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The Only Safe Option

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Ambient voices, cold air, a flash of white in the corner of his eyes, that was all that Noreat dreamt of.  The man felt as if he were sitting in a blackened room, staring at colorless walls waiting for a dream to start in front of his eyes but one never did.  He could feel his mind desperately clawing for a dream, for something with pictures and color, but whenever he tried to dream all he saw were wide white eyes.  What was worse was that the young King was painfully aware that he was asleep and couldn't rouse himself.  It was as if he was lucid dreaming but he had no actual control of his lack of dreams.  All of his body felt numb, his limbs turned off while he slept, and he had no way of waking up. The sensation was maddening.  He didn't know what was going on in the waking realm, but he knew he should be awake.  All he wanted to do was wake up, to see what was going on, to know if…

Because he had been so dizzy after the magic killed the assassin Noreat never got to Zephyr.  What if…no, Zephyr was strong and he had his own brand of magic.  The gryphon King could defend himself well.  Noreat didn't have to worry.  His Zephyr would be alive and well.  All he had to do was wake up and his hopes would be confirmed.  He knew they would be.  But he couldn't wake up to prove himself right.  Every time he felt as though he were inching towards the world of consciousness that song that put him to sleep earlier seeped back into his mind.  It almost hurt to hear those low sad notes in his head.  How long would the song be stuck in his head?  How long could he sleep for?  He wasn't dead, there was no way he was dead.  Noreat couldn't die, not in Entity, not when he was so happy.  That assassin had barely cut him!  He was fine.  Why couldn't he wake up?  His head was starting to hurt, maybe from his lack of dreaming or maybe from the curling pain of fear in his stomach.  Everything was going to be fine.  All he had to do was wake up.  He wanted to just WAKE UP!

Suddenly Noreat's mind snapped to attention.  On command his mind pushed him out of his dreamless state and into the waking world.  But nothing came without a price, and his head felt as if it were on fire while being smashed with a hammer repeatedly.  He couldn't open his eyes, the young King felt it was too bright, and instead he groaned and tried to burrow himself in his covers.  On top of his already lengthy list of problems, Noreat also found that his body felt very weak and his movements were limited.  The young King didn't know how to describe the feeling.  It was as if he knew where his body was, but it was too numb and sore to move.  Instead, all he could do was moan loudly for attention.

And attention was given to him the second he made a noise.  There was the sound of movement beside him, someone pushed Noreat's bangs from his forehead and placed a cold compress to his forehead.  It smelled like mint and citrus.  A second later the sharp pain in Noreat's head started to dull, but not enough, it still hurt badly.  So he made another pained noise for attention and another type of treatment.

"Shh, you're fine," a warm, familiar, low voice explained.

Hang the pain in his head, Noreat forced his eyes open.  It was night, and yet he thought it was so bright out…  The only light in the room was a couple of candles scattered about, flickering warm yellow light haphazardly.  The candles were hardly important, what was important was the figure beside Noreat.  Sitting in a chair next to Noreat's bed was a tired looking Zephyr.  The older King brushed his fingers against Noreat's cheek.

"Welcome back," he said.

The curling pain of fear in Noreat's stomach started to dissolve and a relieved smile creased his lips.  Even though it bothered his head to move, he managed to lean his cheek against Zephyr's rough hand.

"Where did I go?"

Of course Noreat knew where he went, he had been stuck in an unconscious prison, a place between awake and asleep that only existed to make him uncomfortable.  He was extremely tired, and apparently it was some ungodly hour of the night, but he was awake and he had Zephyr.  The older King smiled, though Noreat noted that his smile looked more concerned than his usual boyish expression.

"You have been asleep all day, and half the night at this point."

The younger man cursed under his breath and shut his eyes.  He didn't know a person could sleep for this long!  The pain in his head was slipping away.  Perhaps whatever the compress was soaked in was absorbing the pain?  Yet when he tried to sit up his muscles gave out on him and he fall back against the mattress with a flop.  When Noreat tried to sit up again Zephyr's hand pressed down on his chest.

"Don't push yourself," he said softly.

Noreat didn't have the energy to argue with Zephyr.  He tried to nod, but when he moved his head the dull pain spiked.  Instead of nodding, the young King winced and stopped moving.  Perhaps he should listen to Zephyr.  Wait, what time was it?  All day and half the night?  It was some ungodly hour of the morning, and Zephyr was sitting next to him wide-awake!  Had Zephyr been here the entire time?

"…Please do not tell me you have been sitting at my side all day and night, Zephyr," mumbled the younger King.

The older King chuckled beside Noreat, his low laugh dulling some of the sharp pain in Noreat's head.  And even though he was complaining seconds ago, Noreat found himself hoping that Zephyr had been sitting beside him all day.  No one, other than a healer or Damien, had ever sat with him while he was unwell.  Granted, Noreat hardly got sick, but the idea of someone waiting with him until his physical state improved was rather comforting.  But he noted that not just anyone could do for this situation.  The fact that Zephyr was the one staying with him gave him such a feeling of contentment…

"Not all day.  Though I did come and check on you periodically, and I've been here since dinner," Zephyr explained.

That worked well enough.  Zephyr had spent a good amount of time pining over Noreat.  The young King smiled even through the pain in his head and finally remembered where his hand was under the covers.  He managed to pull it out and take one of Zephyr's hands.  The older King's fingers closed around Noreat's palm.  Noreat could feel the word he never said peeking out from its box under the desk.  He warned it to be patient.  It still wasn't time.  Even if he was so happy that Zephyr was taking care of him, that Zephyr was worried about him, it wasn't right.

"How is your head?"  Zephyr's hushed voice derailed Noreat's thoughts.

"Terrible, as if someone is repeatedly hitting it," complained the younger King.

"That probably won't fade until morning.  Are you still hearing the song?"

Noreat was about to say yes, when he suddenly found that his mind was rather quiet.  Actually, as soon as Noreat woke up the song seemed to stop. Every couple of minutes he might hear a single sad note, but the song itself had disappeared.

"No…how do you know about that?"  Noreat narrowed his gaze at Zephyr.

"I saw the dead dream eater."

Noreat had guessed by now that the creature that worked so very hard on trying to make him fall asleep was a dream eater.  Even with his limited knowledge of the fauna of Entity as he was starting to pass out yesterday the only conclusion he could come to was that the white-eyed creature was a dream eater.  A shiver passed through him as he remembered those white eyes.  Thankfully the song was gone.  As he quickly reviewed last night in his head, he also remembered the tan hound with gold eyes, the creature that saved him.

"What about the hound?"

Zephyr shifted uncomfortably in his seat.  Noreat wasn't sure why his gryphon King looked so disquieted all of a sudden.  Had the hound attacked him?  Noreat's eyes scanned Zephyr's body quickly.  There were no bandages on the King, but then again, he had his clothes on and those effectively blocked any view of the older man's skin.

"That was not a hound, Noreat," the gryphon King said carefully.  "That was a ferrin, and they are very dangerous creatures."

"And yet the one I met last night saved me," Noreat remarked.

"Yes…and that has never happened before.  Ferrins don't save people.  Sometimes Volusian wolves will take in children, but ferrins never help people."

The young King didn't understand.  Zephyr was acting rather upset that a ferrin had saved him.  Did the older King want all the glory?

"Why not a ferrin?"  The younger man prodded.

"Because they don't.  They never do.  Ferrins kill people for tiptoeing on their land.  They kill livestock and guard dogs.  They do not help people…"

Zephyr sounded confused, his mind running through options he had never considered.  Noreat didn't know what to tell his pet.  The ferrin had saved him, and Zephyr obviously saw the beast when he found Noreat, and the creature had killed neither of them.  It dawned on Noreat that both Zephyr and Iridesia had called Noreat "ferrin-lipped" in fits of anger.  Noreat had to wonder what those creatures could have done to have an insult created in their (dis)honor.  While his memories of last were a bit fuzzy he was fairly certain that the ferrin didn't try to attack him.  Maybe it growled and barked, but it didn't seem intent on hurting the young King.

Speaking of pain, while the one in Noreat's head was fading he was acutely aware of the bandages on his shoulder.  He managed to free one hand from under the covers and run his fingers along the cloth wrapped around his shoulder.  It took him a moment to remember the assassin from last night.  As he investigated the bandages Zephyr caught Noreat's hand and pulled it away.

"Don't bother it," his gryphon Kind requested.  "I promise you the healers have done a good job, there won't be a scar.  The bandages are just a precaution while it heals."

The young King nodded and curled his fingers around Zephyr's hand.  His memories were slowly tiptoeing back into his mind, perhaps anxious about being remembered.  Before the dream eater got him, Noreat had been trying to find Zephyr.  He had been so afraid for his pet.  The assassin in the garden…Noreat had dealt with her swiftly.  Since Zephyr was here he so he obviously had been fine…  Then again, Noreat couldn't see under Zephyr's clothes, he didn't know if he had his own injuries.

"Were you safe yesterday?"  The younger King asked.

To his relief, Zephyr smiled and nodded.

"Good.  I was terrified of the thought of an assassin taking you from me."

"It would take more than an assassin to keep me," Zephyr promised.

A second later Zephyr's smile faded.  Noreat wasn't sure why the older King looked so upset all of a sudden.  Weren't they both happy not even two seconds ago?  The young King released Zephyr's hand and brushed his fingers against his pet's chin.

"Why do you look like that?  What's wrong?"

Zephyr clasped Noreat's hand to his cheek for a moment.  A blanket of uncomfortable silence wrapped around the two.  The gryphon King was very worried, his mind very carefully picking the words for the next sentence.  Noreat felt as if he were sitting on an edge, waiting with baited breath for what Zephyr had to say.

"There was only one assassin last night, Noreat," Zephyr started.  "No others were found.  I had my guards search all over the palace and even through Highryn after I brought you back here, and their search came up empty."

"Then…I was the only target?  I've only been in Geofek for a handful of weeks!"

Noreat hadn't been in Geofek, or in Entity long enough to offend anyone that much!  And during this time he's been on his best behavior—especially the past week!  Who would want to kill him?  …Iridesia would, but would that girl stoop so low as to hire an assassin behind her father's back?  The girl was rash and stupid, but surely Zephyr had instilled some form of intelligence in her.  If she were half her father she would know better than to try to kill Noreat!  And even if Iridesia had called for Noreat's death the young King would never be able to convince his pet that she had.  Zephyr was blinded by his love for his child, and he would never entertain the idea of her trying to kill Noreat.  Bringing up the topic would be a waste of breath and words.

"Which is probably why it is best for you to leave soon…" Zephyr's voice leaked into Noreat's mind.

Noreat's heart tripped over itself in his chest and forgot how to beat properly for a few seconds.  Leave?  But Noreat had spent so little time with Zephyr!  He couldn't leave yet, he wasn't ready to!  A little over two weeks was not enough time for the young King!  Sure, an assassin had attacked him, but he had very effectively killed her!  Noreat was fine, Zephyr was fine, and he didn't have to go back to Dwal yet.

"Noreat?"  Zephyr rough hand squeezed Noreat's.

"Are you sure that leaving is my only choice?"  The young King sputtered.

"It is the only safe option at this point," the gryphon King's voice was laced with misery.  "Trust me when I say that I don't want you to leave, but if it will keep you safe…then I have to insist.  I will not let you die."

Stupid romantic caring old man! Zephyr was asking him to leave to keep him safe, how could anyone easily ask that?  By now Zephyr had probably spoken to Damien about this idiotic plan and Noreat would be forced to leave!  And while the older King looked like it pained him to ask something like this of Noreat, he could tell that Zephyr was going to push for this.  Against his will Noreat would have to leave Entity sooner than he planned!  

Quick, he had to figure out a way to bargain for one more day with Zephyr.  He had been denied yesterday and this night, there had to be some way…  Another day in the mountains?  No, that would be too obvious.  Think, think!

"I still owe you a treaty," Noreat said a bit too quickly.  "We haven't even drawn up a draft.  I promised you men for your conflict with Yman."

The older King hesitated.  "Given the situation, a verbal agreement would satisfy me."

"But it would not satisfy me.  Advisors are well versed in how to twist words and make a promise sound like a passing idea.  They would find a way around our agreement.  We have to have a treaty drawn up, and…and…" the young King dug around in a box on the floor of his mind for an idea, "you still owe me a walk along the river!"

…Well, other than sounding incredibly pathetic, he did say something.  Perhaps if he had all of his mental capacities Noreat could have created a better argument, but with his head still hurting and him being as fatigued as he was, he didn't have the ability to spin a carefully constructed perfectly persuasive sentence.  The young King would curse himself if Zephyr weren't sitting right next to him.

Almost reluctantly, Noreat glanced over his pet.  True to his nature, Zephyr was smiling slightly, perhaps aware that Noreat had been spinning his words to earn more time with the gryphon King.  The older King chuckled in that boyish way Noreat coveted and shook his head.

"I get the distinct feeling that I cannot convince you otherwise," the gryphon King didn't sound upset.

"You can talk until you're out of breath but I'm not leaving for another day," Noreat vowed.

Zephyr nodded.  "Then I won't waste my breath."

Just like that Noreat won.  To be fair, Zephyr didn't fight much.  Perhaps Zephyr had been hoping that Noreat would wish to stay for at least one more day?  From the look of that contented smile on Zephyr's lips Noreat guessed that his pet had been.  The young King smiled back at his gryphon King and tugged his hand towards the bed.

"Come over here already," Noreat demanded.

On cue, Zephyr took the no longer cold compress off Noreat's head and set it aside.  Noreat's head was feeling much better now anyways and the compress was no longer required.  The older King then pulled off his vest and shirt, and climbed into bed with Noreat.  The young King curled up next to his pet, resting his head in its "place" in the center of Zephyr's chest.

"How do you expect me to get any sleep when I get home without you?"  Murmured the tired King.

Suddenly Noreat's cheeks felt hot as he realized his thought had made it past his mind's filter and out his mouth.  Now he was sounding even more childish and pathetic!  He tried to bury his red cheeks in Zephyr's chest.  But a second later Zephyr's hand ran up and down Noreat's back, soothing any fears Noreat had felt seconds ago.  He should know better by now.  Anything he said to his pet the man took in strides, and especially if he said something half as romantic as what Zephyr usually said.

"I'm sorry," murmured the older man.

"You should be," Noreat smiled as his flushed cheeks returned to their normal tone.

The young King shut his eyes a moment later.  Best not to let any more embarrassing thoughts slip out.  Even if Zephyr always reacted well to them he didn't want to say them too often.  That damn word was creeping about the floor of his mind.  …Maybe it wasn't so bad of a term…

The gentle drumming of Zephyr's heart chased away the few sad notes from the dream eater's song that had stuck in his mind, and the young King was able to fall asleep within a few minutes.  This time he slept soundly and even dreamed.

A handful of hours later, Zephyr had to leave Noreat.  Treaties were official business and the two Kings would have to look presentable today (not that the two ever looked non-presentable) when they met with their combined advisors.  Noreat managed to steal a couple of kisses from Zephyr before his pet left.  He hated watching Zephyr leave.  As soon as the gryphon King was gone, Noreat had bathed and was dressed for the day.  When he was good and ready, he slipped into the dinning room of the guest mansion where he found Damien eating breakfast.  The magician perked when he saw his King and gave Noreat a quick bow.

"I'm glad to see that you're feeling better Your Majesty, and that a treaty is being drawn up," the magician said.

Noreat nodded to his bodyguard and sat down to eat a quick breakfast.  The sooner he was done the sooner he could get back to Zephyr.  Sure, they would be working on a treaty, but it still would be time spent with his pet.  Damien couldn't help but notice how intent Noreat was on finishing his food and darting off to see the King of Geofek.

"The King was adamant about staying with you the night before when he carried you back here," Damien said as smoothly as possible.  "Then in the morning he left, and came back after dinner last night."

"Zephyr carried me here?"  Noreat's ice blue eyes lit up.

His faithful bodyguard nodded.  The young King had to stifle an excited giggle and instead smiled widely.

"He failed to mention that."

"He seems rather taken with you."

Noreat stopped eating and cast an unamused glance at Damien.  Was his bodyguard trying to hint at something?  The young King was painfully aware that Damien always knew what was going on in his life, but usually he didn't speak out on it.  It was rather rare for anyone to comment on the young King's relationships.  Most of the time Damien did his best to ignore Noreat's escapades, why did he feel the need to comment on this one?

"I have noticed," Noreat said slowly, "does that bother you, Damien?"

Now the magician was aware that Noreat wasn't taking kindly to Damien's tone.  The magician shrugged hesitantly.  He didn't want his King angry with him.

"It was merely an observation, my lord."

That was a lie.  The magician had passed his judgment on the relationship by now.  While Damien did an excellent job of keeping Noreat safe, it was at the cost of always knowing what was going on in Noreat's life.  The young King didn't really care for Damien's thoughts on this matter, he was King and Damien was required to respect that.  Besides, the magician knew nothing of what was going on.  This wasn't the same game Noreat played with others; this wasn't a game at all.  This was real.  Zephyr and he…their relationship was so much more.
  
"I will tell the advisors to get ready," Damien said as he excused himself from the table.

Noreat waved the man off.  He didn't quite care for whatever Damien thought he knew about Zephyr and him.  Damien would never speak out on his thoughts.  Instead he simply made them known to his King.  It was his way of reminding Noreat that his life was far from private.  Most of the time Damien tried to control any gossipers, keeping Noreat's escapades under the rug.  Noreat admired how very hard Damien worked to protect the young King both physically and publically, but something like this didn't need to be controlled.  This was something Noreat wanted people to know.  Zephyr of Geofek was all his, and no one would take the gryphon King from him.

An hour or so later the two Kings were brought back together, flanked by three or four of their advisors, Damien, and a man in armor who Noreat presumed to be Zephyr's new bodyguard.  Ever since the attempted assassination of the visiting King, Zephyr had increased the guard count around and inside the palace.  Damien explained that the King had even hired a number of new elementalists, adding them into the ranks of regular soldiers, as an extra line of magical defense.

Writing the treaty took all afternoon.  It probably wouldn't have taken half as long as it did if the advisers would simply be quiet and let the Kings talk.  Zephyr and Noreat wanted a simple treaty, one that promised the other aid given any situation they needed it in.  The treaty should also allude to the idea of trade being set up between the two kingdoms, but they didn't know what to trade yet since the two kingdoms hadn't compared their wares.  Zephyr and Noreat hadn't been talking much business as of late.  After several hours of endless banter the monarchs decided to hush their advisors and put forth a new treaty.

Once Noreat returned to Dwal he would have his advisors take an inventory of what they deemed suitable for trade and would send word with descriptions of the items.  Zephyr's advisors would do the same.  In the end, the two countries could pick what they wanted to trade and would start the exchange as soon as possible.  As for the promise of arms and men, there was no debate.  The Mountainous Land and Geofek were now allies, and they would go to war for the other should their ruler request aid.  Thankfully, Noreat's advisors and Damien had already explained to Zephyr and a select few advisors where the portal was and how it generally worked.  Damien warned the older King that the portals worked in mysterious ways, and not everyone would be allowed through to Dwal, so he should send extra people to the portal whenever someone was to go through.

Finally, around dinner, both parties were satisfied and finished with the treaty.  The Kings signed off on the pieces of parchment (one for each country) and their official business was done.  As the advisors started to clear out Noreat slid up beside Zephyr.

"Now that we are done with all of that insufferable madness, I do believe you owe me a walk along the river," the young King smiled.

Zephyr mirrored Noreat's expression and nodded.

"I wouldn't dare go back on my word," the older King explained.

"Then we are set.  After dinner I'll meet you outside my guest mansion, while it is still light out, and we'll go for our walk."

The gryphon King chuckled.  "The dream eaters won't come for you again, I will make sure of it."

"And how can you guarantee my safety?"

"Light.  Dream eaters never approach anyone if there is light in the area."

Which would account for why the torches were put out the other night when Noreat was waiting for Zephyr.  Someone had been hoping for a dream eater to wander up to the castle in case the assassin failed.  There was no possible way that everything that had transpired the other night had been a coincidence.

Noreat's chain of thought was once again broken as Zephyrs lips brushed against his forehead.  The old man was very good at making Noreat change his thoughts.  Then again, it was much easier to focus on his gryphon King than focusing on the attempt on his life.  Besides, Damien was probably on edge now and would follow the two tonight, so they would be safe.

The young King smiled and managed to plant a quick kiss on Zephyr's cheek before the older man pulled away.  The two Kings laced fingers and walked to dinner together.  Thankfully, Zephyr's cooks had begun preparing dinner while they were still in negotiations.  As soon as the sun touched the horizon line dinner was served.  Noreat couldn't wait for the meal to end.
*flips a table* THERE, I FINISHED IT.

I hate scenes like these, I hate them. It's one of those in-between action scenes full of important information, but nothing incredibly interesting happens. I always have a problem writing in-between scenes like these. I've scrapped and rewritten this for the past couple of days. Finally, this morning, I decided to make the executive decision to be done with this scene so I can just move on. One day I'll come back and edit it and make it shiny and spectacular, but right now I'm not going to. I have more important and exciting things to happen to these boys and I will not let writer's block stop me!

That being said, I do like the part of this scene where Damien's all like: "I see what you're doing with Zephyr, and I don't exactly approve." Also, this would not be the first time Zephyr sent someone he loved far away from him to keep them safe. No matter how much Zephyr loves someone, if they're in danger he will send them to the Northern Circle if it means they'll be alright.

OFFICIAL BUSINESS BETWEEN KINGS IS BORING. LET'S GET TO SOME ROMANCE/ACTION!

It should be a no brainer at this point, but Misty drew some pretty art so look at it!

Part I --> [link]
Part II --> [link]


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King Noreat, Damien © :iconmistytang:
King Zephyr © Me
© 2011 - 2024 GrimReapette
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