Frost (m/m)

Chapter 3

Henry woke up with a loud banging on the door.

He felt a little shiver in his skin and it took a moment to realize where he was. He was in Hull, in a very big bed that he was starting to grow too found of. Rubbing his eyes he noticed the shiver in his skin was because he was still naked. Slowly and sleepily, he got under the blankets he had fell asleep upon. It was dark outside, therefore it was still bedtime for Henry.

He sighed when the knocking on the door started again. "You may come in," he said.

It was Ligia who appeared on the other side and she seemed unfazed by his naked shoulder peeking from under the blanket, even pleased by the look of her face. His maid back in Mithlond would surely have tutted in disapprovement.

"Diner is soon, dali," she bowed.

Henry smiled at the nickname the seemed to have given him and dismissed her. "Yes, thank you. I'll be there soon." Maybe dali was a word for lord, and they were just too proud to say it in the common language, or something in the like.

She closed the door slowly.

Standing up, he stretched himself, noticing there were no more rain noises on the outside. His feet made slapping noises on the ground as he walked barefoot to the window.

It was very dark outside. He couldn't see the mountains, only a few lights of torches and lamparines from houses in the distance. He turned around and walked to his little green chest. He picked up his new robe, smiling at the beautiful golden lines that adorned it, forming the Hullian crest all around it. It seemed to be made especially for him. He decided not to put it on, it was just so beautiful, maybe a special occasion. Picking a plain brown one instead he dressed it, tied the rope around his waist and put on some slippers. Then he sat at the little table with the combs and did the best he could about the knots in his hair.

When he left the room, he noticed the castle was really dark at night. Some torches weren't even lit, and the ones that were didn't do much. A guard that was leaning on the wall immediately straightened himself up and came, bowing and saying "dali" among other words over and over. Henry just stood there, trying to grasp meanings. The guard gave him a self-conscious smile and tried again.

"Dinner room, follow Dali..." He paused a little, then shook his head. "Nie, nie, Dali follow ve," he said.

-.-.-.-

The dining room was a big room with a rectangular table in the middle, and all kinds of decoration on the walls, from armors to big red curtains. The table was adorned with craving in the wood and nice tapestries, upon which lied all kinds of food. But the smell of red meat made Henry's stomach cramp and suddenly he wasn't very hungry anymore.

The king was there as well, at the head of the table, looking powerful as always. His eyes zeroed on him when Henry entered and followed his moves. Henry was about to seat beside Diana when Haomath reached for the chair on his right side and pulled it back, calling him by that strange name.

"Dalikath."

Unable to deny and seeing no reason to, Henry nodded at him and walked to the chair, receiving an approving look from the man in reward.

This was not the official dining room, he noticed.

The table was a small one, probably meant for family meetings, but it was still big. There was six seats on each side plus the ones at the edges. He was seating on the right side of the king, and beside Henry was Diana. On the other side, across from Henry was his father, his mother and Alinor. The food consisted of boar meat, chicken, and vegetables.