forum Cinderella AU // OxO // Closed

Started April 17, 2020 by @ElderGod-Icefire

tune

Ellis laughed a little. "Hm. You could go out to the gardens?"

"That'd be nice… care to join me, Ellis?" Lloyd offered, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

Ellis blinked. "Oh– I…I have chores to do." he looked away. "I can't."

"Ah… I'm not sure I'm allowed to go outside alone, but I can try…" Lloyd hummed thoughtfully. "I don't know if the guards would try to stop me."

Ellis shrugged slightly. "Ah. Sorry."

"Well, I… I'll see you later, Ellis." Lloyd smiled weakly and headed off down the hall.

Ellis waved. "Yeah. See you." he replied.

Lloyd headed out to the gardens and sat down with a sigh. He was soon joined by two guards, who simply stood silently at either side of him.

(Gtg soon)

Ellis went back to his work, letting out a breath and shaking his head.

Lloyd glanced up to see the end of a rifle looking through the bushes. He jumped up and shouted quickly to the guards. They jumped to cover him, and Lloyd jumped as he heard a gunshot. "Phillip!" He cried as the guard fell to the ground. The other one quickly ushered him inside, keeping him covered the whole time.

Ellis's head snapped up when he heard a gunshot, and he headed off towards the gardens, already worried for Lloyd's safety, almost irrationally so.

The other guard closed the door and ushered Lloyd inside. Lloyd was very pale and was trembling slightly. "W-Wait, but Philip! We… w-we can't just leave him out there!" The guard hushed him quietly, glancing back at the door. "Are you alright, your majesty?" He asked. Lloyd shook his head. "No! I-I… Philip, he… that should have been me! He's dead and it's my fault! Oh, god.. " He ran his fingers through his hair and drew in a wavering breath. "It's not your fault, my liege. It's our duty to protect you."

Ellis spotted Lloyd and a guard up ahead. "Your highness?" he said as he came closer. "Are you alright?"

Lloyd glanced over at Ellis, still wide eyed and deathly pale. "I-I… uh… I'm not sure yet." He said weakly. "You should probably head back to your room, my liege. You need to rest."

Ellis took a deep breath. "I can take him." he said to the guard, not knowing what was going on but knowing it must be bad.

The guard hesitated before nodding. "Be careful." He said before heading back out to deal with the situation. Lloyd silently watched him go, still quivering.

Ellis reached out to Lloyd. "Come on. I don't know what happened, but come on."

Lloyd allowed Ellis to pull him along by the hand. He'd left his crutches outside and he was very against the idea of going out to get them, so he was just going to limp. He was staring blankly at the ground, his eyes shining with tears.

Ellis moved to support Lloyd, looking at him worriedly.

Lloyd drew in a shaky breath, not quite there at the moment. He was only vaguely aware of what was going on at the moment. He couldn't stop thinking about Philip.

"You alright, Lloyd?" Ellis asked softly.

Lloyd shook his head weakly and closed his eyes. He stopped walking, turning the tips of his wings around himself as a sort of shield.

(gtg soon sorry)

Ellis stopped, looking at him. "Lloyd, what happened?" he asked quietly, worried.

(No problem)
"They came back…" He whispered, rubbing at his eyes with one hand. "They tried to… t-to finish the job, b-but the guards… they shot Philip… it's all my fault…"

Ellis closed his eyes for a moment. "Oh. I'm sorry." he said softly, wrapping his arms gently around Lloyd.