my writing
“I need you.” Rylai was panting hard but still trying to keep up with Sven.
The knight next to her, one of his steps as long as two of hers, didn’t react to that.
“Sven? Please?”
He stopped. But he didn’t look at the Crystal Maiden. Instead he kept staring ahead, his face covered by a horned helmet, his giant sword resting on his shoulder. He was so tall and strong, he was formidable.
“You see something in me that isn’t there. I can do many things, but I can’t do anything right. I’m not worth your attention. You should leave, I’ll only drag you down.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
The Rogue Knight turned his head at these words. Because this was the Crystal Maiden, she didn’t swear. To hear her do it sounded wrong on every level.
With a shake of her head, she continued. “You are wonderful, you are always there for me when I need you, you are kind and thoughtful and lovely, and you have never dragged me down before. What is wrong with you?”
“It is…” he gestured vaguely at their surroundings. “Every single battle we have been in, we have lost. Obviously I’m no good.”
For a moment, Rylai stared at him with wide eyes. Then she put her hands on her hips. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” She stepped closer, one finger tipping at his chest. She was so small, she had to tilt her head back to be able to look at him. She never appeared to be this small, her whole attitude made her seem larger than she actually was. Only when she was this close was Sven aware of how fragile she was.
“You” she tipped at his chest while talking, his armour too thick for him to be able to feel it “are the strongest, the bravest, the most competent of all of us. I don’t know why you always think it’s your fault when something doesn’t go as planned, but I can assure I it isn’t. You are wonderful, you are perfect. And I need you.” Another shake of her head, this time it made the smell of her drift around Sven, because she was this close. If he wasn’t wearing this fucking helmet, he could lean down and bury his nose against her neck, take a deep breath. And kiss her. Feel her.
Her voice softened and she leaned slightly against him. Now she was smiling, her bright blue eyes almost sparkling in the sunlight shining down on them. “You are my hero.”
Fuck, he was completely lost. When Rylai was like that, he would do anything for her. Not because she said these things, but because she meant them, because she made him feel like it was true. She saw him as her hero and he desperately wanted to be her hero.