The next morning Viola awoke in her bed early to the twittering of birds. When she turned her head she could make out the king's back, as his figure slowly moved up and down to his sleepy breaths.
His back was broad and every inch of it seemed chiseled with muscles. Few scars ran along his back. Some bigger, some darker, some barely visible.
Viola reached out tracing the tip of her index finger along one of them. His back felt warm and his skin was far softer than it looked.
Viola wondered what battles he must have fought as a knight back before became a King. Archer had awoken to her soft touch and waited for a moment before finally glancing over his shoulder at the Queen.
Viola pulled her hand away as she felt her ears burn up. Archer chuckled as a result of her action, "Good morning, Princess."
Viola sat up in her bed rubbing her eyes and trying to shake the embarrassment. "Good morning." Since when did he call her "Princess"?
Archer slipped his legs off the side of the bed also coming to a seated position. "Um, your Highness?" Viola asked quietly.
King Archer turned his head looking her in the eyes waiting for her to go on.
"I was wondering..., do you think maybe we could go on an outing together?"
His emotionless mask didn't even flinch.
"An outing?"
"Yes."
"Where to?"
"Well, there's this place I could show you, it's by the mountain close to the castle."
Archer ran his hand through his hair in thought. He knew it would be risky and that there was a possibility that she was trying to lure him out of the safety of the castle's walls but the more he got to know her, the more he believed that she was truly not planning anything.
The young King got up from his bed, "Alright, let's go right now then."
Viola tilted her head in surprise, "Now?"
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And so Viola ended up in the royal carriage next to the King as they rode towards the mountain Viola had described to the coachmen.
Behind them rode four fully armored knights on horses in case they needed protection.
The whole ride the King and Queen didn't speak a word, but it didn't seem to bother either of them. They both watched the landscape roll passed them through the open space above the doors.
When the carriage finally came to a halt and they got out the King held out his hand to help the Queen. She carefully placed her hand in his and stepped out, a little surprised by his gentlemanlike behavior.
They stood at the foot of a hill with their backs to a large meadow.
"This is where you wanted to go?" The King asked not overly impressed.
Viola shook her head, "No we have to go up the hill."
Archer looked up at the forest that steeply led to the top of the hill.
One of the knights got off his horse and made his way over to the royal pair. "It would be difficult for us to climb that with the armor, Sire. We should find a different place for your outing."
Admittedly Archer was interested in where the Queen wanted to take him so he instead ordered two of the knights to lose some of their armor and to join them on foot.
As they began making their way up the hill the king warned the Queen mockingly, "Don't fall this time."
The Queen carefully stepped over a few roots as she followed close behind him.
"You're not going to let that slide are you?" She asked rolling her eyes.
A playful urge overcame her as she hurried after him and put her foot before the King's leg trying to trip him for revenge.
The King's heavy step didn't budge and instead of tripping him he pulled her foot with him, making her lose her balance, resulting in her falling backwards and landing in a seated position.
She used her hands to stem herself from rolling back down the hill. The King who'd almost not noticed what had happened turned to her in confusion, "What was that?"
"A failed attempt at tripping you," Viola pouted, as the King leaned down and easily pulled her into a stance using just one arm.
"Christ."
Viola looked at her hands which were now covered in dirt. She rubbed them together to clean them and began inspecting her dress which was to her dismay now stained brown on the back half.
Archer sighed remembering the previous Queen.
He'd once guarded her and the King during dinner when she had spilled a drop of wine on her dress. She had completely freaked out, and shouted at servants to fetch her a new dress and even the King couldn't calm her petty behavior.
King Archer waited for Viola to call off the excursion and ask to leave, but instead, she simply patted off the dress and muttered something about how she 'deserved that' before she went on with her climb.
Noticing that the King was staring she asked, "What's wrong? Are you mad?"
The corner of the King's lips curled into a small smile, "It's nothing."
At the very top of the hill was a small opening between the trees. From there you could overlook a valley up ahead with a large lake in the middle.
"It's pretty, isn't it?" The Queen asked rather proud.
The King nodded, surprised by the view.
The knights unfolded a large blanket, prepared some fruits and water, and left the two for a bit of privacy.
They both sat closely on the blanket and stared at the large valley, as a soothing gust of wind blew past them.
"Are you cold?" The King asked. Even though his question seemed caring his tone was emotionless.
Viola shook her head, not taking her eyes off the view. She seemed mesmerized.
"How did you know about this place?" Archer went on.
"I found it a few years ago. This is where I would go when I needed some space. To clear my head or to avoid having to go to lessons, you know?"
"I see."
Viola began fidgeting with her fingers searching for the right words for what she wanted to tell him.
"Are you- " the King began saying but Viola cut him off, "I need to tell you something."
The King tilted his head slightly looking at Viola.
"Well, not tell you I guess. More like I wanted to speak to you about something."
Archer was a man of many traits but patience wasn't one of them, "Go on then."
Viola bit her lip, "I've been thinking, that it was really kind of you to let me keep that one painting of my father and, and it got me thinking about something he said once and I think that that's the reason I want to talk to you," Viola mumbled trying to string together what she meant to say.
"What?" The King asked not understanding anything.
Viola took a deep breath. "I, I want to start over with you."
The King lifted his brows. "Start over?"
Viola mustered up the courage to look him directly in the eyes. "Before now I thought I had to hate you for taking everything from me, including my family, but that's not the case anymore."
"Why's that?"
"Because it's not who I am. There is no use in sulking in hate for the rest of my life. Also no matter if I hate you or not it won't change the past. And besides, Father wouldn't want me to feel nothing but hatred for the rest of my life." The last few words came outmore as mumbling.
The King wasn't sure if he could truly believe her resolve but hearing those words somehow made him happy.
A smirk spread on the King's face, "Sooo, you love me now?"
Viola swatted his shoulder, "That's not what I'm saying! I just don't think it's smart for us to be enemies when we're going to spend the rest of our days together."
"Yeah, you love me." The King laughed.
Blushing Viola sighed giving up on defending herself from his silly remarks.
"Anyways I wanted to ask you a favor," Viola said wanting to steer the topic away from his mocking words.
The King's voice suddenly turned very stern, "I will not let you rule with me if that's what you're trying to ask."
Put off by his harsh undertone Viola tried ignoring what he said. "I wanted to ask you if we could have new crowns made. I know it's a lot to ask but these crowns remind me of the past so I was hoping, if it's alright with you that.."
"Yeah," the king said motionlessly like she'd asked for soemthing trivial.
Viola was suspicious by how easy it was to persuade him, "Really?"
"Yeah, why not." The king shrugged as he watched her smile happily.
A relaxing silence set in as they both watched the lake sparkling in the sunlight.
"That's a relief, I was expecting you to say 'no'." Viola's subtle smile seemed to match the view of the valley perfectly. It looked like the perfect setting for a painting, Archer thought. He did not care for her as a person but seeing her smile somehow made him feel at ease.
He leaned forwards and gently cupped her face in his hand, stroking a finger along her cheek.
He leaned forward bringing his face close to hers. His eyes looked softer than before and his touch felt warm on Viola's cheek.
"So, we are no longer enemies then?" His voice was husky as Viola felt his warm breath radiate on her face.
She placed her hand on his, fighting the urge to lean into his palm further. "Yeah," she whispered, searching his eyes for words that couldn't be said out loud.
To her surprise, King Archer kept looking at her lips and then back up at her eyes before finally leaning in further. His lips barely touched hers as she leaned back quickly, pulling his hand off her face.
The King's face flashed with a look of confusion, then a frown as he leaned back away from her.
"What's wrong?"
Viola pulled her legs to her chest and embraced them trying to keep her cool. "We, we can't just kiss."
Archer tilted his head, "I'd assumed we were already past kissing at this point."
"There's a difference between love and lust," Viola mumbled almost embarrassed by her own words.
"So you're alright with laying with me but you won't kiss me?" King Archer scoffed.
Viola hugged her knees a little tighter, nodding.
"A kiss as a symbol of love? You believe in such fairytales even though it is possible to simply kiss whoever is willing?"
Viola stayed quiet having known full week he'd think it was stupid.
A moment passed before a complacent smile plastered the king's face. "I'll just have to make you love me then."
Viola's eyes widened at his joke. For some reason his words made her chest feel warm and her thoughts fuzzy. "Like I'd ever love you," Viola shrugged, trying to hide the internal impact of his words.
"Your Highnesses," One of the knights said making his way towards the two of them from having guarded them. Archer looked him in the eyes, letting him know that he could go on, "I do not think it is a good idea to stay any longer. There is work that awaits you, my King."
With that the King and Queen made their way back to the carriage where they began their ride back to the castle.
Viola bit her nail in thought watching the landscape slip passed her slowly.
"I'll just have to make you love me then." The King's words echoed in her head over and over, making her feel like she'd lose her mind. It was just some stupid joke of his, she thought. Nothing more than mere empty words that lead to nothingness. It had only been an extremely short outing but Viola was still glad that she got to go outside the castles walls.
A while had gone by and the gentle bumps of the carriage on the cobbled road let Viola to fall into a slumber as her thoughts cursated around how free she'd felt shortly.
The King watched her head bob up and down every so often as she kept leaning forwards too much. It seemed to cause her trouble sleeping as she rubbed her nose every so often in a dazed way, before she fell back asleep.
Archer reached across her shoulders wanting to pull her in but he hesitated. He knew he shouldn't care about her comfort, so why did he? Could she truthfully want their hate for one another to stop? Her words on the hill sounded so sincere.
He finally placed his hand on her shoulder and pulled her into his chest where she could rest her head against him. He watched the small figure relax in his embrace, not waking from her slumber.
"How can you even be tired, it's midday?" King Archer mumbled under his breath.
Her soft breathing and the weight of her leaning on him somehow relaxed the King. He knew he had to be careful around her. No matter what she said she was still the enemy. So why did her smile make him want to preserve it? Archer pushed the thought into the farthest part of his mind, not wanting to think of the answer.