A Gift Unto the King

Revelations

 Lucas stood rigidly outside the solar door. The mere sight of it brought upon him an overwhelming sense of dread and unease. Beyond that threshold was the man he had spent many a night intertwined with in the throes of passion. Soft sheets and warm candle lit nights were now fading into distant memories, with the only real proof of their existence resting quietly in his womb, hidden away by sheer will and loosely draped fabric.

He couldn't tell for certain how much time had passed, but, however long it was, appeared to be slightly outside the realm of socially acceptable, judging from the sideways glances the guards down the hall would periodically pass his way. Deciding the awkwardness culminating on this side of the door was likely to be far worse than whatever waited for him on the other side of it, he gave the door a couple quick, hesitant, knocks.

After a few heart pounding moments, the door furiously swung open, an angered Vin rapidly appearing from behind it.

"I said to leave me-" Vin stopped short, his eyes widening, and jaw falling agape, as he was met with the golden gaze of a man he feared he'd lost. A man he knew he'd lost. "Lucas?" His voice was hardly more than a whisper.

Vin's face was one Lucas could hardly recognize at first glance. The crimson eyes that had once glowed bright with passion had now dimmed, following suit of the darkened circles lining them. His eyelids appeared red and puffy, as though he'd been crying, though all evidence of tears had long since perished. Lucas could feel the exhaustion flowing off of him in waves, and for the first time, he saw just how crushed beneath the crown's weight his former lover had become.

"I have an urgent matter to discuss, your majesty." Lucas forced a small bow, attempting to maintain formalities, despite every fiber of his being screaming at him to act otherwise.

Vin winced instinctively, before straightening up, and waving the knight into the room.

"Of course." The king cleared his throat. "What is it?"

"Sir Remus and I have just returned from Widow's Wild. Unfortunately, we were unable to locate the missing ghouls." Lucas held his voice steady, doing his best to disregard the nerves threatening to push through it.

"As expected." Vin let out a melancholic sigh.

"There is something else..." Lucas started, taking a deep breath, as Vin raised an inquisitive brow. "On our return through Riverbend, we caught sight of Honterran soldiers entering one of the cottages."

Vin's brow furrowed, his eyes furiously darting with confusion.

"Honterran soldiers? Are you certain?" He asked, pleading for the slightest air of uncertainty in Lucas's testimony.

"I am." The knight confirmed.

Vin closed his eyes, attempting to calm himself, despite his clenched jaw and tensed body betraying him. Drawing a deep breath, he directed Lucas to continue.

"Upon interrogation, the farmer divulged to us that Honterran soldiers had been frequenting the area for the past several months, making deals with the curse-borns there."

"What kind of deals?" Vin pressed with a low growl.

"Your majesty," Lucas continued, articulating his phrasing carefully, "they're making deals to... well, what I imagine to be a sort of... escalation to the war in Honterra."

Vin paused, allowing the knight's words to soak into his mind for a moment before, reluctantly, urging the continuance of the deeply unsettling conversation.

"How exactly?" Vin asked, sternly, certain that he did not want to know the answer, but needing it nonetheless.

"Curse-borns... are being contracted to kill Honterran humans." Lucas swallowed hard, nervously gnawing at his bottom lip.