Sorry: 36
" Should I go take some more apples? " Aslan was surprised to see the Queen devouring the apples he brought while the other fruits were kept untouched.
But Ava shook her head with a small thankful smile and chose to quench her thirst with the drink. Breathing in the open space had done her good since Ava had no difficulty taking long breaths for the last few minutes.
Realising that her chest had stopped clenching the nearer muscles, she breathed biting on the apple again.
" By the way... What was the upcoming ceremony in January? He didn't tell me anything, " she asked suddenly, not wanting to ignore the presence of the other Knight to which Aslan shrugged, simply.
" I lied. His Majesty wasn't getting ready for a discussion. "
Ava choked on the apple and coughed, staring at Aslan, her eyes wide. " You lied? What would he say then? "
Aslan, calmly, handed her another bottle of the drink, shrugging simply.
" He'll manage. He's a King, he should know what he must do in tight corners if he gets into one. "
Ava stared at him for a while and snickered slightly, feeling sorry for the King and how the Knight was barely bothered by the fact that he set Lucas, his King, in a trap which he had no idea about.
But all of a sudden, guilt surged through her veins and reached her heart when everything that had previously happened settled in.
" I should apologise to him... I acted too mean... "
Aslan subtly glanced at her side, seeing her staring at her shivering fingers, probably full of guilt and anxiety, he sighed.
" Don't worry, he'll understand. "
" I don't think he'll forgive me... I was acting like a witch," she mumbled grimly faking a low chuckle, Aslan's assurance hardly reached her mind.
It was when they heard Isaac approaching them from the second floor.
" Your Majesty! " Both Ava and Aslan's eyes flew up to meet the younger Knight hurrying toward them, almost running with long strides. " How are you? "
Ava smiled softly, watching Isaac's concerned face. She nodded showing a half-bitten apple to her Knight.
" I'm fine, Isaac. Thanks to the apples from General Dawson. "
Isaac, only now realising the presence of the older Knight, stared at the basket placed on the rock bench and glanced at Aslan for a second, who had his eyes already pacing over the younger, before they drifted their eyes away from each other almost immediately when their eyes met in one line.
After a few minutes, Aslan was left behind as the Queen was taken back to her chamber by the Queen's Knight. Watching them disappear from his eyes until the last bit of the raven-head faded into the palace, Aslan looked around, probably, something more interesting to take off his mind from the younger Knight's smoky brown eyes.
It was when he picked up the sight of the King walking towards the fountain and quickly jogged over to him.
" Your Majesty, "
Hearing Aslan's cry from the side, Lucas, who had been hurrying to the fountain often spitting small curses within him, dramatically whisked around to look at him.
" Hey, there, young man. Thank you for your kind deeds. I, for sure, had a great time."
" Let it be, Your Majesty. Where are you going right now? " Aslan shrugged his shoulders hearing the sarcasm.
" To any of the nearby universe. " snapping loud, Lucas scoffed. " What, want to tag along? "
" I don't think Her Majesty would mind though. " Aslan rolled his eyes catching the sarcasm and decided to ignore it. " But why don't you take her somewhere? Like— "
" I just took her to Kouzlo and guess what happened? All hell broke! " Lucas rolled his eyes— Forget Lucas.
Aslan's eyes widened like saucers unable to believe what he just heard.
" You took her to Kouzlo? What the freaking hell are you telling me? "
Lucas scrunched his face at his scream and bit his lips trying to come up with a lie but guess what? He was caught.
Neither of them had the thought they were a King and a Knight. Their only focus was on the matter that was concerned about Ava Winslow right now.
" How did you even take her inside? Oh my god, it was why she had been getting panic attacks? " shrieked the Knight, unable to stop himself from thinking out loud. " Do you know what the hell have you done to her and yourself? "
Aslan cursed himself for not interrogating the King about where they were the night when he was left alone, tied to the chair.
" I...I didn't know it would go wrong— " Lucas's protest was harshly interrupted by the raging male.
" What do you mean you didn't know? Do you know why she appeared here looking like Nythera while Nythera appeared in Kouzlo? Tell me. Do you know?! " he gritted his teeth when Lucas widened his eyes, stepping back and shaking his head as a no. " Then why the fu*k did you take her there? What if something had happened to her when you took her there or what if she was teleported back to her world or Nythera transported back here? Or what if she had gone through Madam Ferdoll's curse? "
Lucas flinched at the last question. He was right. Aslan was right. Why did he even agree to take her to such a place? Only after their departure to Kouzlo, Ava acted differently.
" I... " Lucas had nothing to say. What would he tell him? Did he think Aslan would believe if told him that he acted on the guidance of a voice inside his head? Of course, no, he would call him dumbass otherwise.
" Tell me. Why did you take her to Kouzlo and what exactly happened? Why did you both return like that? Why would you even leave me like that? You're the Master of Kouzlo, yes. But her life was also in your hands, " he finished with a disappointed groan as the King failed to answer all of his questions.
He was the King, yes, but he, still, act dumb.
" I'd never allow anything to harm her, Aslan... "
They both looked the other way, feeling too dejected to look at each other.
Aslan surely didn't want to react that way, but the sight of his King lying lifeless that night and the sight of the Queen struggling to breathe last night only fuelled the unknown distress in the pit of his stomach.
After a deep silence, Aslan sighed.
" I know... But what if you weren't there...to protect her? "
The question was simple. Lucas thought he could easily tell him that he would manage and...and nothing would happen to her. But the sheer thought gave a painful tug to his heart and this was never like the previous ones. He felt someone clawing his heart from the inside and choked on clean air, fighting to breathe out words from the sudden tightness around his throat.
Aslan was startled when he found the King, stumbling on his feet, finding no way to breathe out.
" Your Majesty! " Aslan cried out in panic, grasping his arms tight to let him take all his weight for a few seconds.
Lucas took a deep breath and looked at his Knight, wide-eyed. The pain suddenly vanished out of nowhere when Aslan touched him. But still, he could feel the trace of something hard leaving his chest.
Breathing with his heart almost under his throat, Aslan, shivered, gulping to speak out loud about what he just felt.
" I...I felt something in you. "
" Don't. "
" Huh? "
" Don't tell me I'm pregnant, " Lucas mumbled with a terrific stare that made Aslan push him away with a glare only to roll his eyes at the King's laugh.
" Stop playing, Your Majesty! "
Lucas cackled feeling a bit relieved that Aslan let that slide as he didn't want to get scolded even more for hiding his frequent...cardiac arrest, maybe? He didn't know how a heart attack should feel like, so he wasn't sure about his own discomforts and body changes.
" Okay, jokes apart. Do you think I should take her somewhere— "
" Yes, somewhere inside this fu*king universe and not any other. " Aslan quickly corrected with a low growl to which Lucas chuckled, nodding.
#
The clock ticked half past 7 in the evening when Ava was wandering around the vast wing of the Queen's floor, trying to pick something that could possibly distract her from anything that was running through her mind. Only before a few minutes, Emma walked into her chamber with a few plates of light food specifically requested by the King.
On hearing the King's name, Ava's stomach churned reminding her about all the things that she did to the King today. She felt uncomfortable and decided to just stroll around the third floor's corridor when her eyes landed on the sparkling glasses on one of the corners.
She was in dilemma for a while until it vanished altogether into a void when her hands finally landed on an old liquor container.
" Oh... Hello, Your Majesty! " The sudden surprised voice from the back startled the woman as she flinched immediately turning away to face the old lady, Lydia smiling down at her.
" Hi— Hi... Hi, " she squeaked when Lydia's eyes followed her hands and stood atop the bottle for a second before flashing a soft smile again.
" Guess you were about to have some...relaxing— "
" N—No. No, I—I...I don't— I don't drink. " her face morphed into complete terror as she moved six feet away from the cabinet that contained the several collections of Finian Acton's aged alcohols and whiskeys. A
" And I don't judge. " Lydia walked forward to the island bar situated before the wooden cabinet and ticked her fingers over the pad before tilting her head to the side, asking: " Why don't you give me company? I'm craving some old whiskey... "
" You...You drink? " Ava asked, surprised.
" I sure do. How do you think I withstood my adventurous husband of an old man? " her soft chuckle brought out a snicker from the younger Queen as she quickly looked down trying to cover it up with a cough.
" Okay, no more talks. Let's have some shots, c'mon, " Lydia urged the Queen to the bar stools and picked up some shining glasses and the particular bottle that caught Ava's eyes.
Ava, with wide eyes, sat there completely put into a weird silence as she was soon handed a glass of red wine. Lydia flashed a smile and cheered before taking a sip waiting for Ava to do it on her own, not really compelling her.
After a lot of arguments with herself and often peaking at Lydia to check whether she was staring at her or not, Ava finally decided to take a sip. It was just a sip. The familiar taste burnt her tongue for only a fraction of a second before Ava pulled the glass away from her as if she had burnt her lips on a hot pan.
" No... I shouldn't drink. "
On hearing her, Lydia crooked a brow and found her staring through the poor glass's soul.
Seeing Lydia watching her, Ava gulped, slowly pushing the glass.
" I...I have something to talk with...talk with His Majesty. I don't think I should drink tonight. " she stammered feeling the urge to explain herself not wanting to offend the lady but Lydia's chest rumbled with a short laugh.
" One shot won't hurt, Queen Aston. "
Ava smiled through the pain and pleadingly rejected the offer to drink but continued the small chat, giving into the old lady's urge to let her get to know her.
" I bet you didn't tell him about your drinking habits then. "
" I...I didn't, yeah. " Ava rubbed her nape shyly before staring at the glass again.
" Don't worry, I don't think he'll mind. " chuckling, Lydia nudged her shoulders with a playful smile making Ava slowly chuckle with her head lowered.
Lydia felt a bit relieved seeing the Queen relaxed and calm, talking with her. She only wanted to be of help to the younger and let her get anything she wants if she'd be happy and relaxed yet she didn't want to pry into her safe zone which was why, Lydia wanted to give her time to adjust to everything.
After all, they were family and they should trust one another.
#
" Yeah, who is it? "
Lucas asked without taking his eyes off the laptop when there was a knock on the door to his study.
On hearing no answer, the King raised his head to be met with the Queen, fiddling with her beautiful long sleeves of the dress while standing very close to the door as if she was glued to it.
She had her eyes roaming here and there which was why she didn't notice Lucas already looking at her, amused. It was close to midnight and the Queen found this as the right time to sneak into the King's corridor to meet him with an apology.
" So... Someone finally had the guts to meet me, huh? "
Ava slowly tilted her head with widened eyes to look at the King, who was staring at her with a tiny tug at the corner of his lips, barely smiling but still did.
" I... " Ava started but as usual only felt the air leaving her lungs when Lucas walked over to her directly to seize her in between his arms.
She didn't flinch at his touch which Lucas was thankful for but stared at him from down as if he was someone from a mafia gang or something.
" Ava—
" No. Don't talk. Let me talk first. " Ava had no idea how she prompted herself to shut the King's mouth with her palm.
Lucas looked amused but chose to obey her words as he stayed put waiting for her to continue.
Ava, who was waiting for the King to react badly or throw her out of his office for suddenly interrupting him looked utterly confused when Lucas seemed to wait for her to talk.
She knew Lucas. He's a gentleman and not like other men.
So, with a small hope blooming inside her heart, Ava started to talk, her eyes walking all around the study.
" It was my fault, yes. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I was just...out of my mind and wasn't thinking straight. You were kind and generous trying to help while I was acting like a Dracula's wife. " she cursed herself biting on her inner cheek not really noticing the apple of his cheeks raising because of an uncontrollable smile as she continued to bluff: " But it wasn't just my fault! You kept on pushing me to tell you and I didn't like it, to be honest. So, I request you to not do that again and I'm deeply sincerely feeling sorry for my actions. Would you forgive me? "
Their eyes met when Ava, in the end, straightened up to meet his gaze that showed nothing but fondness. He didn't tell her anything for a while until he softly grabbed her hand that was still over his mouth, pulling it gently down to clasp it with his.
" Can I hug you? I'm in need of one... " he mumbled softly waiting for a response to which Ava blinked, baffled.
To be honest, Ava was waiting for him to snap at her shitty apology or tell her that he wasn't at fault but her.
However, the gentle request only made the weird feeling bubble further inside her head as she —without realising it— hesitantly nodded feeling worried that the King had to ask someone for a hug.
She knew how it could feel being deprived of skin ship for a longer period though they both weren't the same. She had been experiencing the empty feeling of not having anyone around to give her a small hug or soft pat over her head.
Lucas graced her hands with his and gently pushed himself to her small form, feeling her hands surprisingly seizing his back. He bent his head down, placing his chin over her shoulder followed by a pleased sigh.
Ava felt herself giving into the warm hug feeling something stronger than Lucas's arms around her shoulders engulfing her into a void of pleasant atmosphere she had never experienced before. But before she could lose herself in the gentle hold of that magical aroma of musky smoke, his gentle whisper brought her back to reality.
" I'm sorry. I know I was at fault too... But it's okay as long as we're on good terms again, Gorgeous. "
To be continued
DhiraDhi_Writes