Hel (HOAM Spin-Off)

The Day After

The Morning After

The door opened with a quiet creak. Luk sighed and stretched slowly, opening one eye to view the intruder. Amet crept into the main chamber and set a paper on the desk by the window. He kept his eyes down and moved silently. Luk watched him pick up their clothes and hand them to a maid who crept in behind. Amet lit the fire and looked around, making sure all was right.

"Good morning, Amet."

The servant looked up. "Good morning, m'Lord. Your schedule is on your desk. I've completely booked it," Luk frowned. "You'll be busy all day with Lady Hel. I'll handle everything else."

Luk smiled. "Thank you."

"Of course. I assume you'll be spending most of your day in the rooms."

"Most likely."

"Very well. I'll have breakfast left in the antechamber." He nodded as Hel stirred. "Good morning, m'lady." He left without another word and the door closed with another quiet creak.

Hel stretched and looked up, setting her chin on Luk's chest. "Hi." She whispered. She wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed his chest before laying back down. "I'm just gonna go back to sleep, okay?"

He chuckled and wrapped one arm around her. She wasn't a grumpy morning person, he could see, but she wasn't the type that was inclined to get up either. Which was perfectly fine. After all, as king, how often did he get to sleep in?

..........................

Luk woke up to find himself alone. He looked around and stood tiredly. "Hel?"

"Hi."

He turned to find her leaning against the door to the washroom. She held a towel to herself, still self-conscious even after last night. She blushed and kept her eyes on his face. "Care to join me?"

He smiled and nodded. She turned away and went back into the washroom, expecting him to follow. She dipped her hand in the water in the bath and it immediately warmed back up. She squealed suddenly, running away as he snatched the towel from her. He laughed and pulled her to him, smiling against her neck. She giggled and tried to get away.

"I'd like to actually bathe."

"I make no promises." He murmured, kissing down her neck and feeling something other than his mind waking up. She giggled again, feeling it too.

"Is this normal?"

"I should assume so. Amet mentioned he plans to leave us alone for a few weeks."

"Weeks?!"

"I imagine newlyweds tend to be like this for a bit." He chuckled and pushed her gently towards the bath. "So get used to it."

"Oh, I'm not complaining." She pulled him down to join her. "Not one bit."
.......................

"What are they?"

Hel and Luk were touring about the small kingdom. Honestly, it was more of an estate. The "palace" was just an extremely large house. The people lived on the grounds and worked there. It was a small town all under one lord - Luk. However, they participated in trade and politics and so were recognized as a kingdom. There were a little under two hundred families who lived there.

There were others but Hel wasn't sure if they counted as people or subjects. It was this group that she asked about now. Luk followed her gaze to a small group of shadows that were drifting across a hill. Hissing traveled across to them, the language of the creatures.

"We call them Kaji. They have substance but they don't look like it."

"Are they... People? Of a sort?"