Touch

The world seemed to come to a standstill as the three looked at each other. 

Dominic glanced from Claudia to Boris and back to Claudia. He was conflicted. 

Boris turned around completely to face the two, his eyes looking away from Claudia's dismissively, and turned to Boris. She clenched her jaw. It was a small victory for him.

"Dominic..." she pressed, tugging Dominic's arm. 

Dominic flinched looking down at her. He looked up at Boris again, his eyes locking with golden rays. He felt it again. The pull in their hold, the pull of his mind to follow Boris but... 

He forced himself to look away and looked down at Claudia. The girl he liked. The woman he was to marry. How demeaning would it be to leave her alone to go off for his duties? It's like telling her she didn't matter to him in the face of his work. He looked up at Boris, his mind decided. 

It was decided, yes, but it still confused him how much his mind was telling him to follow Boris. That was because it was the first time. It was the first time Boris had looked at him like that. 

His eyes seemed to be calling out to Dominic, urging him, pleading him. Those golden eyes he thought would always look down at him suddenly looked at him from the same level with an emotion in them that he never thought he would see. Desperation. Boris was desperate. 

His heart skipped a beat and once again he was being pulled into Boris. It was strange. Even stranger than the fact that Boris was looking at him with such unbiased eyes that showed an emotion so strong and clear to him that he couldn't help but see it. It was his urge to follow through with it. 

Maybe because it was the first time he had seen such a gaze, but his heart was pushing for him to follow. He too, was desperate. Not only was it the first time he saw it, but it could also be his last. He couldn't say firmly that it wouldn't be the last time he saw that gaze and he didn't want to stop seeing it. It was different from the usual glares he got, more appealing than the harsh words he received. The prospect of never seeing something that precious again terrified him, it overwhelmed him and sent urgency through his mind.

He knew very well that if he walked away it might be the last time he ever got to see a gaze like that.

He looked away from Boris, his eyes touching the ground.

But... he had a purpose in life now. He had a woman he had to marry and a kingdom to lead, he couldn't let himself falter for a person that wanted nothing to do with him. He couldn't let himself bend for a single moment because he was scared of losing it...

Dominic looked back up to Boris. 

...Right? 

He looked back at Claudia who was peering up at him with the same gaze she had the moment she saw him. 'Consistency...' he looked up at Boris with a confident gaze. 'Right.'

"I'll stay with Claudia," Dominic replied, squeezing Claudia's hands. He looked up at Boris, "It's not like those nobles are going anywhere and it's not like it will be the last time I'll see them. I can always talk to them separately later. Right now, Claudia is my priority."

Boris flinched, his jaw clenching as he looked at Claudia. 'There it was again...' he thought to himself, 'her smirk..' 

He looked up at Dominic, his jaw loosening and eyes wavering until he looked away. "If that is what you wish, your highness," he bowed. As his face paralleled the ground, he glanced at their hands, tightly holding each other and then tightly shut his eyes after, her slight smirk replaying in his hand. He took a step back.

He didn't like it.

He looked up at Dominic and Claudia. 

He didn't like it at all. 

Dominic cleared his throat, turning to Claudia, "Then shall we continue?" he smiled. 

Claudia nodded her head, a bright smile forming on her face. "I have a new plan in mind though~" she smirked, pulling him along. 

"Huh?" Dominic muttered in confusion as Claudia hurried him along. 

Boris let out a sigh, his eyes placed on the ground as he followed them. He was about to take a step forward when he noticed the white hems of a golden dress in front of him. He looked up at Claudia who was peering back at him blankly. 

"Yes, Princess Claudia?" he asked. 

"I'd like to go with the prince alone," she replied, tilting her head as a smile crawled onto her face. 

Boris' eye twitched in surprise, his jaw clenched when he looked into her eyes. They were blank. They were blank while her face was beaming so brightly. "I'm sorry Princess Claudia but I am supposed to follow his highness very closely the entirety of this-"

"I planned a surprise for him. It's going to be out wedding day soon and even sooner his coronation, so I planned a gift for him to commemorate," Claudia grinned. 

Dominic looked at her, eyes widened in surprise. He blushed, "Really?! What is it-"

"Then I will go with Princess Claudia and high royal highness to the gift," Boris retorted. 

"Privately," Claudia snapped, "I'd like to be with him privately."

Boris' mouth opened to speak, his eyes glancing at Dominic to see if he could back him up. His lips pressed together when he saw the expression on his face. It was excitement and intense anticipation to receive the gift. He didn't even notice the issue at hand, nonetheless Boris' words. There was a slight pang in his chest as he looked away from Dominic. 

"Very well then," Claudia smiled, turning around and pulling Dominic with her, "let's go to the gift, my prince!"

Dominic chuckled, his face brightening at her enthusiasm. "You're raising my expectations per moment Claudia, are you sure you want to do that?"

Claudia grinned, laying her head on Dominic's shoulder for a moment before looking up at him, her eyes locking with his. "Vey sure. I think you'll like it better than these bustling room."

Boris watched them as their figures melted into the crowd. For a second he saw the black of her hair and the golden waves of Dominic's and the next they were gone. He stood in the crowd for a moment, no one beside him. There was a weird numbing feeling surrounding him, accompanying the pang in his chest.

The room bustled with just as much movement as the chattering was just as loud as when they first walked in. Nothing seemed to have changed after they left.

It was like they were never there to begin with.

He turned around and walked in the opposite direction into the crowd until he couldn't see the spot he once stood in. 

*

"Are you going to let me see or am I going to continue this blindfolded walk for long," Dominic asked as he walked forward. 

"Just a sec..." Claudia grinned. 

Dominic heard a slight rustling sound in front of him and then a burst of small laughter from Claudia. 

"Be careful," Claudia grinned as she directed Dominic to the chair. "You can sit, there's a chair."

"If this is a prank-"

"Sit," Claudia pushed him down immediately and despite Dominic's fear, his body landed on something sturdy. It was a chair. 

A moment passed in silence before Claudia chuckled. "You can take off the cloth now!" she announced, watching Dominic take off his blindfold. She grinned when he watched his expression change into surprise and then a big smile. 

It was a candle-lit dinner in a small intimate room. His eyes searched the room, taking in the mood. He sat at one end of the round table, it had a red covering over it and a large candle in the shape of a beautiful clear vase on the side. Gold plates sat directly in front of him, white napkins beside him, and on the ground, lining the sides of the room were candles. It gave the room this red lighting, increasing the intimate mood. 

The best part about it was the size of the room. It was small so the thing that stood out the most to him, was Claudia. Her beautiful face illuminated with candles as she picked up her chair and carried it to beside Dominic, setting it down and then sitting down. 

She looked up at him, her bright eyes giving off a different feel than they did in a brightly lit room. The feel of the room completely changed her aura. 

"So.... do you like the present?" Claudia smiled. 

Dominic stared at her for a moment, his eyes running over her features before locking eyes with her. "Yes, yes I do."

Claudia smiled. "I thought something more... private with just the two of us would be a more fitting engagement party. So I planned a dinner for us," she grinned, raising her hands and clapping them twice. Immediately a servant came into the room, rolling in a cart that packed many delicacies on it. 

The servant parted the cart beside the table and started unloading the food, starting with the stacks of chocolate chip cookies, to the cake, to the drinks, and finally two big plates that were covered. 

One placed in front of Dominic revealed a delicious salad and the other for Claudia, a nice steak. Moments after placing down the food, the server turned around and left the room, closing the door behind her. 

"I wanted to reimagine our first meeting," she blushed, "so I made sure to get the same meals.. the one you liked, and get some snacks I noticed you liked."

Dominic peered at Claudia for a moment before a proud smile flashed onto his face. "You're amazing," he chuckled, "I'm really happy, thank you."

Claudia blushed, looking away from Dominic shyly. "Ah... you're welcome," she nervously chuckled. 

There was a moment of silence before she cleared her throat.

"Well let's eat shall w-" they both began in unison. They exchanged glances with each other before bursting into laughter. 

Their eyes pin onto each other for a moment and the silence of the room sunk in. They were alone. 

Claudia nodded towards the food. "You should try it, I put a lot of effort into it after all," she chuckled.

Dominic's eyes widened in surprise. "You made these?!" he exclaimed. 

Claudia pouted, "Why, you didn't expect me to be able to cook?" she frowned, "did you think that I just wore dresses and took manners classes all day? That my head my stuck in my books?"

Dominic immediately shook his head, his heart thumping in fear for a moment. "Of course not!" he shouted. He didn't want to get on her bad side, not even outer a single insult. 

Claudia chuckled in amusement, her smile disappearing in a second. "I thought so," she huffed. "try the salad, I decided to upgrade our first meals a bit."

Dominic immediately nodded his head and picked up his fork, stabbing the ranch drizzled lettuce, tomato, and little bread crumbs, then raised it up to his lips and took a big bite. His eyes brightened when he tasted it. 

He gave Claudia a big thumbs up and continued to eat it. She watched him intently, a bright smile on her face. 'How cute...' she thought to herself as she watched him eat, 'he looks like a chipmunk.'

Dominic quickly swallowed his food and turned to Claudia, his eyes glowing. "This tastes better than that salad!" he exclaimed. 

"Really?" Claudia grinned, her eyebrows rising suspiciously. "Are you sure that is so, or are you trying to praise me heavily?" she pouted, "it is only a salad after all"

"Nono, it's one made by my fiance, of course, it's good," Dominic nodded his head, turning back to the salad and taking a few bites before taking a sip of his wine. He turned back to Claudia, opening his mouth to say something when he paused, his eyes being pulled into Claudia's eyes. 

She was staring at him. That wasn't something that was new, it was rather her gaze. It looked so calm, so peaceful, and... intense in a way. 

"Dominic," she called out, to which Dominic flinched, his ears turning red. There was something different in the air now. It felt dangerous, it felt magnetic.

Her hands raised to his lips and wiped away a stain he had at the corner of his lips. Her eyes flutter to her thumb that held a smear of ranch on them and then back up to Dominic. She knew he could sense it. The change in mood.

They stared at each other for a moment, the room slowly coming to a stop as Dominic peered at her candle illuminated face. His eyes watch as her's waver, her gaze lowering for a moment before rising back to his eyes. 'Ah...' he thought to himself as his eyes instinctively lower to the same spot she had looked at on his face, his lips. 

Slowly they rise back up to her eyes, falling into a gaze so deep he felt like he was drowning in them, slowly being pulling in, slowly approaching her. Just like their bodies were reaching for each other. 

First were his hands, rising up to her hair and lightly brushing it behind her ears. He was sure he had touched her hair so many times before this but now when his hands brushed against her hair and hands, they tingled, like a light shock at his fingertips. 

They ran down her soft cheeks, gently brushing over her skin. His senses dulled, all of them zooming in on her, all of them focused on getting closer. All of them being pulled into her eyes as she was to his. 

His fingers ran down her cheeks to her neck, pausing for a moment when he felt her shiver from his touch. His eyes flutter up to her's, locking eyes with the nervous but attracted deep purple of her eyes. Intoxicated. That was the look in his eyes. He was intoxicated in whatever was washing over him when he looked at Claudia. 

They were close now, their slightly wavy breaths could be felt against their faces, the heat from each other's body could be felt by the other. They were close, but kept getting closer. 

His thumb brushed against her cheek again and this time, she responded by rubbing her face back against it. His cheeks heated and his heart skipped a beat but strangely, he was calm. A lot calmer than he expected. At the very least he could still think. 

His eyes ran up her features, down her soft slope to her button nose, to her perfect slim eyebrows and her long black eyelashes that hung over deep purple. He observed the softness of her cheeks, and then looked down at her lips. Pink lips with a slim top and slightly bigger bottom. 'Ah... this feels... familiar..' he thought to himself as he neared her face. 

This scene, the way he had read her face and the intensity in the air, how strongly pulled he was to the one nearing him. It felt familiar. The way her skin felt when he touched it. It felt familiar, like he had touched something like that before. The way his eyes had locked with hers and the wavered to her lips. They felt familiar. 

His thumb brushed over her lips, feeling her shiver. 'But these aren't the lips...' he thought to himself as his hair brushed against Claudia's bangs. His eyes ran up to her eyebrows, so perfectly trimmed, so slim and pretty. 'Those aren't the eyebrows...' he observed the way her hair fell over her face and the scent. 'Lavender... that isn't the scent.' 

His eyes fell to her eyes and her long eyelashes. They were shorter than what he remembered. They were less dense too. 'And the eyes...' he thought to himself as his nose brushed against Claudia's. He watched as her eyes slowly shut, deep purple being hidden away under long lashes. He flinched, a color slamming into him so abruptly that he flinched, pulling away from Claudia. 

It was gold.

He stared at her for a moment, a scent hitting him right after. Wine. 

He stood up from his seat immediately, complete shock showing on his face. A moment passed until he realized what he had done and looked down at Claudia. There were tears in her eyes. 

"Claudia- I-" he began, his words being cut off by her standing up from her seat immediately. She faced him for a second and immediately bowed. 

"I... I'll wait your highness," she muttered as the first tears ran down her cheeks. 

"Claudia... no-"

"I'll be taking my leave now," Claudia smiled weakly, her lips trembling. She turned around, her arm being grabbed by Dominic. She shook it off. "Talk to you later, your highness. Please finish your meal."

"Claudia-" Dominic called out as he followed her as she walked towards the exit of the room. 

"Do NOT follow me," she snapped, turning to him with a face full of tears. She pulled open the door and slammed it shut.

Dominic stared at the door for a moment, his legs trembled as he decided whether to follow her or not. He stumbled back to his seat and flopped down in it. He stared at the salad in front of him and took a bite, staring at the seat beside him. 

He buried his face in his hands and groaned. "Why..." he muttered to himself. The face flashed into his mind again. Bright, clear golden eyes canopied by long dense eyelashes and the scent of wine. 

His fingers dug into his hair, shaking it wildly as his left hand stuffed his face with salad and two other tomatoes. It wasn't shaking the feeling. It wasn't moving the memory from his head. 

He stood up from his chair shakily, his steps unsteady and mind in a dizzy mess but the memory stayed clear. The face stared back at him as it did before, he felt just as intoxicated as he did in the moment. He staggered, leaning against his chair as he made his way to the door, barely managing to pull it open. 

 He stepped into the hallways, bright light hitting him at once like a wave and then almost like he carried the shades of red from the room before, the innocent white of the walls seemed to peel away to reveal crimson red dripping down the walls. He flinched, throw up clogging his throat as his eyes rolled behind their sockets and back. 

His next step made his leg feel like a ton and the next after felt like he was moving a carriage with his foot. He fell to his knees, his vision blurring in and out until complete blackout. 

In the distance, there was a murmur followed by the yell of a familiar voice. 

His body seemed to rotate as he fell to the ground, the ground somehow moving up to his face. His body numbed and his throat clenched up along with his heart. He couldn't breathe. 

"YOUR HIGHNESS!!!" the familiar voice called out. "YOUR HIGHNESS!!!"

He knocked out.