The Three Kings

Chapter 26

"Every time you come towards me, I'm afraid I'll no longer be able to stand. Every time you lean in closer, I'm afraid I might kiss you without permission"

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Hanna
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In the weeks that I had known King Sebastian, not a single hair had ever been out of place on his head. Now, he came into my room, mud streaked across his face, dark circles under his eyes, his hair astray, and his usual outfit replaced by a pair of sweat pants with a loose-fitting shirt.

"How long has she been back?" Demanded King Xavier, looking more of a mess than King Sebastian. He wasn't even wearing a shirt, and his pants were wet and muddy. 

"A few hours now." Answered King Alexander, and King Xavier collapsed against the wall, sliding down to the floor. I could feel King Sebastian staring at me.

"I am going to go shower." Was the only thing King Sebastian said and left.

Although I wanted him to be in King Alexander's position, and it hurt to see him go, I was far too comfortable hanging onto King Alexander and didn't dare move. Just rubbed my face into his neck and closed my eyes.

"I-I should do the same..." King Xavier muttered and then left, leaving me alone with King Alexander.

King Alexander shuffled, and my grip on his tightened. "I'm not leaving." He assured.

"Can you speak more in French? Maybe tell me a story?" I asked.

"Of course, Cherie," that was the last thing he spoke in English, switching flawlessly into French as I fell asleep on him.

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In the middle of the night, I had woken up.

King Alexander had fallen asleep. He was lying flat on the bed, as I laid atop him, using him as a pillow.

As quickly and gently as I could, I slipped off of him. He was unsettled by the missing pressure because his face crinkled. I grabbed a pillow and shoved it into his chest then left the room.

What possessed me to do it, I had no idea, but I headed straight to King Sebastian's room. I knocked on the door but got no answer. I opened it, peeked inside, but it was empty. I closed the door and headed downstairs.

Some part of me needed to see King Sebastian. I had to make sure he was okay. There was this ache in my chest that wouldn't leave and I knew the only way to fix it was to see King Sebastian.

In the foyer, I ran into Dakota and Maxwell. I had assured them that I wasn't running away just heading to the study. They insisted on following and even though I wanted to fight back, it would've been useless. I had worried everyone enough already.

At the study, I took a breath, then knocked on the door.

There was no answer at first, but before I could knock again I heard his voice and opened the doors.

I had expected to find him sitting behind his desk, reading some sort of paperwork, or on his laptop. Instead, I found him standing by the window. He had a scotch glass in hand filled with some brown liquid that I assumed to be scotch.

I stood awkwardly for a moment, then settled myself down in the armchair that I just started calling 'my chair' because I seemed to be the only one who sat in it. The ache in my chest was still there, but it had lessened greatly.

Opening and closing my mouth a few times, I tried to figure out what to say to him. 'I'm sorry' was probably a good place to start, but a part of me feared disrupting the silence that surrounded us. It was hard to talk to him. Easy to be around him, but hard to talk to him. Our meals together usually went like this. Just the two of us eating in silence. I never knew what to say to him, and it seemed like he didn't know what to say to me either.