#utot ruth serbel

[herdecisions]

Im so in love with this man

[ellery-six]

You tried, Riftan 🤷‍♀️ . . I was so excited to hear that Under the Oak Tree will be printed as a proper book in English next year, I had to another #utot picture! I can’t wait!

[snailsgoingdowntown]

Ruth x maid! Fem! Reader

Ruth is 30 and reader is 24, 6 year age gap cuz I'm turning 23 this year but I think Ruth is supposed to be in his early to mid thirties so I'm being kinda Self-indulent (I didn't want to make the gap 7 years so... Yeah, upped the age).

Not the actual fic that will come out, just a drabble that I came up with

Warnings: slight self-conscious on Ruth's side

Nsfw warnings: fingering, oral (f receiving)

Minors, ageless blogs that barely have anything, dni or you get blocked.

This blog contains/interacts/creates dark content, dni if you are uncomfortable with that.

No tag list for this cuz I'm on the road + I wrote it down on a sheet of paper I left at home.

--

I think Ruth would absolutely have a low sex drive. He just doesn't look like someone who thinks about it often, much less have the urge. I am 100% sure he's a virgin cuz like, look at him. He doesn't know how to rizz ppl up nor does he want to unless it benefits him (having maxi help with making the magical devices, but that was more peer pressure than actual rizz).

I'm just saying, Ruth would be kinda hopeless with asking out the reader, not because he's cluelese (probably seen Gable and the others pick up chicks, so has a vague idea of what and what not to do + can see how unbalanced maxi's relationship with Riftan is. He literally told him to calm down with his antics once, but thats about it if I remember correctly) but because he's just so... Blunt that it comes off as rude.

Maxi literally thinks that in the webtoon when her maid slams his drink down on the table instead of placing it down gently like she did with maxi's cup.

But anyway, I just imagine Ruth as the type of guy who at first, tries to ignore the developing feelings he has for you, and it works, but it gets harder and harder when you smile at him like that, when you return his playful banter and don't get offended at his tone and choice of words. When you don't overstep his boundaries, attempt to get to know him, his likes and dislikes, interests, how you want to learn about magic and you listen to his lectures, hell sometimes he even invites you to sit along with maxi as he goes about teaching her (only if the lady of the castle is comfortable, of course, which she will be after a while cuz I said so).

The way your face lights up in awe and wonder whenever he performs a spell or summons fire from the tip of his fingertips. The very eyes that tend to glance at his lips, and he pretends he doesn't notice. Your hands that are a bit rough from washing clothes, helping in the kitchen, cold water stinging and numbing them when you scrub the castle floors, are the very hands he wants to hold, and sometimes late at night, he imagines them pulling and tugging at his hair as you lean against 'his' table or even the library wall, and fuck if he actually had enough room to use in his tower, he would, his mouth latched onto your clit and fingers pumping in and out of your sloppy cunt -

It's not very often he gets thoughts like that, but when he does, he gets harder than riftan gets with the knights and their training.

He doesn't comment on your efforts to keep the library tidy, organizing his books and research papers to where the place looks presentable, at least. But he shows his appreciation through small favors in return - helps you with the cleaning if times allows for it, showing you flashy yet small spells that don't affect the area or people around (riftan would quite literally kill him if they did), gulping down his embarrassment as he massages your shoulders, ignoring the way you were just a bit too squimish, or how flustered you would get but accept his offer regardless.

It's not even a sexual thing, it just makes him want to wrap his arms around you, take in your scent, confess and just enjoy a simple life with you -

It's not really possible. He's just incapable of showing clear romantic intentions and affections. He's not husband material and he doesn't want kids, and he's very iffy about weddings and marriage in general when it concerns him. Besides, he's older than you, and while age gaps are common, he thinks it'd be better if you were to settle down with someone your own age. Because someone your own age would understand you better, give you children, marry you without worry.

You deserve a loving, caring husband, one who would hug and kiss you, make love to you, respects you, who isn't afraid or uncomfortable with physical affection, and doesn't have a rather bad reputation around the castle because of his personality.

So, when your hands clutch at his shirt, tilting your chin up, mouth pressing against his, he should stop you. He should stop instead of loosely wrapping one arm around your waist, bringing you closer, moving his mouth against yours. He should stop instead of clumsily bumping teeth with you, humming in content as you sigh into the kiss.

He should stop instead of going in for another kiss once you part, finally understanding what makes riftan so crazy about physical affection.

He should stop, but he doesn't.

He can't nor does he want to.

[ishaslife]

HEBARON NIRTA MOODBOARD

It is honestly embarrassing how whipped I am for this man.

Still moodboard:

[ruthserbel]

Hello all! Another drabble post - because I saw this post, and I couldn't help but think about writing this, so please enjoy! This one is SFW! However, if you want to read the NSFW version (which changes the actual written part, you can find that one here [x]! I placed most of this post under a read more so I'm not clogging up the tags with this~

〚 𝓇𝓊𝓉𝒽 𝓁𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝒹 𝒾𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓁𝒶𝓅 〛

» we've already established (in this (sfw [x]/nsfw [x]) post) Ruth is super cuddly with you when you two are alone.

» sometimes he will pull you in so you're sitting in his lap while you reading, other times he will wrap his arms around you while sitting behind you (making it impossible for you to continue with what you were doing beforehand - although you don't fully mind this)

» although sometimes - not often though - he will lay his head in your lap while you're seated on the bed, reading a book, or something else

▸ you can't even be mad at him when he does this though - how could you be mad when he does this? ▸ he tends to do this when the two of you haven't seen each other for a bit because he's been busy with other things

» you set aside whatever you were doing before you run your fingers through his hair

▸ he has never said it, although you can tell - he loves it when you play with his hair ▸ he will close his eyes as you continue to brush your fingers through his hair

» after a while of that, you'll lean down to gently kiss his forehead, thinking that he's fallen asleep

▸ you realize that he wasn't asleep when he pulls you lower, kissing you instead

pretext to this (because it matters for me so I could write this and have it make sense): you're sitting cross legged on the bed, leaning your back against a wall/headboard type thing (whatever you want it to be/call it - up to you as it's not specific), reading a book quietly in Ruth's tower

song: dream a little dream of me [this version] if you don't understand why after reading this, maybe i'm just crazy, but i feel as if this kinda fits?

word count: 865 (short and sweet c:)

「 night breezes seem to whisper, "I love you" 」

Flipping the page in your book that you were reading, you hear the door to opening.

"Hello," you say, lifting your head to greet Ruth - who looked very tired. You hadn't seen him all day, although that was becoming the normal right now. Riftan had been keeping him busy throughout the day. So the two of you were not able to see each other until the end of the day - if you hadn't fallen asleep already.

He gave a weak wave as he walked into the room, before dropping himself on the bed. You let out a small giggle has he laid his head down on your lap. It wasn't often that he would do this, but when he did you couldn't help but let out a laugh. You looked down at the silver haired man as he let out a sigh, ignoring your giggles at him.

"I know, I know," you whisper as you close your book, setting it down on the bed. Looking back to the man in front of you, you place your hand gently on his head. You interlaced your fingers within his hair, playing with his hair as you whispered. "I missed you too."

The two of you sat in silence for a while while you continue to run your fingers through his hair. He had closed his eyes as he relaxed, a slight smile growing on his face as you kept playing with his hair. He had never mentioned liking his hair being played with, although you could tell he did like it.

Anytime you had done this for him, he would fall asleep. Giving that, it led you to assume that after a few minutes of playing with his hair that he had fallen asleep. Gently, you push aside the hair that was laying on his forehead before you lifted your hand from his head.

"I love you," you whispered before leaning down to kiss his forehead. As your lips brushed against his forehead, you heard Ruth whispered back. His voice was barely audible, despite how close you were to him.

"I love you too," Ruth whispered, which caused you to jump a little.

You let out a soft giggle as you started to lean back, although you were stopped by Ruth's hand. He held your face a few inches from his face. His eyebrows raised as you looked at him, your face starting to blush.

"I... I thought you were asleep," you whisper, stammering over your words, causing you to blush more.

"I wasn't," Ruth replied in a whispered voice before he moved his hand from the back of your head, allowing you to sit up. Relieved, you sat back again, as he sat up himself. "Just because I wasn't means you're going to stop though?" He questioned, now sitting in front of you on the bed.

"Stop what?" you question.

Ruth let out a slight chuckle at your question before he leaned closer to you, placing his hand behind your head. "You're adorable," he whispered as he brought you forward into a gentle kiss. The kiss started out soft and delicate. You leaned more into the kiss, only parting to catch your breath.

Letting out a giggle, you break the kiss, leaning your head against Ruth's. "Ruth," you mutter breathlessly.

"Mmm," Ruth hums before kissing you again.

"You need sleep," you mumble against his lips after a moment before breaking the kiss again. You statement caused Ruth to let out a sigh. Ignoring his sigh, you rested your forehead against his again. "You know you do, so don't fight me on this," you whisper, trying to get him to listen to you. All of the features of his face were showing his exhaustion.

With a groan, Ruth agreed. "Fine," he said before he moved on the bed so he could lay down, resting his head on a pillow at the top of the bed.

"Thank you," you say with a small smile. Reaching out to grab the book, you moved to get out of the bed. Although you're stopped as you feel Ruth's hands reach around you. Before you could question what Ruth was doing, he pulled you back - pulling you against him.

Falling back on the bed, you let out a light giggle before you look up to him. You didn't need to question him - you knew what he wanted. He didn't want you to leave right now.

"You know," you whisper, before you squirm, trying to get Ruth to release you, which he did. As his arms released his grip on you, you reached to set the book down on the floor. "You could just ask me to stay," you say as you turn back, laying down on the bed beside Ruth, facing him.

"Please sta-" Ruth started, although he was cut off by you. You gently pressed your lips against his, kissing him for a moment. The kiss didn't linger for long, as you broke the kiss moving to cuddle your head against his chest.

"I won't leave," you whisper as you close your eyes. Although you weren't tired, you felt as if you could always fall asleep like this.

taglist: @kunikida-simp, @tylerhasmyheart

[inky-escapism]

Jealously makes the heart.... beat faster?

“You’re spending too much time in the library, don’t you think?” Riftan looked at Maxi through the mirror as he combs her red hair.

“Well, I like reading books.” Maxi blushed from the attention. “And you know that..” she whispered, giving Riftan a soft smile.

The truth is, Maxi has been mumbling in her sleep, calling out a certain name he couldn’t work out and it’s bothering Riftan so much he couldn’t sleep.

For a few weeks now, Riftan’s insomnia has kept the knights enervated, especially Hebaron. Being the only knight who could kept up with Riftan, Hebaron, the sacrificial lamb, endured through the rough waves of drills till dusk. And it doesn’t help that the weather was getting warmer as summer months creep in. “Sir Nirta, come back here!” Uslin hissed, feeling frazzled with the sun shining harshly on his perfect face. Being the vice commander, Hebaron used to oversee the training of squires with Uslin before Riftan’s unease.

“Save me.” Hebaron mouths to Uslin, as Riftan drags Hebaron further away from Uslin’s group.

“Why, why? Why do I have to do this alone?” whingeing under his breath, Uslin repeats this same question for the umpteenth time. Tired and annoyed, Uslin looks up and shouts to the knight carving his own arrows. “Gabel, you come here then!”

“Noisy. Again.” Ruth comments, rolling his eyes as he hears Uslin calling out to Gabel on his trip to the library.

Back at the castle, Ruth was on his way for another lesson with Maxi. ‘Looks like I’ll have to conjure another shield to keep their nonsense out.’ Ruth sighs as he pushes the door open.  

“My lady, you’re early.” Ruth yawned, cracking his fingers.

Maxi jumped from his sudden comment and hugged the book tightly in her chest.

“Don’t bother, I know what you’re reading. No books of spells are in that colour” Ruth giggled.

 “It’s just too intriguing. Do you think the forgotten princess will eventually find out that her new guard was that hero from her childhood? Will she get together with Sir Herman in the end?’ Maxi squeals.

“Lesson 394, My STUDENT.” Ruth taps the blackboard with his chalk sternly as if to bring Maxi back to Anatol, knowing her soul was transported to the Land of Roses with Ser Herman and the maiden, rumoured to be the forgotten princess.

‘Yes, yes, Mage Ruth..’ opening her books while taking a sip of the tea Rudys left before leaving the library for her other chores.

Ending her lessons with tons of homework, Maxi dragged her spell books out of the library. Her small built made her had no choice but to leave her novels behind and come back to get them again after.

“Back from your book club activities with Ruth?” Riftan questioned in bemusement, not expecting his wife to be back this early.

“Where’s Rudys?” Riftan asked as he took over the pile of books from Maxi.

Panting, Maxi waves the questions away with her lady hands as she sat on the bed, trying to catch her breath. Taking a huge breath in, Maxi proceeds to leave for the library again to get her novels.

“Where are you going? Don’t tell me you’re going to the library again! Just how many books are Ruth trying to bury you under? I’ll have a talk with him.” Riftan said as he pulled Maxi’s arm back.

“No, it’s not that. It’s something else. I’ll be back soon!” Maxi chirps as she pecked Riftan goodbye.

“You’re not having dinner with us tonight?” Riftan questions behind Maxi, as she runs off with her puffy dress that can be seen bouncing in far end of the stairs now.

“I’ll see you at the dining hall!” Her little lady voice trailed off, as she hurried back to the library. “Rudys!” Maxi exclaimed. Glad that she caught Rudys in time, before she tidies up the library.

“My lady, please do not run along the corridors. You might fall and injure yourself.” Rudys warmly greeted Maxi with a worry.

Maxi blushed as she bashfully remembered her blue-blacks from her falling and knocking onto the walls whilst reading. It was good practice for her too, on her healing spells.

“My books, they’re not back on the shelves, are they?” Her wide eyes scanning the table.

“No, My Lady, they’re here. I was about to bring them back to your room after cleaning up Mage Ruth’s mess on the floor.” Rudys smiled tightly, her certain dislike for Ruth can been sensed.

Maxi let out a sigh of relief, “Thank you Rudys! That’s very sweet of you!” Maxi exclaimed as she hugged Rudys tightly.

“Let’s go for dinner now, Riftan is waiting!” Maxi collected her books from Rudys, laughing while chatting as they head to the dining hall.

Even at the door, the scent of hot gravy and roasted meat perfumed the air.

“My lady, would you like to join us?” Elliot asked, as he spot Maxi coming through the door. He was standing at his seat, splitting servings of the roasted boar for the table.

“Yes, Sir Elliot! It smells wonderful!” Maxi grins, happier than ever as she realized her stutter has improved dramatically. ‘Not an extra syllable, today!’ Maxi smirks to herself.

Moving their bottoms along, expecting Maxi to naturally take the seat beside their Lord Commander, Maxi saw the empty seat beside Hebaron and just took it. Unbeknownst to her, Riftan wasn’t too pleased with her decision.

‘She knows which pubs I go to.. I can’t just go to any pubs now. I hate drinking in the castle.’ Hebaron was brooding over his avoidance in the local pubs. ‘It’s so boring here… I want to go out there, and drink with the other lads.’ Tilting his head towards the window, Hebaron stares into the night sky whilst Gabel steals his cuts of meat.

A cold breeze sneaked in as swiftly as it went out, causing Maxi to shudder from its sudden visit. As she was directly in Hebaron’s line of sight, Hebaron thinks nothing of it, and took off his vest, putting it on Maxi. ‘Don’t get a cold, My Lady’. Hebaron adds as he got the squires to close off the windows before going back to his dwelling.

Across the table, a darken Riftan was seen stabbing his meat, giving it a second death. ‘Why is he looking at Maxi like that?.. Is it Hebaron?’ Riftan envisaged in his thoughts.

“Sir Hebaron, why are you not eating?” Maxi questioned as she joins Gabel in shrinking Hebaron’s mountain of meat. Jealous at this slight action, Riftan immediately plates more roasted boar for Maxi. ‘I’ll get more meat for you if you want, all you have to do is ask. Why are you getting it from him?’ Letting his jealously run his thoughts, Riftan narrows his eyes at Maxi and Hebaron, frowning so much that his eyebrows are almost touching.

“Start eating or there’ll be none left.” Uslin warns Hebaron as he hastily swats Gabel’s fork away. Getting the cue, Elliot sighs as he stands up again, cutting more meat to fill up Hebaron’s plate.

“I’m not hungry.” Hebaron states, shocking the whole table. “I’ll go to bed now.” Hebaron put his fork down and pushes his plate towards Maxi. “Here, you can have them, My Lady.” Hebaron smiles as he pats Maxi’s shoulder, gesturing her to eat up, before leaving the table.

“Is he alright?” Maxi asked, her eyes following Hebaron as he walked away.

‘Is he alright?! What about me? I’m not alright. Why do you keep looking at him instead?’ Riftan grumbled in his head.

“He’ll be fine, My Lady.” Uslin assured, waving a kitchen maid over. “Bring this and more ale to Sir Nirta’s room.” Uslin instructs her as he hands her a stacked pile of meat on a clean plate.

“Work wife indeed.” Ruth’s comment boosted a great deal of hilarity along the table. However, Gabel and Elliot shut their laughter immediately upon receiving Uslin’s side eye.

Maxi smiled at their interaction, as she continued to stuff her face with dinner, leaving nothing on her plate before she retreated to her room with Riftan.

“Carry me, I can’t walk. I’m too full..” Maxi whimpered, tugging on Riftan’s sleeves. Sighing in defeat, the jealous husband picked his wife up in his arms.

“Am I heavy?” Maxi asked, her fingers fidgeting with Riftan’s top.

“No.” Riftan replies cooly.

“Then why are you grimacing? Your face’s wrinkly.” Maxi pouts as she cautiously cups his face with her hands. Her touch softened his mood.

“It’s nothing.” Riftan kicks the bedroom door open and lays Maxi gently on the bed. Not letting go of Riftan’s top, Maxi used all of her energy to pull him closer for a kiss.

“Silly girl.” Riftan finally smiles as he ruffles her hair, joining her under the sheets. Maxi quickly fell asleep in his arms, with her tummy full of roasted boar.

Unable to sleep, much like the past few nights, Riftan started analysing his thoughts, running through the information as if to plan a combined attack on the field. Misusing his talents as a warfare strategist, Riftan connected the string of words Hebaron told him the other night, that how it was impossible for Hebaron to be with the innominate lady and how rumours will start flying like flies in the sky, with the name Maxi kept muttering in her sleep. Starting with a H, and seems to end with a N.

Piecing 2 wrong puzzle pieces together, Riftan jolts out of bed angrily, as he stormed towards Hebaron’s room with his tirade of nonsensical thoughts.

‘Hebaron, get up.’ Riftan whispered loudly as he fiddled with the doorknob.

Getting impatient, Riftan crushed the doorknob in anger and the door creaked open. Astounded by his own anger, Riftan strut into Hebaron’s room only to find it empty. Not even a soul behind his cloaks this time around.

‘He’s not here?’ Riftan sat on Hebaron’s bed, feeling bewildered with his paranoiac thoughts at the helm. ‘My wife and my best friend?’ Just then, a small shadow on the walls outside of Hebaron’s room caught his attention. “Maxi?” Riftan calls out.

The small shadow on the walls flickered, as Maxi quivered at the sound of his voice, not expecting to hear it at this corner of the castle. She carefully pushed the half-opened door, where the sound was from and was shocked to see Riftan standing in front of her. His hair was in a mess and his body, radiating an unusual amount of heat.

“Riftan, your heart. I can hear it from here. Are you okay? It sounds really fast. It’s beating much faster than usual... ” Maxi questioned with a concerning look in her eyes, her hand reaching out to his chest.

[author's note: have you guys realized that my stories are linked? ٩(⁎❛ᴗ❛⁎)۶]

[mithology-marveloholick]

I'm making memes with the Utot characters

I'm gonna make a whole series of them

[madammuffins]

I love ONE (1) man.

And it is Ruth.

Ruth, my darling, I know you're one of Riftan's oldest friends, and you're probably the only person who knows Riftan more than anyone, but, DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH?!

[ellery-six]

Why Ruth might not have a girlfriend part 1 🤭 Also, hit him, Maxi 🫲

[ruthserbel]

The Faces of Ruth Serbel - Love Forcast event

[ruthserbel]

Ruth Serbel - Under the Oak Tree (Mini Episode 3)

[inky-escapism]

If he gets married tomorrow. I’ll buy that too.

“Hebaron, please. OPEN UP OR WE’RE BREAKING IN!” Riftan shouts at the other side of Hebaron’s door, with the other knights peeking behind. Uslin passed his sword to Ruth, rounding up his arm and preparing to knock down Hebaron's door with Riftan.

“Come on Hebaron, it’s fine if you’re sick. At least let Ruth check it.” Gabel knocks impatiently on the tough wooden door.

“What’s wrong with him? He’s never been like this.” Ruth sighed and Elliot nodded in agreement.

“Just come out already! I promise I wouldn’t make any jokes about it. JUST COME ON OUT!’ Uslin exclaimed as he runs into the door sideways.

“You know, I can just cast a spell to open it.” Ruth breaks the rowdy silence amongst the knights.

“Couldn’t you have said that, before I threw myself on the door?” Uslin gritted his words through, rubbing his shoulders to reduce the soreness.

Ruth just shrugged and crack his knuckles. “I’m coming in, Sir Nirta! If you’re naked, I take no responsibility for my actions!” Everyone made way for the mage and watched as a vibrant rosey light transferred from Ruth’s palms onto Hebaron’s door.

“GABEL!” the knights shouted in unison, causing Ruth to bump into the now opened door.

“Great, all these commotions and he isn’t even in his room.” Uslin shook his head in disappointment.

“I saw him went in, and never came out!” Gabel signalled his hands as an emphasis, pointing from the corridor walkway to Hebaron’s room.

“You are supposed to have the best eyesight out of all of us! Which is why we got you to follow him around!” Uslin nagged angrily. "FOLLOW HIM. NOT, LOSE HIM!” Uslin landed harsh glares onto Gabel after rolling his head in annoyance. Feeling the holes drilling into his skull, Gabel stepped away from Uslin’s following eyes, to the purportedly safer zone behind Riftan.

“I really saw him come in here.” Gabel avowed to Riftan, who looked equally mad at the seemingly false information.

Amongst the heated setting, Maxi was returning from the library and popped in upon hearing the ruckus.

“My Lady, may we help with your books?” Elliot greets Maxi, his hands reaching out for the pile in her arms.

“O-Oh, it’s-s fi-n-ne Sir Elliot! Yo-u-u’re too kind, they’re not heav-vy!” Maxi blushes as she hugged the books closer to her chest, as if to prevent anyone reading the covers.

‘Those books again. Aren’t they the same books she has been reading over and over for the past few weeks?’ Riftan frowned in his thoughts, inching closer to his wife, trying to get a glimpse of the books.

“Wh-hat are yo-u-u all doing in S-Sir Nirta’s room?” Maxi asked, her round eyes softening the atmosphere.

“We’re looking for Hebaron. He’s…not feeling too well.” Riftan stops in front of his wife, stroking Maxi’s cheeks as he mutters. His eyes wondering to the books.

“He’s been acting weird lately, and we’re worried.” Ruth added.

“He doesn’t even want to drink with us after training.” Gabel whispered seriously, his fingers pointing among Uslin, Elliot and himself.

“I did not-t-ice that Sir Nirta didn’t leav-v-e the castle after dinner the-s-s-se past weeks either. I thought he was-s just too tired from all th-h-e training… I-s-s he going to b-be alright?” Maxi worried. Riftan’s eyebrows took a deeper burrow at Maxi’s acknowledgement of Hebaron’s activities.

“Maybe it’s all your f-fault, Riftan. Yo-u-u and your loco training drove S-sir Hebaron crazy!” Maxi hypothesized, hugging her books tighter with anger.

It was no secret that the knights have been training aggressively, thanks to the overtime in the infirmary, even everyone in town knows. Increasing in both intensity and duration, even the squires were bulking up twice as fast. All thanks to the Lord Commander’s newfound insomnia. Something was on his mind, and he’s been dragging the entire squad along, especially Hebaron.

“What?” Riftan blurted as the others kept quiet, as if to agree in silence, glances darted around but no one dared to meet Riftan in the eyes. However, their stances show that they were very much into the conversation.

Reading the room, Riftan hung his head slightly in shame. “Perhaps” he muttered as he looked to the side and noticed an unusual movement in Hebaron’s cloaks. Throwing that look at the knights, everyone focused on where Riftan was hinting at. Getting the cue, Maxi nodded and offered to play along.

“Herhm, we s-should look for S-Sir Nirta elsewhere since he is-s clearly n-not here. I’ll close his door!” Maxi sniffled a little as she pulled the door towards her, making sure to induce a large clicking sound upon closing the door. After which, the huge man stepped out from his set of cloaks.

“I thought they’ll never leave.” Hebaron breathed in rapidly after holding his breath for the past 9 mins.

“It’s astounding how a huge man like you can hide in such plain sight.” Riftan spoke slowly, his deep voice spooked a worn out Hebaron.

Surrendering to Riftan, Hebaron throws himself onto his bed in defeat and let out a deep sigh. “What do you want?”

At the other corner of Hebaron’s room was Gabel, making himself comfortable, scavenging for Hebaron’s alcohol collection under the table. “Wow, this isn’t empty?” An astounded Gabel pulled out the half empty bottle as well as the crackers behind it.

“Here, fish crackers, your favourite.” Handing Elliot the crackers, Gabel popped the cock off the bottle and gulped down.

“Urgh, your wine taste flat.” Gabel states. Elliot chokes on the stale crackers as the room gasps and Hebaron rolled his eyes to the side.

“WHAT?” Riftan questioned in disbelief, snatching over the bottle of wine for a sip.  

Shocked at this revelation, Uslin got up from the floor and sits by Hebaron on his bed, placing his hand on Hebaron’s forehead, then on his back. His eyes meet Ruth, who gave Uslin a knowing nod.

“You don’t have a fever... So what’s wrong?’ Uslin prods as he slaps Hebaron’s ass hard. The sting sent Hebaron howling into his bed.

"Get out, just get out.." Hebaron drawled, burying himself under the sheets.

"Alright, how about we go down to town for drinks?" Riftan suggested.

Everyone’s attention shifted to the Lord Commander, who never once suggested to drink outside of the castle.

“Come on, I know you like drinking at that bar down the alley that leads to the lake.” Riftan opined. “My treat. Tonight.”

Elliot’s eyes widen as Ruth stared at Riftan, with Uslin and Gabel exchanging weird looks across the room.

“I said, I’m buying. Hebaron?” Riftan kicks Hebaron’s bed. “NIRTA!” His patience was running out as he walked over. Ruth tactfully got out of his way, watching from the sides as Riftan attempted to yank the tall knight out from under his pillow.

Like a rabbit pulling another rabbit out of his rabbit hole, everyone in the room watched the two giants struggled and it started to look comical with both equally matched in strength. Ruth started laughing out loud, followed by Uslin and Elliot, while Gabel was already rolling on the floor.

"Just leave me alone, alright! I don’t want to go to town! I don’t want to drink!" Hebaron pushed Riftan in the chest, causing Riftan to lose his balance. Elliot dropped his crackers and hurried with Gabel to grab Riftan in order to damper the impact while Ruth ran off to a corner to prevent being sandwiched. “Not today!” Ruth declares as stuck his back to the window.

Recovering his stance, Riftan dragged out Hebaron’s box of wine under the table to the bed. “Let’s drink.” Riftan announced.

“Fine.” Hebaron grunted, getting off his bed as the party reacted innately, surrounding the bed like a table. The gang sat at either ends of the bed while Ruth sent a magic note to the kitchen for meat and snacks.  

“You better buy them back.” Hebaron complained, as he reluctantly passed out his stash around the bed. Shooting Hebaron back with a dirty look, Riftan downs the first bottle in record time.

“Will you have dinner here, Sirs?” Rodrigo asked, as he brought up thirds. The knights have drunk passed lunch and was now time for dinner.

“We’ll skip dinner. Just bring up more kegs.” Riftan replies after looking at the drunken states of his knights.  

“You good there? You’re drinking like back then.” Hebaron directed the question at Riftan, who raised his eyebrow as if to question what Hebaron meant. “Open.” Gabel requested as he held a bottle close to Riftan’s face.

“In that cave where we thought we were about to die tomorrow.” Hebaron added on.

“Don’t try to change the topic on me.” Riftan retorted as he passed Gabel the opened bottle, his elbow nearly hitting Elliot’s head.

“It’s just spooky. I never had a woman come up to me. In my face! Telling me that she likes me and wants to get to know me better!” Hebaron whispers loudly.

Uslin cackled as Hebaron continued on.

“She even said that she thinks me and her could get along well for a future together!” Sitting across Hebaron, Gabel was having a hard time holding in his laughter while patting Ruth on the back. The poor mage swallowed an entire fish bone upon hearing that Hebaron has a suitor.

“We’ve talked about this the other night! It’s time for you to get married! Don’t tell me you forgot how much older you are than us!” Uslin smirked at Hebaron, who was narrowing his eyes at him.  

“You said you wouldn’t make jokes about it.” Hebaron warns him sternly, as he confiscates Uslin’s bottle and finished it.

“I’m not making jokes. I’m just reminding you that you’re old.” Uslin gave an innocent smile that makes Hebaron want to punch him right in his perfect face. “Again.” Uslin chuckled, trying to keep a straight face.

“Do we know her?” Riftan asked as Uslin draws another bottle out of the crate. “I want one too.” Ruth signalled to Uslin after recovering from his mishap.

“Sort of.” Hebaron hung his head low, spinning the empty bottles on the floor. “But I can’t be with her… She’s.. Just not her.” Hebaron huffed despondently.

Poking the drunk man’s face across the bed, Ruth started conjuring spells, painting Elliot’s face with an assortment of colours.

“Can you imagine the rumours if I did?” Hebaron sighed as he popped open another bottle. “Me with her?’’ Hebaron points back at himself.

“You.” Elliot burps, pointing his finger at Hebaron before passing out for real.

“Just go to sleep.” Uslin ruffles Elliot’s head, that was resting comfortably on Hebaron’s bed.

“Give her a try, or we’ll get you and put you in her room.”  Gabel hics, having a hard time keeping his head up.

“Well, what do you think will happen? You think I’ll marry her?” Hebaron pushes Gabel’s head up with his finger.

“Either that, or you’ll snore really loudly as usual when you sleep drunk, and. Andddd if she still wants you, you can get married tomorrow.” Uslin giggles to himself. “Riftan will pay for everything, right Commander?”

“If he gets married tomorrow. I’ll buy that too.” Riftan clinks Hebaron’s bottle as he watches Ruth’s ongoing magic show featuring a drunk Elliot.

“Ruth, I think Elliot looks prettier with lilac, not turrrrquoise.” Gabel hics again before head diving onto Hebaron’s bed, fully giving in to his drunk state.

“And you Gabel, looks prettier with my hand across your face!” Ruth shouts with his last burst of soberness left. Now standing up, he faces the wrong direction and proclaims to Gabel, “I know colours better than you!”, before landing on the floor with a thump!

“Did he break his nose?” Uslin asked nonchalantly.

“Even if he did, I’m not a mage.” Hebaron shrugged, turning his head ever so slightly to spot any bleeding on the floor.

“Seems good.” Hebaron concluded before going back to his bottle.

Uslin yawned, clinking bottles with Hebaron while Riftan lies backwards onto the floor, thankful that he decided to after all, drink in the castle instead.

[ruthserbel]

Ruth Serbel - Chapter 64 (end of season 2)

[inky-escapism]

It's you.

“What are you, doing here?” Riftan questioned slowly, trying to keep his anger in check.

“I’m on the way to the library!” Maxi smiles, trying to hold all of Riftan with her arms as she plants her chin onto his chest, before looking up at the Lord of Anatol with her beady eyes.

“This late?” Riftan swallowed his rage, doing his best to hide any visible anger.

‘Is it Ruth instead?’ Riftan frowns further, increasing his heart rate even more.

“I forgot something in the library, so I’m going to go get him. Erm, I mean ‘it’!” Maxi covers her mouth so quickly she slapped herself hard.

“HIM?” unable to keep his anger in check this time around, Riftan’s eyes seem to glow red in the dark.

“IT!” Maxi exclaimed. “Not him, there’s no him.” Maxi hurriedly explained.

“But you just said ‘HIM’”. Riftan stared at his wife, waiting for an answer he can accept.

“I said it wrongly. I was going to go back for a book.” Maxi whispered.

“What book? I’ll go with you then.” Riftan lifts Maxi up, their noses touching.

“NO! I’ll go get it myself. I wouldn’t be long.” She pushed Riftan off her, but his hands held on to her back, preventing her from leaving till he permits.

“If it’s just a book, then let me go with you. Unless you’re meeting someone you don’t want me to know about.” Riftan threatened.

“There’s no someone, Riftan.” Maxi catching on to something amiss. “Are you okay? Why are you angry over a book?”

“Because you’re lying to me?” Riftan gritted his words out. “You’re hiding someone aren’t you? Is that man Hebaron? Are you in love with Nirta?”

Grabbing his arm, Maxi bit him hard, causing Riftan to set her down. This gave Maxi the chance to stomp harshly on his feet. After which she slammed Hebaron’s broken door at his face and huffed back into their room. Actions that flabbergasted the man who fearlessly slayed the Red Dragon.

“Maxi, wait up!” Riftan calls behind her, rubbing his nose.

Ignoring his calls, Maxi ran as fast as her lady legs could take her, almost losing the gap she created between them, but once again managed to slam another door in Riftan’s face.

Concerned for the Lady’s safety, Riftan merely knocked on their bedroom door and asked to be let in.

“Tak” The door ledge locks a despondent Riftan out. “Maxi..” Riftan calls.

“You can take your insomnia to your training grounds!” Maxi shouted as she buries herself under the covers, using Riftan’s pillow to cover her ears.

On the other side of the door, Riftan turned around after hearing the stampede behind him. Turned around to see a worried Hebaron, and 3 other figures getting larger. Almost knocking into Riftan, Hebaron pants out, “I think she’s in the castle! My door! My door, someone broke me door!” Catching his breath, his fake moustache fell off his lips, shocking Riftan further.

Gabel spits on Riftan’s face as he let out a laugh when Hebaron’s moustache drooped. Uslin shakes his head in disappointment and pulls off the rest of the fake hair above Hebaron’s lips, making the vice-commander shutter in pain.

“Look, quick! Come to my room. The knob was crashed by some .. some.. I don’t know what she used!” Hebaron exclaimed quietly but agitatedly, pulling Riftan by the shoulder. A loud call interrupted Hebaron’s paranoia.

“My lord!” Rodrigo runs up the stairs, panting heavily. “There’s a royal messenger with a red scroll.” Catching his breath again. “Should we bring him to your office, sir?”

Hebaron looks around the corridor, “Let me sleep with one of you!” Hebaron holds onto Elliot, only to get a jab at his chest.

Recovering from his distraction, Riftan nodded at Rodingo, “Bring Ruth as well.” Riftan delegated.

Still rubbing that spot above his lips, Hebaron looks around the castle and whispers to Gabel. “ Are you sure she’s not in the castle?”

Riftan whispered at his door. “Maxi, I’ll be in my office.” The knights exchanged weird looks again, disgusted at this romantic side of Riftan.

“Had a fight?” Hebaron asked, cooling down from his anxiety. Riftan shot him a dirty look, as Hebaron’s smile widens.

“Come on, tell us!” Hebaron nudged Riftan further, “Your 1st marriage fight!”

“Get out of my face.” Riftan groans as he pushes Hebaron to the wall. The journey to his office seemed longer today, the steps on the stairs seem more than usual, as his heavy heart weighs down on his energy.

“Give us a clue!” Hebaron chirps as he swung his arm over Riftan’s shoulder, making Riftan look like a kid. An unusual sight, for the common man.

“Is it the books? Is that why you’re getting Ruth?” Hebaron probes further as the other knights behind them watched their conversation closely.

Riftan stops dead in his track and Hebaron almost tripped on the steps. Looking up at Hebaron, Riftan coldly confesses, “It’s you.”

“Me?!” Hebaron shocked, his eyes widen and took a few steps back from Riftan, almost falling off the stairs if it wasn’t for Gabel and Uslin who rushed to grab him.

“There must be some misunderstanding.” Elliot vouched for Hebaron. “Sir Hebaron could be a mess, but he’ll never.”

“But she keeps calling his name in her sleep.” Riftan sighs, also not wanting to believe that Maxi and Hebaron could be fooling behind his back.

Hebaron looked desperately at his left and right. Gabel pats his chest to calm him down, Uslin chips in “Sir Nirta will never go for Lady Maxi.”

“I want to believe so too.” Riftan pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration, “It just matches. The name she calls in her sleep, that lady Hebaron doesn’t want to name.” Looking at Hebaron despairingly.

[ruthserbel]

Fanfiction Information [x] Chapter Title: Chapter 13 Song: N/A Release Date: October 15tth, 2023 Word Count: 3.8k Content Warnings: N/A Notes: So of the voting for the poll is done, and it was 100% people want more NSFW things. So, I have an idea for one coming up within the next three or so. As I've said before, if a chapter is NSFW, I will have a SFW version as well, with anything NSFW stripped out. The NSFW version will also be clearly labeled, and marked as Mature using the Community Labels. Anywho~~ enjoy! I promise this is the last time there will be a 'do they?' chapter. I promise. From now on, we are into a fluffy romance. ♥ PS: At the bottom of this chapter there is a timeline - just so people are aware of where we are currently in the terms of this fanfiction. There are going to be some time skips coming (esp for book 2). But part 1 of this series is going to end after book 2.

Aria's POV

With a sigh, Ruth spoke quietly.  “If they are interrupting me for nothing important...” Ruth whispered, leaving his statement unfinished. He slowly moved back, making space between them again. “Who is it anyway?” Ruth asked as he walked towards the window, trying to see who it was.

Now, with space between her and Ruth, Aria realized what she had just done. Her face started to flush as she thought about it more – she had kissed Ruth. Not only that, but she also re-initiated it herself. Her face grew even more flushed as the memory replayed in her mind repeatedly. In order to conceal her embarrassment from Ruth, she turned around, with her back facing the window.

After a moment of looking out, Ruth let out another sigh. "Of course," he muttered as he made his way towards the stairs again. He noticed that Aria had her back turned to him, but he didn't have time to question it as another knock came from the floor below. This time, there was a voice after the knock.

"I know you're in there, Ruth," Riftan's voice said, muffled as it passed through the walls.

Ruth walked down the stairs and opened the door. Aria, however, remained where she was, temporarily hidden from view at the doorway. She heard their voices, but she couldn't understand what they were saying. Aria took some alone time to calm herself, placing her hands on her cheeks to cool them down.

After a few minutes - once Aria’s face had gone back to normal – she made her way down the stairs. As she took the first few steps, she heard the conversation between Riftan and Ruth.

“How long will they need people for?” Ruth questioned, his voice quiet.

“Uncertain. They asked for a few knights to go up as soon as possible," Riftan replied, speaking quietly.

Aria stopped her descent down the stairs as she heard their conversation. She was uncertain about whether she should stay upstairs until Riftan left. As she contemplated, the conversation continued downstairs.

“Who’s going first?” Ruth questioned, sitting down in the chair by the stairs and didn't notice Aria standing on the top steps.

Riftan mentioned several knights, some of whom Aria knew, but many of them were unfamiliar to her. She noticed a lull in the conversation for a moment before Riftan let out a sigh. "If you didn't need to recover, you were going to be one. They did mention that they needed more mages, but..." Riftan added, his voice trailing off briefly as Aria took another step down the stairs upon hearing about sending Ruth.

Although Aria hadn’t given it much thought, she knew it was something that would happen eventually. They were knights after all. Eventually, they would need to depart to fulfill a mission, conduct raids, or engage in various tasks. Worry consumed her as she pondered over it, even though she lacked the complete information. With her increasing concern, she had taken a few more steps down the stairs – now catching Riftan's attention.

Aria looked into Riftan's eyes and noticed a slight smirk playing at the corners of his mouth as she continued down the stairs. The smirk on his face grew even wider, and as she reached the bottom of the stairs, her face started to blush slightly.

She felt her face slightly flush again before she cleared her throat, greeting him. "Good morning," Aria said, her voice trembling as she spoke, which made her face blush even deeper out of embarrassment.  

Riftan replied with a short nod, but the smirk lingered on his lips as he turned his attention back to Ruth. "I'm sorry," Riftan said, his gaze fixed on Ruth. Aria couldn't help but feel that his apology wasn't directed solely towards Ruth. “Are we able to discuss this more?” Riftan asked his question, directing his full attention towards Ruth. His tone conveyed the desire for their conversation to remain private.

Aria picked up on that fact, and she cleared her throat again. "I... Um... I should leave," she said, looking down at Ruth as she spoke.

“Sorry,” Ruth said to Aria with a weak apologetic smile. Shaking her head, Aria waved her hand in the air – brushing off his apology.

 With that, Aria snuck past the two men, making her way to the door. As she opened the door, Riftan spoke from behind her. Your brother was in the dining hall when I left. That was about ten minutes ago,” Riftan informed Aria as she stepped out of the door.

"Oh, thank you," Aria replied, now realizing that she still hadn't been shown the new location of their rooms. With a small wave, she closed the door behind her, leaving the two men alone in the room.

Ruth’s POV

Ruth watched as the door closed behind Aria. The two men sat in silence, listening to the fading sound of Aria walking away. After they faded, Ruth let out a sigh, going back to the previous conversation.

“You can continue now,” Ruth said, leaning back in his seat as he waited for Riftan to continue. He chose to ignore the smirk still on Riftan's face in the hopes of returning to their previous conversation, especially since Riftan had interrupted him.

Riftan chuckled quietly before responding, but his response wasn't connected to the previous conversation. "She seemed a bit flustered," Riftan said, raising his eyebrows questioningly at Ruth as he spoke. “Did something happen?”

Ruth rolled his eyes in response to Riftan's question. "If you're going to interrupt me, at least finish the conversation," Ruth said, sounding annoyed. Riftan immediately recognized this and chose not to press for more information at that moment.

"As I mentioned..." Riftan said, restarting their previous conversation. "They asked for any available mages to go... But with your arm," Riftan said, briefly glancing at Ruth's arm, "you are unable to do it at the moment. So, we will hold off on sending you right now.” Riftan explained.

"'Sending me right now'," Ruth repeated what Riftan had said, understanding the meaning behind his words. "So, to clarify, are you saying that there could be multiple groups going?" Ruth questioned, even though he knew the answer. Yes.

Aria’s POV

The halls seemed busy with knights carrying things around in every direction. Aria hurriedly went to the dining hall, making sure not to obstruct the knights as she went. Once she entered the dining room, she noticed that it was quite empty except for Jasper and Lily sitting at a table with a few other knights. As she got closer to them, she overheard their conversation.

“How many were injured?” Jasper asked Ulyseon who was on the other side of the table. Lily ignored their conversation, drawing on a small sheet of paper in front of her with a pencil. At the mention of injured, Aria felt a wave of fear wash over her for a moment. They must have been talking about the same thing Riftan was talking to Ruth about. She shook her head after a moment, trying to wash away the thoughts.

"So far, there have been around 100," Ulyseon responded to Jasper. 

"But that number will continue to increase," Garrow added from across the table before he glanced up at the approaching footsteps. "Oh, hello Aria," he said. With Aria's name mentioned, Jasper and Lily both turned their heads to see her approaching the table.

“Hello,” Aria said as she reached the table and sat down next to Lily, who leaned against her. "Why is the number going to increase? What’s going on?” Aria asked, unsure of what had actually occurred. She had overheard a bit of information from Riftan at Ruth's, but they didn't explain to her what was actually happening.

"Two nights ago, another village was attacked during the night, just like the previous incident..." Ulyseon began to explain, but then paused, allowing Aria to complete the rest of the details.

Aria thought back to a moment, remembering the day from a few months ago. The thuds rang in her ears again. The sensation of heat and pain returned as she delved deeper into her thoughts. She was only brought out when she felt her brother gently place his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. With a small smile to her brother, she turned back to Ulyseon.

“So, some of the knights are going?” Aria asked, although she already knew the answer to that. Hoping that perhaps she had misheard or misunderstood, and that it wasn't true.

“A few for now,” Garrow replied. "They believe the monster responsible for it is still nearby, so they are hoping to address the issue," he further explained. Before they could explain anything else, a voice called out from the door.

"Ulyseon, Garrow, could you both come and help for a moment?" the knight at the door called, grabbing the attention of all five individuals in the room. It was a knight whom Aria had never talked to before, but she had heard his name mentioned before: Uslin Rikaido.

“Well,” Ulyseon said as he stood up from the table with Garrow. "See you three later," he said as both he and Garrow followed Uslin out of the dining room, which was now almost empty. The only other people in the dining room were a few maids cleaning up some of the tables, talking amongst themselves.

As the three of them sat in silence, Aria couldn't stop thinking about the information she had just received. It made her worry as she thought about it - people she knew and had become close to leaving, and possibly getting injured. The thought spun in her mind. She thought about Ulyseon, who was younger than her, getting injured, or Garrow.

“Aria?” She heard, dragging her out of her mental spiral. Lifting her head, she looked towards her brother.

 “Hmm?” She questioned, unsure of what he had said earlier.

Jasper let out a quiet chuckle before he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Why don't I show you to your new room?" he offered.

 “Sure,” Aria said with a nod.

Jasper led Aria to her room, which was one floor up and located at the opposite end of the castle from their previous rooms. As she sat down on the bed, she expected her brother to start questioning her about the events of the previous day and where she had been at night. However, much to her surprise, he didn’t question her.

Instead of questioning her, Jasper chose to go and see if the knights required any assistance. After he left, Aria and Lily stayed in the room for a while – Lily preoccupied with one of the cats that had followed them into the room. Lily sat on the floor playing with the cat as Aria watched.

The day went by uneventful after that. Aria and Lily stayed in Aria's room for a while before heading to the library, as Lily wanted to check if Ruth was there. The two stayed there for a while, waiting to see if Ruth would come. Aria had eventually picked up a book and started reading it, even though she had already read it. It was something to keep her busy for now. 

She read for a while before there were some sounds from outside which caught her attention. Standing up, Aria walked over to the window and immediately identified the source of the sound. As she looked outside, she saw a group of knights on horses, carrying supplies with them. Aria scanned the area, and that’s when she spotted Ruth.

Aria watched as the knights departed, leaving the castle grounds. Once they were out of sight, I looked back down to where Ruth had been standing, only to find that he was no longer there. “Huh…” She whispered before she turned around again, making her way back to her seat. ‘Maybe he’s on his way here now,’ Aria thought to herself as she opened her book back up and attempted to read again. 

After a few page flips – which Aria hadn’t even read any of it – Jasper came into the library. “There you two are,” he said. Once Jasper reached Lily, he gently placed his hand on her head. Lily laughed and tried to swat it away. Aria observed Lily's unsuccessful attempt to push Jasper's hand away briefly, before shifting her gaze back towards the door - waiting. After a moment, she sunk into her seat. ‘Guess not,’ she thought to herself again.

The days that followed went similarly. Aria would wake up and then wake up Lily. Jasper, Lily, and she would sit down for breakfast every day. Aria would always look around to see if she spotted Ruth, but she never did. Throughout the day, Aria and Lily would go to the library, and every day Aria expected to see Ruth there. However, every day she felt saddened as she walked into the room to find it empty. There were traces of him being there though, as he would often leave something out on the table.

Eventually Aria got questioned by her brother one night after Lily went to bed. With reluctance, Aria explained what had happened that day between Conan, Ruth and her. When he asked her about what happened later that night, she sighed and replied.

"That..." she began, reclining on her bed. “I don’t want to talk about it right now,” she said. Truth was, she herself wasn’t sure what was going on. They had kissed, but they haven’t seen each other since then. Aria was confused, and worried about the whole situation. When she had pulled him back in for the kiss, did she do something wrong? A frown formed on her face as she thought about it. She had been going to the library every day for a few days, hoping that Ruth would appear or already be there. Instead, she always found an empty library when she and Lily arrived, and they always left without him showing up. When she glanced around the room, it became evident that he had been there. The presence of scattered papers on the table indicated his visit. Aria neatly stacked the papers and placed them on the side of the table for him.

Jasper understood and didn’t pressure her more for information.

On the seventh day, Lily had decided to do something with Jasper instead, so they left early in the morning. Aria debated on joining them, but ultimately decided against it. She had found a few books within the library that she hadn’t read yet, so she had been enjoying reading those.

Aria made her way to the library, carrying a few of the books she had borrowed to read. As she turned the corner to the library, she was shocked to see a figure sitting at the desk. His white hair was disheveled as he worked on something on the table, some kind of object. A wave of relief washed over her at the sight of him being there.

Quietly she entered the room, carefully setting her books down on the table as she watched Ruth work away, not noticing her. He was fixated on the small object in front of him. Aria looked at the object, puzzled, as she watched him etch some figures onto it. After a moment he set the object down with a sigh. 

“What is that?” Aria asked once the object was on the table, so as not to startle him beforehand and risk him dropping it.

Ruth looked up at her as she spoke, and that's when she noticed the dark circles under his eyes, a clear sign of exhaustion. He let out a sigh before he responded. "It's a magical device," Ruth explained, stretching his arms out in front of him.

"Oh..." Aria said quietly as she looked back at the object on the table. She noticed similar markings as she had seen on the object in the tower the other day, even though she had no idea what any of it meant.

“Is this what you’ve been busy with?” Aria asked after a moment, noticing Ruth's tired expression. “Is… Is it something I can help with?” She asked wearily. She had a feeling she already knew the answer to that, but she offered anyway.

Ruth looked at her for a moment, raising his eyebrows. After a moment of thought, he shook his head. "No... There is nothing you can do to help," he said, leaning back in his chair now. "It is what has kept me busy, though."

"Is this why all of those the papers that were scattered on the table?" Aria asked as she sat down across from him.

With a laugh, Ruth nodded. "You mean the ones that always appeared to be neatly stacked whenever I returned?" He jokingly questioned her.

"Exactly those," responded Aria, playfully echoing his tone and releasing a gentle giggle. "We needed to use the table, so I tidied them up for you," she explained after a moment.

Ruth waved his hand in the air as she explained. "It's okay, I'm used to not sharing this room very often," he said, lowering his hand back to his side. "Other than Maxi, who has been gone for a while, I have primarily occupied this room. None of the knights enter this room, so I have become accustomed to leaving my things out." Ruth leaned forward again, explaining as he grabbed the object and flipped it over again - inspecting the piece.

Aria watched as Ruth inspected the object. He examined the object carefully, flipping it over a few times. He made some adjustments to the engravings that were already on it and added new ones, occasionally referring to the papers in front of him.

After a few minutes, Aria reached for the top book from the pile she had brought in. She opened the book to the page where the piece of paper was and placed the paper on the table. 

The room fell silent for a while, with only the sound of pages being flipped and the occasional sound of Ruth etching something. As Aria finished reading her book, she glanced over the top of it to observe Ruth, who was still going over the device in front of him. Her mind started to wander to the last time they were together as she silently observed him. She felt her heart racing as thought about it, and her face started to flush. Biting her lip, she closed her book – setting it on the table.

But what did it all mean to him?  They hadn’t had a chance to talk about it, since she left right after. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to ask Ruth about it. What if he said it was a mistake? After a moment, she mustered up enough courage to clear her throat. Her voice was quiet as she spoke.

"Um..." Aria murmured, catching Ruth's attention. "Can we discuss what occurred in the tower?" Aria asked, her voice growing slightly louder as she spoke. As she spoke, Ruth placed the device back on the table.

With a small sigh, Ruth spoke, his voice quiet as well. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I shouldn’t have done that…”

Aria’s eyebrows furrowed at his statement. "Are you saying that because... You feel like I didn't want it, or because you don’t feel… that way… about me?” Aria questioned, emphasizing her sentence.

"I am not saying I don't have those feelings for you." Ruth whispered, as he noticed that Aria misunderstood his apology. "I shouldn’t have don-" Ruth explained, before Aria cut him off with a quiet whisper.

"I told you not to apologize for it… Honestly… I didn’t mind it," Aria whispered.

The room fell silent after that. The only sounds were footsteps outside the library. After the footsteps faded, Ruth broke the silence.

He slid his chair backwards, standing up from the table. "Does that mean..." Ruth trailed off as he made his way around the table. Aria watched him, taking bated breaths as he walked around. "what I think it means?" Ruth questioned as he stopped in front of her.

Aria stammered for a moment, as she tried to speak. "Um... I..." Aria whispered as Ruth started to bend over so they were at the same height now. She felt her face start to flush as she realized the closeness between them again. Taking a deep breath – attempting to get a coherent answer out, she gathered herself.

"Yes..." She finally said after a moment, and her eyes locked with Ruth’s as she said the next part. "I… like you," Aria said, her voice going back to a whisper as she spoke, her face going a deep shade of red. She said it. She felt a relief fall off her shoulder when she had said it.

Once her admission came out, the room fell silent again. Aria opened her mouth to speak a few times, but every time she tried to, she wasn’t able to form words. She could never have imagined that she would be telling anyone that she liked them, but there she was. They locked eyes as the room grew silent, their only sound was their breathing. 

Ruth stayed quiet for a short time. Then, he smirked. His voice was no more than a whisper.

“I’m glad you said that.” Ruth whispered, before leaning in. The distance between the two – which wasn’t much beforehand – vanished as he leaned forward.

Aria closed her eyes, shutting out the world, amplifying the sensations that followed. His hand gently lifted her chin, causing butterflies to flutter in her stomach. This had happened before, but those sensations still happened.

Aria felt a rush of emotions when their lips met, along with a growing warmth. The warmth started in her core, then grew out – expanding to her whole body.

Aria felt as Ruth’s hand moved from her chin, moving up to cup her cheek. His thumb gently stroking her jaw line. The feeling of his moving along her jawline caused her to let out a quiet moan. As the sound came from her, her body stiffened. That was a sound she had never made before, and it startled her. She wasn’t able to focus on it for long though, as their kiss deepened.

As Aria kissed him more, she felt a strange sensation in her stomach, growing like the warmth had before. At first, she felt butterflies, but then it spread and tingled throughout her body. It was something she had never felt before. As the sensation grew more and more, she scrunched her nose. It wasn’t a sensation that hurt, but it was one that felt weird.

"Uh..." Aria groaned as she broke the kiss, pressing her forehead against his. She took a few deep breaths before she was able to think straight. The sensation that had been growing was now fading. The room was filled with sounds of them breathing again, as they both tried to catch their breath for a moment.