Decided to rewrite the scene where Aphmau sees Garroth’s face for the first time because I’m insane !!
Aphmau paused for a moment as she reached the mine's entrance. After finally having her own thoughts and fears laid to rest she finally took a moment to realize what she's about to do, to realize what this information might do to Garroth. Zenix was like a son to him, he took him in when he was young and raised the boy to the best of his abilities. However, now....he'll never see him the same, not after learning about his horrendous deeds, what he did to this village, to their previous lord and his family. Aphmau took a deep breath, reminding herself to tread carefully when approaching this subject with Garroth, the wounds were still fresh after all.
She began her decent into the mines.
"Garroth...?" Before her was a man slumped over, seated on the raw cobblestone ground. He held his head low in one hand as the other gripped a diamond sword. It stood tall in front of his crestfallen form, almost as if it was shielding him from others, from her.
Garroth cracked one eye open as he looked up at her before shutting it again, he winced in pain and turned his head to the side, avoiding her gaze, "Don't look at me Aphmau..."
Aphmau paused with her mouth slightly agape, he was nothing like she'd imagined him to be. For one, she expected the man to be far older than what he seemed to be, perhaps due to the way he spoke or the way in which he carried himself. Instead, a decently young man was presented before her. She let herself study his features for a moment, noting his feathery blond hair and cerulean blue eyes.
"Garroth...your face..."
He sighed deeply, "I failed the village...it's people...everyone," his voice was gruff and filled with anger, but then grew somber, "even you..."
"That's nonsense!" Instinctively, Aphmau stepped towards him with a hand out, ready to comfort him, but she stopped herself, "You're my knight..."
Garroth remained silent.
Aphmau's heart panged slightly, knowing that her words weren't enough to comfort him.
Against her better judgement she decided to ask the one question that had been plaguing her mind since she first set eyes on Garroth's unmasked figure, "Why did you hide your face?"
He paused for a moment before finally facing her, looking straight into her big brown eyes, "I never wanted you to see me like this."
Her eyes softened under his gaze as she tilted her head quizzically, "But why...?"
Garroth spent so long wearing a helmet that he forgot how intimate a look could be, it was all too much too quickly so he averted her gaze once again, "It's a long story, one I'd rather not get into at the moment...maybe ever, but did you manage to find Levin's mother?"
"Yes." Aphmau's tone grew heavy as she lowered her gaze.
He felt her eyes leave him. His diamond sword was still propped up in front of him, almost acting as a barrier between them. Hearing her shaky voice pulled at his emotions and despite feeling exposed and vulnerable, he dropped it to the side and reached out to her. Without thinking, he outstretched his hand in an attempt to hold hers, but he stoped himself. Garroth realized that this touch would be far too intimate for a Lord and her guard to share, so instead he gived her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, urging her to continue.
She wiped away a stray tear, "I found her but...Zenix."
He froze.
"He was holding her captive. I wanted to save her, bring her back to Levin and let them be a family again but..." Aphmau sighed deeply before once again turning to face him, "She decided to stay behind, for Levin's sake. She said they'd hurt him if she didn't..."
Garroth gently removed his hand from her shoulder, sliding down her upper arm before returning to him, "What a noble woman, to make such a sacrifice like that...to stay away from her son for his own safety."
Aphmau looked into his eyes for a moment, pensively chewing the inside of her cheek as she pondered something.
He felt the intense urge to look away, but instead held her gaze.
"Do you...remember her?"
He took a moment to think, digging deep into his mind in search of any recollection of Matilda, his brows furrowed in thought. "Matilda...No, I've never heard the name. I would remember too."
"Hm, I see..." Aphmau hummed in acceptance, realizing that Garroth was also affected by the magic that caused the village to forget their previous Lord.
Garroth shut his eyes and sighed deeply before suddenly standing up, "This is too much to take in Aphmau, way too much. Zenix was...I raised him since he was a kid. To think that he was involved in the murder of a Lord...what village was it anyway?"
Aphmau froze, his deep blue eyes were looking down on her and bore into her soul, twisting her heart with guilt. He was right, this was all too much for him. Aphmau knew that this would push him over the edge, so she lied. His eyes were so full of sadness and regret, how could she not lie? How could she do nothing else but spare his feelings? "I...I don't know, he didn't say."
"I see. I wouldn't imagine he'd tell you anyways." Garroth sighed and rubbed a hand over his face, only now did Aphmau realize just how exhausted he looked. "Well it seems like you need some well deserved rest."
He extended out his hand, offering to help Aphmau up. She took his hand and he lifted her to her feet, "What're you going to do now?"
"I'm going to stay down here for a few hours, I need some time to recover my pride. I'm not running I just...it becomes overwhelming, failing so many people in the village." He reached down to pick up his sword, no longer looking at Aphmau.
"You didn't fail anyone, Garroth. I swear." Her words were stern as she clenched her teeth, she never wanted him to blame himself, ever.
"Kind words Aphmau," he was now facing away from her, but he smiled softly to himself before returning back to his somber expression, "but they don't help how I feel right now. I'll be back to helping up there, right now I think I'm going to mine some materials and try to clear my head from this mood I'm in. We'll talk more about what to do with Levin tomorrow." Garroth turned to look at Aphmau before giving her a reassuring smile, "Let's just make sure he's got a nice roof over his head to keep him warm."
A loving smile stretched across her face as she thought of Levin and how lucky he was to have someone as kind as Garroth in his life...how lucky she was.
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you don't have to answer this if you don't want to but
do you have any mcd hcs you'd like to share 👉👈 (im sorry you're just a really cool person)
Oh never feel bad for asking so here we go!
- Laurence's eyes after being blind are a very pale green that can get mistaken for blue. If one was able to look in his eyes you would immediately see the green.
- Demiromantic Malachai. Ghost boy was stuck in one point of his life for centuries, so his brain still has trouble processing emotions quickly.
- Levin and Malachai both had a crush on Liochant, but in the way a person gets a crush on an attractive guy doing you a small favor. It's not a full crush, but it happened.
- Cadenza still sews as a way to process her emotions, and it is very normal for visiting lords to receive items of clothing.
- Strong man build Garroth. The man is a bit of a bear.
- Laurence's body type is that of a sprinter. Corded muscle but on the skinny side.
- Aphmau has no object permanence. She places something down and it is gone to the void.
- The area around Meteli is covered in roses. Appeared after the shadow knight second season and now just took over.
That's all I have for rn.
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