The calm scribbling of a quill upon a piece of parchment sounded from Amaragi's desk, but this time, her hand was relaxed in its movements and her expression was as gentle as the few rays of sunlight which shone into her office. Albeit they did not do much to provide any real warmth anymore, for the cold climate that the country was known for began to take hold once again. 

 

The air was frosty, and it was only a matter of time until the first amounts of snow would cover the streets outside, showering the tall buildings and landscape in a white cloak. 

 

Every now and again, Amaragi's eyes would subtly wander to her left, regarding Maren with a small smile as he was occupied with a tiny notebook and a quill of his own, sitting upon a comfy chair that she had offered him. 

 

For a long time, a comfortable silence was reigning within the room, not a single word had to be spoken for the both of them to simply feel… at ease. Especially for Amaragi, who was slowly but surely growing more and more anticipated upon seeing that the stack of parchments upon her desk was actually growing smaller. 

 

And she still possessed her sanity. 

 

Thus, in a moment like this, she actually allowed herself to take a small peak outside of one of the windows, simply staring into the distance as she allowed her thoughts to wander. It had not even been two days ago that the Norians had shown their hand once again… but this time, she was sure that it was finally the last they had seen of them. For now. 

 

Internally, it caused her to wonder what they would attempt next. With their influence gone from the capital, she doubted that it'd be long until they made their next move. As of now, she had withheld most of the details from her father… for all that he knew, it had been the actions of a few violent thugs who killed the night patrol, all of whom she had traced back to their hiding place before rooting them out. 

 

It had been a dangerous lie, one that could have cost her deeply if her father had caught wind of who was truly responsible. She had already seen it in front of her mental eye, how their armies had assembled and marched into Norian territory with but one intent, regardless how many sacrifices it would have taken. 

 

Maren had wanted to talk about the incident twice while she had insisted for him to take the time to recover, and even though she had not told him directly of what had transpired, even though he knew as well what was the only logical option, she did not regret it. She never would. 

 

'... they used force on you, and I… I simply gave them back what they had sowed…' 

 

He might have cut her heart through the sadness that was gleaming in his eyes when she gazed at him, but still, despite all of that, she had risked almost everything by lying to her father. To keep him from assaulting Maren's home, to keep him from starting another bloodshed… he might not know it, but she still gave it her hardest to try and protect what he held dear. And so, even if he might have been upset with her for not telling him the truth, she could bear it. 

 

She briefly closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. It had not been a lie either, she had spoken a part of her mind… however, as for the rest… 

 

… if she were to collect herself and dive deep into her mind, she didn't doubt that she could explain all of the feelings and sensations that she had experienced once she realized what they had done to Maren. All of the thoughts, all of the intentions, all of the urges that had begun to overwhelm her… 

 

… something within her… had just… snapped… 

 

Unknowingly, her hand had noticeably clenched together, albeit she quickly relaxed it as soon as she realized. He hadn't been able to witness it, and that was all that truly mattered in the end. 

 

With another subtle glance into Maren's direction, she witnessed that he was wearing a small and innocent smile upon his lips, one that he was probably not even aware of himself judging from the way he seemed to be utterly invested into whatever it was that he was writing down. 

 

She glanced back at the shrunken pile of parchments upon her desk, internally dismissing it for the day with a good amount of self-satisfaction, before shifting her eyes over to him once again. And thus, her lips formed into a mischievous grin before she slowly but carefully rose from her chair, taking silent but precise steps into his direction-

 

-with a startled gasp, Maren jerked together slightly the moment she suddenly clasped her hands upon his shoulders from behind, a large but playful smile upon her lips and her eyes more than closed in content. 

 

"What are you writing?" her cheerful and curious tone evoked a reaction from him that only prompted her to stare at the small notebook with even more interest than before. 

 

He was trying to cover the contents with his hands… 

 

"... n-nothing! Nothing important…" he refrained from looking back to meet her gaze, her eyes lidding slightly at the motion. Leaning further down, her head innocently cuddling against his neck, her tone was as sweet as it was painful when she spoke up once again, even more tempting than before. 

 

"Can I see it…?" despite his resistance growing thin, in the end, Maren utterly forced himself together before he suddenly rose from the chair. 

 

"Like I said, it's… nothing important, just some notes." as Amaragi's expression filled with both disappointment as well as a small pout, she internally wondered whether or not he was blatantly lying in such a cheap manner in order to purposefully rouse her attention even further. 

 

But either way, she looked up slightly with a strong amount of dismay when he actually put the small notebook into his satchel before he turned towards the door. 

 

Albeit before he could take his leave, she was already at his side, earning her a small gasp from him. 

 

"I didn't want to disturb you from work, really-" 

 

"Don't worry, I am done with it for today." she tilted her head slightly with a reassuring smile, effectively rendering him silent. 

 

Thus, she could finally take the time off to enjoy the day ahead, wherever they went. 

 

As long as he was with her, that is. 

 

---

 

AN:

Support comes in many ways
A like, a comment, a favorite
Each of them; I know how to savor it
To keep me writing for days~