Mylidred

9

Her Majesty and I made our way to the conference room after agreeing to disagree on this whole Kerran matter. We had summoned the King as well as some of my major soldiers to discuss the matter of the coming war.

We didn't have much information on Tania and whether she brought an army or not, but it was better not to be overconfident. Apparently, Tania had confessed to Her Majesty that she was now a Mylidred and all she wanted was... Well... The kingdom as well as her revenge on the Queen. She confessed she didn't want to kill her immediately she came so she would see her city and everything she worked hard to build in ruins. We all stiffened at that but Alea shrugged it off.

Well...if someone spoke like that, it was obvious they had an army, but once again, we couldn't be sure how large the army was.

I hated situations like this. By the time we discussed what emergency controls we already had in place and which we would add, it was night.

After the close of the meeting, I went to my room, tired but not hungry. I was still satisfied with Kerran's food. I took off piece after piece of armour. I could take off the tighter places myself, but I hated being the one to unfasten them as well as fasten them when I wore them.

"Need some help?" I heard and turned to the source picking my sword as I did so, only to see Kerran standing in my room. I rolled my eyes and dropped the sword back, not knowing how else to react. I gestured a hand telling him to get on with it. He walked up to me helping me unfasten the pieces hastily. Then in a flash my hair band was out of my hair and my hair cascaded down my back to my waist. The only reason I never cut it was because he told me never to all those years ago.

He simply stood staring at me. His eyes darting from my face to my hair every few seconds, then he spoke. "I know I told you I won't touch you anymore till you've heard, believed, and forgiven me but I want to do it. I want to so bad." He whispered in my ear. Hot breath on my neck. "Can I?"

I wanted to melt. I didn't trust myself to speak so I just nodded. He didn't even let me finish nodding, his hand darted out touching my temple. Heat. I felt heat and it wasn't just the heat of his skin. The heat was intense. I just wanted to stay there. I would have carried his other hand and put it on my face myself unconsciously, but he moved his hand to my hair the moment I shuddered. I didn't shudder in disgust, however. Quite the opposite.

His fingers ran between strands of my hair, touching my scalp and he moved it back over my head till he got to the ends of my hair. He kept running his hands through it and I gave up. I practically fell face first on his chest. He wasn't wearing armour so my cheek hit cotton. A cotton black shirt that spread over his hard chest. My ear nestled closer to his heart. His heart beat was fast like a drum beside my ear. His heart didn't normally beat this fast, even though it beat faster than that of an average human's. I smiled to myself because of the effect I had on him, my ear still pressed firmly against his chest. The heat of his skin radiated off him and onto me.

I wrapped my arms around his waist. And his left arm wound tightly around my waist as his right continued its assault on my head. I felt like I was home again. Then he just had to disrupt the peace. "You know, Alea is right." He said.

I whipped my head off his chest faster than the word 'What?!' escaped my mouth. 'So he had heard our strategy.'

"So you heard our strategy you- you-" I couldn't even see his face.

"I don't know what you're talking about."he explained slowly, with a raised brow. "Or would you like to tell me something?" His grey eyes looked silver in the moonlight.

I clamped my mouth shut.

"I thought so too. Now, I agree with your Queen." He quipped. I was about to ask 'On what if not strategy?' but he raised a brow at me daring me to interrupt.

"We have no part in this mess and you joined the army because you have no one else. Maybe I should just tell you the things that happened to me so we can leave before the war starts." He explained, casting me a worried glance.

"Although I'm not sure why she believes you love me. If anything you hate me." He wandered aloud probably trying to read me. I didn't change my expression, and I didn't say anything either.

"Don't you too think we should leave? This isn't our fight. Especially yours." He gaze shifted between my eyes.

I steeled my gaze. "Oh but it is my fight. It is especially mine. She was the only family my sister and I had when we had no one else. She was all we had when everyone else was gone." I glared at him. "If anything, this is my fight. She deserves to have someone she can trust, especially now. Even if she doesn't want to admit it, she really needs me here."

I rested my head back on his chest and tightened my hands around his waist. He threw his head back and groaned in frustration.

"Gosh, you know I love you so much right? You have no idea how much I love you." I could still hear his heart. It was still beating very fast. I turned my head and smiled against his chest, then gave it a kiss through his shirt.

"So does that mean you love me too?" He asked hopeful. His arms tightened around my waist. I felt safe. I felt like dashing his hopes, so I did.

I turned my face to place my ear against his chest again. It was beating faster. I smiled to myself. "I didn't say I do-" I started, his arms slackened and he sighed. "I didn't say I didn't either." I confessed. He stiffened, probably debating how to take it.

He wrapped his left hand tighter around me, running his right through my hair. He sighed, then laughed breathily beside my ear before speaking just as breathily. "I feel like you've decided. You just want me to suffer. But that's ok. I'll suffer as long as you want me to. Long as you forgive me in the end, I don't mind." He confessed. He sighed satisfactorily, giving my temple a kiss.

He let me go only to let me change into something comfortable but pulled me back into his arms the moment I came back, my arms wrapped round his neck and my face buried in his chest. He stroked my hair and the small of my back till my eyes got heavy and they drooped. I was only quarter conscious.

He carried me gently so I won't jolt and wake up, but I felt it. I felt him carry me. I even felt him drop me carefully in my bed and cover me with my duvet before stroking my hair once again. "I'll get us out of this mess I promise." He whispered, before placing a kiss on my forehead and stroking my hair once more before turning around and leaving my room however he came in. I didn't even hear his footsteps.

I was more of a night person, so it normally took me hours to sleep. By morning, it was a wonder to me that I slept when I did because I only ever got few hours of sleep every night. His presence had always been quite calming.

And when I woke up, I felt quite refreshed unlike how I felt every other day, and I had been left wondering whether or not I had dreamed that he had visited me yesterday night.