unplanned
"You need a plan."
Frick was waiting for him in his room.
"You will have to be more specific."
"Freak that. You know what I am talking about."
"It amazes me how quickly you are picking up some of their mannerisms."
"It surprises me you are not worried about mating with your mate."
"You will refrain from talking about your Queen like that."
"I can see why she always leaves a room when you enter it. You are a downer."
Kell continued his way to his refreshing chamber. When she could, she did leave a room when he entered it. Quickly. He knew she wanted to come to the New Rulers meetings; he knew because it was a need all of them felt. Just as they all felt her absence.
She did not come because of him.
It was getting easier on her, but she still hurt. Pausing in donning a new uniform, he laid his hand over his mark. Her heart ached. Every day it ached.
Once dressed, he returned to his room and went to the counter for nourishment.
"You need a plan."
"I have a plan."
The other man paused. "Really? I figured you were going to tell me you do not need one because the numbers and the mark do not lie. I figured you would say that eventually it will work itself out. Thank God, you have a plan. I am proud of you, man. What is the plan?"
"I wait for her to realize there is not a cure or a release from her fate."
His friend looked sick to his stomach. "Your plan sounds a lot like no plan. Why are you not freaking out? Why are you not worried? Your Queen is trying to get rid of you. Hell, even if she does not manage to, she completely hates your ass."
"She will learn to tolerate me."
"Is that what you want? Her to tolerate you?"
"I want whatever will ease her life. She has been through enough, Frick."
"One thing we agree on."
"Tell me how it fairs with your own mate. It must be shocking to go from having no matches to having a mate overnight. She is only days away from eighteen, so the universe has truly blessed you. I have also heard that she has some unique gifts. I have not had the chance to witness them myself or to speak with her privately, but I find her gift to be a confusing concept. Our kind has never believed that a person's soul lingers after the death of their body."
Frick crossed his arms and frowned. "Her gift has been recorded. There is proof. She is strong."
"I have no doubt. I am just saying it forces us to rethink our views on the subject."
"You are a prick."
"I am your king." His reply held no heat.
"How were we ever friends before we came here? You are a buzzer killer."
"Frick, what do you want?"
"I want to save you from yourself. I want to see you happy again. So happy I want to puke." He sat at the counter and propped his face up with a hand so he could stare at Kell. "There has to be a way to fix your broken ass."
"I am acting exactly like I should be. I'm doing everything I should be doing."
"I have noticed that Hayden also leaves a room when you enter it. At least as fast as she can."
"I can imagine this is very confusing for her as well."
"I imagine. Especially since you cannot look her in the eye. It is painful to see how uncomfortable you are around her. There is no way she has not noticed that as well."
That was a subject he would not speak of, and it took a long, uncomfortable moment of silence before his friend realized that.
"Do not talk to me about it then and see how much that helps the situation. You spent too much time with the advisors. You have become just like them and scared of____."
"Take that back." He growled. His fists clenched, but he forced them to relax at his side. "Take it back." He ordered softly.
"I did not mean it. You are nothing like them. I apologize, Kellum."
"There is work to be done. I will see you___."
"She is so full of life that I could watch her for hours. She never sits still; her head is always in the clouds. Or wherever her head goes."
By his tone alone, Kellum knew he was now talking about his own mate.
"She amazes me. I want to cradle her in my arms and protect her from everything. I have never met someone so uniquely... mine. Sometimes it is like she cannot stop for a moment, but then I can take her hand in mine, or I can hold her, and she stills. Life pauses and she is at peace. I give her that and it makes me feel like I own the world. I cannot imagine if we never came here, if I had never met her. Thank you for that, my King."
"I am glad for you. I truly am."
"Why do you not try to win yours back? I know you could."
"I cannot." He answered softly. "I do not know why, but I cannot. It is like there is something just beyond my memories. Something that holds me back. Something that..." He gave his head a shake. "It does not matter. After everything, I do not deserve her forgiveness. She deserves her peace, and it is taking everything I have to be King. There is no time for anything else."
