The Love That Bonds Us

Chapter 15 : She's On His Mind

"Who said that?" I demanded, glaring into the gloom of my office as if my anger would pierce a hole in the black curtain and reveal the owner of the voice.

"It's only me Agnarr." the voice replied, propelling themselves into the light of the window.

I softened my gaze for a moment when I recognised Nuru-Baako, before it hardened again and I furrowed my brow accusingly, "What are you doing in my office?"

He shrugged nonchalantly and perched himself on the edge of my desk, "Couldn't sleep. Same as you I suppose."

Begrudgingly, I nodded, "You caught me. Guilty as charged."

He chuckled softly, "What kept you up?"

"Just can't sleep. Never seem to these days anyway." I explained, then asked, "Why are you up?"

"Oh." he seemed surprised, "I er - I received a letter before going to bed. It was from my parents. I can't return home for Christmas."

My brows knitted in concern and empathy, but I hesitated before resting a hand on his forearm as a form of comfort, "Why not?"

"There's been an outbreak of a disease I forget the name of. My parents don't think it'd be wise if I returned now."

I wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that so I just patted his arm awkwardly.

Nuru-Baako gave a weak laugh, "Don't worry Agnarr. It's alright."

"But it's not alright, if it's keeping you up."

"Huh. I always knew you'd make a great King, Agnarr, but I'd never imagined you'd be so supportive."

"Funny. You certainly are." but I grinned to show I was teasing.

He shook his head, "That's not what I meant. You're a better King than I'd ever imagined. My mother said that it was silly of them to make you King at such a young age. I had to tell her you weren't actually King yet. She just argued it would have been better if they made one of the advisors temporarily King until you were old enough."

"Does everyone think that?" the question came out before I could stop it.

Nuru-Baako stared at me for a moment, "Are you worried what other people think of you?"

"Well, I mean. I always knew I was a bit young and inexperienced. Colden's taken every opportunity to remind me I'm immature - even if he never says it directly. But if other people think it too, perhaps I'm doing something wrong."

The Durtoriabian shook his head firmly, "My mother is a strong minded person. I'm sure it's just her and I'll make sure to tell her everything I've learnt."

I smiled gratefully at him, thinking I was very lucky to have him as a friend. Then I remembered the Alliance and asked, "Did your parents happen to say anything about the Alliance paperwork in their letter?"

"Oh! Yes, they did actually. Though they haven't read all of the proposals yet. Here." he delved into a pocket of his blazer (which hadn't been changed into night clothes) and passed over a crumpled piece of parchment. He must have been upset to disrespect paper in such a way, being a perfectionist and all.

My eyes scanned the letter thoroughly, pausing every so often to glance at Nuru-Baako who had begun to straighten out some of my ink pots - it must be habit for him by now. I tried to avoid the personal stuff, but eventually found the paragraph highlighting their opinions of the Alliance. They had some very interesting points and I ended up getting out my own piece of parchment to make some notes on what needed to be changed or improved, and what could stay the same.