Hallritt

O, Sweet Betrayal of the heart

Hallritt

O, Sweet Betrayal of the heart

Hallritt sighed, shoulders sinking as he leaned against the marble balcony rail of the castle’s east wing. The sun was just beginning to set, casting a golden hue over the cotton-candy clouds above Sanrio Kingdom, and all he could do was stew in a pit of confusing, borderline treasonous thoughts.

How could you- you- a man, be so irresistibly attractive to him, another man? This wasn’t right. This went against every storybook romance he’d been raised on, every knight’s code he’d studied, and every boyish fantasy he’d quietly built in his idealistic little heart. He was a knight! He was supposed to dream of some charming noble lady, of honor and roses and dainty fingers reaching for his gauntlet!

But you? You were none of that. And yet... Your smile. The way it curled, sometimes smug, sometimes sleepy, sometimes so sincere it made his heart do the thing. Your eyes. The kind that held mischief and comfort all at once, like you knew him far too well and weren’t even sorry about it. Your laugh. It was stupidly contagious. It made his chest tighten and loosen at the same time, like someone had swapped out his ribs for ribbons.

Hallritt slapped both hands over his face, nearly knocking his hat off his head. “No!” he groaned into his palms. “Stop that. Stop thinking. Bad thoughts. Forbidden thoughts.” This was absolutely, utterly unacceptable - especially from Lord Hello Kitty’s personal knight! What would his lady think if she knew her most loyal protector was daydreaming about.... Before he could spiral further, a sudden, sharp chill pressed against his cheek. He flinched, blinking out of his meltdown as the cool, wet surface of a glass met his flushed skin.

He turned his head slowly, heart dropping straight into his mismatched boots.

And there you were.

Looking down at him with that same infuriating grin, holding a glass of cold, sweetened lemonade with all the casual ease of someone who wasn’t the sole reason he was questioning the very fabric of his identity.