The reddish light of dawn illuminated the room, waking the Sun King, who found himself snuggled next to Aloy, holding her hand. He noticed that she was asleep on his bare chest, and he felt his blush growing exponentially on his cheeks. The situation both pleased and discomforted him. Part of him liked that she was so close, but at the same time, he felt the urge to run away. He tried to calm himself. He wasn't quite sure what to do. It was still early in the morning, but he needed to go supervise the state of the city, assess the damage, and continue with the repairs. "By the Sun…" he whispered, biting his lower lip. It would be impossible to move without waking her up. She seemed so comfortable... Her expression looked relaxed, with her eyes gently closed and a slight smile on her lips; her breathing was steady, and despite them holding hands, she wasn't applying any pressure with her fingers. Her palm was simply resting on his. After the night they had spent, she needed sleep and rest to regain strength. He sighed. He didn't want to wake her up and have her find him all flushed, so in the end, he decided to get out of bed as slowly as he could. He carefully got up, holding Aloy's body, which was sleeping peacefully, and laid her down on the pillows. Then he gently covered her with the blankets to keep her comfortable, and he grabbed some clothes before locking himself in the bathroom. Avad bolted the door and looked at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He was very red. A silly smile appeared on his face. 'She's so...' he sighed, with a distracted gaze. Afterward, he freshened up and dressed in appropriate clothes for hard work, but not before examining his wound. Relieved, he could see that it had finally stopped staining his clothes; now the cut was dry. Still, he hurried to hide it under a white shirt. The time had come to go out again. He looked at his reflection, adjusting his hair, and saw that his face had regained its usual color. He carefully left the bathroom and cast a fleeting glance at the bed. She was still with her eyes closed, so he stealthily moved around the room.

"Are you going to be very busy today?" the huntress, who was lying down, startled him with her sudden presence, watching him.

"Wh-what a scare! I thought you were asleep." he laughed, rubbing his neck with his hand involuntarily "Well, in the morning I have quite a bit of work, but by mid-afternoon, I hope to have everything finished. Why do you ask?"

"I wanted to show you something, if you can... I think you might like it." she said.

"Alright, where should we meet?"

"At the bottom door of the elevator, even though it's broken, it's a good meeting point." he smiled, gladly accepting the offer "How are you? How's your wound?" she asked later.

"It's incredibly better, after how the healing went yesterday, I definitely didn't expect the pain to go away so quickly." she replied, placing her palm where the cut was. She smiled.

"I'm really glad." she kindly replied.

Afterward, they bid farewell, and Avad went off to attend several important matters he had pending in the palace. He was peacefully lost in his thoughts until someone knocked on his door.

"Avad," Blameless Marad said, entering "I have several reports for you. First, even though we prioritized fixing the crops right after the battle, the harvests have been too affected, so this year we'll have to trade with other tribes to get supplies. I also wanted to inform you that we've delayed the reconstruction of the wall, so I've increased surveillance in that area. The aqueduct also needs some repairs. While we managed to patch it up to keep the water flowing to the city, the sooner we fix it, the safer the canal will be; we don't want it to collapse." he received no response. The Sun King was gazing absently out the window, with a smile on his face "Hello?" the newcomer said, raising an eyebrow.

"Marad! Sorry, I didn't hear you coming…" the king exclaimed startled.

"Avad…" he said with a teasing tone "I see you're distracted. Is there something you want to tell me?" he asked curiously. Marad was his most loyal assistant, the one who knew him best, and in whom he placed his trust for almost everything. He was several years older than him, and he had known the king since he was a child. He had always been his closest friend (his only friend, actually, he was essentially the one who had taken care of Avad, apart from his brother, except Marad was still alive), and a very intelligent person. That's why, after Avad ousted his father from the throne, he appointed Marad as his first advisor and the chief of spies in Meridian. To the outside world, they maintained a cold and professional relationship, but in reality, they were great friends.

"No, nothing…" he replied, blushing.

"Oh, 'nothing'? Coming from you, that means 'many things.' " he said, entering the room and closing the door to make their conversation more confidential "You know you can tell me whatever is bothering you, right? I know something is bothering you." he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Alright, yes, you're right, there's... there's something…" he said timidly, rubbing his arms with his hands "Umm... it's a-about... A-Aloy." he confessed, turning his face to the opposite side of where Blameless was, feeling his cheeks turning red.

"Finally! It took you long enough! You're telling me now!" he said cheerfully, patting him on the back.

"What?" he asked, surprised.

"Come on, did you think I wouldn't see it coming? How could I not notice when you're desperately trying to spend more time with her every time she steps into the city? Especially if it's alone…" he replied, giving him a look accompanied by a big smile.

"Th-that's not true…" he replied, blushing even more.

"No?" he asked sarcastically "From the moment she entered the palace, you've been focused on her. And then, every time she came, you had to be alone to talk in private... Tell me, how long have you been without her company since she appeared? Was the spear and tiara just a simple thank-you, even when no one knew if she would return?" he paused briefly, waiting for him not to respond "Want me to continue, Your Majesty?" he finally said with a half-smile.

"No, no, I see you've caught me." Avad laughed, somewhat embarrassed "Is it that obvious?"

"Well, let's just say I'm the chief of spies, and nothing gets past me. Plus, I know you, and that makes things easier for me. This explains a lot, like how displeased you always look after attending any of the dates I set up for you... But don't worry, I don't think anyone else knows. It's understandable that you're focused on the redeemer after all the help she's given us. In the end, we're all more or less aware that without her help, there wouldn't be a stone left standing in this city now." he replied, sitting on the table "And that's as much as I know, now it's your turn to tell me something I don't know.

"Well, you confirm that I did the right thing placing you in the positions I did... —he admitted with a shy smile" Well... today, when I finished getting ready to come here... she told me she wanted to show me something." he replied, rubbing his neck timidly.

"Did she not tell you anything else?"

"No... Well, that she thought I would like it."

"So, she's playing hard to get…" he remarked, nodding thoughtfully.

"Yeah, and I don't know what to do. I had been thinking about... telling her how I feel, but I'm afraid she'll reject me." he admitted, looking at the floor, embarrassed.

"Now, jokes aside. Do you really think she'll reject you? If you didn't matter to her, she would've already gone back to her tribe as soon as she woke up. She's a strong woman. She's not fully recovered yet, but from what I know, she would've tamed a machine and left as soon as she woke up, that was a few days ago."

"So, you think she's here now to be with me?"

"I'm almost certain. If not, what other reasons does she have to stay? I've heard the Sacred Lands were also attacked. She would've gone to help them, after all, they're her tribe, not us." Avad took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"Alright…" he said afterward, speaking more to convince himself than to Marad "I'll tell her."

"That's the spirit!" his friend exclaimed happily "I bet you won't come back with a no. Finally, I can stop finding you Carja noblewomen!" he celebrated. Avad gave him a reproachful look. He truly detested those arranged dates.

They continued working, hoping for the afternoon to come. Marad gave the monarch a hand to finish as soon as possible and have time to prepare to meet her. He genuinely wished for things to go well between them. He had noticed his friend's spirits significantly down since the young woman disappeared on the night of the festival. However, he had seen him much more animated since her visit before heading to the Forbidden West. Ever since she appeared injured and had been spending these days there, the monarch's mood had noticeably improved, and Blameless Marad felt genuinely happy for his friend.

Aloy was getting ready to meet the king. The time for the meeting was approaching, and the first thing she did was think about what to wear. It had to be something nice yet practical for the plan she had devised. Suddenly, the perfect outfit came to her mind, the Carja nobility attire she had purchased in the same city, paired with one of her favorite outfits. Besides, she was sure he would appreciate her wearing something typical of his culture.

Once they were both ready, they each waited on their own until the agreed-upon time.