It was, unfortunately, a rare sight to see. Pisces looked so peaceful as she slept in his arms. It was, unfortunately, a rare sight to see. Pisces looked so peaceful as she slept in his arms. The light of the moon seeped through the iron bars of the cell's window - and seemed to set itself onto her. Aries recalled a time, many years ago, when the moonlight would reflect off her skin and hair, and make Pisces look like she was glowing. He recalled when her hair looked softer than the feathers of her wings, so light and curly. He lifted his hand and ran a finger through the white locks that had long since lost their buoyancy, their small curls having frizzed away from lack of care. He remembered when he was a young boy, sneaking off into this- at the time - restricted area, standing on his tiptoes to grab a glance at her through the slit in the door. He remembered seeing her and thinking about her lovely she was, he couldn't get enough of the big blue eyes that once held such life, always giving him a look of curiosity and wonder. And he remembered watching all of that fade away, little by little, as the years passed.

It couldn't have gone any other way, though. The old king was, though well-intended, a cruel man; exposing his children to the art of war and violence at such a young age and torturing another child in compensation for the murder of a soldier. Aries hated him for it, he hated that he let his father indoctrinate him into the same violent and stubborn mindset. Pisces was not meant to live a long or happy life, and he wasn't sure if he was relieved or distressed that his father would not be the one to end her. All he knew was that if he could keep her away from the Morsans, Jupiter's people, he could keep her alive for just a little longer. He didn't care how much longer, if Aries could keep her alive for only a moment longer, just one more second, he'd give up an arm and a leg. He didn't care what it took, he just couldn't give her up. Not yet. Of course, that meant that he would have to hand her over to one of them, but it was far better than letting Jupiter get her hands on Pisces.

Even if only for a moment longer... He thought as he glanced at her lips.

Oh, how he wished he could kiss her, but he knew that once he let himself get that far, he'd end up sacrificing his entire kingdom just to elope with her. It was so tempting, too; to steal her away and have a happily ever after with her. But his kingdom and people came first, he knew he couldn't handle the guilt of leaving them all behind. Not to mention the shame and humiliation that would entail such cowardice. No, he couldn't kiss her. He could never let himself fall down that rabbit hole.

Aries raised his hand once again to cradle her face ever so gently, his thumb running over a thin scar under her eye, raised with thickened skin and lighter than the melanin-rich colour of her face. Such unique traits she possessed, white hair and blue eyes, paired with skin like warm honey. He wondered if she would taste just as sweet, were he to kiss her on the cheek or forehead. Yet, nothing was more inviting than the pink, plump cushions that were her lips. He knew he shouldn't but...

But one tender touch couldn't be so bad, right? He thought, just the slightest bit of intimacy...

Aries had never felt so torn, he'd go mad if he was deprived of intimacy and he'd go mad if he let himself fall into a spiral of love. There was no winning in this situation. Still, he held her face, tilting it up to face him. He lowered his head closer to her face, still hesitant. With the scrunching of his eyebrows and a huff of breath, he moved his lips to her forehead, giving her a kiss so soft that she might have thought a feather of hers must have tickled her. She stirred, and Aries backed away. Pisces, still deep in her sleep, raised a hand to touch where he'd kissed her, but then went on to curl up closer to him. He let out a sigh of relief. And though he knew he should have stopped right there, after already having gone too far, he wanted more. He needed more.

Aries pressed his lips to her temple, then her cheek, and along her jaw.

Don't do it. Don't you dare-

All thoughts and rationality were thrown out the window as he indulged himself in her lips. They were chapped and cold, and yet he could feel butterflies dancing in his stomach; and for the first time in months - no, years - he felt all of his stresses melt away into nothing. He felt his muscles relax, every bit of exhaustion left his body - and he felt energized. But as he entangled his fingers into her hair to bring her closer and deepen the kiss, the butterflies left and there was a drop in his gut. A possessive growl left his lips, and he let himself indulge in this feeling of infatuation. His breathing was heavy when he separated from her, but not a single thought came to mind - nor any care to the chance that Pisces would awaken - as he buried his face in her neck, kissing and suckling at the area beneath her jaw. He didn't stop when he saw the skin redden and bruise, a mark to warn others to stay away from what was his.

You should be ashamed of yourself. You should feel terrible.

But he wasn't, and he didn't. In fact, he almost felt proud of himself, as he raised his nose to those thoughts.

Oh, witch, look at what you've done to me, and lay witness to the consequences of your actions.

Aries let his eyes wander to the window, and it was then that he noticed how much brighter the room had become, as the orange-yellow rays of sunlight added a burst of colour from behind the mountains in the distance. The mountains where Scorpio resided.

He wouldn't dare try anything after seeing this mark.

The mark won't stay for long, but it will stay for long enough that Scorpio would get the message to bring her no harm. He blew out the candle. Aries felt all of his tensions come right back as he stood, Pisces still in his arms, and proceeded to carry her out of the cell. He'd hoped that he could have done this on a much happier occasion, but he knew that, that occasion would never come.

Aries took her through the grand halls of the Fotunn castle. All of the servants had yet to wake up, luckily for him. He brought her outside and quickly went into the crate, used to transport supplies to Scorpio, before anyone could see. He set her down, resisting a frown when she huddled at the noticeable lack of warmth.

Leo, who had waited for the two - leaning on the trunk of a tree as he tried to take one last nap before the journey - opened his eyes and saw Aries exiting the crate. He pushed himself to his feet and walked over to his friend, about to head into the crate with that thing. Aries stopped him, a firm hand on Leo's shoulder.

"I know how you feel about her," Aries stated, "but please understand that you are the only one I trust, and I trust you to keep her safe."

But Leo kept a stern look on his face and turned his head to look forward as he walked into the crate. Aries knew that Leo had given him a look of defiance, but didn't say anything as he closed the latch. Leo was the only one who could have done that and walked away unharmed, and Aries knew he wouldn't do anything brash or destructive.

I'm sure Pisces can handle a glare or two.

He waved over the driver, who'd been conversing with other workers while eating a breakfast of bitter tea and stale bread. The haywain strapped up the horses, and Aries heard clip-clopping, turning away and making his way back to his study. A cold numbness washed over him as Pisces was taken away.

The castle suddenly felt more void, even with the peace and silence of all the sleeping servants. Aries wondered if it would still feel that way when the bells will ring to wake everyone up. Aries reached his study and closed the door behind him. He felt heat at his side and saw a dim, orange glow.

Ugh, not him again.

"What a pathetic fool you are." Cercios commented.

Aries pulled his sword out of its sheath, pointing the end at the spirit.

"Say that again!" He warned.

But Cercios simply grabbed the blade, it began to heat up and glow a bright red, similar to him.

"I said: you're a pathetic fool." Cercios kept a straight face, "A cowardly, pathetic, lovestruck fool. I saw you kiss her."
"I am not about to have you lecture me again." Aries said.

Cercios, the spirit of fire, looked to be quite a muscly young man, so young he could almost be called a boy - if he were not an un-aging immortal. His skin glowed like a flame, which was unsurprisingly quite fitting for him, and his long hair glowed a deep red along with his eyes. He wore the very old and traditional clothing of a traveler, with the colours of red, brown and gold that didn't add much contrast. Jewelry of rubies and gold adorned his body, an air of extravagance surrounding him as it would any spirit. He crossed his arms and frowned at Aries.

"You know damn well that you shouldn't have done that."
"And what are you going to do about it? She's already gone, so it's not like I can do anything else, now."

The spirit's body evaporated into a mist, and he reconstructed at Aries' desk, sitting atop the mountain of books and papers. Cercios crossed his legs and leaned on one hand, looking down at Aries who had sat down in his seat.

"You could have at least told her how you feel."
"You know I can't do that-"
"And yet you kissed her!" Cercios cut him off, "You kiss her, and hold her, and apologize for everything that's happened, and yet you can't even bring yourself to confess to her."

The spirit floated up and bent upside-down, getting in the prince's glaring face.

"As I said; coward."

Aries, in a fit of rage, shoved the books and papers off of the desk, standing up.

"Well, what do you expect me to do?!" He yelled.

Cercios turned right-side-up, a hand under his chin.

"Not fall in love with the one girl you're destined to murder." He rolled his eyes.

Cercios held the bridge of his nose, his eyebrows scrunching together.

"Sweet Mother Goddess, I'm going to lose my eyes at the back of my head..." He whispered, "I can talk circles around you about stupid you are!"
"Didn't you just say that I should have confessed to the ethereal?" Aries countered.
"Hey, I said it was cowardly to be untruthful about your feelings, I didn't say you should've had those feelings in the first place."

Aries huffed as he sat back down, picking up a quill and parchment. He dipped the tip into a jar of ink.

"Yes, well, she's gone now. What does it matter?" He said, "You should go off somewhere else, I have to write back to Aquarius."

Aries stopped in the middle of a word, the ink continuing to drip onto the parchment and forming a large blotch of ink that seeped through the paper.

"Why are you here, anyway?" He looked back at the spirit.
"Why do you think?" Cercios replied, his eyes narrowing, "I have news."