His Little Heir

A Tounge with Poison

     Making breakfast had never been his strong suit; and standing over the stove, Leon was again reminded why.

     Burnt. Everything was burnt.

     From eggs to bacon and back again, the same crusting layer encased every dish. Just one touch threatened to turn entire portions to dust.
    With a sigh, the monarch turned to his last hope. Maybe, just maybe, the grits would turn out right. He stirred hesitantly. Was it soupy? No, no, no. It couldn't be; he had even gotten eye level with the measuring cup when he poured. Four cups, four cups on the dot.

     Four cups for eight servings.

     Leon could feel his temper escalating. Couldn't he do one nice thing for her right? Three servings; Daya, her father, and himself. Was that so hard?

     It began to consume him, as it always did when it came to her. It was something so easy, something he had done countless times before, but now- she was involved. And everything had become as blissful as it was difficult. As a result, Daya was lightning and a rainbow all in the same storm, almost a drug too good to be true- too addicting. And it was too late.

Leon had already tasted who she truly was.

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     She had cried into his chest and he had held her, taking in the scent of her dark chocolate hair. And they stayed like that for a long time.

     But then her words floored him like they always had.

     Daya had pulled away from him, abruptly, too abruptly. And in her eyes, the Faye king watched as the fear of him returned.
    
       He would've done anything to watch their soft amber reemerge, anything to stifle her terror of him. But her eyes were widened and anything he could say died upon his lips.
   
     The Faye king had watched her during the stillness. He couldn't help but find himself wondering what ever went through the damsel's mind. Her eyes flitted and timbled as if they were calculating a complex equation. Arriving at an answer, they grew still and peered into his own.

     The princess took both of Leon's hands. Then finally, she spoke.

     "I want to make this work, I really do but, I'm scared, so freaking scared. Of this, of you, and if we do go through with this- will I even be a good wife to you? A queen to your people?"
    "Daya-"
     "I'll always love Austin. No matter how hard we both try I will. It'll be him I call for in the middle of the night, him I want to wake up with, and when we kiss, I'll always think of him. No matter how much you shower me in gifts and affection, nothing will change. It never will. You deserve to know that, everyone does."
    
    For a moment, his jealousy crept in. Bubbling and boiling it tickled his anger, but he had come too far with her to lash out now. He pushed the thoughts away.

     "Why are you scared, love?" The ruler bit his tongue.
     "This whole thing seems so... so wrong, Leon," she turned away from him for a moment, then set her eyes aflame, "How can you love me after just a day?"
    
     But he had known the princess for more than a day, ever since she was born to be precise. Leon knew her, no, loved her more than anyone else- more than Austin even. And she would learn that in due time, though not tonight.

    
     "Maybe love isn't the right word for now. But regardless, I want to help you."
     She raised her eyebrows, "And what does Fashad stand to gain from it?"
     But he was ready this time: "We need a real queen, someone not afraid to speak their mind, to stand up for what they believe in. I watched some of your speeches. Across the world, you managed to bring me to tears. Imagine what you can do here."
     "O-Oh?"
     "I'm not very good at that sort of thing, but you are, Daya. Fashad needs you," Leon again opened his mouth to speak, but the words had no volume. They couldn't. But he knew what his lips formed.
   
  Daya let go of his hands. Leon immediately missed her touch, but he couldn't tell her that. He allowed them to linger there as her eyes' flame flickered and died.

     Silence again plagued the space between them. He debated whether to shatter it or not, but decided against it.

      She then gave the Faye boy a look that melted his heart.
     "But I hardly know anything about you" her lips pouted as they formed the words.
    
     With the questioning's adrenaline leaving her, Daya had allowed herself to relax. The air around him thickened, but he pushed the less than pure thoughts down.

     "Well, for starters, my middle name is William.
   
    
      And little by little, the walls surrounding her chipped away. They had spent hours together just talking, learning things that no television screen could teach them.
    
    Daya had told him of the marigolds in her window planter, and of the sunsets she basked in over head. She recounted the tale of the poor, old tabby cat she had begged her parents to take in. Her first dance, her first kiss, it all entranced him.

     And Leon fell even deeper in spite of himself.

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      He checked the kitchen clock which seemed as if it was counting down to his doom. It sneered at him, triumphantly displaying 6:48 am.

     Leon could at least salvage the bacon if he hurried. Turning the burner back to high heat, the monarch went to work pulling six more slivers from their package prison. All he had to do was watch and flip.

     Watch
     and
     Flip

     Now how did she like her bacon? Under done, done, crispy? His eyes darted back to the clock: 6:52.

     Eight minutes.

     Certainly the reigning king of Fashad could make bacon in eight minutes. The burner on high, the bacon crackling, the aroma filling the kitchen- surely he was doing something right.

     Right?

    
     She appeared next to him in a blaze of lightning, throwing herself
against his form. The ground beneath Leon's feel crumbled. And with the speed of it, Daya ripped the treasured bacon away from it's life source.

    Without looking away from her handy work, the princess loaded her tounge with poison. "What in the hell were you thinking?"

      He had never seen her angry before. The red cotton shirt hugging her curves reflected the colors of her eyes and cheeks, her hands wirey and shaking. It worried Leon, but also it... it mesmerized him.

     Daya's dark brown hair dripped to a shade of ebony. It darkened, but at the same time, came to life. The skinny jeans that encased her legs weren't helping the king's case either.

      Crap.

       Leon would do anything to take her into his arms and taste the sweet honey oozing from her stinging words. Anything to have her melt into his kiss, Daya's full attention on him, never stopping to think of Austin. She would forget him in time and be his.

     All his.
     
     

But being gentle with her right now was a must.

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Good lord this one took forever to get out! I wasn't very happy with the way I originally wrote it, so I spent about a good hour on just editing. I really hope it's up to par now. Thanks for reading! 💜