The Crimson King

Chapter 6 | Iris and The King

- evil chuckle -

Well. Here we go! AN at the end. Enjoy and don't forget to vote <3

Love Daisy xx

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Chapter Six | Iris and The King

*

'Listen to me, girl,
you have castles inside your bones,
and coronets in your heart.
If he threatens you with battle,
you raise him a whole war.
And the last time I checked,
Queens cower before no man.'

- Nikita Gill

*

The morning outside of the glasshouse was still crisp, and Iris's warm breath huffed small clouds of vapor into the air as she ran up the path towards the castle, the small white waifs dissipating almost instantly in her wake.

Above her, the sky was filled with heavy grey clouds and the surrounding fog persisted, making it unclear as to whether the day ahead was destined to remain pencil grey – or whether it would clear up later on.

As Iris reached the door she had exited not so long ago, a fat raindrop fell from above, staining her shoulder with a smudge of wet and answering her previous thought.

The hallways were more crowded than they had been earlier, but Iris kept her head down, her strong sense of intuition guiding her almost flawlessly back the way she had come.

Her feet tapped out a light rhythm as she hastened up the stairs, two at a time, finally emerging back into the hallway. She paused for a moment, resting her hands on her knees, her chest heaving with breath. When she straightened, she pulled the bag from her back and opened it, only to realise that she had left the book she had borrowed in the garden somewhere.

She frowned, unable to recall putting it down. But then she couldn't remember having put it back in her bag either. She smiled a little ruefully. It probably had something to do with the fact she had been distracted by a lion.

Sighing, she slung the bag back over her shoulder and headed for the door to her living room. Her hand had just touched the handle when she paused, her eyes darting upwards in shock.

The faint voices that had reached her ears from the room beyond fell silent suddenly and Iris sucked in a breath.

There was a moment of silence while Iris panicked, and she had just turned to stepped away from the door when the sound of a lock clicking froze her in her tracks. She closed her eyes and sighed in resignation, hearing the door open fully and a familiar voice reach her ears.

"Went on a morning stroll did we?"

Iris turned, her expression a little defensive. "Well, I wasn't going to wait around for you forever. I was bored, and you never came last night." She frowned lightly. For some reason, her tone came out wrong and the words that were supposed to sound annoyed just came off as a little pouty.

Fortunately, although Arlo's words sounded cold, she could see the amusement in his eyes. He walked towards her and tapped her forehead lightly with one finger, bending down so he could look into her eyes. This time she did pout.

"Forgive me Beauty." His voice was solemn, but his blue eyes danced with fondness. "Ezekiel's business took longer than I expected, and by the time I finished you were sleeping. I didn't want to wake you."