Divine Realizations [ Clarion X Milori ]

Chapter 34

Milori was furious.
He was a king for gods' sake.
He striked fear in the hearts of his soldiers, killed men in battle and ruled over one of the greatest kingdoms to ever exist in all of Neverland.
And his little sprite thought she could order him out?
Just like that?
He realized Clarion might feel ignored or neglected but when would the line be drawn?
It wasent as if he was out playing and messing around with friends acting like he was working.
Where did she get off?
He was tired of arguing, tired of being the bad guy and most importantly tired of being alone.
Especially when he didn't have to be.
He regretted not being able to give Clarion and his daughter all the time in the world but this was his bedroom.
One he had been dreaming of sleeping in for a while.
And despite Clarions' ultimatum, he had been sleeping in the soldier barracks these past few months anyhow.
On a cold, hard mat just like the rest of his men because he woke with them to give training and he didn't want to always disturb Clarion in the middle of the night.
Alot of thanks he got though.
Yea, another night in the barracks wouldent kill him but he'd probably go mad.
The only thing keeping his sanity right now was her sweet scent.
And how good she looked.
Even though it was pitch-dark when she finally entered the bedroom, his breath caught at how beautiful she looked.
He hadn't been able to get a good look at her in months in fact and he found himself hungrily examining her features, taking in all the new details and relishing the old.
She was slightly tanned from being outside and working on her project all day long.
The sun had also procured a few new freckles here and there, freckles he wanted to examine and memorize way more closely.
Figuring he had stood there scowling long enough, he took in her stance once more.
She stood tall and seemingly firm on her decision to punish him.
However, as he took a step closer he could see her falter slightly.
And as another step took him closer to her, he saw a niggling of doubt cross her features.
In the end he would honor her wishes, if she truly did not want him there.
However he certainly wouldn't make it easier on her.
Despite the tension and fatigue, he was in an oddly good mood, and he finally came to stand in front of her once more.
Leisurely, he gave her a smile, satisfied in the way her eyes widened in apparent shock at the gesture.
Damn, maybe he did need to start making more of an effort even if that meant some aspects of the kingdom would need to be neglected or at least given to someone else's authority.
He barely smiled at her and yet he could tell she was close to cracking.
He could only imagine the possibilities, he wickedly thought.
"How about a compromise? You let me sleep in here... with you, and I will endeavor to be more present in both you and Avalon's ongoings."
He quirked a brow, waiting for her response.
She looked up at him suspiciously, as though he'd vanish before her eyes as soon as she agreed, however she slowly nodded her head.
"If you can promise to try harder than yes, I suppose sharing a bed with you once more would not be such a hardship."
At this, she let out a small smile, and Milori felt like he won the lottery.
This was the first time in forever that they had really talked, compromised and came to a decision all in one standing.
Laughing, he turned away to begin changing,
"You and your flattery."

Later that night, Milori laid in bed with Clarion fast asleep against his chest.
It had not taken long for her to instantly curl up like a cat and suck all the warmth (and blankets) from around him.
Just like in the beginning of their marriage.
He sat there pondering their situation, unable to sleep.
How had things gotten so bad?
His marriage was falling apart, his daughter avoided him constantly and once more, untold danger seemed to lurk around in the form of Ashe and Skye.
He frowned at the emergence of them in his thoughts.
Finally locks had been placed on all the filing cabinets down in the library, as it was found out that someone had indeed stolen records from it.
Specifically Hinter records.
Already that was being fixed though as Milori had sent out multiple footmen along with Dewey to help find and track down the missing Hinter citizens.
He was fairly certain that all had once more been found and accounted for as well, since he vaguely remembered meeting each one when they had initially arrived.
However Milori still had not found out who and why someone had taken, and most likely destroyed, the files.
He guessed that the person who did was involved with the other citizens in some way, and that they knew something that the thief did not want getting around.
After all it would be difficult for one to spread information if they didn't exist.
And he could not imagine another viable reason for someone going through such lengths to erase a trail.
Now that he had a good idea of the why, he still needed to figure out The Who.
His initial suspicions of course went to either Ashe or Skye, but if that were the case and they were trying to hide something, why would they still leave their files?
Might as well go all the way, Milori chuckled.
Clarion stirred beside him as he did and he tightened his hold around her, smiling as she let out a sigh.
Yea, he was never going back to the soldiers' barracks.
Revisiting his train of thought, Milori once more sat puzzled.
Maybe they left their files to throw him off, maybe they were tampered with.
No that couldn't be it, The Keeper had stated that the same information he had initially typed was still on the papers.
So why bother with the hassle then?
Shaking his head, he came to a final decision.
He must have been right in his initial assumption.
Skye and Ashe stole the rest of the files to keep Milori from questioning other ex Hinter subjects on what they knew of the two.
Well it was pointless in the end as he already had questioned each ex Hinter resident they recovered, and not one of the 150 had revealed anything of value.
All said the same thing the papers had relayed.
One of them would slip though, he was sure of it.
There had to be some sort of coverup as many looked hesitant and cautious, even scripted, in responding.
If he kept at it he was sure he'd stumble across something.
In the meantime, while Clarion was so quick to point out that he spent little to no time with Avalon, he had in fact sat down with her just the other day.
He was tired of her sneaking around and meeting the boy in question.
Not only did it make him look foolish but it taught her that it was ok to hide and lie to get what she wanted.
He had promptly told her that he was disappointed that she didn't adhere to his wishes but told her he didn't mind them speaking.
For now.
If he had any hope in catching Ashe or Skye in the act, he needed both Clarion and Avalon to keep seeing them.
Much as he hated it, it was the only way in which he would be able to closely examine and watch any changes in behavior or actions.
And once again he needed to start showing Avalon that he'd give her more trust and freedom if she was only truthful in return.
Still no boys though.
Clarion wasent helping as he knew she let Avalon secretly meet with the boy behind his back, another arguement for another day.
Finally feeling as though he had all his ducks in a row, Milori slowly slid his arm out from around Clarion and turned away to go to sleep.
He was slowly beginning to fade off when he felt the bed shift and an arm get thrown around his body as Clarion clung to him in her sleep.
Sighing, he tried not to notice as she slowly took over the entire bed, leaving him with little space.
Still better than the barracks, he scoffed.