The King's Artist

Ch 63: A Hopeless Reminscent Thought

It was a surprisingly calm evening. The morning training had gone well and Adelaide was pleased a few of the newer recruits were starting to show promise. She'd given them the remainder of the afternoon off to enjoy the warm summer weather. She, however, retreated inside, enjoying the coolness of the stone floors.

She found Henry in his study, laboring over a series of letters that had arrived from his mother. As Jasper had anticipated, the infamous Lady Margaret Beaufort had refused to back down despite the King's threats. She had continued promoting Henry as an alternative to the throne while trying to get him funding. Discreetly, of course.

Adelaide opened and closed Henry's door quietly and leaned against the frame atop her hands. She watched him for a while, admiring the way his hair fell into his eyes and the line of his jaw as he worked. His shoulders were tense and his brow furrowed, and Adelaide's hands itched to touch him.

They'd barely gotten any alone time together. As more and more people arrived to support the war efforts, she found the number of prying eyes to be unbearable. She was constantly looking over her shoulder when changing or bathing just to ensure her secret wasn't discovered. It was making her paranoid.

At the sound of her sigh, Henry looked up and the muscles of his mouth instantly relaxed. He smiled sleepily at her, the bags under his eyes evident. With a half-smile of her own, Adelaide made her way across the room after locking the door behind her.

Henry reclined in his seat and pushed away from the desk. Adelaide immediately crawled onto his lap and curled into him, loving the feel of his arms as they wrapped around her. She rested her head in the crook of his neck and for a moment just breathed in the smell of him: parchment paper and hay. She figured he'd most likely been in the stalls earlier that morning, because there were only two ways Henry relaxed, either with the horses or with her.

"Are you alright?" She whispered.

Henry didn't answer. Instead, he placed his cheek atop her head and tightened his grip. He let our a heavy sigh and closed his eyes. Adelaide's hands instantly twitched as she fought the urge to grab her paint supply. She wanted to draw his long eyelashes, sketch the lines of his lips, etch out the sharpness of his jaw, and craft the rich brown of his hair. She wanted to immortalize the moment because their days were numbered and the collection of portraits she had kept under her pillow years ago wouldn't be enough to sustain her anymore.

"It's funny," Henry spoke softly. "I miss you and yet you're right here."

Now it was Adelaide's turn not to respond. She knew exactly what he meant and it caused her heart to squeeze painfully.

"Do you remember when we were kids and you and I skipped our on lessons to run the fields?" He asked her. Adelaide's face split into a reminiscent grin as she recalled the memory.

She had been fifteen and him fourteen. Having grown tired of their history lesson, they each complained of a stomachache before slipping out through one of the servant passages. They hadn't taken the horses our of fear of altering someone, and had run on foot through the tall grass without a care in the world. Her lungs had burned and she hadn't been able to stop sneezing, but she never ceased in her pace. She had remained behind him for miles as they ran to escape the mundaneness of obnoxious lessons. They'd both been hungry and parched, covered in sweat and dirt, by the time they'd stopped. They'd been free for only an hour before Jasper discovered them, but Adelaide hadn't forgotten the exhilaration that had come from defying orders and just running.

"What made you think of that?" She asked gently.

For a moment she thought he wasn't going to answer her again.

"Because I can't help wanting to run away with you again. To escape all this," he whispered to her. He closed his eyes tightly and dropped his head back against the chair. "I want to leave this all behind."

But Adelaide knew he couldn't — wouldn't— do that. Henry had taken responsibility for more than just his own life. And there was no doubt in Adelaide's mind that if he abandoned them now he would never forgive himself. And a sick part of her wasn't sure she would be able to accept his decision either. Such a decision would contradict everything about the boy she'd fallen in love with.

Rather than acknowledging his admission or indulging in the ever-too-sweet fantasy, Adelaide turned her head up and captured his lips with her own.

The kiss began slowly, gentle and sweet. Henry adjusted their position, placing Adelaide atop the desk and leaning into her. He urged her mouth open and their tongues danced, sliding against one another with a comfortable familiarity.

Adelaide wrapped her arms around his neck tugging him closer and intertwining her fingers through his hair. She loved the texture of it, pulling it in appreciation and illicitly a delicious sound from deep in Henry's throat.

The kiss gradually intensified, their breaths both coming in pants as they fought to steal the air from one another.

Lost in the moment and forgetting entirely where they were, Adelaide wrapped her legs around Henry's waist as his hands settled on her hips. His fingertips threatened to burn her as they slid up and under her shirt, caressing her skin slowly. She shivered, her mouth opening wider for him as she tilted her head back and deepened the kiss.

With a possessive bite, Henry captured Adelaide's lower lip as his hands continued up and through the collar of her shirt. He fisted her hair and tilted her neck as he trailed his tongue down her throat. Adelaide grip loosened and dropped to Henry's shoulders as she rolled her head.

Just as she stifled a moan, though, a loud knock sounded at the door.

Adelaide and Henry snapped away from one another instantly. While she slid from the desk and situated her shirt, Henry ran a course hand threw his hair in an attempt to detangle it. He glanced back at her for confirmation and once she nodded, opened the door.

Kayden immediately stormed in, looking frazzled and pissed. His face was red and his eyes large. Jasper was on his heals and as soon as they were both in the room, relocked the bolt.

"We have a problem," Jasper said without delay. Adelaide's stomach dropped and her eyes went wide in alarm as she looked towards Henry. The young Tudor's face was pale and dread slipped over him like a blanket. "We've been betrayed."