His Little Heir

(Not) Playing Nice

     Voices.

    Their tones were muffled, held underwater to drown and die, but two were...

     Familiar.

     A lighter one commanded in kind curtness, the air of it was clear. The words, however, escaped her grasp, dancing through one ear and out the other.

     A darker voice questioned the first, carrying a weight of worry in its stammering. It hung on the other's every word, pausing its own path of speech to hear it. The voice itself filled Daya's clouded mind. It wiggled and dug further into the comfort of her thoughts.

     And dripping with gentleness, it lifted her. Not once did it scratch or press too deep. Instead, it's touch provided soothing warmth.

    But its owner's identity continued to elude her grogginess.

     She descended through the fog's layers, each murkier than the last. Perhaps, with the voice holding her, slipping away a second time would be almost blissful.

     The princess began to ease. The second voice spoke to her, saying her name in a sweetened sap. Its warmth soon became too much for her to resist, and leaning deeper, she allowed herself to fall into pine's lulling scent.

     The clifface presented a slick mist. Water below bubbled and hissed, but she took a step.

     And allowed herself to slip.

     Daya had only smelt the same pine leaves twice before:

The first wearing a black hoodie much too big, and the other when he kissed her this morning.

     

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

   
     "What do you mean, I can't see her right now?!" Leon inhaled, sucking in his cheeks.
   
     "Daya needs to be with someone that won't put her under any stress, and right now, you're only proving that Prince Austin is our best bet."

     Doctor Raye stood in front of him. Her thick glasses prismed an acid stare, which, the dark skinned woman promptly put to use.

     "How is he our best freaking bet, Raye?!"

      "Doctor Raye." The stare's noose tightened.

     "Whatever," he stepped back, biting his tounge, "Look, I'm sorry. Daya, well, she means the world to me and if anything happens to her-"

     "I'm quite aware, your majesty. But Prince Austin is still by far the best for her to see right now out of the three of you, so I suggest you acquire some patience and wait your turn."

     Who did she think she was?

     "I'll see her when I d*** well-" Leon's eyes fell upon the door; no, Daya he couldn't see him like this. "Ugh, nevermind. I'll wait."

     With hands in the air, he resigned himself to a plaid chair facing the door. A very ugly plaid, at that. Shreds of green swaddled in yellow stitching stared back at him.

     Gross.

     Even worse was the view, or in the king's case, his lack of it. What the paper's surface did have to offer was the reverse of Austin's frame.

     From a sitting position, only specs of blonde were left to greet him, pulsating with every whisper their owner breathed. But standing was a different story entirely.

     Austin's body could only be described as narrow; it lacked standard curves and any sign of strength besides in his arms. How Daya had entrusted her safety to such a weakling eluded him, but if she stayed, no such worries would cross his mind again.