Re: Butterfly (Reincarnated as a Butterfly)

Adon and Rosslyn's lips met, and the butterfly was taken more off guard than he had been since perhaps the moment of his birth into this world.

He had been kneeling, leaning in toward Rosslyn, and his balance was such that he could not easily pull back even if he had wanted to—and he did not want to pull away, or at least he was too hesitant and uncertain of everything to precisely want that, whether he would have with more time to think or not.

So the Princess's kiss landed, and Adon found himself smelling her and feeling the pressure of her lips—his senses were overwhelmed. It was a chaste, close-mouthed kiss, but her lips were soft and full, and the pressure of them against his mouth was very firm.

It felt as if something significant had happened. That is, it was Adon's first kiss in this lifetime—and one of the very few kisses he had ever had at all, across hundreds of incarnations—but he had the sense that something more important than that had just occurred. Like Rosslyn had just decided to 'go steady' with him or something.

She pulled back, after a long moment, smiling, and Adon nervously returned her smile. At almost the same moment, the doubt began to creep in.

"R-Rosslyn, you…"

Are you sure? He couldn't help questioning what had just happened. Why it had happened, whether or not it had happened because the Princess had suffered a head injury, whether he was perhaps dreaming somehow—all doubts were on the table.

"I kissed you," Rosslyn said. "And yes, I feel good about it."

She seemed to have anticipated at least one of the questions that had rapidly run through his mind.

"Why?" he asked.

"I could say, 'why not,' but you deserve a better answer than that," Rosslyn replied softly. "I hit my head, but I can still remember. The moment you threw yourself after me, our minds connected, and I felt what you felt. There was no more room for doubt anymore. It is when someone is placed under great pressure that you know what—or who—they care about. If I had entertained any doubts as to your feelings, they were cleared up. Completely."

She kissed me because I saved her? he thought. Because that was a big gesture? Or because she was grateful? Or…

"Oh, that's why—" Adon began.

"No, no, do not say that," she interrupted sharply. "I know what you are thinking. I understand you now, better than I ever did before. You are doing that thing that you do, when you undermine your own belief in yourself by doubting that anyone could appreciate you properly. That is what makes you so shy. You doubt that anyone values you. Or you disbelieve it."

"You didn't kiss me because I—"

"No," Rosslyn said. "I did not kiss you because you saved me. I already had feelings for you before that. I confessed them to you. I was fairly overt." Her cheeks reddened slightly, then returned to normal slowly as she continued, "Frankly, if I did not know you as well as I do, I would probably be a little insulted. I have told you my true feelings, and you continue to doubt me. That is tantamount to calling me a liar to my face." She took in a breath and added, "The fact that you decided to heroically throw yourself into a pit in order to—" Her voice seemed to become a bit choked up with emotion—"save me from certain death, like a hero from a fairy tale is just the icing on the cake. It preceded me kissing you. It did not cause it. Not truly."

"You…" Adon was at a loss for words for a moment, and the air between them calmed. Both their expressions returned to normal. "Did you read my mind or something?" he asked finally.

"That is what it looks like sometimes when you begin to know someone," Rosslyn replied dryly.

"And you knew I would react like that?" he said in disbelief.

"I knew that you would try to talk yourself out of any feelings I might have in that direction, because I realized I have seen you do it more than once. To be clear, you will have to content yourself with being stuck with me, or you will have to break my heart. I care for you. Not platonically, ironically, or any other way you might misinterpret. Romantically." Rosslyn spoke the words firmly, with stubborn insistence, her expression only hinting at a smile.

Adon felt his cheeks grow hot and realized he must be blushing.

Thank the Goddess this place is so dark, he thought.

"That form is very becoming, by the way," Rosslyn added. "You chose a nice face. I…" She blushed herself and trailed off.

Adon let his mind run wild for a moment. Was she going to say something about how she could see herself looking at that face often?

Well, whatever, even if she was really enamored with the face, it's not like that's what suddenly overcame all the obstacles between us. She doesn't just go kissing every guy with a face she likes. I'm pretty sure William qualifies as handsome, but she seemed to keep him at a more proper, princess-y distance.

"I'm not going to argue about it," Adon managed to make himself say. "I mean, I'm, um, glad you like me?"

He looked down at his feet, and there was a pregnant pause for a few seconds before the Princess spoke again.

"So, where, um, are we?" Rosslyn asked. "Do we know? Where is the rest of the squad?"

"We're still in the same place we were," Adon said slowly. "We fell into what seemed like a bottomless pit. But I used my wings to guide our fall and slowed us down until I was able to bring us to a crash landing in a cave. Sorry for the roughness. Honestly, I'm not sure where they are. I assume they'll come and look for you."

They were positioned by the cave entrance, with no signs of life or movement of any kind outside, but now did not seem a good moment for pessimism.

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"Thank you for saving my life," Rosslyn said, smiling. She took Adon's hand as she spoke and gently held it in both of hers. He noticed for perhaps the first time that her hands were small and delicate, despite all the feats of strength he had seen her perform in the past.

"Of course. I know you'd have done the same for me." He spoke quickly, almost holding his breath so that he barely had enough air to finish the second sentence.

"Yes, I would. I hope. That takes nothing away from it." Her face took on a pensive expression. "I am not certain whether they will come after us or not. On the one hand, the dungeon almost appeared to be self-destructing, although I have never heard of a dungeon core actually destroying its ecosystem before. They might consider it mission accomplished and go back out to try to assist in Wayn's defense, or they could peel off some of their number to rescue me. William and Frederick will have taken charge. For them…" She trailed off as she tried to guess what the young lords would have done.

"I think we have to assume no one is coming," Adon said. "If they do show up, it's a pleasant surprise, right?"

Rosslyn nodded, then winced and pulled one of her hands away and pressed a palm to her forehead.

"Are you all right?" Adon asked.

"My head has been killing me," Rosslyn admitted. "I hate to complain. I will put some healing magic into it. I need to be able to think and move effectively. Right now, I am not confident that I can get up and climb properly. I agree with you about the assumption. For me, that dictates our next step."

Adon nodded with a grim expression. "I can guess."

He waited as Rosslyn conjured green healing energy, which ran up her body, through her hands and into her head. They spent several minutes in silent stillness, until Rosslyn's stomach audibly growled.

Then, without taking her left hand away from her temple, the Princess reached for her pouch of food. She took a cracker out and wordlessly handed it to Adon, and then she took one for herself. They ate in continued silence, but she made a gesture with the hand she wasn't using for magic, tapping her forehead.

Adon understood and activated Telepathy.

Thank you, was the first thought he intercepted. I assume you are listening?

I am, he replied.

The sound of our voices was aggravating my headache, she thought.

I'm glad we have another communication option, he replied.

You fed me while I was unconscious?

He nodded.

Of course. The taste of the hardtack was already in my mouth. Thank you.

Adon almost sent, My pleasure, but that sounded weird in his own mind.

You're welcome, he finally transmitted.

As for what we do next… I think I have to make certain that the dungeon core is destroyed, Rosslyn thought.

You're using the word 'I,' Adon observed. I'm here too.

Right, Rosslyn thought, but that leads to my next point. You don't have to come with me. The core might not be there anymore, if it fully self-destructed, in which case we would both be wasting our time. If it is there, and we descend into the bottom of the dungeon and destroy it, the rest of this place will probably collapse. The dungeon core already destroyed the lower levels of the dungeon. That is why I think it is possible the core might actually be completely gone. But I have to be certain before I leave.

I'm going with you, Adon sent in a firm tone. So let's just skip that argument. We've had it before, right?

Rosslyn smiled and chuckled quietly.

You were very decisive about staying to fight the war with me. The thought was pronounced fondly, but Adon could hear the gentle implied criticism, Why aren't you equally firm in pursuing the things you want for yourself?

But that might have been Adon reading into it. The criticism was not actually articulated as a thought in the Princess's mind. It was more like his projection.

I will respect your decisiveness, she continued thinking. Mainly because I have the sense that you can easily get out of tight situations. You have to promise me that if the dungeon starts collapsing, and it seems impossible for me to escape, you will leave without me.

How could I show my face outside if I left you here? Adon protested.

Rosslyn shook her head. I think your life is more important than mine, if one has to be sacrificed. My country needs me, if it is not to be lost, but it does still have my father, my stepmother, and my siblings. And if worse turns to worst, the people of Claustria would find ways to survive living under the heel of the Empire. Eventually, the other Holy Kingdoms would liberate them, I pray. But the world needs you. Not just the Kingdom. The world. The Goddess did not bring you here by accident. If we were not destined to save Claustria together, it means you have some larger fate. Something I cannot even comprehend yet. You must survive at all costs. If you cannot promise me that, we cannot continue. We will simply leave.

Adon thought for a long minute, during which time the green energy passing from Rosslyn's hand into her head finally died down. Her complexion looked much healthier as the green light faded. He guessed that her recovery was mostly complete.

All right, he sent. I promise to survive no matter what.

Even if you have to leave me to be buried alive, Rosslyn thought insistently.

Goddess, Rosslyn, I…

Promise.

Even if I have to leave you to be buried alive, Adon echoed.

He couldn't be certain he would actually keep his word on that. Being trapped underground alone and dying that way seemed like a fate worse than death to him. But it was a distinct possibility for Rosslyn, if she was correct that the physical space of the dungeon might finish collapsing once they destroyed the core. Whereas Adon's body was small and would almost always find gaps between stones to slip through and could turn nearly intangible in order to escape through the tiniest crevices, Rosslyn could not shapeshift. Given that they were in a pit, and she would have to climb both up and down, while he could fly, she was also effectively slower than him here.

Adon wondered for a moment if she should be going on this mission at all, but he knew it was out of the question to ask her to go back to the surface.

"We should get going, then," Rosslyn said. "I am a bit better now." She spoke the words carefully, gradually increasing from a near whisper to her normal speaking voice with each syllable, her eyes focused. Adon realized that she was trying to discern if the sound of her own voice hurt her head. When she nodded with a look of satisfaction, he knew that she was much closer to a hundred percent than she had been.

"Sounds good." Adon shifted back into his butterfly form, and Rosslyn stepped to the lip of the cave and climbed down.

The two began their descent into the darkest depths of the dungeon.