Always by Your Side: Chapter 2

An Akagami no Shirayuki-hime (Snow White with the Red Hair) Fanfic

In many ways, the second prince makes things easier on them. He trusts so easily it almost makes Obi feel bad for taking advantage. He assumes Obi won’t break into his room and slit his throat just because he rolls over and plays fetch at his master’s instruction. One day Prince Zen will get a hard lesson in reality. Obi hopes he won’t be around to see it.

There are things, though, that he makes harder. For one thing, Obi still isn’t allowed to see or talk to Shirayuki. He’s . . . working on that. Of course, neither of them have ever been good at following stupid rules anyway.

Another is the fact that the first prince has been back at Wistal for days, and his brother still hasn’t noticed.

“You haven’t heard anything?” Obi asks, turning so he can prop his feet on her window sill.

“No,” Shirayuki sighs. “You know you can come all the way inside, right?” He grins and says nothing, earning a disappointed frown.

“Zen still hasn’t noticed,” she continues, and he stifles a grimace at her calling the prince by his name. “So I can’t ask him, and no one else will mention it. I don’t know if they’re afraid of worrying me, or if there’s something else, but Ryuu and Garrack are both acting strange.”

Obi taps his fingers on his knee, itching to be doing something. The idea of breaking into the first prince’s study had occurred to him, but this job is supposed to be long-term, and he doesn’t want to ruin it so soon. They just need to be patient.

Unfortunately that’s neither of their strong suit.

There is no reason for Shirayuki’s hands to shake. Prince Izana is not what she was expecting, but still. It’s not like there was a–a problem or anything.

He doesn’t seem to suspect her, just doesn’t want her to be around. That’s . . . fine. He doesn’t have to like her. This is Obi’s job anyway. She just wanted to come with him.

“What’s wrong?”

She hadn’t noticed Obi following her. She stops and realizes she walked further than she thought. They’re deep in the woods now.

“Nothing’s wrong.” She’s just a little shaken. Everything will be fine as soon as she calms down.

“Then why are you crying?”

She’s not crying. Just to prove it, she wipes her eyes. Her hands come back wet. “Oh.”

Obi grabs her shoulder and turns her around to face him, but she can’t raise her eyes to his face. “What happened?”

“I–I had an audience with Prince Izana.”

“An audience,” he repeats, voice growing dangerously hard.

“Yes.” She takes a deep breath and steadies her voice. She–has information. Information he needs, and sharing it is a much better use of time than standing around. “He doesn’t want me here. He made that clear. He doesn’t seem to suspect either of us, but we’ll have to be careful around him.”

“He didn’t hurt you?”

“No, nothing like that. I just . . . let the things he said upset me too much.” It’s silly really. A power trip is all it was, and she knows it. It’s fine. It’s all fine. She wipes her eyes and smiles up at him. Her eyes catch on a thin red line across his cheek. “You’re hurt!”

He shrugs. “Eh, just a scratch, courtesy of the first prince. Don’t think he likes me around either.”

Shirayuki frowns and swipes her thumb across the scratch. It’s still fairly new, but thankfully stopped bleeding. “Did you wash it?”

He smiles, a fondness creeping in that he doesn’t seem to notice. “I did. I knew you would ask.”

She smiles, then glances back towards the castle. “Can we just . . . stay here for a minute? I don’t want to go back just yet.”

He shrugs and tucks his hands behind his head. “I’ve got nothing to do today. I’m all yours.” Her heart skips a beat at his words though she knows he didn’t mean it like–like that.

The woods on the castle grounds have the unnatural, tended feel of a decorative garden. The spaces between the trees a little too uniform, and the undergrowth kept carefully off the paths. Still, it’s the closest she can come to feeling at home, and when she lies on the ground, staring up at the sky, she can almost imagine she’s back in Tanbarun, gathering herbs to take back to her grandparents, or in the mountains with her father.

Obi lies beside her. She doesn’t look at him, but she can hear his breathing and feel the back of his hand against hers.

The familiar sounds of the wind through the leaves and the birds singing fill her with peace and replenish her courage. Slowly, Prince Izana shrinks in importance, taking his place among the ranks of people who take one look at her petite, eighteen-year-old self and see a child to exploit or ignore.

“I just don’t understand,” she says finally.

“Understand what?”

“Why does he already dislike me? I mean, yes I’m friends with Zen, but it’s not like I’m accepting favors or taking advantage. I’m an apprentice pharmacist, and if he chooses to come see me when he has a free moment, shouldn’t that be his choice? Or at least, can’t they talk about it themselves?”

Obi makes a strange noise that sounds like a combination of a laugh and a cough. “That’s not–he’s not just upset because his brother came to see you a few times.”

Shirayuki props herself up on one elbow to look at him. “How do you know? You’ve never met him.”

Obi grins up at her. “Oh, I don’t pretend to understand the unfathomably great minds of royalty, but I think this is simple enough.”

She fixes him with her dullest stare. “Enlighten me.”

“Master likes you.”

She waits for him to continue and explain whatever she’s missed, but he says nothing else. “I know. I just said we’re friends–or, as close as we can be since I’m lying to him, but–”

“No. He’s in love with you, or at least, he thinks he is. His brother is probably afraid you’re scheming to marry him.”

That’s–that’s ridiculous!"

“Is it? Do you think most princes, or even nobles, would nearly start a war to protect a commoner they’ve only just met and then bring them into their home for no reason?”

“It’s Zen,” she protests. “He’s just–”

“Just what?" The amusement drops from his tone, a final piece in a confusing puzzle. She doesn’t think he’s right about Zen, but if he does . . . .

She slides closer, leaning over him and bringing their eyes level. “Obi, are you jealous?”

His silence lasts long enough for his face to go blank. “Of a prince? Hardly. I wouldn’t want a life like that, and I know you too well to think you would either.”

He sounds awfully confident. She grins. “What do I want, then?”

“Your own pharmacy,” he says without hesitation. “And a big garden to supply it, all in a place where you can help lots of people. And it needs a big porch like the one in front of Himari’s bakery, with plenty of places to sit so people can come hang out during the day even if they don’t need help. Oh, and a house with plenty of guest rooms for anyone who might need them. Am I missing anything?”

She swallows, amusement falling away. You, she wants to say, but doesn’t dare. She doesn’t remember mentioning the porch or the guest rooms, but they’ve hung in her imagination, in her deepest dreams, ever since she began studying herbalism. And somehow he knew.

“A cat,” she says instead. “I don’t want to get lonely.”

He chuckles. “Of course. Can’t forget the cat.”

“Of course, if I were a princess, I could afford several pharmacies and hire people to run them.” She feels a little guilty for her teasing when he tenses. “Are you sure you’re not jealous?” She lays her hand on his chest, fingers splayed over his heart. His face doesn’t change, but she can feel his heart speed up. “It feels like you are.”

The world spins.

She doesn’t know how it happened, but now he’s hovering over her, one hand beside her shoulder holding him up, the other cradling her head, his knees on either side of her hips.

Her pulse thunders in her ears. His gaze drops to her lips, and he licks his own. “Shirayuki.”

She’s imagined this moment so many times, waited for it ever since she realized why she craved his company so much. She twists her fingers in her skirt and closes her eyes. Just a breath further, and his lips will be on hers–

“Ah, I mean Miss.” He shifts, his hand sliding out from under her head, and she realizes he’s getting up. Just . . . leaving.

“What?” She sits up. He’s a couple feet away, sitting across from her like–like they’re acquaintances having tea or something.

“My master is worried about me being near you.” The words sound wrong coming from his lips, like he’s parroting someone else. “Keeping a proper respect and distance should help with that, so–”

“So you won’t call me by my name?”

He doesn’t answer, but he doesn’t have to. She can see it on his face. She scrambles up, wiping the dirt from her dress and leggings. “I should go. Ryuu’s probably waiting for me. Ill–” she swallows. “I’ll see you later.”

“Shirayuki.”

A jar slides, nearly slipping out of her arm. She shifts the books in her arms and gets a firmer grip on the jar before turning around. “Oh, Kiki! What are you doing here?”

Kiki’s mouth tightens into the tiniest smile Shirayuki’s ever seen. “I came to check on you. I haven’t seen you in a few days, and Mitsuhide and I were worried something might have happened.”

Shirayuki blinks. “Happened?” Her mind rather unhelpfully supplies an image of Obi leaning over her in the woods, fingers in her hair, face a breath from hers–

“With Izana,” Kiki explains.

Shirayuki hopes her face isn’t as red as it feels. “Oh, ah, it was nothing really.” Kiki frowns, but doesn’t argue. “He just wanted to talk.”

“Well Izana’s talking can still be uncomfortable. If you need anything–”

“I’m fine,” Shirayuki chirps. “Thank you, though.”

“Kiki.” Mitsuhide’s voice precedes him into the hall. “Have you seen O–uh, Zen’s new aide?”

“Zen has a new aide?” she asks innocently. Mitsuhide and Kiki exchange a glance.

“Uh, yeah, he’s . . . new.” Mitsuhide is even worse at deception than her. She wishes Zen would just tell her he hired Obi and make things easier on everyone. “He’s not in his room,” he tells Kiki.

“He has a room?” She wonders how Zen roped him into that. He had argued with her Opa for weeks to avoid getting one when he first joined them.

Mitsuhide gives her a strange look, and she realizes how her question sounded. “Uh, I mean, a room so close to Zen? It seems like he should be a little further away since he’s, uh, new. Of course he has a room. Everyone has a room here. Er, everyone who works here.”

Mitsuhide nods like her ramble made sense. “His room isn’t actually that close to Zen’s. I didn’t think that would be wise.” Obi will be glad to know Mitsuhide, at least, doesn’t trust him implicitly. “Not that it matters. I don’t think he ever uses it.”

Of course not. As far as she knows, there’s only one way to make him sleep in a bed, and it won’t work for Mitsuhide.

“I’ll come help you find him,” Kiki says. They start to walk away, but she turns back to Shirayuki. “Remember, if you need anything, let us know.”

Shirayuki smiles. “I will.”

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