A new and wonderful feeling had come over the female since the knight, her knight, confessed his love. She realized it was all she ever wanted, despite the little twist in the fairy tale she shaped her life around. Even as winter's fangs were slowly being bared to the world, the ivory princess felt warm inside, as if the sun rose within her heart each day. It was a welcome flame, and though she had dreamed of how she'd feel about love, experiencing the feelings was unlike she had imagined. It was wonderful, and it made her sing the day away, unable to contain her fluttering heart for a moment.
Giselle's world was quieter, though, as night settled in quicker than expected. The common room emanated warmth, yet loneliness as Giselle settled onto the couch near the hearth, placing a basket of picked fruit next to her. What remained on bushes and trees around the Dreamer lands, the young woman took, afraid to let it spoil and turn frozen in the wintertime. A book was in her lap, the many tales of Hans Christian Andersen that Silvano had given her. Giselle smiled at the thought alone, and as the warmth slowly seeped into her bones from the roaring fire nearby, the dark haired woman tucked her legs in and thumbed through the pages. "Thumbelina," she read aloud, a story she was not familiar with. Alone in the room, she turned her face downward and began to immerse herself in another, tinier world.
The dark came sooner than he liked, and it made him much more nervous. He had been young, so young when he had last seen winter, and he was not liking this one. It meant longer nights with more candles burning. And if they didn't have enough candles to last nights, everyone would be saving them for emergencies and dire situations. They really didn't need the candles to see, but reading was not possible in the dark. The smell of fire seeped up to the small lounge between his family's rooms. It was smoky and delicious, and not at all threatening. He didn't hear any screaming, so he knew things were safe.
Silvano descended the stairs, wondering who had lit a fire. Was it Anu, lighting another fire to keep herself warm in the cold weather? "Anu?" he called softly, rounding the corner into the common room. Instead he saw that Giselle was the one sitting before the fire. "Giselle?" he said in surprise, wondering what she was doing here. Perhaps it was the lure of the fireplace? He stood behind her, looking over her shoulder at the book in her lap. Thumbelina?
As the minutes dragged on, Giselle looked to be reading intently from the small tale. Shadows of the flames in the hearth flickered across her side, dancing along the woman's snowy fur and mahogany hair. When reading upon Thumbelina's size, and therefore being given her name, the Dreamer paused and opened her own palm and inspected a finger. "Oh my, she's tiny!" Giselle giggled to herself in the empty room, but continued to read on about the slimy toads that stole the little girl away.
The young woman was not far along into the book when she heard a familiar voice, one that sent her heart flying and her mind reeling. When she turned her face upwards, she saw the tall knight standing behind the couch, peering over her shoulder curiously. "Silvano~!" The tone in the female's voice was as cheerful as a morning songbird. "I didn't expect to see you here," she commented, though in her heart she was glad he was. There was evidence enough that she was delighted to see him, a smile lighting up her facial features when she gazed up into the man's eyes. Powder blue orbs peered down to the open book in her lap, then tilted her muzzle back up to the male's questioning face. "I'm reading a lovely story from the book you gave me." A blush crept up her snow-white cheeks in remembrance.
The man gave a rumbling laugh, deep in his chest. "I live here," he commented, jokingly of course. They both lived here, so it was hard to miss each other too often. Especially considering one or the other had a habit of visiting the other for one thing or another, sometimes just to spend time together. His mother had to approve of her, since she didn't say much about the matter, especially when it was obvious to anyone they had feelings for one another. "I mean, it is a terribly long walk down the stairs but I suppose it was worth it." He gave her nose a quick kiss when she leaned back up to peer at him, and laughed slightly at her flustered reaction.Goodness, how fun it was getting her flustered, though he wished she could one day take the reins even a tiny bit. She could be so forceful at times. And it was very lovely when she was.
"Story, eh?" Silvano's tone was light, especially as he practically stepped over the back of the couch to slip into its soft cushions. "Which one?" He peered into her book, eying the title at the top of the page. "Thumbelina? What's that one about?" Emerald eyes peered up her, having not yet read that particular page. He wrapped his arms around her shoulder uninvited, wondering if she cared. Well. Not like he knew what they were supposed to do now, even after their wonderful confession to each other. Did she know? Because he had no clue at all.
At the male's comment of him being an unsuspecting visitor, Giselle blushed embarrassingly in response. She knew he meant no harm by them, but his next words had made up for it. A smile caressed her face, and nodded. I.. suppose so~ The young woman spoke courteously in agreement. When she tilted her head up to meet his gaze, a flustered look came about as he briefly kissed the tip of her nose. It was a short and sweet gesture, yet it made the woman's heart drum within her chest. Briefly, Giselle turned away and curtained a side of her face with her locks of auburn hair, feeling the couch shift as he moved to sit in beside her.
His questions brought her face back around, to look into his stunning eyes. For a moment she could not speak, feeling captivated. It was as if she were reading an enchanting tale, the one where any words and actions shaped her own feelings. But it was no book she tried to read, it was her knight. Giselle often had trouble deciphering his thoughts, even after he had confessed his love to her. The gentle touch across her back and shoulder made the woman blink, and return to the present. Oh, I just started reading it, she noted, her form pressing closer to the man's side with help of the sinking cushions beneath. It's about a small girl... a very tiny girl, as big as a human thumb. She lifted her own hand and examined the shortest digit, lifting it up for the errant knight to see. Only.. I just arrived at the part where she was stolen away by an ugly toad, who is forcing Thumbelina to marry the toad's son. Shaking her head, the thought of a forceful marriage broke Giselle's heart. Looking into the knight's eyes once again, she felt compelled to speak of something other than her story. "H-how are you?" She inquired, the warmth of the fire and the male's touch adding the rising color in her cheeks.
He peered at her thumb as she lifted it for him to see. Small as a thumb, she says? Silvano glanced at his own, larger than Giselle's and found himself unable to imagine a girl grown but little as a flower petal. He rotated his hand a bit to and fro, just trying to create an image of it in his head. It was tricky, but he saw a little woman dancing in his hand, giggling, and then toads capturing her to her little squeals of protest. A chuckle escaped him without his consent. She seemed so sad at the thought of the little woman being forced to marry the son of a toad. But everything seemed to make Giselle sad, unless it was a happy ending with love and a prince. The story probably had one that would come rescue Thumbelina, especially since these stories always were the same.
Giselle changed the subject, and Silvano was surprised that she had, too. Normally she talked of princes and marriage and love like it was nothing, but then she changed it and looked at him flustered to boot. So, was it his fault? He could feel his own face heat up. But below that was a different heat and he couldn't help chuckling at her to hide it. "I'm just fine, sweetheart," he said as he tapped her nose with a finger. "Tell me more about Thumbelina. Does she have a prince waiting for her?" He sent her a sidelong glance. "Does she want to marry him?" It was almost as if he were asking her the same question.
It had surprised the snow-white woman that she had changed the subject, when normally she'd continue to read with the company by her side. She knew Silvano enjoyed their time when they read aloud, but the recent days had started to change the way she looked at the male, and how her powder blue eyes fell deep into his sparkling emeralds. It was the magic of love that did just that, a powerful new feeling that made the woman see her knight in a new light, and she almost found herself speaking to him differently as well. Though strange, every moment the pale princess was alight with color and cheer, and made her heart beat noticeably as she let the feelings grow within, like new spring flowers.
She was startled by his gentle, playful touch on her nose, and it made the dark haired woman blink back into reality. Oh~ The woman looked curiously up at the male, who seemed genuinely interested in the tale in the pale woman's lap. Giselle smiled at his first question, moving stray hairs that had taken to falling to one side of her face. I'm sure there's a tiny prince out there for her. It's destiny~! Her words were ones she truly believed, and couldn't help but smile warmly at them. But the happy feature melted away into a surprised expression, at his next inquiry. Slowly, Giselle looked up into his face again, searching for the answer. Only the sound of her own breathing was heard before she answered. Well, I'm sure she and her prince will believe in love at first sight. A small, meek smile painted her face, her next words barely above a whisper, and she found herself turning away from him and facing the fire. Like I did. The hearth crackled merrily in the room, and Giselle found her form sinking deeper into the cushions, delighting in the warmth that it gave off.
The way she kept on looking at him made the heat rise ever more, and he could feel it raging against its leash inside of him. He wanted to feel closer to her, and her pretty blue eyes peering so serenely and so sweetly at him only made the Sadira more eager to reach out and touch her. His fingers itched painfully to hold her by the arms and kiss her till they forgot what time of day it was, where they were, and the etiquette that Giselle seemed to follow all the time. Her words, in the voice that made his heart melt and the heat rise to his face like a thermometer full of mercury, were soft and delicate. She was the picture of delicacy and daintiness. He felt like such a hulking monster beside her, towering rather glaringly over her. But that only meant she was that much easier to swoop up. Maybe one day he would be sweeping her over a threshold himself?
Her eyes shot to the fire and he could feel their absence from his own features. Swallowing his worries, Silvano pulled her face back to him gently. His palm cupped her face as he kissed her, slow and sweetly while the fire crackled on in the hearth. It felt warm against his side as it glowed with light and heat into the chilly room. But the fire under his hands, at his lips, and in his chest were far superior to the warmth the fire could ever think to offer. It felt like he had been swallowed in flames, because he refused to let her slip away again, and he wanted the opportunity to pull her into him on his own. Silvano longed for her and missed her presence often. And he was always so flustered with the way he felt, knowing it was natural but she was just far too pure for him. How did Giselle ever pick him? Him, the gangly beast with a love of stories and books?
There were moments Giselle could only dream about when she closed her eyes and let her heart speak for her, to look up to the stars and find that her wishes had come true. She had read about them in tales, how other princesses found their prince and true love all at once, to close each book with a dreamy smile and hopeful glint in her powder blue eyes. They were no longer aspirations, as her dreams took form in mottled colors in a tall, regal knight. Like in the storybooks, he saved her - on more than one occasion - but Giselle had been looking too far to notice what was nearest all along. Since then, the woman swore to herself to let her feelings guide her decisions, as they were right more often than not.
She felt his strong hand graze her cheek, and felt its inviting tug away from the warmth of the fire. The petite woman uttered a small gasp when a new warmth fell over her, his shadow towering over her own as the knight kissed her. Only in that brief moment did the ivory woman hesitate, but like the licking flames at their sides she quickly melted into it, sparkling eyes fluttering shut, giving in to her feelings without another hint of doubt. Her palms reached up and settled themselves upon his chest delicately, the book of tales left forgotten upon her lap. In that moment, Giselle was living her dream, and the warmth that enveloped her was something words could not describe.
At first, Silvano felt her stiffen, surprised and uncertain. But she melted into him, warmed by his touch and the heat of the fire. She truly did melt into him, leaning toward him as he slid his hand down her face to her neck, then shoulders, He brought up his other hand to her face as he renewed the kisses with a slight breath. Her hands came to his chest and he felt the fire being to roar, the demon inside halfway to bursting from the rising satisfaction. It purred in his chest, making his heart beat faster. Giselle had to feel his heart racing beneath her fingers, though he could practically feel hers running like a rapid through her veins beneath the skin and light fur on her neck.
But then the demon began to win, growling with hunger and desire. Silvano knew what it was and wanted it to go away, and let the two of them figure things out on their own. But he was so hungry. So hungry. It wanted to be satisfied. It needed it.
The Sadira slipped his hand down her arm, then slipping down her side to her waist, where he squeezed gently. It was foreign territory to him, but it seemed like somewhere it was ingrained into his brain. His body was reading off a script and his fingers were playing the keys. But that was just a vulgar metaphor. Giselle was so pure, and he was starting to feel so guilty for feeling so terribly attracted to her. But did she? Did she feel that way for him? Did she have the same fiery desire? He didn't know. Silvano slipped both hands to her waist. His face heated up instantly. Those hands roved upward, only lightly touching the sides of her chest.
