At that point, my voice trailed off, raspy and even slightly shaky when I became aware of the closeness between the two of us. He was just standing there, his body near mine, almost pressed against mine.. Almost. His brows furrowed as he scanned me and listened to every word I had to say.. "If I wanted a war, I wouldn't had ran with you today, Lana. I could've killed that bastard right there. I wanted to." I looked down. "But you didn't." And he did the right thing not to. "I didn't. I didn't because of you." Just a simple lean closer was enough for him to put his hand against the counter behind me and trap me right there. The closeness gave me relief, making me look up at him and see the longing in his eyes, reflected back on mine.. Hearing the truth behind his words and feeling my heart melt. He inhaled sharply. "I went against my own instincts for the millionth time, all because of you, Lana. Because I know how much that war can ruin you. And killing him would've started exactly that.. A war." "Then why..- why did you make me explain all of this to you if you knew?" The simple reach of his hand towards my face gave me the kind of relief I was longing for, for what seemed like months, when it only had been a little more than a day.. His touch soothed the mightiest flames that burned in the darkest depths of my soul, and I could somehow breathe again. "I knew a lot of things.. I just wanted to hear you say them. To my face." At that point his breath was against my own, and a simple lean from either of us would've been enough for our lips to touch.. But neither of us did it because that closeness offered enough soothing for that moment, almost as if we were more desperate to keep looking into each other's eyes than for anything else. He ran the tip of his finger lightly over the side of my face, turning his knuckle and continuing that gentle trace down my neck.. Down my shoulder and arm. I watched how he followed his own touch, and I had had enough of keeping my hands to myself.. A simple lean, a simple wrap of my arms around his torso was enough for him to do the same thing, pulling my closer effortlessly by wrapping those strong arms over my whole back.. Keeping me against him in a way that my head was pressed against his chest, right where his heart beat rhythmically.. Right where his warmth melted my soul, his presence giving me the kind of safety I couldn't get enough of.. That simple hug seemed to be the key, the way of us soothing that fury, that anger that we spent almost an hour trying to get out through yelling, yet it was silence what we needed.. Each other's arms that gave the calming. A minute passed, and I just snuggled closer to him, feeling him leave a soft kiss right there on top of my head, inhale deeply and run his hand through my hair from behind. "You know, that night, after the ball, you said something when you were falling asleep.." I kept my eyes closed and allowed myself to feel how his chest slightly vibrated as he spoke. "You said these exact same words." My eyes instantly opened, feeling my heart preform a skip that almost knocked all air out my lungs. However, I didn't move. I seemed to hold my breath, frown in confusion as I tried remembering when I could've said such words that I had never said to anyone else before.. He once again ran his fingers through my hair, over my back. "You know what I told you?" He obviously knew I didn't remember, and probably knew that it would freak me out that I didn't remember saying such things, so his hand moving over my hair and back, his lips moving against my hair as he spoke.. It calmed me and kept me in place.. I mumbled a slight 'Mm?' and looked up at him slightly, still keeping my arms wrapped around his torso like I just didn't want to let go. And I really didn't. Because I knew eventually I would have to.. Maybe even forever. So I was trying to take in the moment, absorb every second of it and have it carve in my brain as deeply as for me to be able to remember it forever. Dark eyes looked down at me, and the very second I had that perfect face of his near mine while looking up at him, I felt tingles in my stomach, loss of thoughts.. "I said them back, princess." His soft deep tone almost made my legs give out on me, but his arms held me tightly and safely against himself, having me get on my tiptoes slightly and bury my face against his shoulder, near his neck, just so that I could have his scent flood my senses enough to leave me dizzy.. He pulled away slightly, just enough to have me look at him, make me hypnotized by that perfect serious frown that only proved how true his words were.. He scanned my face slowly and surely, brought his hand over my chin and ran his thumb over my lips as lightly as to tingle, causing my eyes to flatter closed.. "Lana, I'm ready to start and win a war for you," The words should've frightened me perhaps, but they soothed me in that moment, making me only look back at him and once again hold my breath in fascination from how damn perfect he was. "And a war is nothing compared to just how damn much I love you." My heart flattered in the most unusual way.. My hands suddenly went numb from how quickly those feelings for this man flooded me.. Underneath my veins ran tremors, tingling my palms to the point where my skin was itching to touch him.. And that's what I did. My hands went over the sides of his face, and a simple pull from him was enough for our lips to connect in one breathless move, one simple need for that doze of each other.. In that moment of despair, his lips were the cure my soul needed, and his words the encouragement my mind longed for, just to keep fighting. In that moment, I knew it was either the beginning of something wonderfully unfamiliar, or the simple beginning of the end.. Not just only for us, but for perhaps a whole kingdom, either the one that I grew up in, or one that stood behind him..