No Copyright infringement intended, the characters belong to The Royals on E! but the story is my own.

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(Alternating points of view)

Eleanor stood in her closet staring at herself in the full length mirror. She had been there for 15 minutes, just looking at her nearly naked body. This was her morning routine, wake up, weigh herself, and then stare at her body in the mirror, scrutinizing every ounce of fat. She pinched her stomach and hips, groaning inwardly. A knock at the bedroom door made her jump. She had somewhere to be, somewhere important, and feeling fat was not an acceptable excuse.

He had been standing in the corner of the elaborate dining room with the other guards while the family dined. While the other guards stood rigid and disinterested, Jasper couldn't help but watch her. Seated near the end of the table, her mother to her left, Eleanor toyed with her food. He doubted that anyone else even noticed how she would cut her food up into miniscule bites, often spending half the meal time just cutting and arranging the food on her plate. Rarely taking a bite. The conversation drifted from topic to topic, before settling on dessert choices for the upcoming gala. The Queen wanted something exotic and opulent. Glancing back to Eleanor, Jasper could see the colour had drained from her thin face.

She noisily pushed her chair back and stood up, discreetly grabbing the back of Penelope's chair. The room spun violently and she was seeing stars. But the thought of enduring another conversation about food while being forced to sit at the table was entirely too much. "If you'll excuse me..." she began, before bolting from the room. She didn't stop to see if he followed her, she already knew he would. Her hands were shaking as she pushed open her bedroom doors and moved to sit in one of the wing-back chairs. She was freezing. Her dress barely covering her arms and legs. She leaned her head back against the plush fabric, closing her tired eyes.

She nearly sprinted from the room, and Jasper had to jog to catch up with her. As he entered her room, he was struck by how tiny she looked sitting in the chair. Had she always looked so small? "Are you alright, Len?" Jasper stepped closer, sitting down on the small table in front of her. She opened her eyes to look at him. Her beautiful green eyes had lost all their glimmer and life. The dull, dead eyes that looked back at him nearly broke his heart. He reached a hand out to brush away a stray hair from her face. "Jesus, you're ice cold," Jasper began before standing up and holding out his arms, "come here."

Eleanor let out a deep sigh and pushed herself up from the chair. She was so exhausted, there was nothing left in her body, nothing left to give her energy or life. But as she got to her feet, the room spun once more. She instinctively grabbed for something to steady herself, her hands finding purchase on Jaspers coat lapels. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her toward him. His body heat instantly hit her. The need to be warm was overwhelming, so she didn't stop herself from nuzzling into him.

"Why don't you put on something a bit warmer and I'll see if I can get you warmed up." Her skin was like ice. It broke his heart every time he saw her like this. The stress of her world was destroying her and he struggled to find and amplify the moments that made it better, made her happy. Eleanor pulled away, slowly and went to change. Jasper removed his suit coat and tie, dropping both on the now vacant chair. He slipped off his shoes and went to the luxurious bed. The room was warm, Eleanor had asked the staff to keep a fire burning in her hearth to ward off the impending autumn chill. Slipping into the satin sheets, Jasper could hear the water running in the bathroom. The water continued to run and the faint sound, coupled with the cloud-like mattress, nearly lulled him to sleep. Jasper shook himself away as she emerged. "I have the bed all warm for you. Come, you need some sleep." Her sweatpants hung off her hips and the long-sleeved shirt she wore, one he distinctly remembered her wearing out a few weeks before, now sagged off her thin shoulder and hung loose around her waist. Her makeup was smudged under her eyes, making them appear more sunken.

He was entirely too warm to be human. She marveled at how a body could produce so much warmth. He had wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back closer to his chest, and she could feel his warm breath in her hair. The blankets would not have been enough. Her throat was raw. Her stomach was cramping. She was shivering, despite his touch. As Jasper's hands slid down her torso, fears and nagging thoughts crept into her mind. "What if he can feel my fat, what if he is disgusted by me, what it, what if." Her mind slowly came to a stop as sleep finally pulled her withering body under.

He knew she was asleep; he could see the stress leave her body as she settled into sleep. His hand slid to her hip, his thumb caressing the protruding bone there. Her stomach was concave, the skin stretched tightly over her organs and bones. His mind wandered to their last night together, how frail her body looked, how he worried he might hurt her. He remembered every divet, every bone, he had kissed and teased each one, driving her over the edge more than once. Only two nights before, she had been moving beneath him, now she was barely able to hold her head up. The reasons made his heart clench. He drifted off listening to her slow breaths and the sound of the fire crackling across the room.

When he woke to her shivering some hours later, he pulled her closer, turning her so she faced him. She tucked her arms into her chest and rested her head against his shoulder.