ততততত

𝐓 𝐎 𝐁 𝐈 𝐍

I bought myself some time.

You see, I might have told Gareth about the passageways, but I purposefully fucked the routes up so horrendously that he'll have no idea how to even enter. Imogen gave me her trust to never reveal the secret of Ruslan, and for now, I decided to keep the knowledge of him hidden. Still, it felt like a betrayal to her as I sketched each line on the map she fixed for me. The mistake of choosing Imogen for one night won't save us when daylight dawns.

It's a selfish choice to make considering Aspen is out there trapped under Leighton's reign, but Imogen's snuck her way under my skin and forged a burrow in my heart. I can't get rid of her. When I close my eyes, she still lingers. Her kiss. Her touch. Her goddamn vanilla scent. I know whatever ribbon wraps me to her will undo with time, but I'm not ready to be the one to fracture her. Not yet.

I find her in her bedroom sitting in front of her vanity. A hairbrush grooms through her moonlit blonde waves. Through the mirror, her lips curve upward as she catches sight of me sneaking into her bedroom chamber. Those grey moons spy on me as she slowly pulls a silky lock of hair through the bristles of the brush, the movement fluid with grace.

Last night's events hang in the air between us—stolen kisses and untold truths. Neither of us speak, although I long to hear that sweet melodic giggle of hers, the one that can always make me break into a smile.

I wander to the hearth to add more wood when her voice echoes through the room.

"Leighton's underpants are hanging in the throne room," she says nonchalantly. "According to Lorcan, they can't find a way to get them down."

It takes a second for me to process what she just said. Leighton's underpants are... hanging in the throne room?

"What the fuck did you just say?" I ask. Surely I heard her wrong.

Imogen places her brush down on the vanity, then makes her way towards the flickering firelight. She wears that goddamned silk night dress that sways around her legs. There's this devilish smirk on her glossy lips, one that I have to restrain from uncontrollably kissing. Last night, the moonglow she possesses—that light that burns in her, had almost been extinguished. But now? She's illuminating, so bright that not even the sun could compare.

"I said that Leighton's underpants are hanging in the throne room," she steps into my proximity, lacing her hands around my waist. She pulls on my shirt until our two bodies are completely flushed. "Right above the archway for everyone to see."

"And who was responsible for that?" I grin, leaning towards her lips. I just need a taste, a small miniscule taste of that heavenly moonlight.

She presses her fingertip to my eager lips to stop me. "Just a certain princess who a petty thief told was a weapon."

"I am not a petty thief," I whisper against her cheek.

"You are the pettiest—" she murmurs. Delicate fingers undo the scabbard around my waist, and the sword hits the wooden floor with a thud. "—most predictable—" her fingers sneak beneath my shirt, nails scraping against toned muscled planes and hidden scars. "—thief to sneak into my bedroom."

A pleasant hum escapes me at the feel of those soft dainty fingers gracing my skin. Ever slowly, she begins to lift my shirt upward, unveiling my abdomen for her grey moons to see in full glory. A storm overcomes them, one so dark and full of desire that it could tear me down with one gust.

Last night, those moments of whimsical intimacy were cut short by the lingering thought of Leighton. But tonight, Leighton is no threat to her. He's just a king whose underpants were somehow pinned up in the throne room. How exactly? Only hell knows.

"Take this off," she commands, tugging my shirt. She places her lips in the crook of my neck. Gods, she's in a damn good mood. I sink into her kiss.

She wants to remove my shirt—but tonight we're near the firelight. Unlike last night where the shadows of the night could shield us, she'll see every scar that breaks my skin. When she sees them, she'll ask for answers I can never give her. It'd snap the spell that binds us together, a spell I want to be charmed by for just a little while longer.

"Princess," I gently take her wrists from under my shirt. I bring the soft skin to my lips, placing the tenderest of kisses on the delicate pale skin. She pulls away from my neck, blushing madly when I don't conform to the level of intimacy she covets.

Instead, I take a seat by the hearthlight, then kick off my boots before opening my arms to invite her to sit on my lap. "So how exactly did Leighton's underpants end up there?"

She sits down in my arms, her spine flushed to my chest. The sweet, sweet scent of vanilla consumes my senses until all I see, hear, and think about is this princess cosying up in my arms. Her legs drape over mine, her silk dress hiked up to her mid-thigh. I want to steal her. Take her. Stash her away so no one can ever harm her again.

She sighs, sinking into my embrace. "If I am to marry him, then Leighton must know that I am not another one of his submissive whores," she begins. "My father wants me to treat him like an honourable guest, but he's far from that. So I decided to... to play a little game with Leighton."

Her back straightens as she speaks, as if her cup was being filled to the brim with liquidized pride. My moonbeam is also a fire that no one should tamper with, unless you so happen to be a petty thief like myself.

"I caught Leighton in the hot springs," her breath hitches as my fingers nudge the thin strap of her dress down her shoulder. When the skin remains bare, I dress her with the brush of my lips. "He dismissed the guards and servants because he wanted to be alone. When he was resting and his clothes were out of sight, I decided to take them."

"Gods," I mutter against her skin. "Remind me never to get on your bad side."

But I already have, and we both know it. Some day, I'll be the first name on top of her death list for what I'll do to reunite with Aspen.

Just not today.

"You should have seen him," she giggles, the sound exciting my body more than it should. "Leighton was running through the castle wearing only a pair of boots."

I stop, meeting her grey stormy eyes. My gaze furrows. "Only boots?"

"Yep," she grins. "He was butt-ass naked. The whole castle saw him. Then he told me not to insult his cock."

"You what?"

She swallows, this time quieting down her voice. Within my lap, she spins her entire body around, straddling her legs around my torso. Our noses brush, and those two moons I stare so deeply into bring me into a whole other realm.

"I insulted his cock," she murmurs.

She's officially rendered me speechless. In fact, she has me in a trance. I know the brutality of Leighton, the cruelty of his rule. Anyone that dares cross him ends up dead by the end of the week. Then there's Imogen—stealing his clothes and insulting his dick and—

"How'd his underwear end up in the throne room?" I smirk.

"I had my bow on me. When my father told me to return his clothes, I shot his underwear up to the archway. They can't get it down."

Leighton has no idea how strong my moonbeam is, how she'll mess with him until he frees her from his chains. But now I know the truth behind the marriage. Imogen thinks that marrying Leighton will solve everything, but it's only to remove her from the destruction of her kingdom. She doesn't know that she's set to fall, and no amount of shenanigans to Leighton will fix that.

As if she sensed something was wrong, Imogen's palms cup my cheeks as she brings my lips down to her own. Our kiss warms me up down to the tips of my toes, the blood rushing to other destinations as well. The world draws to a blur, until the only conscious remnant I have is her. Her voice. Her touch. Her breath. She's the oxygen I need to fill my lungs full. This is what she wanted: to pretend that these moments of us will last until the end of time.

I'm a goddamn fool for her.

She pulls away, ending the kiss much earlier than I would like. "I'm afraid I took it too far," she mutters, her voice sharp with fear. "Leighton's a powerful man, and... and he told me in four months that I would be his. I'd be in his home, his bed..."

My insides twist with rage at the thought of her and Leighton. Behind the doors to his private quarters, no one is safe. Not even Imogen. Even after I return to Aspen and go back to the royal militia, there's no way Leighton will assign me to guard his bedroom chamber. Not after what my father did.

Imogen curls her body up against mine, her ear to my steady heart.

"You don't belong to him," I murmur into her moonlit hair.

"I know, but it was a battle between him and I with two fists, he'd win. He'll always win."

"Tell that to his underpants."

She releases a small bunny chuckle, then draws to an eerie silence. Only the sound of the crackling fire can be heard in the room. Hell knows what hour of the night it is, whether I should be staying longer or leaving before the sun rises. But I don't want to go, because out there, I have to face the reality of betraying the trust she handed to me.

Will Imogen understand if I tell her the truth? About Aspen? That I have to sacrifice her kingdom in order to see my younger sister again? It wouldn't solve a damn thing, not for her. She'll still be chained in marriage to Leighton. When I lay here with her, my mind analyzes every possibility to save her, to rid her of the weight that burdens her.

But no one can save Imogen from this betrothal. Only herself.

"Stay?" that little birdsong voice of hers whispers into the empty still air. It's a request she's made nearly every night.

I scoop her up in my arms, carrying her over to her bed—our safe haven where the world can't harm us. There, I kiss her with a vow that I know I'll make tomorrow night, and the next, and the next...

"Always."

── •✧• ──

HAPPY NEW YEAR! To celebrate, I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Tobigen. It was kind of a filler, but the antics will continue in the next chapter!

How was everyone's new years celebrations? Tell me what your new year's resolution is! Is it to vote, comment, & share this story? Because that is something I will greatly appreciate!