Elizabeth eventually got off Arthur's back, but that was only after she'd stubbornly stayed there for nearly the entire day.
"Took you a while." Arthur said, slowly sipping his apple juice, "if the rest of the family knew you were like this, they'd probably have a heart attack."
"Please, let them think what they want to think. If I'm spending time here with you, I really don't care."
"You have a reputation to uphold, y'know?"
"Screw reputations when I have someone like you here to make life interesting!"
Arthur wasn't sure how he of all people made life interesting, but he didn't tell that to her.
Last time, she lectured him for an hour about how 'interesting' he really was. It was funny, since Elizabeth was the older of the two of them, being roughly sixteen.
The two of them walked for quite a bit, Eventually getting to a steep hill far on the outskirts of the Prince family's territory.
Elizabeth took one look at it and smirked, turning to face Arthur.
"Race you!"
"Liz, don't..."
Before Arthur could get the words out, she was already running down the thing. She made it a good ten feet from him before she tripped. Thank the heavens she'd changed into a pair of black jeans trousers and a white t-shirt.
Arthur chased her rolling form all the way to the bottom.
By the time she finally stopped, she was a wreck. Her hair was ruined and grass covered nearly her entire body.
She got up, eyes spinning.
Arthur just watched her for some time, smiling lightly despite himself. A faint chuckle broke free from his lips.
Elizabeth took full advantage of that.
"You laughed!"
Arthur quickly went back to his usual self.
"...I did not."
"You did."
"Did not."
"I saw you smile, too."
"..."
"Don't tell anyone..."
Elizabeth just smiled at him as they walked towards the massive oak tree that rested at the bottom of the hill. Arthur knew it. It had been the place where he and Elizabeth spent most of their time together when he was six.
That was before Elizabeth's absurd power was recognised by the patriarch and she was taken to Evolthar.
On the side of the tree, she'd carved out the initials of their name. They were crooked and uneven, sure, but they were there.
"Remember them, Arthur?" she asked him. "I was six."
"I can tell."
Elizabeth lightly punches his arm before she sat down and patted the spot beside her.
"Sit down, Arthur."
He complied, taking the time to just watch everything with her.
The massive structures of the estate.
The sea that lay behind them.
"..."
"What do you want, Arthur?"
"To survive." The answer was immediate. "That's all."
She lightly flicked his head.
"I don't mean that. Like, what're your dreams, your ambitions, your goals...."
The silence that permeated the air between had the weight of a physical force.
"Never thought about it."
For the first time since she'd gone to see Arthur, Elizabeth seemed genuinely downcast.
"Arthur..."
Her normal self flipped right back on the very next moment.
"Then, when I'm done with my stuff at Evolthar, I'll help you figure it out!"
The radiance of the smile she gave him nearly made Arthur smile himself.
"I'll hold you on that."
"Hell yeah!"
A short while later, her phone started to ring. The face she made at that moment made Arthur smile...again.
"Yeah?"
A slight pause.
"Really? Now?"
"..."
"Fine."
She hung up before sighing.
"Sorry, Arthur. My master needs me." She said. "If I dodge a meeting him, I'm done for."
"It's all good. You can go for now."
Elizabeth just nodded.
"S-See you later, Arthur!"
She turned to the general direction of the manor before a faint golden aura covered her body. By the time Arthur blinked, she was gone.
For a long while, he just watched the run set over the horizon, far off in the sea. It'd been a while since he last took the time to just enjoy a nice view, since most of his time was spent dodging assassination attempts.
-----
Earlier...
Marcus had been trailing Arthur and Elizabeth for hours, and he was just about to give up before he saw Elizabeth speed off.
Behind him, four other people lay in wait. All of them had all black clothes on, reminiscent of tactical gear.
They were the family's elite force, and Marcus had picked them specifically for the reason of making sure Arthur stayed dead this time.
"Are you certain you want to kill another member of your own bloodline?" one of the men asked him. "This is a sin you won't be able to walk out of."
"I know what I do and don't want."
"Your job is to follow the direct orders of a member of the direct line, and that happens to be me."
The man just nodded slowly as he waved towards the other three of his comrades.
"Let's move."
-----
Arthur stood up, turning to walk back towards the manor.
Then he felt something.
It was to be expected, though. Arthur had known Marcus was waiting for an opening the moment Elizabeth left.
"You can come out now."
Marcus walked towards him, while his four 'hitmen' flanked his sides.
"You were expecting us?"
"Took a bit longer than I'd expected."
"So you knew?"
"I was hoping I was wrong."
Arthur's face was expressionless.
"You really should hide your plans better. You're an idiot even at that."
This time, Marcus didn't even bother scowling.
No use wasting emotion on the dead.
"I won't bother explaining the situation you're in now, and I won't bother telling you why I'm doing this."
He snapped his fingers.
"You have one minute."