It had been a week.

A week of learning, a week of practice, a week of anticipation, a week and still Erin slept on. The temperature in Hyacinth began to rise, though it still stayed below average. I don't think the slight chill that followed me would ever go away, but I didn't mind it and neither did anyone else. Or so it seemed.

I was lying on my back in bed, staring at the ceiling. It was just after breakfast, and everyone was in the living room, however I had decided to come up early. My eyes were locked on a piece of peeled paint above me as I laid there, my arms crossed over my stomach.

The room was silent, that is, it was silent until the door opened. I lifted my head up to look at who was entering and saw Jimmy shutting the door behind him. "Hey." I said, giving him a small wave.

"Hi." Jimmy replied, not looking at me and instead heading straight to the dresser, beginning to pull the folded clothes from the drawer and piling them on the top.

"What are you doing-?" I asked, sitting up and watching him with a raised eyebrow.

"Packing."

"Why?"

"I'm moving rooms." He replied simply, raising an eyebrow at me. "You want this one so I'm moving to the one you didn't."

"Wha- no don't go!" I said, sitting straight up and getting to my feet.

"Well why not?" Jimmy asked, frowning slightly.

"Because- I-" I stuttered awkwardly. "I want you to stay. I'll stay on the armchair if sharing the bed is making you uncomfortable-"

Jimmy blinked, his expression fading from confusion and softening. "You want me to stay in here with you?" he asked.

I played with my fingers nervously for a moment before I sighed. "Yes..."

Jimmy's expression completely melted, and he smiled. "Is there a reason or...?"

"I- I don't want to have any nightmares-" I said quickly, which wasn't entirely a lie. I really didn't. But Jimmy provided something like comfort. A comfort I hadn't felt in a long time.

"Alright. Fine. Lizzie's not going to be too happy with me though." Jimmy replied with a short laugh, putting the spare clothes back into the drawer.

I gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks." I said, rubbing the back of my neck with a bit of an embarrassed expression. I hoped my cheeks weren't as red as they felt.

"Anyways~" Jimmy said, turning back around and sending me a grin, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. "Would you like to go on a walk? I'm free."

I returned his smile. "Sure. It would be nice to get out." I agreed, twisting one of the rings I wore on my thumb as I glanced down at my hands to avoid looking into his face and risk blushing even more than I already was.

"Perfect! Let's go!" Jimmy answered, grabbing my wrist, and dragging me out the door.

Jimmy skipped just ahead of me as we walked, excited to be outside.

It was relatively warm out considering- well, me. I watched Jimmy, stifling snickers, with my hands in his pockets. Today he seemed unusually cheerful. In a good way though.

We wandered a little outside of the castle. The weather felt like Spring, with the slightest, pleasant chill in the air. I breathed in the crisp air, exhaling slowly. It really was gorgeous out. "You're so sloooooow." Jimmy drawled with a laugh, grabbing my forearm and forcing me to follow him at a quicker pace.

"What's got you so happy?" I asked, snickering to myself a little as I obliged to his pull, walking quickly after him as the breeze blew past us, tousling my hair.

"It's a nice day out!" Jimmy replied, before leading me off the path, into a small, wooded area just off of the trail wrapping around the castle. He pulled me through the forest, weaving through trees as I tagged along behind, still getting dragged by the sleeve. I felt the grass slip against my ankles, strangely soft and ticklish. The farther we ventured into the wooded area, the more flowers appeared, shades of reds, blues, and pinks. Even a few purples and yellows. "I found this the other day." He said as he pulled me into a small clearing.

I blinked at the sunlight streaming through the large leaves, casting a greenish-yellow glow over the area sprinkled with different color flowers and tall grass almost like sprinkles. It was a beautiful little hidden away place. I could tell why Jimmy had been so excited now. "Wow...it's pretty here." I said, returning Jimmy's excited smile. He nodded quite aggressively before sitting down on the forest floor, patting the spot beside him as if gesturing for me to sit there.

I laughed quietly to myself, before sitting down in the grass by him. Frost spread from where my hands pressed against the earth, but it crystalized against the blades of grass, looking like jewels reflecting the sun and sending dazzling beams of sunlight dancing around the clearing, making it all the more beautiful.

Jimmy looked around in slight awe for a moment, the white light flitting across his face for a fleeting second. Then he looked back down at the ground, picking flowers from the ground and beginning to weave their stems together.

I watched with curiosity as he formed the flowers together into a loop, a gorgeous combination of daises and so, so many poppies, the red bursting with more color than fire.

"Where did you learn how to make flower crowns?" I asked, my tone filled with interest, as he finished with the last few flowers.

Jimmy shrugged. "I'm not sure." He said, before placing the crown over my antlers onto my head with a small giggle, tugging at it so that it sat at an angle. "Perfect."

I snickered, blowing a petal from my face. "Sure. Perfect." I agreed, smiling wide.

Jimmy got to work on his own flower crown, now using poppies and small, immature yellow dandelions that grew about our little clearing. I watched his fingers carefully as they wove the flowers together expertly, as if he had been doing the small task for many years over and over. He hummed to himself as he worked, smiling as he went.

Once he finished, he placed it on his own head, turning to me. "What do you think?" he asked, gesturing towards his head with both hands.

I leaned closer at his words, adjusting the flower crown on his head slightly, tugging it down. "There." I said, before withdrawing and straightening up, letting my hands drop into my lap.

Jimmy laughed again, his face twisting in an innocent joy that made my heart melt. His freckle-like scales contorted along with his face as he screwed his eyes shut. After a moment he sighed happily, laying back in the grass.

I leaned over to look over him, and he opened his eyes slowly to meet mine. "What on earth are you doing?" I asked, stifling laughter of my own as I looked down upon him.

"Nothing~" He said sweetly, earning an affectionate gaze from me, right before he tugged me all the way to the ground with him.

I yelped, landing on the soft grass beside him, before bursting into giggles with him. "You're so funny today."

"Just happy you're doing better!" Jimmy exclaimed, smiling at me, his slightly sharpened canines flashing in the sunlight. I missed that smile.

A soft blush grew on my cheeks as I looked at him, and I forced myself to roll over onto my back to stare at the sky. I promised myself this wouldn't happen...but alas the heart wants what it wants when it wants it.

"Something wrong?" Jimmy asked, shifting closer. I turned my head to look at him through the blades of grass between us.

"No. Everything's amazing, actually." I said truthfully, a smile again spreading across my face.

We stayed there for...I don't know how long.

We watched the sky as the clouds crossed them, floating across the endless blue. I sighed to myself, basking in the warmth I had missed out on for years.

I slowly closed my eyes, the sunlight making me sleepy as I laid there. I shifted slightly, my arm moving and brushing something I recognized as Jimmy's hand. I instantly shot up, sitting straight, and jerking my hand away from his.

"Scott? What is it?" Jimmy asked, raising an eyebrow as he propped himself up on his elbows to look at me.

My face was burning, but I said nothing as I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. "N-Nothing- we probably should get back soon though- we never told anyone where we were going." I said quickly, to hide my embarrassment.

"Oh- Okay." Jimmy replied, sitting all the way up, his hands dropping into his lap, still with an air of confusion.

I slowly got to my feet, brushing the grass off my clothing, and holding a hand out to help Jimmy up after adjusting my flower crown. Jimmy grabbed onto my forearm, and I tugged him up...a little too hard.

Jimmy staggered forward into me, clutching to my shirt to stay upright. The dark blonde looked at me after a moment, his face redder than the poppies in his hair. "Sorry, sorry, sorry-" he stuttered, averting his murky brown eyes.

"It's- it's okay." I managed to get out, stumbling over my words. But Jimmy didn't move, our chests still pressed together as I looked down at him.

Our eyes met a moment later, and silence fell upon the clearing. Slowly, very slowly, Jimmy inched his hand towards mine, my heart seemed to flutter, but then it dropped towards my stomach as he tangled our fingers together, sending waves of sheer joy throughout my body. I took in a sharp breath of air, feeling my cheeks steadily grow warmer as I looked into the other man's face. "Is there a problem?" he asked softly, his voice gentle and pleasant to my ears.

"Yes..." I replied slowly, moving my other hand to rest on the side of Jimmy's face, running my thumb lightly along his cheekbone, bumping over the raised scales.

"And what is it?"

"I...I think I'm in love again." I said, my voice hardly above a whisper as I spoke, my heart threatening to beat straight out of my chest. Jimmy's face seemed to glow pink at my words, his eyes softening. I leaned in gradually, and I watched Jimmy's eyes close just as my own fluttered shut. I felt our noses brush, then our lips, before I pressed them together into a gentle kiss, the world around us getting blocked out completely.

I don't know how long we stood there. It could have been seconds, minutes, maybe several sunlit days, but finally, I reluctantly pulled away.

"I'm sorry." I said, my voice small and quiet and quite frankly embarrassing.

"For what?" Jimmy asked, matching my tone as he leaned on me.

"Everything."

Jimmy's expression again softened, and a gentle smile spread across his lips that I can't believe I just kissed. "Oh Scott...I forgave you for that a long time ago."

I frowned slightly at his words. "You shouldn't have."

"But I did." Jimmy said sweetly, pressing our foreheads together, his eyes closing again. "And I'm so glad I did."

My hand slid down the side of Jimmy's face to rest on the side of his neck as we stood there.

"Now Lizzie's really going to kill me..." Jimmy murmured with a small snicker.

"Speaking of your sister, we probably should head back before they start wondering where we are." I pointed out, despite wanting to spend as much time alone with him as possible. Every fiber of my body wished it could just be me and him, alone forever in this sunlit clearing with nothing but each other and all the time in the world to spend. No more wars, no more violence, nothing more than him. But I couldn't, no matter how much I wanted to. 

"She will murder me if she finds out we're gone- and you as well." Jimmy added with a nervous laugh, sliding his hand back into mine, tilting his head the slightest to the side.

I nodded in agreement. "She will sure as hell try to kill me if she knows we've been alone together this long..."

Jimmy sighed. "Alright, let's go." He said reluctantly, before grabbing my hand and beginning to lead me back out of the clearing, my mood much better than when we had arrived.

As we approached the castle, I remembered my flower crown.

But I didn't want to take Jimmy's small masterpiece off. So, it remained on my head as Jimmy pushed the doors open and led me inside, letting go of my hand as we entered.

"Maybe we could pass it off like we never left-" Jimmy started, but we both froze when we saw Katherine standing in the hall. She turned to look at us both as the door shut behind us, and she raised one of her dark eyebrows. Her eyes flitted from our heads, most likely the flowers in our hair, then back down at our faces. She crossed her arms as she fully turned to look at us. "And where have you two been?" she asked, sounding extraordinarily like her mother for a moment.

"Uhh-" I started, feeling my face begin to heat up at her question.

"Nowhere!" Jimmy said quickly. "Nope, we've been here the entire time!"

Katherine blinked. "I think you two forget I'm not stupid. You've been gone for three hours."

"Three hours!?" I yelped.

"Mhm. You can't really play it off this time. Now where were you?" Katherine asked. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way."

Jimmy laughed nervously. "Uh yeah...about that... On the count of three we run." He whispered to me.

"You know I can hear you-" Katherine pointed out.

"One." Jimmy hissed.

"Again. I can HEAR you."

"Two."

"Oh my god-"

"THREE!" He shouted, grabbing my hand, and dragging me down the hall, sprinting with me behind him straight down the hall past Katherine.

I shrieked with laughter as we sped down the hall.

"JIMMY!" Katherine shouted after us, but we were already out of sight.

Jimmy's expression was wild with excitement as we weaved our way through rooms. I didn't even know where we were going anymore, all that mattered was the man in front pulling me along. The rooms ripped past us as we ran. I didn't see the point of this, we would be seeing Katherine at dinner.

Somehow, we had ended up on the second floor though I had no memory of going up a staircase. We whipped down the hall of guestrooms, laughter erupting from where we sprinted, when we came to a sudden stop as a door opened. We both slammed into the new obstacle, my chest smashing into the wood and sending a quick pain shooting through my body before I crumpled to the floor alongside Jimmy.

I caught sight of his stunned expression for a moment before we locked eyes and burst into even more giggles.

"What. On. Earth?" Came a voice above us, the voice I recognized as a certain ocean queen's. I slowly looked up to see Lizzie staring down at the two of us, one of her pink eyebrows raised almost to her hairline.

I gave a nervous laugh, propping myself up on one of my elbows just as Katherine appeared at the end of the hall. "You two are in so much trouble-"

"It was Scott's fault!" Jimmy said quickly, immediately throwing me under the bus and pointing at me.

"WhAt-? What did I do!?" I asked. "You dragged me!"

"Just get up." Katherine said, squeezing the bridge of her nose with an exasperated sigh. Jimmy instantly scrambled to his feet, and I ducked underneath his tail so I wouldn't get smacked by it.

"Oh- sorry." Jimmy said, stifling giggles again before holding out a hand to help me up. But Lizzie swatted at it.

"He fell over he can get himself up." Lizzie said, shooting me a warning glare as if telling me not to touch her brother.

Jimmy gave her a look, a look of annoyance, before shoving her arm away and grabbing my forearm to help me up while I watched Lizzie warily. Jimmy held onto my hand a moment longer than he should have, letting go as he dropped his own hand to his side.

Lizzie watched for a moment before glancing at our flower crowns. "What-?"

"I have no idea." Katherine sighed. "These two... where did you even go?"

"Like we said, nowhere." Jimmy grinned.

"I think we both have different definitions of we-" I started.

"Oh shush."

"How about no."

"If you don't-"

"What? You'll make me?" I asked, a small smirk growing on my face. "I dare you~"

"Are you two flirting-?" Katherine asked, giving the both of us a puzzled expression.

"NO!" We both said quickly in unison, tensing up.

Lizzie narrowed her eyes. "You better tell me where you two were." She said, crossing her arms, her sea blue eyes piercing us like mini daggers.

Jimmy gulped. "Well- uh- I found a clearing on a walk yesterday and I brought Scott to check it out with me..." He explained, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Uh huh...and what did you do there?" His sister pressed, crossing her arms, and raising her eyebrow again menacingly.

"Well- erm- we made these." Jimmy said, pointing to his head. "And kind of just...sat there."

"Mhm. I don't believe you for one second." Lizzie said with a disbelieving roll of her eyes.

"That is literally what we did-" I started.

"Don't start with me elf boy." Lizzie snapped irritably.

"Don't talk to him like that!" Jimmy shot back, glaring at his sister.

I took a step backwards from her. I shouldn't get involved. That could lead to another blow up, more injuries, and more distrust taking from the trust I had already gained. My eyes flitted from between the siblings, watching to see what would happen.

Lizzie scoffed. "So you're standing up for him now, huh?" she asked, looking angrier than I had seen her in a long time. "Don't you remember what he did to you!?"

"What does that have to do with anything!? He's sorry! He admitted to being wrong and he's apologized!" Jimmy cried, his eyes filling with anger. "Multiple times!"

"That doesn't erase what he's done!"

Me and Katherine glanced at each other, it present in both our faces that neither of us knew what to do.

"I'm not a child that needs to be looked after Lizzie! Stop dictating what I can and can't do." Jimmy snapped.

"I'm just trying to protect you from that JERK!" Lizzie said, her fists clenching at her sides. "I don't want you to get hurt again!"

"He wouldn't hurt me!"

"YES HE WILL! He will do it again and I don't want to see you go through that pain again!" Lizzie cried. "You were so broken, and in so much pain last time! And I'm not going to let you risk your safety for an idiot like him who doesn't deserve you!"

"I'm still here-" I started, but I was instantly cut off by Jimmy's reply.

"I am not a CHILD!" Jimmy repeated. "It is not up to you what I can and cannot do, and it is not up to YOU who I choose to spend my time with!"

"I promised I'd protect you, James." Lizzie said, her expression stern. Jimmy instantly tensed at the usage of his name, and I could see why. I had never heard Lizzie call him that. "And I will do so no matter the cost."

You know what they say. Actions speak louder than words.

Instead of answering Lizzie verbally, Jimmy turned and took a few steps toward me with a defiant air to his movements. Without warning, he grabbed my collar, yanking me down roughly to be eye level before kissing me. Kissing me in front of his sister. The sister with murder glinting in her eyes. 

I was startled, instantly startled. My first instinct was to pull away, but I ignored that, my eyes fluttering closed as I placed my hand on one side of Jimmy's neck...

A rough force then pushed me to the side, two palms smashing me in the upper arm and shoving me to the ground with a thud. I landed hard on my right shoulder, sucking air through my teeth as my stitched up wound on that arm began to sting.

I heard a short gasp from Katherine and a growl of rage from Jimmy as I pushed myself from the floor, propping myself up on my elbows.

"ELIZABETH!" Jimmy roared in anger, shoving the tall woman backwards. "WHY ON EARTH-?"

"BECAUSE HE'S GOING TO HURT YOU!" I looked up to see Lizzie shout. Her eyes narrowed down at me, and I scrambled away on the ground, the pounding of my shoulder almost like a heartbeat.

"He would NEVER! Not anymore!"

"How do you know that? He's a liar!" Lizzie snapped.

Amidst their argument, Katherine kneeled down beside me to help me to my feet. But I hardly paid attention to her as I watched the two. "Who are you calling a liar?" I growled, taking a step forward, unable to stay out of it any longer to watch her insult me like that.

"You!" Lizzie snapped. "You are a lying, cheating, selfish COWARD who only cares for himself!"

My eyes flashed an icy blue as I took a step forward, a chill wind ripping down the hallway despite the fact we were inside. Frost instantly stung my face, creeping up my hands and into my palms at her words as anger boiled up inside, flowing through my very veins. "I think you just described yourself." I snarled, looking down into her face, though she was hardly shorter than me.

Scott: 1. Lizzie: 0

Lizzie's face contorted in range, and she opened her mouth to respond with an angry remark, before Katherine stepped between us, pressing her hands to both our chests to separate us.

"Cut it out you two." She snapped, and from the corner of my eye I saw Jimmy, his expression panicked as me and Lizzie glared each other down.

"Not until he takes it back." Lizzie said with an aggressive growl I had never heard from her before. I had known Lizzie to be competitive, and a little prideful, but not to this extent. This was a whole other level. Unfortunately, we shared the same stubbornness.

"Then we're going to be here a long time, sweetie."

Lizzie scowled. Sweetie out of my mouth was always a taunt, never a pet name. Never had I used it for Jimmy or anyone else in the past, unless my goal was to get a rise from them. And a rise I got.

"You'll meet me outside in fifteen minutes to finish this. Prove to me you're not a coward." The queen hissed, before turning on her heel and exiting the hall, leaving us in stunned silence.

My fists clenched again at my sides as I glared after her, her pink hair disappearing as she slammed the door behind her.

"Katherine. Where's my sword?" I asked after a moment, my voice low with absolute fury.

"You're not actually thinking of going out there-?" Katherine started; her expression filled with a stern worry.

"She's not getting away with calling me a coward."

"Scott it's not worth it! Lizzie can be vicious-" Jimmy pleaded with me, but I cut him off.

"And so can I."

***

And there you have it! This may or may not be the cutest thing I've written- and then I ruined it as I do everything. Yay!

But no, I love this chapter so freaking much and I hope you guys did too. And yes, I had to add the poppies, I couldn't not. All my flower husband friends out there will know what I mean :)

Sorry it took me so long to get this out. I haven't had much motivation lately and me and my whole family got sick last weekend so yeah- that.

Anyways I'll try my best to get the next chapter out soon. As always have a good day y'all!