Clueless -Canute x reader-

6.

Chapter 6
Boundaries 

Canute noticed. 

The way Y/n would quickly avert eye contact, how her sentences that are usually drawn out were now concise when she spoke to him. How she never stood alone with him in a room, always with Wulf or another of her companions. 

"Wulf, have you noticed Y/n seems to be acting a bit... Off?" Canute said casually, not wanting to give away that he was invested in nearly every single one of the woman's actions. 

"No. She has told me about her worry for her husband, but other than that... No." 

Canute's hand balled into a fist at the thought of him. 

He recounted their last conversation, how the Aston had insulted Y/n, possessively making his claim over her-- not caring for the blade pointed at his throat, not even an ounce of fear crossing his features. 

He should just tell her, Canute suddenly thought to himself. Tell her there was no husband to worry about anymore. 

Sitting in the garden of the large estate, a passerby seeing the man sitting innocently in the grass surrounded by flowers would never imagine the crude thoughts running rampant in Canute's mind. 

"Your highness?"

Especially if that passerby happened to be a beautiful young woman dressed in expensive cloth that ran down to her toes. Her wavy hair was pinned up in an intricate up-do, some pieces of hair strategically pulled out to frame her youthful, doll-like face. 

The man forced his lips up into a smile, his lips refusing to part and show teeth, his stare remaining flat and devoid of emotion. It was important that his expression didn't give away to his annoyance, that his time alone had been interrupted. His annoyance that he hadn't been interrupted by a certain someone instead.

"Your grace, you're up early." Canute addressed the woman formally, blue eyes locked on warm hazelnuts staring down at him. 

"Well, I wanted to see you before my departure." 

Canute couldn't help but furrow his brows in slight confusion, Emma was to remain within the estate for another week. 

"Is there a reason for you cutting your visit short? Are you disappointed?" Rising to his feet slowly, the gaze between the two shifted, with Emma now being the one to look up at the man who towered over her in height. There was a slight amusement to Canute's voice, while his question was serious, he posed it light heartedly. 

"No, not at all. Rather I've seen all I needed." She paused for a moment, "For my father." She added. 

"For your father?" Canute pushed. He knew what she meant but was waiting to see if she'd say it aloud. 

"Rumours of King Harald's health are generous. The man is far more ill than imagined, so much so that he's given you reign over Denmark." Breaking eye contact, the woman turned her gaze to the flowers decorating the terrain. 

"Ah, my brothers death is good news to your father?" Canute's eyes remained trained on Emma's profile. She measly blinked at his words, as if she were accustomed to hearing such foul statements, as if she'd heard worse. 

For a moment, the only thing heard was the bristling of grass as the wind pushed past them. The wind picking up the sweet scent of the flowers, enveloping the pair in the innocent aroma-- sticking to their clothes. 

"Theres only one thing I ask of you in our unity."

Canute's brows perked up slightly at her pivoting the conversation, not coming to know the woman to be so straightforward. Throughout the week of her stay, she was very soft-spoken, only speaking when spoken to. Even then, she'd spoke submissively, never challenging the words of others.