Gilgamesh awoke to the sound of a thud. He slowly sat up. What in the world was that? It sounded really close, like it was in the same room as him, but it was not loud enough that his guards had come running.

He turned over slightly and spotted something hunched on his floor. Something moving.

He lit the lamp next to his bed. "Hakuno?"

She was curled into a ball, her body wrapped around something. Her arms? What was she doing in his room and what in the world was she doing?

"S…stay over there! Do not come over here!" Her voice was pained and full of panic.

What in the name of the underworld was going on? He took a step towards her. "What are you talking about?"

"N…no!" Her body was shaking. "I…I will not do it! You cannot make me! I will not let you make me do it!"

Who in the world was she talking to? He looked around the room but there was no one there. "What is going on here?" He was much closer now and he saw the glint of steel in her hands. A knife?

She looked up at him with red, tear-filled eyes. "Gil…you need to stay away!" she choked. "I…I am trying to hold him off…" She gritted her teeth. Her arms were shaking with much more vigor than before.

Was she possessed or something along that nature? Well whatever it was did not matter. She was in pain right before him. He could not leave her to suffer. Gilgamesh reached over and grabbed the hilt of the knife and tried to pry her fingers off the handle.

"You have a really strong death grip there," he growled. There was no way she had this kind of strength. It was inhuman even. Her arm jerked in his direction and the knife would have plunged into his arm if he had not grabbed her wrist in time.

"Whoever this is…I am going to kill him for this…" growled Gilgamesh.

"Munzur. Baru.," Hakuno choked out. "He…"

The man she was seen in the garden with. Whatever the slaves saw obviously was not the truth. How could he have been such a fool? She was not that kind of person. He should have believed her when she said she had no idea what he was talking about.

"Guards!" he yelled.

His guards stopped at the doorway and seemed shocked by the scene in front of them.

This was no time to indulge them though. "Go find the baru Munzur. Kill him on sight! He is a traitor to my Kingdom. Go. Time is of the essence."

He returned his attention to Hakuno just in time. Curses spewed out of his mouth as she stabbed him. Somehow she managed to divert it and it ended up nicking him in the side instead of through his gut.

"Gil," she whispered. Her hands shook but she tried to stab him again. He grabbed her wrist and attempted to pry her fingers apart again. "Gil. You need to…"

"No. You better not finish that thought." Why were her fingers so strong!? "I did not save you from drowning to let you die here alright?"

"I…I am sorry." Her broken voice hit him hard. So lost and defeated. As she really given up already? On him? The King?

"Shut up and keep fighting." He managed to pry one of her fingers off the knife. "We are getting there. Just a bit more."

He did not know if his words help motivate her but it seemed like her fingers were much easier to pull away from the knife. "Got it." He grasped the handle and flung it across the room.

As soon as the blade left her hand, she slumped, like all the strength had left her body. He wrapped his arms around her to support her body against his.

"It…it is gone. I do not feel his presence anymore…" She looked up and gave him a weak smile. "Sorry...for…"

Gilgamesh shook his head. "I should have listened to you that something was wrong."

Her eyes widen. "Are you actually…apologizing for something?"

"No I am not. I am just stating a fact."

She rolled her eyes. "Sure. We will go with that." A look of surprise crossed her face and then her body jerked violently. Her eyes widen before she curled into a ball and an inhuman scream ripped out of her throat.

Hakuno had no idea what was going on. One moment she was in Gilgamesh's arms, the feeling of being controlled by Munzur completely gone. The next, it felt like her body was on fire. Her fingernails scraped against the ground as she tried to distract herself from the pain that was wracking through her body.

It hurt.

The pain was so intense that she could barely think. It was tearing through her body, ripping through her insides. It was nothing like she had felt before.

She was going to die.

That one thought pulled itself out of her shattered body. This pain, it had to be from Munzur. He had done something more to her. Cursed her or something. She did not care in that moment.

Pain. Pain everywhere.

She felt something against her back. Her eyes were unfocused but she thought she could see Gilgamesh hovering next to her. He looked so anxious. A very odd expression for his face.

Her eyes were forced closed as another wave of pain shot through her body. It hurt. At least…at least he was here.

Suddenly the pain was gone. Her throat was hoarse, like she had been screaming.

"Hakuno? Hakuno! Hakuno!"

Was Gilgamesh calling her? Her vision was blurry. Everything was muffled. There was no way to fight it so she gave into the darkness.

Gilgamesh looked down at Hakuno's sleeping form and clenched his hands into fists. She had been screaming at the top of her lungs while curled into a ball. A couple of her fingernails were broken from scraping against the floor before he had grabbed them to prevent her from doing any more damage to herself.

Just like how it came on, she had stopped screaming. Whatever paining her was gone. However, it had taken her strength with it as she fell unconscious almost immediately.

"Well?" he growled to the azu.

The azu looked up at Gilgamesh and shook his head. "I am sorry my King. I do not know what is wrong with her. Her breath is weak, her pulse slow. I…I do not know how she is still alive."

"How could I let this happen…" whispered Ekur. The baru had gotten to the room around the same time the azu had arrived. Hakuno's slave friend was next to the bed. Tears were pouring down the girl's face.

"I should have known that something was wrong…"

"Are we just going to let her die then?" snapped Gilgamesh. No. He would not allow that. He could not allow that. After everything they had done together. All those games they played, those texts she tried to get him to read, just them talking about random topics, it could not all end right? He would never see those defiant eyes of her again.

Ekur stepped away from the bed and took a couple steps towards his King. "My King. I know this is hard. I know you love her but she does not have much time left."

Love her? Ekur believed he loved her? This infuriating know-it all woman? He opened his mouth to protest the fact but then his eyes fell on her still form. Oh Lagabanda. "That explains…"

"You were never one to understand your own feelings like that my King. Do not be so harsh on yourself."

What in the world was Ekur talking about!? "I must be harsh on myself for I did not realize this!" He went to her side and grasped her limp hand in his own. He could barely feel her pulse moving in her wrist. How much longer could she hold on? "Woman. You need to take responsibilities for making a King fall in love with you."

No response.

Her face was calm, peaceful. Her body was barely rising and falling with her breath.

Was this really how it was going to end?

"My King!"

Gilgamesh jerked his head to the door as Ishne walked in. The guard froze in his tracks when he saw Hakuno on the bed. "Oh Gula."

"What do you want?" growled Gilgamesh. He did not care if any other kingdom was invading right now. He wanted to be there when she released her last breath.

"Munzur is dead but we have also captured his apprentice. He would like to speak with you in exchange for his life. He says…he says he can help Lady Hakuno."

Gilgamesh tightened his grip on her hand. He did not want to rely on the apprentice of the baru that caused this but if it could save Hakuno's life, he would walk through the underworld and back. "Bring him in."

A couple of guards dragged the boy in. Gilgamesh was glad to note that his face looked quite haggard. Looked like the guards were not too easy on the boy either.

"Speak," ordered Ishne. He prodded the boy's back with his spear.

The boy jumped slightly but focused on Hakuno. "She...my Master, cast a spell on her in order to be able to control her from afar. He has power over the mind. We were hired by Nippur to remove the King so Nippur could get revenge…"

"Scheming Nippur," growled Ishne. "And during an alliance meeting too."

Normally Gilgamesh would have agreed with Ishne's anger. Not at the moment though. His main focus was on her. "What about her? You said you could save her!"

The boy jumped and then nodded. "Y…yes. What my Master did, because they were connected through his spell, he was fighting against the people coming at him by forcefully taking her prana to use as his was running out. He could not handle the amount of people going after him though…" The boy looked down sadly.

"So?" growled Gilgamesh. Who cared about this prana stuff? That would not save her!

"She just needs to be given prana to replace what she had lost," the boy said quickly. "There are rituals that can be done and she needs to be a participant but she needs some transferred into her system now to wake up."

This prana stuff was actually important? "Alright. Do the ritual to wake her up or whatever."

The boy's face turned red. "Well…uh…I could do it…but…"

Ishne hit the boy's back with the hilt of his sword. "Get on with it boy."

"Uh…of course…" The boy walked over to Hakuno's side. His guards were close behind him. He looked down at her and then glanced up at Gilgamesh. "I…I do not think I can perform the ritual to give her a bit of prana…"

"Why not?" growled Gilgamesh. Was this boy going to back out now? "You will die on the spot if you do not do it."

He jumped. "Oh, uh alright." He leaned over her body.

Gilgamesh grabbed the boy's shoulders and shoved him away from her. "What are you doing!?"

The guards restrained the boy after giving him a couple hard punches.

"Do you take me a fool?" growled Gilgamesh.

"N…no!" cried the boy. "A kiss is the easiest way to transfer prana!"

A kiss? Gilgamesh looked down at her face and then at the boy.

"It is true!" he cried. "With the prana transferred from a kiss, she should wake up!"

A kiss… "Can I perform this ritual?" There was no way he was going to let this boy's vile lips touch Hakuno's. She was too pure for someone like him.

"I can sense great prana from you. It should be fine. Just focus on giving your energy to her."

Not much to go on but he had done much with less before. He leaned over. The remnants of a breath caressed his cheek as he placed his lips over hers. At first he was not sure what he was doing. He had kissed many women in the past but this was a whole other experience for him.

He was not sure if he was doing it right but he thought he could feel something flowing from his mouth to hers. Was this the prana thing the boy was talking about? He heard a gasp from behind him.

Lifting his head, he saw Hakuno's eyes were half open. They focused on him and she opened her mouth and croaked. "Hi Gil. Is it morning?"

Hakuno was very confused.

Why had Gilgamesh wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug? Why was everyone huddled around her bed? Wait. This was not her bed. It was Gilgamesh's. What was going on?

"You need to perform the actual ritual now."

She turned her head to the voice. Her breath hitched in her throat. Urash!

"Do not worry Hakuno. He will not hurt you." Gilgamesh released her and pointed to the guards behind him. "They will make sure of that." As if he remembered something he turned to her. "Do you know the ritual to transfer prana?"

Her mind was still a bit foggy but she nodded. "Y…yes. I know of it. Why?"

"We need to perform it to restore the rest of your prana."

The rest of her prana?

What was he…oh.

Even though her body felt like lead her mind was already working at full capacity.

"We should leave them so they may have privacy," murmured Urash. "The actual ritual is very…intimate."

"Do you agree Hakuno?" asked Gilgamesh.

She nodded numbly. She did not want her voice to give her away.

"Leave, all of you," ordered the King. "Ishne, have the boy taken to the dungeon. We will take care of him after Hakuno is better."

"Of course my King."

Hakuno wanted to sink back to sleep but she forced herself to stay awake. She knew she had been close to dying. If she fell asleep, there was a risk of her going to that place again. The amount of prana she had within her was still too low.

However…did she really want to go through with this ritual?

"How is this ritual done?" he asked after everyone was gone.

She tried to sit up but it was like she was trying to move through honey. Her limbs just did not want to obey. Guessing what she wanted, Gilgamesh helped her. She leaned her head against his shoulder. Just that simple act had her exhausted.

"Gil…how..." She shut her eyes tight. "How do you feel about me?"

"Feel about you? I do not see how that is relevant"

"It is important!" Even she was shocked at the amount of emotion she was able to project into her voice.

He put an arm around her. It was then that she noticed how much bigger he was than her. He could have easily overpowered her at any point but he had not. "This is probably embarrassing for a King to say as Ekur just pointed this out to me but I did not understand how I felt about you for a long time."

She tilted her head slightly so she could read his face. What was he implying with that statement? Did he look nervous? Why?

"Do not look at me like that…"

Was she making a face? She was not sure. Her body still felt incredibly tired.

"I was afraid for you." He grinned. "I was all set to go down to the underworld and drag your soul out of there, fighting all the demons all the way."

"Really now?" she chuckled. She may have laughed but she could picture him doing it. He would and she would willingly go back with him.

He coughed. "What I am saying with that is…you are a difficult woman you know…making me say stuff like this at a time like this. Why is this so important anyway?"

"Please continue." She had a feeling where he was going with this but she needed to hear it from his mouth.

"I am in love with you alright? Happy?" he snapped.

She giggled. "Yes. I will say I am quite happy. I am in love with you too."

She could feel his body stiffen slightly before he laughed. "Well of course you are! I am the King. The best and only choice."

She let out a weak sigh. Of course he would never change. "We should start the ritual now. I might go to sleep again if we do not start."

Gilgamesh nodded. "Alright. What needs to be done?"

"You do not have to be so nervous. You are much more experienced at this than I am." She forced her body to turn to face him. He was a bit out of focus but she should be fine once they started. Her face was burning. "In fact this will be my first time…"

"With doing this ritual?"

"You will understand soon enough…" She forced her arms to wrap around his neck before she kissed him.

Hakuno awoke the next morning to the chirping of birds. She sat up slowly, at first disoriented to where she was. This was not her room. It hit her a moment later though when she felt the presence of someone next to her.

Glancing down she saw Gilgamesh fast asleep next to her. His bare chest was visible above the blanket and that made her think about last night. She turned away, her face burning. "I knew he was good but not that good…" she murmured as she buried her face in her hands. She was going to be sore for a while, that was sure.

The ritual was a success out of all of that. She felt revitalized and full of energy. Spotting her dress on the floor she went to get it but did not make it far as a hand clamped down on her wrist.

"Where are you going?" Gilgamesh looked at her with sleepy eyes.

"I was going to get my clothes."

"No. Stay here." He pulled her back into the bed.

"Honestly, your drive is ridiculous!"

"Whose fault is that? I had not done it in months. You deprived me woman!"

"How is that my fault? I did not force you to not to do it!"

She glared up at him. There was no way he was going to bully her on this matter!

"Again with those stupid defiant eyes of yours!" He groaned and rolled off of her.

She rolled so she was now on her stomach and she rested her elbows on the bed and head in her hands as she watched him. "What do my eyes have to do with anything? You are always complaining about them!"

"That was…the first thing I noticed about you," he mumbled.

"And the reason why you had me kept in the palace in the first place." She giggled as he winced. "Do not worry. I am not mad at you about it." She shrugged. "We would have never gotten to this point if that had not happened."

"I will have to agree with that."

"So…what now?" Although this kind of encounter meant nothing to him, for her it changed everything. How would their relationship progress from here?

"I was thinking about that…" He grasped her hand in his own. "It might be awkward to suggest this in a time like this but I am the King, I can do whatever I want."

"Alright, I get it, you are the King. Continue please?"

"Well, I was wondering if you would be…willing to become my Queen."

If she was standing, she would have fallen. That was not what she was expecting him to say. "But…I am not of noble blood or anything. I am a kur, a foreigner. The people cannot accept a Queen like that." The highest rank someone like her could get to the King was a concubine, a secondary wife. There was no way she could be Queen!

"I will make them accept it," he growled. "Plus, they all like you already due to that power of yours. And I think a daughter of Gula is a high enough rank to be a Queen."

She buried her face into the lion-pelt blanket. Her, a Queen?

"If you do not want to…"

She shook her head. "No. I would love to be your Queen." A grin. "Someone needs to be logical in this Kingdom."

He groaned. "Great. I am going to be one of those Kings that are controlled by their Queens."

She poked him in the cheek. "Do not have to say it like that. I will not be controlling you that much."

Gilgamesh groaned again. "I am already regretting this." He was smiling though.

Hakuno sat up. "Shall we go out and tell the world I am fine? Shub looked like she was going to cry when she left last night."

"If we must," grumbled Gilgamesh. "I do need to announce your new position."

She gave him a light kiss on the cheek before getting out of the bed.