I’ll Wait.

It's been about ten minutes since the student council meeting had been adjourned, and Elizabeth sat outside with a patient demeanor.

As she quietly sat, the sounds of footsteps could be heard behind her. 

"Elizabeth?" 

A familiar voice called to her, "Have you been outside for the past ten minutes?"

Elizabeth turned around in surprise as she was greeted by her sister, Victoria, the student council president. 

She was flanked by her ward, a tall boy with a serious expression. 

Elizabeth smiled sheepishly as she stood up. "I have," she admitted, "I had hoped Alexander would've been outside waiting for me, but I guess he's still in practice."

Victoria let out a sigh as she placed a hand on her hip. "Why are you waiting? You're royalty, not some helpless maiden." 

Elizabeth smiled softly as she met Victoria's gaze. "I never said I was helpless," she replied with a giggle, "is it so wrong for me to long for him, Alexander I mean."

Victoria frowned as she crossed her arms, a contemplative look in her eyes. "I wouldn't know," she admitted, "I never wanted anyone."

She then looked to her ward, who subtly averted his gaze. "But," she continued, "I know if a man wants you, he'll come to you on his own accord."

Elizabeth sighed as her expression fell. 

"But Alexander isn't like that." She explained, her voice soft, "I have to push myself into his life, otherwise he won't listen."

Victoria's expression softened.

"Do you love Alexander so much that you'd manipulate him and hurt yourself?"

"Is it manipulation if he doesn't push back?" Elizabeth asked curiously, meeting her sister's gaze. "If he doesn't like me, he can just say so."

Victoria fell silent, her expression becoming contemplative.

Elizabeth sighed as she continued, "But until he rejects me I won't stop because I want him, I need him."

Her tone was filled with conviction as she tightened her fists. 

"He makes me so happy."

"And I know he's different now, but people change. I shouldn't stop liking him because bad things happened to him, you know?"

Victoria studied her sister, her pink eyes searching for any drop of doubt.

But she found none.

After a moment of reflection she sighed, "But why?" She asked, "Why do you like him?"

Elizabeth smiled as she answered without hesitation. 

"Because he's gentle with me. He talks to me sweetly even if he's a little nervous, and he's not afraid to tell the truth."

She then giggled as she continued, "And he tells me everything will be okay, he listens to my stories and keeps my gifts." 

She pulled at her ear, "he even wore the earring I got him, I thought it was ugly, but he still wore it…"

Her gaze then fell as she let out a quiet sigh. "I like how he treats me." She finally said, "And I want him to be closer to me, even if I have to wait."

Victoria watched her sister closely, noticing a flicker of doubt in her eyes. 

For all of Elizabeth's convection, part of her was still hesitant.

A fear that no matter how hard she pushed, Alexander still wouldn't reciprocate those feelings.

"You are emotional," Victoria said with a shake of her head. "When I was your age, I only cared for myself." 

A smirk crossed Victoria's lips.

"But then again you were always an emotional ball of chaos." She laughed softly, "I used to hate you for it."

Elizabeth tilted her head curiously as Victoria's laughter faded. "You hated me?" She asked, her tone soft.

Victoria shook her head as she crossed her arms. "Hate is a strong word, more like I was annoyed with your antics." She explained, "You're smart Elizabeth, smarter than I was."

Elizabeth let out a low giggle, "is that why you always called me an idiot?" She teased.

Victoria rolled her eyes as she stepped to Elizabeth's side.

A moment of silence settled between them, with only the wind rustling in the gold-tinted leaves of fall. 

The silence was broken by Victoria as she took a long breath. "I don't know if Alexander feels the same way you do," she began, "but for his sake, I hope he does."

Elizabeth smiled wryly as her cheeks reddened, "what will you do if he doesn't?" 

Victoria smiled. "I'll have Jean teach him a lesson." She said with a look back to her knight.

The boy gave a firm nod as his eyes narrowed. 

"I'll hold no mercy, Your Highness." 

Victoria shook her head as she rolled her eyes with a smile.

 "Do you plan to keep waiting?" Victoria asked.

Elizabeth shifted her gaze towards the horizon, where the sun had set, and the sky was painted an array of orange and purple.

She then sighed, "I do," she replied, "at least a little longer."

— — —

Alexander and the others limped out of the training hall with pained expressions. 

Raphael had pushed them to exhaustion, leaving the three boys with nothing but aching limbs and weary eyes. 

"I have never regretted my existence more than this moment," Karl murmured under his breath as he stretched his back. 

Jules chuckled but quickly began to groan in pain. "Raphael enjoyed our tournament," he said, his voice hoarse. "They call him Blackbird for a reason."

Alexander gritted his teeth as he let the cool evening air wash over him. 

Though the training was cruel Alexander had been through much worse. 

What really struck was him was Raphael's warning. 

'You fight like a feral animal, it makes you powerful, but one wrong move and you're dead.'

Alexander tightened his fist in frustration, he knew Raphael was right, but that didn't change the fact that it was all he knew.

Even with Béatrice's refining, Alexander was still brutally aggressive at his core. 

He zoned in on his opponent and pushed for total domination.

"Are you alright?" Karl's voice pushed through Alexander's thoughts, his tone cautious. 

Alexander sighed as he relaxed his hands. "Yeah, I'm just thinking about what Raphael said."

Karl gave Alexander a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it, you're just getting adjusted to things." He explained, "You're joining a team, so you can't just focus on your opponent, you have to visualize the field, see everything."

Alexander nodded. "Yeah." He muttered, "I know."

Karl nodded. "Good, I'll be heading back to my dorm if you need me." Karl then took a deep breath before straightening up.

Alexander raised a curious brow as he pointed a finger at him. "You have your room key?" He asked curiously.

Karl grinned as he reached into his pocket, "Yeah, turns out they forgot to put my name on file." He answered, shaking his brass key at Alexander. "An easy fix."

Alexander smirked as he gave a nod. "That's good, I'll see you tomorrow then."

Karl waved before taking the path back toward the male dorms. 

As Karl faded in the distance, Jules let out an exhausted sigh. "I think I'll be doing the same, Sir Alexander."

Alexander gave Jules a tired nod. "Yeah…" he whispered under his breath.

Jules grinned as he left down the path towards the male dormitories. He stretched his hands into the air as he walked, letting out a long yawn.

Alexander watched him leave with an unreadable expression. Before turning his attention towards the ground.

He knew he should've gone back to the dorms as well.

It was late and he'd have a long day tomorrow. 

But something in the back of his mind nagged at him. 

Elizabeth.

Alexander had hoped Elizabeth would've gone to her dorm by now, but he knew better.

Elizabeth wasn't the kind of girl who let things go, and because of that, Alexander couldn't help but feel responsible.

"Shit." 

Alexander let out a long breath before finally forcing himself to limp forward. Gritting his teeth through each step of pain.

— — —

When Alexander finally arrived at the student council building, he spotted Elizabeth almost immediately.

She quietly sat on the stone steps leading to the entrance. Bathed in the warm light of the campus lamps that lined the pathways. Her hands were neatly folded in her lap, and her gaze was distant. 

Alexander felt his guilt rising upon seeing her. She had waited for him, this entire time.

He let out a deep breath, before pushing forward. 

"Elizabeth!" 

Alexander called her name loudly, "Why are you out here?!"

Elizabeth's gaze fell upon Alexander as a soft grin crossed her lips. 

"you came." She said softly, her tone a bit emotional.

Alexander sighed as he stood over Elizabeth, looking down at her gentle face as she looked up at him with a warm smile.

"It's late," Alexander said, his tone hard but not unkind. "You shouldn't be out here by yourself."

Elizabeth giggled softly as she reached a hand towards Alexander. "But I'm not." She whispered, "You're here, right?"

Alexander frowned as he looked down at Elizabeth's hand. 

So many times he had held her hand, and each time he felt nervous and cautious. 

It was always a gamble with Elizabeth that way.

"Alex?" She said softly, pulling her hand away as she looked up at him. "Are you okay?"

Alexander sighed as he shook his head. "You wouldn't want to touch me, I'm sweaty, and I stink."

Elizabeth giggled as she reached her hand back out. "I don't mind."

Alexander let out a sharp breath, before wiping his hand on his pant leg. 

He then reached out, his fingers wrapping around her soft hand. Elizabeth squeezed tightly as she pulled herself up. 

"Thank you." 

Alexander nodded as Elizabeth adjusted her grip, lacing her fingers between his.

Alexander felt that same shiver run up his spine, the same one that came each time she held his hand.

"You're welcome," Alexander replied, before stepping forward. "But it's late, and we really should be getting to bed."

Elizabeth nodded as she followed behind Alexander. "Okay." She replied quietly.

The walk back towards the female dorms was quiet, but Elizabeth didn't mind. 

She knew Alexander had a long day, and the fact that he came at all was enough for her.

Alexander would be hers, no matter how long it took.