The next day, they got out of bed without having a wink of sleep. As if waiting for this moment and to prove he had meant every word he said, Bael forced Thomas to y back down and brought him his breakfast on a tray.
“What are you doing ?”
The king broke into a huge smile.
“Taking care of my man. Woah, it feels so good to say it out loud ! Can I call you that ? My man ?”
Thomas burst into ughter.
“If you want to, I don’t care ! I didn’t think you would be this cheesy.”
Bael put the tray on the slim man’s knees and gently kissed his forehead.
“If you knew how many times I imagined this moment… Every second of every day, I was fantasizing about bringing you breakfast in bed, sitting you on my p, kissing your cheeks… And a lot of other things I keep as a surprise. Trust me, you won’t want to go away after what I prepared !”
Thomas grabbed his head and kissed his nose.
“I wasn’t pnning to. You don’t need to do all that.”
Bael touched the area Thomas’ lips had just met, as if it was something precious.
“I will do it anyway.”
He took a knife and spread jam on a piece of bread, holding it to Thomas’ mouth who took a big bite. They continued to banter and speak loving words when suddenly someone knocked on the door. Without waiting for an answer, Baam entered the room with a serious face. It felt like déjà-vu.
“They are here.”
Bael became stiff, his smile vanishing from his lips.
“Mariane and the princes ?”
“I only saw the princes. All seven are at the castle’s door, wreaking havoc. They can’t teleport inside thanks to the reinforced magic barrier, but I don’t know how long it will keep them at bay.”
The king put the bread down and looked at Thomas who was wiping his face.
“Stay here, okay ? Don’t move a hair. I will be back soon.”
The slim man nodded with a slight smile.
“Don’t worry. I will stay here.”
Bael kissed his forehead and stood up. He had almost reached the door when Thomas stood up.
“Wait !”
He ran to him, grabbed his head, and kissed him on the lips. It was clumsy, a bit shaky, but nevertheless passionate. Baam widened his eyes but didn’t say anything, putting a hand in front of his mouth to hide his smile while Bael looked equally shocked. Thomas finally took a step back and cleared his throat, his face as red as a tomato.
“Come back soon, okay ?”
The king nodded enthusiastically, only leaving when Baam was pulling him by the arm. The door closed and Thomas became serious again. He went to his wardrobe, chose a nice looking outfit and put it on. He even braided his long hair and made sure he was looking nice, then sat on his armchair, looking at the center of the room. It didn’t take long, a cloud of blue magic appeared in front of him, revealing a grey haired man he didn’t know and Mariane. The girl took a good look at him with a triumphant smile.
“What ? You were waiting for us ? You're no fun !”
Thomas calmly stood up.
“I suppose the magic barrier of the castle isn’t worth much.”
The grey haired man, that he supposed was the mage student the headmaster had brought to teach Mariane, shrugged.
“My research topic was the magic barriers of each realm.”
“I see.”
Thomas looked at the girl, who still had a mocking face.
“Don’t you want to stop, now ? You have a whole harem of lovers. Or is the game forcing you to kill me ?”
Mariane’s face finally cracked.
“You know about the game ? How ?”
The slim man shook his head.
“It would be strange if I didn’t know. It’s your favorite genre, and I often watched you py when we were still together. Don’t you think the situation looks too much like a common trope ? Being sucked in a different universe with all those men falling for you ?”
The grey haired man tilted his head but stayed silent. However, Mariane’s face had brightened.
“Yes, you are right. I didn’t think you would be so smart ! Always a good student, huh ?”
Thomas searched in his head, trying to find a way to stop the girl without having to fight.
“You know why DID exists, right ? I still hold your memories and your traumas. If I disappear, either all of it will be gone, or it will all come back to you and break your mind once again. Do you really want to try ?”
But Mariane ughed and chased his arguments with a move of her hand.
“Oh, please ! Don’t try that with me. I have demons and mages, what’s a bit of mental health ? If I’m broken, they can fix me up. And if I don’t want to suffer from DID, it can be gone in a blink. Paimon is already working on it, in at most a week I will be the only one in my head !”
Thomas sighed. Everything was going exactly as he had predicted. There was no way to persuade Mariane, and even if he could fight her off for a while, if God decided to intervene he wouldn’t be able to stop it. There was only one way to end this.
‘At least Bael isn’t in the room. I trained a lot just in case, but they used the old tactic of luring him away to attack me when I’m alone. It’s better this way.’
He took a step forward and confidently faced the intruders.
“Then I guess this is it. I’m ready.”
Mariane pouted with a bored expression.
“You really are no fun. Who surrenders without a fight ? I even brought my cutie with me just in case ! You are going to die, don’t you have any regrets ?”
Thomas looked towards the door. Regrets ? He had many, especially after that night. His first kiss with Bael felt way too short, too rushed. He would have preferred to wait until they took a stroll in the garden, and kiss in front of the mermaid ke. Then, they could have held hands until they went back, or Bael could have carried him like that time when he was too exhausted to walk. He also wanted to experience all the things the king had said he would do for him, and the things he had kept silent. But it was useless now.
“What’s the point ? Even if I regret and I beg you to let me live, will you do it ?”
Mariane shook her head with a smile.
“Nope, I will still kill you. I just wanted to ask because you always seem so unbothered. You’re so cold, you don’t like anything.”
“That’s false.”
The slim man took a step closer, now less than a meter away from the girl, who tensed up.
“I like things. In fact, I love someone. And you are about to kill me and make him extremely unhappy because he loves me too. Don’t take this lightly Mariane. You are extinguishing a life. It’s not a game, not for the both of us.”
She gritted her teeth, furrowing her brows.
“It’s not a game for me. I’m gambling my life and my future, since I have no intentions of going back.”
“I know. You are ambitious, and the crown of Hell would look good in your collection.”
Thomas sighed. The conversation was going nowhere.
“I already said my goodbyes, so hurry up.”
He hadn’t said it out loud, but for him that first kiss was always meant to be the st. It was his parting gift for Bael.
‘He will be happy with Mariane, since he will be under her influence. I have nothing to regret. If he is well, that’s all that I can wish for.’
Contrary to his thoughts, tears were building up behind his eyes. But he was blocking them with all his might. He didn’t want to give Mariane the satisfaction to see him cry.
“You’re right, it’s getting boring. Bye !”
She moved her hand, and a magic circle formed around Thomas. He recognized it since he had studied it.
‘Complete erasure, including my soul. I saw it coming, she isn’t giving me a single chance, huh ?’
It wasn’t as painful as he had expected. He only felt a burning sensation while particles of him were detaching and disappearing one after the other. It felt extremely long, but maybe it only sted a few seconds. Soon, his limbs were gone and his torso started to also vanish. That’s when the door opened wide and a disheveled Bael appeared. His gaze immediately nded on Thomas, with now only his head remaining.
“No ! Why ? Fucking why ? You’re supposed to stay with me !”
He couldn’t speak anymore, but the slim man mouthed his st words. ‘I love you.’
And everything became dark. At least it should have. But just before the st particle of him disappeared, he saw a familiar pink light fshing in front of him. It was the same as his demonic power, the same that transported him to Hell. But he couldn’t dwell on it, he had already ceased to exist.
AmbreaTaddy