Queen Of Kings

Chapter 21 "Queen Of Kings"

"Your Majesty?" Xavier asked nervously as he slipped into my working chambers.

"Xavier, don't be so tense." I beckoned him closer and he smiled, standing in front of my desk.

"You seem happy, my lady. Did anything happen?" I could tell he was genuinely curious and I waved him off.

"It doesn't matter. Now, tell me, how do you feel about Avery?"

His smile faltered and he tilted his head in confusion. "I don't get what she has to do with-"

"Xavier." I gave him a pointed look.

He sighed. "She's...fanciful and strong. She's intriguing in so many ways I could talk about her all day."

I hummed and tapped my fingernails against the wood. Xavier's eyes darted nervously across my features and the tapping stopped. "You really love her?"

"Yes." He said confidently.

"Are you sure about her?"

"I want to spend the rest of my life her." He said sadly, losing some of the confident he originally had.

I hastily stood up and Xavier looked alarmed. I walked around the desk and stood in front of him. "Then Xavier," I grabbed his hand and squeezed. "You're dismissed."

"Dismissed?" He echoed warily.

I nodded. "You are to return with Avery in her respective kingdom."

"But, Your Highness-"

"It is an order. You will not disobey," He kept his mouth closed and my expression softened. "I can see how much you care about her and the same with her. It would be cruel to keep you from that."

He was quiet for a moment longer before he spoke again. "But my duty is to you."

I rolled my eyes and pinched his arm. He yelped and cradled it. "Your duty is to the one you love. Not to me, not to the kingdom but Avery."

He hesitantly nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Your Highness. I'll never forget it for as long as I live. I'm sure Avery will feel the same."

I let go of his hand and watched him hurry out of the room. Probably to go find Avery and tell her the news.

"That was nice of you." A voice said from the doorway.

I hummed an affirmative and Dorian proceeded to enter the room. Once he reached me, his hand grazed the skin of my arm until they reached my fingertips. "I'm not going away forever, Infinity."

"I wasn't worried about that." I huffed and he chuckled.

"You let them get their happy ending." He whispered.

"Somebody needed to." I whispered back with a smile.

"We still have ours. It's just going to wait awhile."

I intertwined our fingers and squeezed. "Take care of him, okay? If he has a bruise or-"

"I don't do that anymore," He said quickly, trying to defend himself. "I haven't done it in a long time and I'm not going to."

"Oh."

"Yes. I have you to thank for that." He said sincerely.

I grew bashful and ducked my head. "You will leave soon. Am I correct?"

"Yes."

I lifted my head and cradled the side of his face with my hands, placing a tender kiss on his lips. Leaning back, I smiled. "Good luck, Dorian."

"There is something more I wish to say before I go." He squeezed my fingers lightly before letting go.

"What is it?"

He reached up towards my crown and fixed it. "As to return the favor, I will help you fix your crown if I see it getting heavy. It will never fall."

"Thank you." I said breathlessly.

"Will you escort me to the carriage, my lady?" I rolled my eyes but agreed nonetheless.

The walk back down to the main floor was slow. Our interlocked fingertips began to swing between us and my servants, no, friends greeted us at the bottom of the staircase.

The head chef gave me a knowing look and I avoided his gaze. I noticed Xavier and Avery standing closely side by side and I raised an eyebrow at him. He scooted Avery a bit closer to me and she glared at him over his shoulder.

"Avery, it's nice to see you again." I greeted pleasantly. Dorian had already dismissed himself to say goodbye to my friends who work here.

She bowed awkwardly and smiled. "It's nice to see you, too, Your Majesty. I would like to apologize for hostile attitude I presented you with when we first met. I-"

I chuckled and patted her shoulder. "It's alright. Surely, you have changed for the better?"

"Yes," She replied. Then added, "It seems you have, too."

I didn't have an answer to that.

Xavier approached next and I hugged him tightly. He pulled away teary eyed and he lifted his head a little higher. "I'm going to miss you but I'll be strong."

I wiped a stray tear of his away and smiled. "I'm going to miss you, too. I'll always have the memory of you trying to kill me as a reminder of our friendship."

He let out a watery chuckle and bowed one last time. "Until next time, my lady."

"Until next time." I finalized. He lifted his head and I nodded.

"Queen Infinity," Dorian's voice announced. "We are getting ready to depart."

The group of us, royalty, righthands, and friends, made our way outside and to the carriage. Xavier was the first to enter and then Avery with the help of her lovers' extended hand. Last but not least, Dorian.

He pushed a stray lock of my brown hair behind my ear and smiled. "I would say goodbye but it'll seem like forever so I'll stick with see you soon."

"Likewise." I smiled.

Dorian leaned closer and my eyelids fluttered shut, tilting my head up. His lips pressed on mine for a few seconds to make it last and pulled away. I opened my eyes and my smile grew bigger.

"I'm going to miss that." I whispered.

He caressed my cheek and was about to lean in for another when a cough interrupted us. Avery bashfully looked between us and gestured to the coach. "We should get going before the sun sets."

I leaned away and nodded. "You're right, sorry."

I stepped away from the carriage and spoke to Dorian one last time. "Don't let your kingdom fall to ruin because you're thinking about me too much."

"That would be a shame, wouldn't it? But don't worry, my lady, I promised that I would merge your kingdom with mine. I plan to keep that promise." He winked.

I scoffed but didn't deny it. I was actually looking forward to it. "See you soon, Dorian."

With a nod, he spoke. "Infinity."

And with that, I patted the back of the carriage and it darted off down the stone path, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake.

As soon as it was gone, I turned to my friends and my head chef spoke up. "What do we do now, Your Highness?"

I walked past all of them confidently, heels clacking and the knights opened the doors back to my castle. "Get back to work, of course. We have lots of work to do."

I turned around to face them with a smile. "We have to keep up our reputation as the best, after all."

They straightened up and saluted to me. "Yes, ma'am!"

I hummed and turned back around. "That's more like it."

And so, the Queen Of Kings continued to rule.

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Finished?

The End?

Most likely.