In The Arms Of The Beasts

Waiting

A few days later

I tried the best I could to stay out of the way as the boys finished packing for the trip, guilt was slowly beginning to fill my veins - I always had to ruin things! No! It was a good decision! They could have fun while I protected what was rightfully Bakugo's! I had a lot of growing up to do before taking any crown...and still a few queen-ship lessons to go

My lips whistled a slow song that I remembered from a time long ago, i had no memory of when I first heard it but it had stuck in my brain all this time so it must've meant something to me - part of me wanted it to mean something to them too even if I didn't know what that was. Maybe it would end this discussion of them staying for 'protection' purposes?

"Are you sure about this? Just say the word and we'll stay!" Not long ago, they wanted nothing but to escape and now...now they wanted to stay, I couldn't ask that of them and nor did I want to - I'd never had the castle to myself! Probably for a good reason but even so! It would be so cool to fully explore this place!

Of course it also came with the responsibilities of the rest of the kingdom, I was thinking of it as a 'queen taster' so I knew what I was getting myself into - it would also be a good opportunity to show the boys I could do it by myself, and they could create more trading links elsewhere

The thought of the whole bed all to myself hadn't even crossed my mind until bakugo started patting down the sheets to make it look neat, then shot me a glance knowing the second he left - I'd be sure to mess them up. And of course, he was correct! Anyone would be a fool not to take advantage of such a grand opportunity

"I'll be fine, the castle will still be standing when you come back...maybe" kirishima folded his arms like a parent would lecturing a child with a worried expression, I knew exactly what he was suggesting - they had every right to be worried, they'd taken care of this place for centuries and I was about to turn it into a train wreck!

"Oh yea? And what about the rest of the kingdom?" I bit my lip nervously with a guilty smile, I had no clue what I was doing "we're not leaving here until you promise this place and the rest of the kingdom will still be standing when we return...can you do that?" I thought about it for a second letting doubt fill the air

At this point, Bakugo had stopped making the room look somewhat presentable and focused on me - it was his establishment after all that he was leaving to me, it would be a foolish move to hand it over without consideration "of course, it'll all be dandy...one question - is there a handbook lying around on how to run a kingdom?"

In an instant, I was sat down on a bed with Kirishima's hands on my shoulders "young lady - you do realise that taking control of a kingdom involves handling conflict without arson or turning a blind eye and distributing goods fairly between villagers regardless of ear rubs or how much they feed you. Anything that needs Bakugo's consent, you wait til he gets back, do you understand?"

I nodded slowly intimidated by his official side, I expected this from Bakugo but not Kiri. It soon came to realisation that he wanted more than a nod...words. I swallowed my excitement "I promise that I- We-" I cleared my throat "I promise nothing will get destroyed or blown up" his hand made an 'and' gesture egging me to continue

"And the kingdom will remain in tact in your absence" his hands moved from my shoulders up to cup my face softly maintaining eye contact with a sweet smile, it was his way of letting me know that this meant a lot to both of them so I had to do a good job...

Suddenly all thoughts of sleeping all day and eating pure fish vanished from my mind, my pure focus would be on keeping everything in order until they returned - no messing about, no taking advantage of royal hospitalities, no resorting back to my old ways of thieving to survive

They should've been long gone, forgotten...but they weren't. The second my main food provider even considered leaving, in drip fed the urge to start stashing food in case they never came back and abandoned me completely. I didn't think they would, I just- there was always a possibility

There was also the chance that this place would be nothing but rubble the second they turned their back on it, what did I know about running a kingdom?! and what if we got attacked and i was the only remaining 'monarch' here?! the kingdom would be destroyed, they'd be out for my head and I'd be back on the run again

And that would never not scare me...