Life In Audrilluria

Our Garden

Thomas sped through the garden's entrance, knowing he was ten minutes late to his lunch date with Y/N. He'd sent a server to let her know that the meeting dragged on a bit and he would be late, but being the gentleman he was, he didn't like keeping people waiting. Especially not his queen. Taking the short route through the garden, he made his way to the gazebo he instructed her to meet him at after the meeting was over. A small feeling of dread appeared in his stomach at the thought of the meeting. To say it didn't go so well would be a complete understatement. And the mere thought of having to tell Y/N how it went caused the dread to grow stronger. He had to tell her. The question is if he could handle whatever the outcome would be.

Thomas shook his head, deciding to focus on finding Y/N. He'll cross that bridge when he gets to it. Turning the final corner, the gazebo was in sight and Y/N was waiting, admiring the flowers that surrounded the structure. Thomas slowed his pace, marveling at the sight of her surrounded by the beautiful flowers. Even when standing in the garden, she was the most beautiful sight in his eyes. Y/N turned to him, finally noticing his presence, and smiled lovingly. Thomas snapped out of his trance, reciprocating the smile as he approached her. Once he was a few feet away, he held out his hand to her, "Pardon my tardiness, my dear. The meeting took longer than I anticipated." Y/N took his hand, "It's alright. You're a king, I understand you'll be held up by meetings in order to help your people."

"Our people," he corrected, leading her to the table waiting inside. Her expression changed a bit, quickly changing back to the smile before Thomas could decipher what she felt. He pulled out her chair for her, being the gentleman he was raised to be, and waited for her to sit before he pushed it in. He then made his way over to his seat and sat down. Both took their respective napkins and placed them on their lap before removing the silver cloches and placing them on a cart next to the table. Thomas then took the teapot and poured the liquid into a cup for her and one for himself. They began to enjoy their meal and drinks in silence at first before Y/N spoke up. "So how was the meeting?" she asked, taking a sip of the tea.

Thomas felt his stomach fall slightly, knowing that he had to tell her about the meeting in detail. "It was eventful," he replied softly, placing the cup back in its saucer. "How so?" Y/N asked with a smile, giving him her full attention. Thomas looked into her eyes, trying to find the correct words to say in this situation. He didn't want to spoil their first lunch together, but the meeting was something that had to be discussed. "There were several questions about the recent events," he began carefully, "People wanted to know about the stolen replica jewels and what was being done to prevent something like that happening again." Y/N became visibly uneasy, knowing where this would go. Thomas noticed this instantly, reaching to hold her hand from the other side of the table. "We don't have to talk about this if you don't want to," he offered. Y/N shook her head, "I want to get it out of the way. I knew this was going to happen eventually." Thomas let out a deep sigh, running his thumb over her knuckles as a small form of comfort. He kept a soft expression on his face as he began to arrange his words in a way that would gently let her know everything she wanted to know.

"The press began to ask questions about the people responsible for what happened," he spoke softly, "I answered honestly and mentioned the situation you were forced into." Y/N simply nodded, taking in every word he said. "I spoke about the changes I plan on implementing to make sure nothing like that ever comes close to happening again," he continued, "I focussed on the changes coming to the castle's security." Y/N spoke up suddenly, addressing something that had been bothering her, "Did they ask for a trial?" Thomas's breath hitched, making a pit form in his stomach. "Yes," he muttered, "But I assure you I–"

"We knew that was going to happen," Y/N interrupted, "The people want justice for what I did."

"What Vie made you do."