop steadily dribbling blood. "Magick users. Missed one."

"How bad are you hurt?"

"How bad are you hurt?"

"Twenty minutes if left unattended."

"I don'tven know how to help."

Nathan shrugged and then winced violently at the movement. "I'll be fine."