"What happened to you?" the green-eyed boy asked, looking at the beautiful broken man before him.
"I was left in the darkness, so darkness is what I became."
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—Zayn's eyes slowly opened, and he was blinded suddenly by one of the sun's rays. He felt a small weight on his chest and slowly looked down at himself, only to see a mess of brown curls sprawled across his bare chest. He smiled to himself, watching blissfully as Harry softly snored, his back on perfect display. Memories of last night came flooding back into Zayn's brain—the proposal, the kiss, the love they shared together—and many things were made apparent: 1) he was now King, 2) Harry and him were bound for eternity, and 3) he was finally free of all chaos, strife, and pain.
Never in his life did Zayn imagine he would be King; it was all so surreal to him. He knew he wouldn't be alone with Harry ruling beside him, but he was deeply afraid. What if the people didn't like him? What if he wasn't a good King? What if he messed up something that could determine the prosperity of the kingdom?
A light knock on the door pulled him out of his thoughts. "Come in!" Zayn announced as quietly as he could, not wanting to wake up Harry from his peaceful slumber. The door opened, and Liam walked in. He was dressed in simple clothing.
"Not to be cheeky, your majesty," Liam's nose scrunched at the smell of the room, "but it smells like sex in here."
Zayn chuckled at his friend's statement. Wait—were they friends? He didn't know if they were, but he hoped that they were closer now than before, especially after the battle. "Keep your voice down, mate. Harry is still asleep."
Liam nodded, "Sorry, your majesty."
"It's Zayn, Liam, for you and everyone in the kingdom." he softly replied. "I want everyone to see me as their equal and not like...Ravenna."
"You're scared aren't you?"
Zayn couldn't deny it. The thought of an entire kingdom in his hands terrified him to the core.
Liam walked closer to the bed, "You're scared that you'll be a terrible King and Harry will leave you for someone better. I know Ravenna terrorized everyone in her reign and caused more harm than good, but, Zayn, you are not her. You will never be her. She's killed hundreds of innocent people..."
"So have I!" Zayn interrupted. "I fought in the Dark Wars. I've seen it all—that light that gets put out of your eyes when you die. I am a huntsman, Liam. My job is to hunt people and if they do not comply...I have to kill them. I've killed people, sold women for gold pieces, drunk myself in pure sadness because in this life I'm nothing but a failure! I've failed at everything I've ever done in my life and lost everything I've ever had, and I know that I'm going to fail the kingdom and mess up like I do everything else!" Tears streamed down his face like a river. Liam looked at the man with eyes of pity. "I don't want to lose him, Liam! I've already lost so much!"
