Work Text:
—AGHK-!
dark enchantress had him on her grasp. too tight. he couldn't move his sword like this. he couln't think. but before everything went dark, he prayed. prayed that he would live. prayed that this wasn't the end. prayed that he could continue fullfilling his divine duties.
madeline's body fell to the ground
Espresso watched everything.
he had to get in that castle and fix this as soon as possible.
—who would've thought the war would get this intense! —the knight laughed loudly
in the aftermath of the war, the cookies scattered to check on the soldiers and take everyone somewhere safe to heal; Espresso and madeleine sat together on a fallen tree, the smaller of the pair tending to his own wounds, though they weren't too bad in comparison to most of others. the mage's mind was still a little hazy from everything that had occured, he didn't believe in miracles but if he had to call something one, it would be this, the fact that they were able to win a war while being outnumbered in power, and the fact that he didnt get in any immediate danger after sacrificing his magic candy.
while Espresso occupied himself with bandaging, his companion rambled about the war and how intense it all was, which was fine, he didnt had the energy tell the other to tone it down, so he endured listening to him… until he started talking about his death
Espresso, for reasons he couldn't understand, felt a weird pang in his heart at the mere memory of madeline's death; how he was taken, how his lifeless body fell to the ground so unceremoniously, and how he could only hope disrupting the magic circle would change anything... he didn't want to think of this right now
—ah, dying sure felt weird, but alas, i never doubted the divine light that protects me —madeleine spoke so casually, it made something in the mage start to break, subconsiously pulling on his bandages a little too tight
—i would not be able to rest knowing my fans would spend months mourning me if i were to cease to exist —madeleine sighed dramatically, unaware of the distant look on Espresso's eyes
—though, i'm sure you would've been a little happy if i-
—do not. —Espresso finally snapped before the knight could continue sputtering nonsense; it just felt like every word that came out of the blonde's mouth was a direct stab to his very soul, and he couldnt understand why —do not say such... foolish things.
madeleine was taken aback by his companion's response, it was very unlike Espresso to snap at something that wasn't his experiments and research being messed with, or someone pouring milk on coffee
—Espresso... —before the other could react, the blonde reached out to cup that worried face, tilting his head just enough to look at him directly in the eyes —I'm alive.
Espresso froze
Suddenly he realized the weight of his own words. Since when did he care? Since when was it so important that the paladin stayed safe? The same paladin that constantly mingled with his things, the same paladín that forced him out of his experiments and kept the mage locked in his room until he got at least 3 hours of sleep, the same, stupid, goofy paladín that protected him with his life on the line whenever they were in danger, even if he ended up completely injured.
they stayed silent for a short moment, Espresso wasn't sure how to respont, for witches sake, he didn't even know why that reassurance actually filled him with relief
—beside! —madeleine stood up from Espresso's side, yielding his sword high in the sky with his unwavering pride —it is still my duty as a paladin to protect you, so as long as i live, i swear on the divine light that guides me, that i will use this shield to keep you safe! —he rested his sword on the ground again and turned to look down at the mage, giving him a confident smile only he could carry
—…tch —that was the only response Espresso gave, though madeleine didn't care.
the sweeter cookie continued talking to fill the silence, but didn't touch the topic of the war again, instead rambling about all the things he wanted to do once they were back in the republic, very much including continuing his job as Espresso's guard and (unwanted) assistent; Espresso just sat and listened, but deep down, he hoped his loyal knight would follow up on everything he was saying.