Use Me, Royal Stranger (mxm)

Chapter 16 - Resolve

2 months after the Royal Hunting Trip...

Carlen's cold fingers seeked out the warmth of another in the chilly night, wishing desperately that somehow, he'll reach out and hold the hand of his beloved. Laying in absolute darkness in his mate's chambers, Carlen let out a lonely sigh. He had not seen Alaric for almost a month now. It felt like the longest month of his life.

Ever since the rebel attack during their last hunting trip, the entire castle has grown into an even more hectic and stressful place. The King was severely injured during the attack and had been constantly falling ill from his wounds ever since. Because of that, he became bedridden and that lead to a lot of speculation of the King's impending death. Rumours and hearsay escalated between individuals and now tension between the members of the royal family can be clearly felt by anyone who bothered to pay attention.

As the King was bedridden on most days, Alaric, as the country's Crown Prince, stepped up to the duties that his father could not settle in person. Initially, many court officials were distrusting of Alaric's abilities to handle sensitive court matters. They were worried that Alaric would not measure up to his father's legacy, so they only allocated elementary tasks for him to oversee.

But Alaric knew of the corruption of the high ranking officials in his father's courts. He knew that it was not a permanent solution for these court officials to make decisions for the people while his father was out of commission. Over a relatively short amount of time, Alaric proved to be a great asset to the courts, showing initiative and unwavering dedication to making the best choice for the people. He gained the trust of several high ranking officials that became his supporters, and he gained the strength to finally be involved in all court matters, strategic meetings and have been given the authority to make decisions that overruled those of the corrupt officials. That was only the beginning of the power that Alaric would inherit.

In a short time of more than a month, people were beginning to say that Alaric was ready to be King. Even those who were against having him take over the King's duties initially, were starting to be persuaded by his capabilities. Consequently, Alaric began his training in order to prepare him to take over the throne if the need arises.For the most part, many of the court officials and Royals were speculating that the King may not have long to live. Carlen missed the time before Alaric gained momentum and become such a strong figure in the inner courts.

During the first month that the King had fallen ill, Carlen could still be constantly at Alaric's side. Whenever Alaric forgets to rest or eat because he simply had no time between the court matters and his studies, Carlen stationed himself as close as he could beside Alaric to prepare his clothes, food, bed and any comfort that he could offer. During that month, Alaric had dismissed his personal attendant to help Lance with the rebel situation while he took in Carlen as his stand-in attendant.

In that time, even though it hurt him to watch his beloved pour his entire mind and strength into becoming a better man for the people, he was proud of his mate. He was grateful that he was there with Alaric every step of the way and was helping to alleviate the stress whenever he could. He took care of all of Alaric's health needs and Alaric constantly mentioned that Carlen was the only thing that he could look forward to on any given day. The both of them were glued at the hips and could rely on one another for strength.

Carlen grimace as he thought about the whole situation now. With Alaric now having even greater responsibilities and his royal training to take over the throne, his Royal Stranger was beginning to become a stranger to him all over again. He hated that so much.

Since a month ago, Alaric had stopped coming back to his chambers to rest. He had taken up residence in his study area near the royal library and courts. Because he was working on extremely sensitive matters, he dismissed all staff and attendants from that area. He apologized to Carlen for not allowing him by his side, but explained that it was also for his safety. Now that the chances of him becoming King was greater, the secret of them being mates was now open to anyone to use as a weapon against Alaric if they found out. If people who intend to do Alaric harm finds out that Carlen was his mate, they could kill Carlen or use Carlen against Alaric to gain more power in the courts.