The King's Artist

Ch 66: The Comfort of Another's Arms

Adelaide laid down beside Henry making sure she didn't disturb him. It had been a full day since Jasper's departure and he'd been restless, barely eating, continuously distracting himself with documents and trainings. She understood it was paranoia that was making him sick, but she seemed to be catching it.

Now, while he slept after an arduous run, Adelaide found she now couldn't get her eyes to close. A thousand scenarios ran through her head and it was making her own anxiety claw up her chest. They hadn't received any bad news, at least. Jasper hadn't been caught by any Brittany soldiers, so things were progressing according to the plan.

Adelaide shifted for what felt like the hundredth time and sighed under her breath. She ran a hand over her face and glared up at the ceiling of Henry's room. It was entirely dark, wholly silent, too. A slight chill hung in the air since they hadn't lit the fireplace, and the night was entirely obstructed a thick clouds that had rolled in seemingly from nowhere.

"What's wrong?" She heard Henry mumble. Adelaide shifted to look at him, their faces so close their noses brushed one another. She could feel his breath mingling with her own, the sensation comforting and familiar.

"I can't sleep," she whispered back honestly. Henry smiled and reach a hand up to brush some hair away from her forehead. His fingers lingered, though, tracing down her temple, across her cheekbone, and along her neck. Her breath hitched as his path continued downward and she instinctively moved into him.

"Want me to help you?" His voice was so quiet Adelaide could barely hear it.

As she nodded her head, Henry moved his lips to hers, kissing her long and slow as his hand reached the bottom of her shirt and slid upwards. Any cold Adelaide felt was instantly pushed away as a warmth spilled across her stomach wherever he touched. Henry shifted so that he was atop her, his mouth following the same path his hands had just carved down her body before tugging her shirt up and over her head. She mimicked the motion, sliding her own hands up his torso.

Adelaide slapped a hand over her mouth to muffle her cries as Henry thoroughly distracted her.

Pleasure and delirium flooded her brain, and she could feel him everywhere. His hands tracing fire across her stomach and legs, his lips scouring burn marks across her flesh as they worked between her neck, her lips, her collarbone, and everywhere he could reach. His pants tangled with her moans, and for a few blissful moments, they both were able to forget.

Afterwards with the sheets entrapping their limbs, they laid together. Adelaide curled into the crook of Henry's arm, his grip tight as his fingers lazily spun circles on her hip. She mimicked the action, tracing a number of bizzare, meaningless patterns on his chest.

"Sorry for waking you," she said with a sigh. Henry chuckled and the sensation reverberated through her body like a drum.

"I'm certainly not complaining," he said to her, craning his head down and kissing her forehead.

"Do you think he's okay?" Adelaide asked. She didn't want to discuss their current predicament and upset him, but she needed to talk about it. At least for a brief second.

"He's fine," Henry said immediately, his voice hard and firm. His arm tightened around her, and Adelaide shifted up onto her elbow so that she could look down at him. She wasn't sure what she wanted to say to him. She couldn't think of anything anyone could say to make her feel better about everything, so she doubted she had to the words for him. "It'll be okay, Adelaide. We'll leave this place tomorrow and head straight for France. It'll work out. Trust me."

She knew he was trying to convince himself as much as he was her. It was at times like these that they didn't feel like adults. Adults managed things. They weren't supposed to feel this hopeless.

"What do you think France is like?" Adelaide asked, redirecting the conversation.

"I'm not sure," Henry said shrugging. He readjusted them, wrapping both his arms tightly around her as she settled onto his chest. She laid her chin atop her crossed arms and stared at him as he talked to the ceiling. "I've always wanted to visit, though."

"How old his King Charles?" She asked, her memory fuzzy when it came to foreign monarchs.

"Fifteen, I think?" He said with another slight shrug of his shoulders. "His elder sister Anne is his acting regent until he turns twenty-one. I believe she rules jointly with her husband, the Duke of Bourbon."

"How do you keep them all straight?" Adelaide said with a soft laugh and a shake of her head. "All the Houses and all the nobles—there's just so many of them."

"Tis a talent, my love," Henry responded with a laugh.

"Do you think we'll remain there long?"

"We'll see," he says nonchalantly. "It's possible that we may be able to strike a deal with the French and get the support we need to take England. They're in a pretty rough spot, too, and I'm sure they'll do whatever they can to keep the English out of their country and to manage their current infighting."

"Always the opportunist," Adelaide joked.

"You have no idea," he laughed as his hands drifted to the back of her thighs. At the pressure of his fingers, Adelaide sat up and he came with her. Their lips met for a messy minute before they broke apart to stare at one another again. "We do have another problem, though."

Adelaide's brow furrowed as she leaned back to better look at him.

"What?" She asked as Henry smirked at her. She would have been concerned if he didn't look so amused.

"It seems like I'm unable to fall back asleep now," he whispered into her ear before placing a kiss on her collarbone. "And I blame you entirely for waking me up in the first place."

Adelaide laughed as she brought her arms up and wrapped them around his neck. Her legs, too, adjusted to lock at the ankles behind him, flushing them together at every contact point.

"Guess I'll have to make it up to you," she said with a serious nod of her head.

Henry's smile and his subsequent laugh made her stomach flip. And once again, they were able to forget about everything else as they were consumed by one another.