Inivisible string: A Sam and Nehemia story

Chapter 27

They found the King of Ellywe sitting in one of the library chairs. He hadn't heard them yet it seemed. Nehemia almost gasped, she could see his face. He looked older, with more gray hairs than black, but he still looked like the father she remembered, only more tired. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sam take out the two other guards. This was her chance. She took in a breath and let it out, before walking towards her father.

He was still sitting on one of the couches, lost in his book as he usually got, none the wiser of what had happened to his guards. When she got in front of him, he looked up.

She didn't know how to describe his face, surprise? hurt? disbelief? all of the above? She didn't know. She could feel her mouth starting to move, saying words but she didn't know what words. Suddenly she was in her father's arms, after so many years, she was back in her fathers arms like she did when she was a little girl and she got hurt training or playing. She was crying on his shoulder and she could feel his tears falling on her, but she didn't care. He didn't hate her, or at least not yet. She could feel all the love they had always had for each other in this hug.

After a few minutes they both pulled away. Her father grabbed her shoulders and kept a distance form her while he looked at every inch of her, as if looking for proof that she was herself and not someone else or some product of his imagination.

"How?" He asked with a raspy voice and tears still in his eyes.

And so she told him. Every single detail of her story. She tried so hard not to cry so much, she tried to make sure he understood every decision she made. While she tried to keep a straight face as she had been taught, her father decided not to even try, or maybe he was trying but seeing her here meant that he couldn't do as he usually did. Sam was standing over the guards, checking their pulse, though since he had been doing that all while Nehemia told her story, she thought he was just giving her some space with her father.

She finished her story and the nerves came back. Her father hadn't gotten closer to her, or grabbed her hand or said anything for that matter, and to make things worse, while she talked he had pulled his face together, he was no longer crying and his face was void of anything. She held her breath, waiting. She didn't know what to expect, before her story she would've thought her father would open up his arms for her and welcome her back to Ellywe as the Princess, but now? She wasn't sure.

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Sam could feel the tension from all the way to the door. It wasn't that close to them, but close enough to see their body language. At first when the King had hugged Nehemia, he could see the relief in both their bodies, but that had quickly changed while Nehemia told her story. Right now, Nehemia's body was tense, and her father's, though he hid it well, was also tense. If Sam hadn't been trained to read bodies, he wouldn't have noticed it. The King hid his feelings very well, his body didn't show much.

Sam wanted to ease that tension, but wasn't sure if getting close would help Nehemia or make everything worse. He tried to catch her eye, but it seemed as if she were having a staring contest with her father and neither of them were willing to loose.

After what felt like an eternity but was probably only a few minutes, the King pulled his daughter in for a hug. Sam let out a silent breath of relief and thanked the gods for it. Nehemia's body seemed to loose the tension too. Sam was about to leave, now that he saw Nehemia was safe, he was goning to give father and daughter a bit of privacy. He was just turning towards the door and grabbing a guard, when Nehemia managed to catch his eye. She made a movement with her head that Sam took to mean that she wanted him to get closer. He let go of the guard and started walking slowly towards them, just in case he had mis-read the gesture. When he got close enough, Nehemia pulled him in to her side.

"Father, I would like you to meet Sam, my boyfriend. He was the one who helped me get back. Thanks to him, I decided to come back and to talk to you. We have been together for almost a year." Nehemia said, facing her father.

The King gave Sam a look from head to toe and he felt himself stand taller. What would happen if he didn't approve of their relationship? He knew Nehemia loved him, but he was, after all, a courtesean's son, he wasn't fit to be with a Princess. Before today, it hadn't really felt like she was a Princess. She was never entitled and while they had talked about her title before, they had never talked about what would happen if their relationship wasn't approved.

He put his hand in front of them, waiting for the King to grab it and sheke it.

"Nice to meet you, Sir."

After a few seconds where Sam was almost sure the King wouldn't shake it, he finally did. Sam could feel himself relax.

"You too young man. Thank you for bringing my daughter back towards this shores and keeping her company all this time."

Sam was about to say something along the lines of it was his pleasure or that he would do anything for her. But before he could decide what to say, one of the guards that had been unconcious outside came in running with sword held up high, ready to kill whoever was a threat to his King. When he saw the King was letting go of Sam's hand, he stopped. The guard looked around, trying to see if there was some other threat against his king, but his eyes stopped on Nehemia. He looked surprised, but he masked it quickly.

"My King, are you alright?" The guard said, looking straight at the King as if the others weren't there.

"Everything is fine Kordain, lay down your sword. Make sure the other guards are all fine and give us one moment."

After the guard left, the King turned towards Nehemia. "You have been away for a while, but have you thought about what comes next? What will you do?"

Nehemia gave a shake of her head. "I don't know yet, but as soon as I decide you will know. We should get back, it's almost midnight. We are supposed to speak to Aelin in the morning, but I hope we see each other before you leave." Though she didn't phrase it as a question, Sam could hear that she wasn't sure he would stay.

Nehemia said goodbye to her father and they both left back to their rooms. On their way out of the library they could see the guards were already up, and looking at Nehemia.

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Not sure how much I'll be able to update during December, but hope you like this one.