Where the Storm Lulls Ch. 2

"Which one would you like, sir?" the stern butler said to Kile.

He looked at the many ties before him, seeking out the one that would best serve his purposes. He grinned when he saw the one that he wanted and took it. He tied it around his neck in a hard-to-get-off knot and smiled at the butler, "How do I look, Jensen?"

The butler scrunched up his nose at the smiling boy, "Sufficiently out of fashion, sir."

"Good."

Then, Kile left, waving to the many guards that stopped to take a double take of him, "How are you?" Kile would call to them, and they would just smile at him and shake their heads. They knew the game he was playing.

Kile had always had a bad sense of style, so when he thought the tie was significantly hideous, he knew it was true. It would certainly be enough to attract Eadlyn's attention, and he knew it.

Yes, he decided, he knew how to play this game very, very well.

He had known Eadlyn since she was a baby, he even had a flicker of memory of her when she was about three running around the palace with a nurse trying to catch her. If Kile was correct, the fashion forward princess didn't have any clothes on at the time. So he knew how she would react to this.

He entered the dining hall, quickly catching everyone's eye: the tie was extremely bright colored, it would make sense that everyone saw it. Eadlyn's reaction caught his eye and Kile couldn't help but smile. Eadlyn was good at hiding her emotions but her disapproval and disgust for the tie could easily be seen by someone who knew her, and, next to Ahren, Kile was the one who knew her the best. So, even though her face was devoid of emotion, Kile saw the spark of annoyance in her eyes.

But he knew she wouldn't approach him in front of the cameras, so when he heard the clap of heels behind him when everyone left breakfast, he just turned around and waited for her to get to him.

The dress she had on swept behind her dramatically, and Kile used his architect's eye to see why. He had already begun to be able to see how dresses worked the way they did through what Eadlyn had taught him when they were snuggled up with her designs and he easily adapted his eye that he had developed for architecture to be able to see how the dresses were made. For this dress, he could easily see Eadlyn's signature in it, the dramatic, but productive V of the neckline and the dark, yet feminine color of the dress screamed Eadlyn's style, but what held his attention the most (to be honest, what held his attention the most was what the neckline teased, but what he would SAY held his attention) was the hemline. It started out mid-thigh in the front, but dramatically swept down to be floor-length in the back. It was…Eadlyn, and, next to her, he looked like a train wreck.

She bounced in front of him, immediately tugging on the tie, "You can NOT wear this tie. If burning the other one would solve world peace, this one would solve world hunger."

"I like the multicolored polka dots," he said, as the princess tugged mercilessly at his tie, "Own, Eady. Try not to kill me, would you?"

At the sound of her nickname, she stopped and looked at him. Suddenly, she was tugging him towards a supply closet and pulling him in by the tie-turned-leash. Before he knew it, her lips were on his and he was backed up against the shelves.

"What did I do?" Kile asked, not that he minded having Eadlyn kiss him (to be honest, he would NEVER mind Eadlyn kissing him. Not that he would ever tell her that.).

In reply, Eadlyn made a noise in the back of her throat, not really wanting to let go of his lips to tell him.

Kile put his hands on her upper arms (why was her skin always so soft?) and gently pushed her away, not far enough to where she thought he was rejecting her, but far enough that he could talk to her, "Is it because I called you Eady?"

She searched his eyes for something, and Kile was startled to find that her eyes were…unguarded. Totally and completely unguarded, "Maybe," she said.

Kile raised his eyebrows at her, "The nickname your twin brother calls you is what got you to kiss me? Do you kiss Ahren like that?"

"Ew, Kile."

He threw his hands in surrender, and she shook her head at him, softly smiling, "You say it…differently. When Ahren said it," she shrugged, "It was just a term of endearment, but when you do…"

She wouldn't say it, her pride and arrogance wouldn't let her tell him why the name was so powerful against her, because it was just that: powerful against her. That was when Kile knew Eadlyn didn't trust him. She wouldn't tell him something that had power over her because she was afraid he would use it against him. She didn't trust him not to use it the wrong way, to use it against her and take away her power, her throne, and her independence.

But he wanted her to.

For some reason, in every fiber of his being, he WANTED her to trust him. HE wanted her to be able to depend on him to lift her up when she's down, catch her when she falls, carry her to her bed when she's tired, protect her when she needs protecting, to step back or forward whenever she needs him or doesn't, to be there for her when no one was, to stand up for her when no one else would, or to just simply be there for her so that when she reached her hand back, seeking some encouragement, his hand would always be RIGHT THERE.

Kile wouldn't call it love (or maybe he just didn't WANT to, but he wasn't going to think of that), but maybe…tenderness? Friendship? He wanted to take care of her, and…she didn't have anyone else that would.

Even when Ahren was here Kile didn't think he took care of Eadlyn like she needed him to, and if no one else was going to do it, Kile was.

He pulled her closer to him, enveloping her small frame in his large arms, leaning over her to fully encase her in him, hoping to make her feel safe. He dipped his head onto her shoulder as she made a small noise that sounded like a sigh. Kile wondered if she had made the sound consciously or not, but decided it didn't matter, going back to his original plan.

When he started whispering the nickname into the smooth skin on her shoulder, her head fell back and leaned towards him, resting her head against his to hear better. The soft sigh came again and Kile knew that it was subconscious, Eadlyn wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

It wasn't the best plan, but the name seemed to calm her, and the fact that he hadn't pressed her for answers about why it was different when he said it would, hopefully, help her to trust him more.

He thought about telling her not to worry about the talk with his mom, but he thought that would be too much for her, and…baby steps. So instead, he said, "About the tie…"

Eadlyn made a noise in the back of her throat, acknowledging that she remembered what he was talking about (to be honest, Kile wasn't sure if she did. He wasn't even sure if he did).

"You can have this one too." He made no moves to take it off though, knowing that then he would have to remove his arms from him. She seemed to know that because her arms went between them to work out the knot, even when she couldn't see "I can always get a new polka dot one, and we can't have people going hungry, can we?"

Later that night, Kile found his tie drawer open and empty with a box on top of the dresser. He opened it up to find a note on top of them that was clearly left by Eadlyn.

Kile Something Woodwork,

Here are the ONLY polka dot ties you can EVER wear. Notice that none of them have neon colors. By the way, I also took that God-forsaken camo jacket in the back of your closet. Under no circumstances will I allow you to wear a CAMO SUIT.

Eady.

"Jensen?" Kile asked.

The butler appeared at his side, "Sir?"

"How fast can you get me a camo tie?"