The Guard at the Window (Laurance x Reader)

ii. The Journey Through the Woods

"Oh, because you weren't mending a pair when I came into your tower." He glanced behind him, making sure you were steadily following but also to react to your embarrassment. "Don't think I didn't see that white pair on the table."

"Well- Those were house slippers and unsuitable for walking," you snapped. You looked down at your feet, making sure you didn't step on any sharp objects or trip over lifted roots. "I don't have an actual pair of shoes anyway."

"You don't own shoes?"

"I've never had any reason to. Why would I?"

Laurance raised his brows and nodded his head, as if agreeing with your statement. "Well, whatever the reason I'll make sure you have shoes by tomorrow morning."

—

Well, he's make sure you had shoes by tomorrow morning if the time even came.

"Are we lost?" you asked. You had been walking for an eternity, blindly following behind him for what seemed like hours. You could feel the burn in your arms from holding your hair off the ground for so long.

"No, we are not lost."

It certainly didn't look that way. Laurance was standing just a few feet in front of you, looking left and right, forward and behind him, practically spinning in circles as he tried to figure out which way to go.

A moment passed. You were still, listening to the crunch of leaves beneath Laurance's feet as he turned helplessly. It was dark now, and crickets were chirping their lullaby. You watched Laurance run a hand through his hair and breathe out.

"We're lost," you declared. You huffed, letting your hair drop onto the floor. Another second holding it and you're sure your arms would have given out. You glance around, spotting a smooth rock and sitting on the surface. "What's your plan now?"

"We aren't lost, Y/n. Just..." Laurance trailed off. He spun around to find you and meet your gaze. In the moonlight, his eyes almost glowed. "We're gonna find some place eventually. We just have to keep going."

You puffed out a breath, though you weren't sure if it was supposed to be in amusement or exasperation. You sat on the rock, staring as Laurance turned back around and debated which way to go before taking a deep breath and gathering your hair again.

"Let's go this way," you said once you had finished looping your hair around your arms and found yourself beside him. You vaguely motioned to your right. "Unless you suddenly know where to go?"

Laurance shot you a glare before stepping that way. "I was just about to say we should go right."

You hummed in disbelief, rolling your eyes before following behind him. Since it was dark now and you couldn't see the forest floor, your steps were more careful.

You thanked your lucky stars when hardly fifteen minutes later you and Laurance happened upon what seemed to be an inn at the edge of a pond. You breathed out a sigh of relief when your feet met the smooth cobbled stone of a path, and you began taking less care of where you stepped.

You weren't sure when exactly it had happened, but you found yourself leading Laurance with a bounce in your step. Although you didn't turn back to see it, Laurance's gaze as he watched you was soft, as was his smile.

He held the sturdy door open for you, a wave of warmth from inside the building enveloping you like a warm hug as you entered. The door clicked shut behind you and Laurance, though it was nothing but background noise compared to the inside.

It wasn't extravagant by any means, but it was homey—lived in. There were shelves of various knick-knacks and chairs that looked well loved. You spotted a pile of books with sun damaged pages and softened corners that proved they had been read and appreciated many times. Nothing went together, and yet that was the charm of it.