KINGSLAYER

♕ 1 | 6 ♕

A wry smile played on my lips, half-forced after what just happened. But above all, I had missed him since those days when he would come to visit our palace with his now-late father. I had not spent as much time with him as I did with Czarevich Adrik, but Lorenzo's large personality quickly grew on me.

Lorenzo gave me a grin I knew he used to make his multitude of suitors adore him, then closed the distance between us to clasp my shoulders. He kissed both sides of my face, in typical Eastern greeting, then pulled away to say, "I would comment on how much older you've become, but I am loathe to sounding like a doting grandmother."

"I could say the same. The years have passed quickly, but it feels like a lifetime since we met."

Gesturing, he said, "Come. This place is not meant for dignified people such as ourselves. You too, handsome stranger." He meant Khan. "We must get acquainted."

Khan and I avoided each other's eyes as we followed Lorenzo through his home.

♕ ♕ ♕ ♕ ♕

"So," Lorenzo said, throwing himself over a couch once we were alone in a private sitting room. "When are you two going to wish me a happy birthday?"

So that was the occasion. "Remind me of your age again," I said, crossing my legs. "You do not look a day over thirty."

He looked so offended I wondered if I had crossed a line drawn by so many years apart. I knew he was very concerned with maintaining his youthful appearance. "Try twenty-three. You've always been terrible with mathematics, so I will let that slide."

Before I could get in another jesting jab, he turned to Khan, asking, "Are you going to tell me your name, or am I going to have to search it out myself?"

There was a pause in which I watched Khan, knowing he was holding back whatever emotion the interaction with the warden had stirred up. When he gave no response, I told Lorenzo, "He is not as familiar with the language as I am."

"I can speak the language," Khan snapped at me. He then added to the King, a thin layer of politeness coating his words, "Alexander Khan."

"Alexander." Lorenzo ran the name though his mouth, leaning languidly back. "What an attractive name." I coughed, covering an awkward laugh. He was laying it on a bit think, I would say.

"Thank you," was Khan's wooden answer. If the circumstances were not so heavy between the two of us, I would have thought Lorenzo's attempts to seduce the mercenary to be quite comical.

Lorenzo seemed to pick up on the tension. "That does it. I need a drink. May I offer one to either of you?" I passed, but Khan gave an immediate, "Yes."

As soon as Lorenzo's servants entered with the requested alcohol, the two men knocked their drinks back. I watched, amused. I stood by my statement of how they would get along well, even if Lorenzo was seeking enjoyment at the bottom of his glass while Khan sought something very different.

Lorenzo stared at me from over the rim of his glass. "As enjoyable it is to spend time with me, I suspect you have ulterior reasons for being here."

"Your guess is correct. I am here to seek...solace, to a degree." I waved a hand. "As I am sure is obvious, I am here not as Queen, but as an anonymous traveller."