Despite what the maid said, Arlecchino started avoiding the other part of the ruby palace. She’s weak right now. Using magic proved it to her. Just one spell Lucas would’ve done without breaking a sweat, almost made her collapse.
This small body doesn’t have the strength necessary to support her mental capacity, a large amount of pain will make it pass out, or break down. It’s normal, of course. She knows her body is simply protecting her.
Still, when she thinks about how that pain was easy before. It was just like breathing, there and unconscious. She barely even acknowledged it.
“Meow…”
Arle looked down at the three children. They were looking up at her with worry, something the real one’s would’ve hidden better. Still… She sat down and showed them her hands, the curse had spread over the year, managing to stain the tips of her fingers along with her nails.
The little ones jumped on her hands without hesitation. Rubbing their heads on her palms, hoping that would ease her pain or take her mind off it.
Lucas was right. Holding the little ones against her bare skin, hurt. They were burning, just like her blood. She was essentially holding lava. Three clusters of lava with shape.
Even so, the little ones kept trying to help her. Arlecchino gazed at the window Lucas often used to come in. It’s been a day, so there’s six days left until he comes back.
It was shameful to admit it, but the small acts of physical affection eased her pain slightly. Lucas was cold, like Sheznaya and her majesty the Tsaritsa, and like Columbina. They were beings where her curses’s effects dimmed. Where the pain was soothed for a moment.
She had never said this to anyone, since it didn’t matter, and it was a weakness they could’ve exploited. Especially Columbina.
Arlecchino slowly leaned back, until her head landed on the ground. She lay there with the little ones surrounding her as she stared at the ceiling. With a sigh, she uttered a single word to herself.
“Boring…”
What is he doing now? What are her real children doing now…?
–
Lucas frowned and looked back when he felt something leave the barrier around Arle’s side of the palace.
“She left…?”
Odd, Arle always explored, but she never left her side. Lucas rolled his eyes and turned to face forward.
“Whatever.”
She’ll be fine. Those three will take care of her. He went to take a step forward, but he didn’t move. His eyes glanced back, to the direction of the palace. He was far away, and she’ll be fine. She’s fine. She’s a soldier, a strong woman who’s lived through hell.
Lucas nodded to himself, and went to take another step forward. But, his mind was filled with images of a small, chubby baby failing to munch on her food. A baby using the crib to stand up, before letting go of the wood and moving forward on her own.
When she was learning, Lucas would pretend to leave since Arle didn’t like to practice when he was around. She’s always so secretive, doing everything on her own without a word or complain.
Independence was good, Lucas even wanted her to grow up quickly and run around, catch her own food and such.
But in that moment where she walked from one wall, to the one opposite it without falling once… Lucas realized why that book said to treasure the little moments.
He suddenly appeared, making Arlecchino turn to him with a stoic expression. But he could tell she was surprised by her raised shoulders, and the way her lower lip was pulled up slightly in annoyance.
Lucas knelt down without a word, something he’d never, ever do. Not even for a dragon…
But he just opened his arms and looked at her. Arlecchino starred back at him without moving.
“Arle, come to me. This try, was just luck.”
He grinned mockingly at her. With a small huff, Arle turned around and started wobbling towards him. His grin grew as he leaned further down and beckoned her closer.
“That’s it, come on. I’ll give you a reward later…”
Arle paused, and didn’t move anymore, simply staring at him. Lucas huffed and snapped his fingers, showing her numerous books, food, and toys.
“Point at one, and it’s yours.”
Instead of an item, Arle moved her finger to point at his hand. Lucas raised a brow, and smiled.
“Alright, I’ll hug you when you get here.”
Arlecchino frowned in clear disgust, making him chuckle before she wiped the expression off.
“Yes, yes. I’ll teach you magic.”
He was already planning on doing that once her body could handle it, but for now, he’ll let her believe it’ll only happen if she gets to him.
“Come on, Arle, my arms are getting tired. I’ll only teach you if you can make it here aaa~ll on your own.”
Lucas smiled gently at seeing her sigh and struggle to move forward. She kept her eyes on him, that bejeweled, obsidian black, and red ‘X’ shining with the light of a thosuand crystals, was so beautiful as she looked at him and nothing else. Her hair now covered her ears into a fluffy mess of black and white. A wolf, he always thinks of it when he sees her. A small, wolf cub that’s silently sharpening her fangs to bite.
He knows this, and yet.
Lucas felt his smile widen as Arlecchino got even closer, his cheeks lifted the bottom of his eyes as Arle stumbled, and fell in his arms. He caught her, one hand on her small back while the other lifted her and pressed her against his chest.
“See? That wasn’t so hard. Was it?”
Lucas ran his fingers through her hair, feeling her relax slightly as her burning pain lessened with the touch.
He was raising a wolf that’ll bite him eventually. When did he stop caring of when she’ll bite, and start caring about how and why she’ll reveal her fangs? If she bit his hand, it wouldn’t bother him. But, he looked at her, she had closed her eyes and leaned on his chest while a small fist clung to his clothes.
If she got hurt, if someone hurt her… If she hated him…
“Hah.”
Lucas scoffed at his thoughts and rose with her in his arms, he was so caught up in his head, that he didn’t even realize he had leaned his cheek on her head in reassurance.
“Good job, Arle. You can walk now.”
She didn’t respond, or move much. Lucas looked at her, and found her eyes closed as she breathed evenly against his collarbone.
“…. Hah.”
He shook his head and placed her on the crib. Silently observing her with a smile. Wait. He touched his cheek, feeling the slight ache from all the smiling he had been doing lately.
“Hah…”
Lucas sighed at the memory, and finally turned around. The large mountain he’s on was far away from the empire. It would take a full month to go from the empire to where he was.
Arle had left, so maybe she’s with Athanasia.
Lucas closed his eyes, a glint of light engulfed him in a split second. When he opened his eyes, he was outside the window to Arle’s room. To their home.
He moved closer to it and peered inside. Seeing a small toddler sleeping peacefully beside two cats, and a penguin. He scoffed, but still smiled at the sight.
Silently, he teleported inside and squatted down beside Arle. Seeing her plumb cheeks had some crumbs as she breathed evenly in her sleep. Lucas saw a strand of his hair threatening to reach her, and changed his long hair for a shorter cut that reached below his ears like Arle’s hair length.
He moved his hand closer, and gently swiped her cheek to clean the crumbs off. He went to take his hand back, but a small hand grabbed it. Lucas actually flinched, and stared at Arle in disbelief as she sleepily held his hand in place.
When he moved it, she would frown and either push it towards herself or move to feel his hand.
Lucas felt his heart sink as he observed her be… Affectionate!
What the heck…? With a hum, he sat down and carefully pinched her cheek. She visibly relaxed and even leaned to his hand.
Why? Arle should have no reason to do this…
Lucas placed his other hand on her head, as always, her skin was burning. Upon seeing the small, barely audible sigh of relief escape, he realized why she was acting strange.
“Hah…”
If he had known this, he’d have frozen the entire palace. So the cold helps, it lessens the pain…
“Cheeky brat. Why are you always dealing with everything on your own?”
Then again, he wanted her to grow independent already and left her alone for that same reason. Fool, he had been such a dumb fool. She was already a year old, soon enough, she’ll meet the emperor and maybe even yearn for his attention.
One of his books mentioned children yearn for the affection and attention of their biological parents. Arle wasn’t like other children, but he couldn’t help but worry she would actually care for the emperor that made her.
An unnecessary worry. If there’s one thing Arle seemed to care about the most, it was her children. Speaking of, maybe there’s some way to bring them towards her…
Lucas rubbed his curled finger around her cheeks, as he thought of an invention. The burning skin seemed to gently cool off. Arle stired in her sleep, turning to face his palm and leaning in as close as she could.
Yes. Lucas nodded to himself. He’s freezing this room. And her palace. Yes… Yes…
–
Arlecchino should’ve known something was odd when she didn’t feel the scorching heat beneath her skin. Buy she figured the little ones had moved away, and she was growing used to the pain.
Well, when she opened her eyes, and saw the previously brown colored floor, had a thin sheet of white above it… She woke up immediately and sat up. Looking at the ground and its slippery state, she could never forget how ice looks like. Why is her place of rest covered in ice…?
Arlecchino looked around, finding the three kids playing with each other on the ice. Cat Lyney would push penguin Fremi to Lynette, who would push him back to their older brother.
Arlecchino stared at them just, repeatedly hitting Fremi with their paws while the penguin laughed and happily slid from one side to the other.
“…. Hmm…”
She closed her eyes, shook her head, and quickly vanished the small smile that appeared on her face.
Now. There’s only one person that would, and could do this. Arle went to stand, but the slippery floor made her unstable. She fell with a small thud, making the kids stop playing and rush to her. When their paws reached her legs, Arle frowned slightly before it left.
The cold was just making the pain from her children harder to bear.
“Morning~”
Arlecchino turned to that voice, seeing Lucas near her crib, his hair much shorter than before. She stayed quiet and just watched him tap the crib with his nail, a soft thud made when it hit the wood.
“It’s about time you slept on a bed, don’t you think?”
With a grin and soft ‘snap!’ The crib disappeared into a large and comfy looking bed. No matter how Arle saw it, it’s too big for just her. Well, at least the kids will sleep with her now.
She looked up at him upon hearing his steps get closer. Lucas bent down with a smile and scopped her up, placing her on his chest as he walked to the bed with the little ones behind them.
“I’ve been thinking, Arle.”
He turned so his back faced the bed and slumped down, holding Arle in his arm before looking down at her with a smile. Arlecchino has seen all kinds of smiles during her life, Lucas’s smile was one she doesn’t see often. Little less one that’s directed at her. Soft, but wide enough to lift his cheeks and make his eyes appear even softer.
“We haven’t shared a lot of time together. Which isn’t good for your development.”
Arlecchino stared at him and spoke.
“Is that why you froze the entire room?”
Lucas nodded and continued.
“Yes. I figured you’d prefer the cold, so we’re keeping it.”
Arle wasn’t sure if he knew how the cold helped her, or if there’s another reason why he suddenly did this. Regardless, it did help.
“Is the room necessary? You could just freeze the bed.”
Instead of answering, Lucas tilted his head and looked at her with a smile.
“Is there a reason why I shouldn’t cover the whole room?”
“It’s hard to walk inside now.”
“True. But it doesn’t hurt. Does it?”
So he’s realized it. Tch.
Lucas smiled at her annoyance and rubbed her forehead.
“For a year you’ve hid this from me. Congratulations. But now that I know, this room will be a safe place for you.”
Even so, this is excessive, and unnecessary. If she gets used to this cold, she won’t be able to stand her pain outside of it. Lucas is essentially trapping her in this room and saying he wants to help her.
At her continuous stare, Lucas sighed with a frown and snapped his fingers. The kids stopped playing as the ice melted under them.
“There.”
Lucas fell down on the bed, bringing Arle down with him as she closed her eyes until her head hit his chin.
“It may have been too soon. But the bed will stay cold.”
Arlecchino sat up using his chest as support before she jumped to the bed. The soft, cold sheets made her want to melt with the fabric. She turned her head towards him and dropped it to the cold and soft sheet.
“I appreciate it. But covering the whole room is unnecessary.”
Lucas hummed and also turned his head to face her.
“You have trust issues.”
Arle copied his hum.
“I’m simply considering your reasons for this.”
With a scoff, Lucas unpromptly pinched her nose, making her frown and sit up.
“I’m your father now, Arle. My duty is to protect you, ensure your safety, and help you reach your goals.”
Yes, Arlecchino knew the duty of a father. She was one, after all. Lucas poked her cheek, and smiled at her twitching eyelid.
“If you know it, stop questioning me. I’m someone you can trust, Arle.”
Lucas turned, so he was lying on his back and sighed.
“And here I thought we could spend more time together. You know, father daughter bonding time.”
“We have enough of those.”
Lucas making her hair every morning was enough. Why is he even so insistent on it? What are those books teaching him?
“It’s never enough. Speaking of.”
Lucas rose and looked at her with a grin.
“What about the homework I gave you?”
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