It took quite a bit for someone to make Kendra truly angry. Usually a threat towards someone she cared about was the only thing that could push her over that emotional edge. But here she was, stewing in fury for the second day in a row, sitting at one of the dining tables and bitterly tapping her finger against it, glaring down at her vegetable soup.
She couldn't believe what the guards were pulling, keeping her completely out of the loop as to Kyle's condition. His parents and brother had been up three times since their initial trip, but not Kendra, it wasn't even considered. Prejudice seemed to be the order of the day. The guards didn't want this new human to cross the threshold of Kyle's room. Because she might be a threat to the prince's safety, pulling out some bullshit excuse that perhaps humans carried an illness that he would be completely vulnerable to.
She guessed that Prince Ike and Stan must have preposterously strong immune systems then if they trusted them so much.
The king and queen had only told her that he wasn't holding up that well, seemed to be in more pain than his usual bouts. Sheila could barely hold herself together and maintain that air of dignity Kendra so respected from her. And Gerald and Ike were just quiet, staring off into nothingness and murmuring reassurances to all of them that maybe it was just stronger because of aging. That maybe it'd finally hit its peak and would stop forever after this one. Empty promises to a melancholic audience.
No one was kidding when they told her the air of the palace would be completely shifted during this time. Everyone was quiet, most kept their heads down. The sanctuary was almost always populated with servants and townspeople coming in from the outer doors, linking hands and praying, most stopping to see their sovereigns to give them identical, scripted words of comfort. Kendra could only think of it as pre-mourning, like they collectively gathered and made the decision to begin so that if they did lose him, at least they had a head start on the process.
She shook her head, shoving her soup away and leaning her chin down atop folded arms. She hated this. She hated being so fucking kept away from him. The last two days had been only filled with chatter from Butters and Heidi, who'd begun an unofficial run as her very first personal handmaiden per Sheila's choked suggestion. 'Why bother with her,' Kendra thought bitterly. 'If Kyle… dies… then I just go back to Kupa Keep…' she sighed, eyes burning as she traced her gaze along the woodgrain patterns of the table. It just wasn't fair. The one elf in the whole damn kingdom who looked at her like an equal was down and out, and she was only allowed snippets of updates. She just wanted to see him, to hear him. She wanted the simplest of things, and even as royalty, she was being denied.
But Stan got to be up there. That human got to fucking be with him and help him through this mess. Stan got every fucking thing he wanted when it came to Kyle. Because apparently, they were just so goddamn close. Her fists clenched, the tight fabric of her gloves straining with the pressure. The thought made her blood boil. It just wasn't fucking fair that he was given every advantage that she wasn't. Being with him longer or not, she was Kyle's goddamn fiancé. He shouldn't be allowed to have such a higher ranking than herself in this situation.
"Your Highness, are you all right?" a soft voice breeched.
She glanced over to see Heidi sitting next to her, cocking her head in concern. Kendra just gave a lackluster shrug, a small sniffle escaping before she could stop it.
Heidi's face fell pitiably. "I know it's hard," she coaxed, folding her hands in her lap. "It's not fair that they're keeping you out. But I'm sure that they have a good reason. Prince Kyle may be dangerous to your safety," she winced.
Kendra frowned deeper, leaning upright and snagging her paper and quill from in front of a sympathetic Butters on her other side. He'd been uncharacteristically quiet throughout her pouting ordeal, probably finally figuring out that patting her shoulder and going 'there there' wasn't doing anything but making her angrier. She shook her head as she scribed, script losing its typical elegance in the haste of bubbling emotions. She huffed out a breath, shoving the paper over in front of Heidi.
'I don't care. I should be allowed to see him. This is just because his ranger doesn't like me. I know he's behind this.'
Heidi's eyes flickered back up to meet Kendra's, a gulp receding down her throat. She couldn't exactly tell her that her assumption was unfounded. Not a soul in the palace didn't know of Stan's disdain towards the princess. How he glared, how he tried keeping Kyle away from her, how he constantly made claims that something was wrong with her and she was a danger more than anything. It put everyone in quite a difficult position, knowing that Kendra was royalty and held a higher standing than themselves… But Stan was Kyle's right-hand man. His authority, personally rather than monarchically, stood above her own prowess over the people. No one knew who to follow closer, creating a strange rift between the servants that Heidi had found herself pondering all the near-two months that Kendra had been within their kingdom.
She still didn't know how, but Kendra had won her over. She could only figure it was from seeing how she'd charmed the royal family already. If they respected her, then she figured that she should do the same. But she seemed to be almost alone on that ship, everyone else merely tolerating the human's presence, staring at Heidi strangely for the last two days after she'd told them her new assignment. Some gave her sympathetic pats, some told her 'good, maybe you can learn more about her and we can know just what it is we're working with without it being all rumors'. Some glared, especially those among the elders. They told her she was too close, that it was bad enough the prince was being 'poisoned' by Kendra's company, they didn't need to lose more elves to her 'fiendish ways'.
But, so far, she'd found their spiteful tones to be beyond speculative. All she'd seen for two days was pure misery on that silent face, how she wanted so badly to know of Kyle's condition at all times and how frustrated she was getting with no answers being presented. It was touching, those stories she'd heard in her youth of humans being as cold and impassive as stone were being swept away in the ebbing tide of wonder that seemed to follow the princess with every move she made. It was fascinating, but terrifying. She couldn't help but question just how much of her childhood had been concocted within these lies, how many cultures she'd blindly hated just because of folklore.
For now, she supposed, it didn't matter. She found enough proof to the contrary. She had a living, breathing human staring at her for a response, and those light blue eyes were anything but emotionless. They were crawling with bloodshot worry, a layer of water she seemed to be desperately holding back to keep herself composed enough to wade through this tumultuous time.
Heidi sighed, nodding subtly. "I can't say you're wrong," she finally answered. "Sir Stanley is…" she trailed off, searching for an appropriate phrase.
"A jackass," Craig input from beside Butters, taking a long sip of coffee as the other three stared at him. "Thinks he owns the prince."
"Now, now that ain't true I don't think," Butters pouted, looking over at the elf. "Heidi, that ain't true, right?"
"Own? …No," she said cautiously. "But… he is… possessive. In that he just really doesn't want the prince to be hurt on his watch. Or ever," she shrugged. "He's very dedicated to his duties. As he should be."
Craig rolled his eyes, setting down his cup and locking stares with her. "Dedicated and obsessive are two different things. He isn't just devoted to the family. If he had it his way, the prince wouldn't ever be allowed to request he leave him alone for any activity. I saw him the other week getting shoved out of the library by the prince because he couldn't concentrate with him breathing down his neck. Marsh needs to learn his guarding boundaries."
Kendra grabbed her paper, looking down and writing as Heidi retorted, "Listen, I don't know much of life in Kupa Keep, and I know little of the princess as of yet," she gestured to Kendra who continued her mission. "But I can only assume that she isn't nearly as sickly as Prince Kyle. Have you ever nearly lost her before?"
Butters bit his lip and shook his head, "No, Ma'am, we haven't. Near perfect health, huh, Princess?" Kendra nodded, keeping her eyes focused down.
"Then you don't understand," she said quietly. "Every single member of this kingdom wants to protect him from whatever is happening to him. How would you feel if the dependency of every subject was thrown onto you, being the one person close enough to always be on the front lines for him? Sir Stanley was trained to handle outside forces, but he can't protect the prince from himself, so he feels like he's failing. It would kill anyone to be in that position, especially with their friendship," she winced. "I agree that he is far too harsh on Princess Kendra, but he is not a bad person."
"Never said that," Craig held up a defensive hand. "I said he needs to learn his place. Kendra comes first in the prince's life now. He can't handle the fact that he's been demoted to second runner."
Butters scratched up by his ear, "I-I think Stan means well. He just… well he just ain't very good at trustin' anyone with Prince Kyle. I betcha he has trouble even with his own family sometimes."
"Knowing him? Probably," Craig scoffed, taking another sip of his drink. "And, I'm sorry, the prince is sickly, but he's not fucking glass. He looks like he could fuck you up good if you got him angry enough."
Heidi chuckled, "You have no idea. I saw him and another Drow prince get into it once when he was… I believe sixteen," she shrugged. "He was so insulting to the Broflovskis and Larnion, calling us all lower-class and 'full of ourselves' for claiming to still be the Elven capital, as though it weren't true," she scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Prince Kyle held it in for a good two days before he just pummeled him. If Sir Stanley and Sir Clyde hadn't pulled him off, I don't think that prince would have made it to head back home," she laughed. "Surprisingly, our trades with that land have been amazing since then. Apparently, the other prince's father was tired of his son being like that as well. Told Prince Kyle he would be known forever in their land as 'the Brawling King' when he took the throne."
Craig shrugged, "See? Marsh is overreacting. Kyle can handle himself. Doesn't need this ridiculous level of martyrdom."
Kendra sighed, shaking her head before handing Heidi her completed note, with the inscription 'Read aloud please. Quietly, though.' Heidi looked at her a moment, seeing the plea in her eyes and nodding, leaning in towards the two across the table. "'I'm done waiting around. I'm getting in to see him. Stanley shouldn't be allowed to make that call, but I need your help. If Kyle is so dangerous, then Craig can go up with me, that's fine. But Heidi and Butters, I need you two to get the guard away from Kyle's door so I can get past. Either that or I'm smashing something over the guard's head. You make the call.'"
The three of them looked at her and her determined face, Heidi unable to help a small smile. "You really want to check on him, don't you?" Kendra nodded briskly, clasping her hands together and shaking them in front of her. Heidi shrugged, seeing the waiting expressions of the boys across from her and smiling. "Well. I don't think we can deny the request of royalty. Can we?"
"Back up, Princess," Craig muttered, pulling her further back from staring blatantly around the corridor corner and rolling his eyes. "For someone who can't make noise, you're not exactly stealthy."
Kendra glared at him, flipping him off and getting a rare smirk out of the rogue as they peered around the edge of the wall, watching Heidi and Butters walking down towards a very bored guard standing outside Kyle's bedroom door. A calling agent, Kendra had been told. Someone to shout a code word for Stan to hear and get the prince hidden and safe should some outside attack occur.
Heidi made way to the guard, face dropped with worry as she stared at him. "Sir, there's a problem," she said urgently, getting his attention locked down on her. "Myself and this paladin saw someone suspicious lingering around the eastern wall," she pointed down the way. "Everyone else is patrolling the kingdom. Can you please come see? The princess herself requested it, for the prince's safety," she added, letting her lip wobble in the slightest.
The guard stood up straighter, brow cocking. "What exactly did you see?"
"A-a figure in a cloak!" Butters answered, rubbing his knuckles together nervously. "Was just pacin' up and down… s-seemed like he was lookin' for a higher window. And well… if he finds the prince's window…"
"Shit," he said angrily, turning towards the stairs.
Heidi grasped his arm, "Don't say anything yet," she begged. "If it isn't something and the prince is rushed around trying to get hidden, we could exacerbate his illness for no reason! Myself or the paladin will run back here to inform Sir Stanley if there is reason to hide him, we're very fast."
"The fastest," Butters echoed firmly with a curt nod. "Can we show ya where he was?"
The guard looked between them and the door before nodding back. "Yeah. Let's hurry," he urged, gesturing for them to lead the way. They did so with gusto, the three of them speed walking down the hallway.
Kendra and Craig watched them intensively until they rounded another corner before jolting out of their spot and heading to Kyle's door. "Be quiet about it, don't startle Marsh," Craig warned as soon as her hand hit the door. Kendra blinked over at him and he shrugged. "If he hears you runnin' up the steps, Heidi's right, he'd move to go to hide Kyle and risk fucking him up more. So be subtle."
Kendra sighed, but nodded. He had a point.
She glanced around for passersby before genially pulling open the door, looking up the staircase to the upper level and gulping. She stepped inside, Craig slipping in behind and silently closing the door as she began her ascension. Her eyes hit one of the torches, glowing with a strange ethereal light and cocking her head. The glow was eerie, reminded her far too much of how Kyle's eyes were enveloped in the same ghastly appearance. She swallowed, a shudder ricocheting down her spine as she lifted her skirt and continued making her way up towards the landing, struggling to make her heavy heels keep silent by staying on her toes. She tongued over her lips, approaching the daylight streaming through Kyle's bedroom, keeping her head low as she hit the top of the staircase.
Craig stepped up beside of her, both slowly lifting their heads up to peer over the floor level, finding themselves straight across from Kyle's bed with Stan sitting on the side, staring down at the prince and wiping down his face with a rag.
Kendra's heart fell into her toes, seeing thick bindings wrapped around his wrists and kept over his head. Kyle was beyond pale, face wet with sweat and tears. Even from the distance, she could see him shivering, hear his teeth clattering and the rasped difficulty of his breathing.
"It's okay, Ky," Stan said gently at a long-winded whine from the body beneath him. "I'm right here, Dude."
Kyle's eyes opened, completely bleared out, seeing nothing but a fuzzed figure before him, just barely able to recognize that voice. "St-tan," he whispered, flinching violently. "Un… un… a-arms…" he stammered, trying to pull his hands down, his heart racing in a befuddled panic.
Stan sighed to himself, shaking his head. Every ten minutes, like clockwork. Kyle would pass out and wake back up, forgetting he'd already asked to be untied and fighting until he finally fell back asleep. "I can't, Ky," he winced, softly pressing Kyle's struggling arms back onto the bed. His eyes drifted to the rawness beneath the binding, hating it with every fiber of his being. "You'll hurt yourself," he said, more for himself than Kyle, to remind him that this amount of suffering was necessary. "I'm sorry," his voice cracked and he forced it back down.
Tears welled in Kyle's blinded eyes, breath staggering. "H-help," he begged.
Kendra's own eyes filled, a hand slowly going over her covered mouth, just hearing every ounce of agony he was suffering through. She could feel it stabbing into her as it circulated the air around them, vicious pinpricks assaulting her nerves; and she wished she was truly taking it on for herself so he could just have a few moments of escape from this.
Stan sniffled before coughing himself back into a more stable position, not wanting to further the issue. "I am helping you," he promised, reaching up and cupping Kyle's face in his hands, leaning over him.
Kendra's hand dropped from her mouth, eyes slowly widening and jaw falling agape in the slightest at what was happening in front of her, feeling a hefty nausea swelling in her throat.
Craig shook his head, mouthing an irritated, 'Don't do it. Don't you fucking do it.'
Stan leaned his forehead down atop Kyle's own, eyes scrunching tightly and thumbs stroking over thin cheekbones. Kyle just whimpered, continuing to slur out pleas for his help, not comprehending what was happening above him, only knowing that Stan was holding his head but he wasn't being what he needed. "Shhhh," Stan pleaded as he began to cough out confused sobs. "I got you, Kyle. I'm right here," he promised, pressing down and sealing their lips against one another's.
The world may as well have dropped from Kendra's knelt form, entire body stiffening, heartbeat deafening as she watched the show before her. Craig just groaned under his breath, rubbing his eyes with his forefinger and thumb and shaking his head.
Idiot. What a fucking idiot.
He glanced over at the princess, wincing at the utter shock plastered over her half-veiled face. She gulped, hands quaking. It made sense.
It all made so much fucking sense.
How did she not see this?!
Stan pulled back with a shaking breath, pecking him again before redirecting and planting his lips against Kyle's forehead, resting there and closing his eyes to Kyle's continued sniveling. Kendra slowly pivoted, turning away and sitting herself down on the step below the floor-level view, staring blankly at the staircase.
This hurt. This hurt a lot more than she would have expected.
A guilt gnawed away at her chest. Was she getting between them? Little time as she'd known Stan, she knew his type. Knew that he wouldn't be one for just taking advantage of someone in such a compromised situation. He'd done this before, with Kyle's consent. And as easily as he'd fallen against him, as little hesitation as he'd had… She could only assume that it was often. She silenced an attempted sniffle, eyes burning and arms crossing over, hands rubbing up and down the muscles as she shrank into herself. God, she was interfering with a fucking hidden affair.
It was no wonder Stan hated her so goddamn much. She would hate him, too if the roles were reversed. She was taking away someone he cared about, she was breaking between who knew how long of an ongoing relationship. She felt so remorseful, felt so sick and confused.
But, mostly… Kendra hurt. She really thought there was something between herself and Kyle. But, apparently not. No, his feelings were apparently for his ranger, for his secret. He'd kissed her back, and she really fucking thought it meant they were a step towards something more. But now she just wondered if he was doing it out of political obligation. Kendra shuddered, hating herself. Hating Stan. Hating Cartman for setting up something else to be taken away from her. She couldn't keep pursuing him after this, she'd feel so awful if she was getting between the prince and his happiness.
She looked up towards the ceiling, unwitting tears rolling down her temples. This was it. She was there to be a figurehead, she was there to sit off prettily to the side while Kyle went off to sleep with his ranger and she just waved to the people. She felt so fucking stupid.
Kendra jerked at a piece of paper hitting her arm, seeing Craig sitting around with her holding it to her with a stern expression. She quietly sniffled, very carefully unfolding it and wiping away the remaining water lingering in her eyes. 'Wrote this before we left the dining hall, I was wondering if this kind of thing would happen knowing him. Marsh is a fucking idiot. He loves the prince, but it is not the same both ways. I've seen the prince pushing away from him to get to you. There's a reason he's jealous of you. Don't think about it too much. Marsh will eventually come to his senses. Until then, let the damn prince decide what he's doing, don't just assume you're his beard or whatever.'
Kendra slowly looked over at him, cocking her head a bit with eyes shining with the need for confirmation, to know that he was positive about what he'd seen. He sighed irritably but nodded. Kendra smiled gratefully, looking back down at the note and mindlessly gripping Craig's hand. Craig looked down at her hold before just rolling his eyes and accepting it, propping his cheek up in his free hand.
She felt so ridiculously relieved, almost exhausted from flying between emotions like she did. But Craig wouldn't lie to her, he had never done so. And he certainly didn't dance around the truth to spare someone's feelings, no matter who he was addressing. She couldn't help but smile, eyes lingering on one line.
'I've seen the prince pushing away from him to get to you.'
If that didn't mean something, then she didn't know what would. Maybe there was a chance things could work out. Maybe he was right, and Stan would calm down and accept whatever would come along for Kyle and Kendra. Maybe. She didn't know. Nor did she care in this particular moment. What mattered to her was she wasn't nothing but a distraction and that, perhaps, she hadn't been led straight into the lion's den yet again.
They sat together, holding hands to Kendra's discretion for a few minutes before a loud cry made them both jerk and twist back around on the stairs to see Kyle thrashing.
"Uh oh," Craig breathed under the sound of the prince's pain.
Stan gritted his teeth, trying to plant Kyle in place so he didn't dislocate his damn shoulder like he had on more than one occasion over the years. "Kyle! Kyle, come on! It's okay, take a deep breath!" he begged.
Kyle's mouth dropped open, neck arching up with a scream. Kendra gasped at that glow flooding his eyes again.
Stan looked up with a panicked expression, attention torn to vines that Kyle hadn't gotten to yet as they wedged out of the wall and began slithering their way towards the floor.
"What the fuck," Craig whispered, automatically moving to block Kendra. Their eyes widened with horror at a potted set of long-stemmed clovers on his desk seeming to sway with no wind. They pulled in unison towards Kyle, all three of them flinching as a violent reach sent the clay falling to the ground with a vicious crack. Kendra grabbed Craig's shoulder, both stiffening at the bizarre sight before them as clover roots began to wriggle and grow without their sustenance, seeming to breathe in time with Kyle's panting, agonized body.
"KYLE, WAKE UP!" Stan pleaded, trying to both get through to the unaware prince and fumble getting his sword out of his sheath propped up against the bed. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" he spat. He wasn't expecting another fit so fucking soon. It'd only been two hours since the last, they usually had a longer dormant period than this. These rare surprise ones were few and far between, but they were beyond dangerous for one person to handle alone. Stan growled, finally freeing his blade and pointing it towards the approaching roots crawling towards him like insects, trying to keep Kyle held down. He hissed, beginning to hack away at fibers coming in too close, struggling with the limited reach and his overwhelming worry.
Kendra looked to the other side of the room as movement caught her eye, gasping at a set of vines creeping their way towards Stan from the back. She shook Craig and pointed, both sharing a quick look that spelled their rapid argument at once. 'I'm not just sitting back here waiting for you to save him.'
'I know, you stubborn moron. Be careful.'
They both hopped out of their hiding place, Stan's head whirling around at the movement and blinking in shock. "Dude! Craig, get the goddamn princess out-" he stopped as his sword was wrapped around, the plant attempting to rip it from his grasp and losing filaments in the process, undeterred. He hissed, finally taking his hand off Kyle to put both on the hilt, Kyle arching up in full without the weight.
Kendra narrowed her eyes, hiking her dress and heels clacking over the floorboards as she hopped over a set of branches worming across the floor, landing awkwardly and stumbling down. She barely crawled back onto her feet in time to evade a grab around the ankle while Craig snagged his own sword from its hold, trying to destroy the wooded creatures before they could grasp him.
Stan gritted his teeth, finally tearing his sword back into his own hands and slicing off clover heads as they sprawled about like beams of light. "Kendra, get out, it's dangerous!" he bit through another downward swing. "Goddammit!" he shouted.
Kendra ignored him, finally making it around the other side of the bed past a plethora of spilt soil and hovering over Kyle's crying form. Her own breath turned shallow, diving down to sit beside him and cup his head in her hands, shaking him and turning his face towards her own. She didn't know what else to do, letting her fingers trail up through his hair and petting through sweated curls, absolutely terrified of those dead, glowing eyes locked on her. But her panic didn't matter, nothing mattered but getting Kyle through this.
Kyle jerked back, a snap of consciousness slamming into him at a recognized scent managing to worm its way down to his compromised lungs. Fear was replaced with bewilderment, unable to pinpoint how or why every ounce of him was overtaken with such a strange familiarity. Gentle fingers continued to stroke him down, his jaw tremoring as he fought for a clearer picture. He wanted whatever this was, wanted back out to know what was happening. His head lolled, body tensing as he rode a wave of pain, of bitterness trying to shove him back down into his vessel state. Eyes scrunching shut, he let out another sob and the petting elongated, stretching from his forehead to the back of his skull and repeating, never wavering through his subdued balking.
He gasped, seeming to remember just then how to breathe and his eyes flew back open. Kendra leaned further over him, staring down at his face and shaking with relief as the glow began to fade in and out in sporadic bursts.
Stan and Craig blinked, watching their rooted adversaries beginning to tremor and stop their pursuit, individual leaves falling limp with pathetic attempts to keep crawling onwards. Stan stiffened, head slowly turning to see Kyle staring up at Kendra, head done thrashing, trying to come back down to see just who it was who had a hold on him. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" he spat, teeth gritting and sword falling to the ground with a deep clang as he lost his grip, Kendra taking no notice of him as she remained focused on the prince.
Craig looked between the three of them, checking his vine's movement before making way and walking towards Stan, pulling him back from the bed. "Ain't it great that she can do that for him? Help him? Keep him from hurting?" he whispered into his ear, shaking him. "If I were you, I'd be pretty fucking grateful right now."
Stan turned and bared his teeth, Craig reading days' worth of lost sleep in bloodshot eyes but staying firm. They stared one another down until a quiet, pained moan cracked through the air and their attention went back to the bed.
Kyle coughed, recovering slowly, each time his eyelids fell growing harder and harder to pry back open once again. His jaw trembled, a form taking shape above him that he couldn't quite place just yet, but it felt safe. With each blink, his vision reformed, piece by piece of the figure hovering over him. He let out a shaking breath as he vaguely recognized blonde hair dripping towards him and bright, stunning blue eyes. He gulped, fingers twitching as the glow finally left his stare for good. His brow creased, a name screamed in his mind and tongue rolling as he tried to remember how to speak. "…K-Ken…dra?" he breathed out.
She gasped, nodding frantically and leaning down, putting their foreheads together. Stan took another step back, head turning away. He wanted to just puke, just lose it all over Kyle's goddamn floor. He couldn't believe this. Couldn't fucking believe this.
Kyle continued staring at her, locked in double vision of her eyes and a shiver rolling down his aching spine. He couldn't place it, couldn't even remember who she truly was. But the name, the eyes, the smell. It felt right. She was something he could see, something he wanted, something he knew wouldn't hurt him. He flinched at another angry pulse from his chest, a constant burn beginning to form and spread throughout his limbs. It hurt, hurt like mad.
But he barely took notice. Instead, he found himself focused on the scent of daffodils.
Kendra pulled back in the slightest, his eyes uncrossing as she stroked his cheekbones, wishing with all her fucking heart the other two were out of the room. Wishing that she could talk to him, reassure him, promise him that she wasn't fucking moving from his side. Not after seeing that, she couldn't bear to just be downstairs with the knowledge of what he was going through. They'd have to goddamn drag her out of here.
Kyle's lips quivered, Kendra cocking her head as words spilled from his dazed form. "…D-dos gow… saph… N-Nalia," he murmured. She narrowed his eyes. He was speaking goddamn gibberish. They just stared at one another until Kyle finally lost his fight to stay awake, eyes falling closed and his head dropping limply to the side.
She blinked, not moving until she knew for damn sure he was breathing. She sighed with relief at his chest continuing to rise and fall, pulling her hands back and folding them in her lap, continuing to stare down at him.
Craig crossed his arms, looking at Stan's frustrated expression with a raised brow. "That was Elvish," he said.
Kendra looked over at the two of them, seeing Stan cringe a bit to himself. "How would you know?" he asked steadily, gaze never leaving Kyle. "You don't speak it."
"No, but I've heard it plenty enough in my time," he scoffed. "Raided a few elves back when I was stealin'… What'd he say?"
Stan took a deep breath, looking at last up to Kendra watching him skeptically, as though just waiting for him to launch forward and bash her face in. He certainly couldn't say the thought wasn't crossing his mind. "He said… he said you smell like Nalia," he muttered, shifting uncomfortably.
Kendra and Craig looked at each other for a moment. "Uh. And what the fuck is a Nalia?" Craig rolled his hand in front of him.
"…One of the spirits the Drow celebrate," he shrugged. "I don't know much about her," he lied, looking down at the destroyed clovers and taking a deep, angry breath. He knew too much about her. And Kyle making such a comparison just made him sick.
Kendra let out a disbelieving breath. For someone claiming to be 'so well versed' in elven ways, she highly doubted he was being truthful. But… that didn't matter. She looked at Craig, making a writing motion and he nodded curtly, heading to Kyle's desk while Stan continued staring at the ground.
His mind was swimming, unable to comprehend what had just happened. How did she do that? It usually took him a good three to five minutes to talk Kyle back down towards regaining control. She got it nearly instantly. Maybe it was from Kyle's confusion hearing another voice other than his own. Or maybe she just had coincidental timing… Or…
He groaned under his breath. No. No neither of those were right. Kyle recognized her far too easily for either one. His heart was being ripped fiber by fiber from its arteries, barely able to blink, let alone anything else. He just couldn't believe this. Barely over a month and a half. And this girl had destroyed everything that made him valuable to Kyle. The only thing he was over her for now was he knew how to swing a sword and get him out of danger alive and she didn't. And he'd gotten to touch him in ways she could only dream of.
Or at least for a few months. But she would have that to her name soon enough as well.
This was it, this was where he was shoved down into place. Where duty finally took over the spot he'd earned, where he was forced to look at Kyle as nothing more than his protected. Like he was supposed to be doing since the very fucking beginning, and he couldn't even get that right.
Stan flinched, paper being shoved under his nose by Craig. He sighed, seizing the script and feeling his insides curdling. 'Please, get me a comfortable chair or something if you would. And please tell Heidi to get me a few books. I'm not leaving him again.'
He raised his eyes, meeting the unwavering stare of the princess and letting a furious breath rack through him. "I don't think that's a good idea," he said lowly. "This could have been a fluke. Kyle would never forg-" he stopped as Craig snatched the paper and turned it over, shoving it back into his hands.
'If Kyle hurts me, then he hurts me. I would never hold it against him. Now, please help me with what I asked. It's a royal order, Ranger.'
Stan looked back up at her, now sitting primly, posture alone screaming the reminder that she held the cards here. He was just the worker. He threw the paper back at Craig, shaking his head subtly. "Fine," he said curtly, turning on his heel and practically storming his way away and down the staircase.
Craig snorted, looking back at her and nodding. "I'm impressed. Finally remembering your place here. I'm sure he would approve."
Kendra smirked, looking back down at the passed-out prince, stroking his bangs back and sighing wistfully. She didn't know how he'd react to her treating Stan like a servant, but she didn't care. She leaned down, pressing their foreheads together and taking a deep breath. If Kyle was in the habit of shoving people away to get to her… She smiled. Then she was more than happy to return the favor.