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Despite being spring's midst in hollownest, it was never colder in the palace walls. The air felt fridged. The queen in her gardens for the season means the king is alone. Alone and still in his bed at noon, contemplating getting out of it for the fiftieth time. The cold outside the, according to his wife, “hundreds of unnecessary blankets” was not inviting. With another knock at the door, the king was once again jolted out of sleep
“Leave”
“It's Dryya”
Dryya? She was supposed to be with the queen, she is the queen's guard after all. What is she doing at the palace and not with the queen in her gardens?
“Why are you here” the king asked flatly
“Everyone was so worried about you that the Queen sent me to check on you,” Dryyas voice said she was more worried than the queen was. The king was a dragon after all. It was slightly normal for him to have small bouts of solitary. But everyone else seemed to think it was going on for far too long “Are you alright?”
“I'm fine Dryya.”
“You can tell me if something is wrong. I mean… this doesn't seem like you just want to be alone, I can't say I know what is running through your head, but I can say that I know you, better than most at least, you would normally tell us if you wanted to be alone… and according to Ogrim and Isma you haven't eaten yet today, which is one of your tells something is wrong”
she was right. At least about the food part, he hadn’t eaten today despite being hungry. That was something to worry about. He was a dragon after all.
“it is nothing for you to worry about.”
“Rinku.”
she used his real name. Damb him for telling her a few things that he was trying to hide. She had honed in on how to tell when he is lying about something being nothing to worry about.
Damb him for letting himself get close to a guard, especially a guard with a special hatred for lies so strong she can practically sense them, even if it took her longer to figure him out due to only having slight tells.
They had bonded over her extensive training with him. He wanted only the best to guard his love after all, and she was the most determined to, most dropped trying to guard the queen after the first month. But she trained with him directly for 6 months, until she finally hit him once, just one slice to his side, it was small but deep, and it was enough.
But now she was pestering him about his well-being, which he had no interest in talking about.
“I don't wish to speak of this Dryya.”
“Ok that's understandable… but may I bring you something to eat?”
“...please?”
“That's the Rinku I know!!”
“Yah yah” he laughed
He ultimately decided that now was the time to get out of bed. He might feel better after getting out of bed… but the bed was just so warm. He didn’t wish to leave the warmth. He had almost fallen asleep when Dryya came in with food, placing it down beside him and looking at him with worry
“My king, are you sure you are alright? You look ill.”
She was right, like she always was, despite being named “the pale king” by his subjects, he usually had a slight amount of blush to his face, but that was all gone today, his eyes seemed dull, and he lost the glow that came from his magic, he couldn't even deny he seemed ill.
“Im fine. Ill get over it”
“I had a feeling somthing was off.”
“I hate this”
“I know”
“I hate you”
“Excuse me i brought you food.”
“...i love you”
“Enough to let me-”
“No.”
“I didn't-”
“You don't get one”
“Fine”
That soft laughter from Dryya’s lips was intoxicating, smooth, and sweet, like honey. Of course, the king had no interest in seeing one of his five knights as anything romantic, despite the fact that dryya was already having relations with the queen, which he did not care about, in fact, he encouraged his wife to take on more partners to keep her mind off of worrying about him, it felt wrong to think of someone else in that manner—especially his guard.
It didn't help thinking about what she wanted—a kiss, it had been a joke between the two for years. They would laugh after her training when she asked if she did well enough to get a kiss from the stoic king, she broke down the wall of regalness he had put himself behind.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Her butter smooth voice sounded. He didn't understand what she meant at first until he could feel the heat in his own face, blushing, he was looking at her and blushing.
oh.
oh.
He had fallen for his wifes guard.