But then she was pushing back from him, giving him a frown as she touched her lips, staring into his eyes. "W-what has gotten into you? If my father were to have caught you doing that, you would have been beaten, even I would not have been able to prevent it. You go too far slave. While it is true that I have kissed you in the past..." It was more than just in the past, and D opened his mouth to protest but thought better of it, and stayed silent. "We can't do this, we're friends, slave. You're the only friend I have... would you truly want to hurt me, and leave me without a single friend in this world?" Mari asked, a frown deep upon her features.
"No..." D said softly, frowning a little as he lowered his head.
"Now..." Mari said as she pushed away from him, frowning. "Father says that I need to decide on a suitor that best fits me. There is one that I want to come to court me, but he just... won't do it, slave... and I am uncertain of what to do. It would be improper for me to provoke him into seeking my hand, would it not? Yet, I find myself more attracted to him every time I see him ride by on that amazing white stallion of his. It is perhaps the most impressive beast I have ever seen, with a rider to match..." she gushed softly.
"I think you should follow your heart." D said softly, feeling each word carve itself into his chest as he stared at her.
She flung herself into his arms and gave him a hug that a moment earlier would have made him forget any pain in the universe. Now it just felt as if she were pressing salt into the knife holes he had carved into his chest. "You're the best, friend... you truly are the best. I could not count on the handmaidens to give me such a straight answer, but you, my friend, you don't lie to me. You're absolutely right, too, I should leave him a note... you will sneak out and deliver it for me once the sun sets in the sky, won't you, slave?"
"Yes." D whispered quietly, watching as she skipped off to write it. The journey would be refreshing at least, it would give him a chance to shed the tears he kept blinking back now, for fear of her reaction if he were to shed them.
Nearly three centuries later, the slave boy sat upon a table, oblivious to the past that he had once lived. A bit of old wine had seen to that. Blinking a little he wiggled the bottle, noticing the little bit of it that swished around at the bottom. It was funny that it was like that, yet he was sure if he tipped the bottle it would take forever for even a drop of it to come out and that would just be so very boring to hold up his arm like that. Also, it would be a little sad. He'd already proven that he could easily get drunk, perhaps having lost the tolerance that he'd gained up in the dark ages, instead now he was well and truly a few sheets to the wind as it were.
When she said 'Hey Stranger', he didn't actually turn, not thinking that anyone was talking to him. He was actually pleasantly closing his eyes and enjoying the feel of the breeze on his face, and the pleasant wooden smell of the bench beneath him. As he felt a hand upon his shoudler he blinked his eyes open for a moment, pausing as he sat up, feeling his head buzz a little as he swung his legs to turn around, sitting away from the table part of the park bench, looking at the girl who was standing in front of him.