She'd almost drowned in an endless squall of meetings before this, having been tempest tossed from one curious party to another and endured an endless spray of pointless conversation. Everything that had transpired was framed as being for her enjoyment and benefit; even if, in reality, it was for the sake of public spectacle. More meetings would surely come later; she had to claim this scant moment before it was snatched away from her.
The guardian heaved a sigh, shifting back to sit at the bottom of the staircase. She shed her heels but knew better than to leave them behind, instead hooking a pair of her fingers into them. Her first step onto the cold floor sent a shiver down her spine but no sound accompanied the sensation. The cat's frozen heart began to beat once more as she resumed her fleet-footed stride, senses honed to their limits. If she was found down here her purpose would surely be questioned. If the wrong person found her, they'd know exactly what the cat had been scheming.
There was no reason for anyone else to be down here but Blaze wasn't going to take any chances. Well, no reason for anyone except for the sole person she was intent on meeting with.
A set of engagement rings, accidentally and coincidentally exchanged mere moments apart, were the catalyst for Blaze's current busyness. While there was nary a day that the cat wasn't swept off her feet, be it travelling from island to island to hear the whims of her people or fighting to defend her home, the past weeks had come with a new type of burden. A more... personal burden.
The pyrokinetic lingered before a turn in the corridor, ears spiked high as she listened for signs of life. She did feel rather foolish; she hadn't snuck around like this since she was a child, attempting to evade Gardon and the other palace staff. Back then she'd overthought all they were thinking; she'd hidden and listened, imagining awful things they might say about her. Now but one topic seemed to hang on their lips, day in and day out. A royal wedding was on the horizon. Her wedding.
Comfortable now that no one was down the hallway, the soon to be queen took the turn and indeed found herself alone. She strode partway down the hall before quickly turning back, no one was following her. She hadn't heard footsteps but she had to be certain. They weren't going to be interrupted, not this time.
Blaze stalked further down the hall, tension still hanging in the air taught enough to strangle her with each step. She felt foolish, sneaking shoeless through the depths of her own castle, but there truly was no other way. Slipping from her kingdom to another point in spacetime was fun for the occasional date, but their recent announcement had put them under even heavier scrutiny. After all, if the royal couple were seen slipping away or went missing the scandal would spread across the islands faster than any ship could carry it. No, they had to remain here, their presence had to be accounted for.
At the same time however, being sighted together now led to torrid tales both hanging on the lips of her people and spread through uncouth tabloids. They couldn't leave the palace grounds without staring into a camera lens; some journalists had been so bold as to sneak into the royal gardens. No, their only option was to retreat indoors and ideally outwith the gaze of windows... but that came with its own set of issues.
As long as Blaze was present within the palace, she was needed. Lately, every waking moment not spent managing some issue within her kingdom was instead allocated to the endless globe of fuss that came with planning the royal wedding. An endless parade of wedding dresses, seating arrangements, musicians, florists and so much more were visiting and vying for every spare second of her time. The only moments she'd managed to steal a glance, let alone a touch, from Silver had been in the presence of such overdramatic wedding planners. Not to mention; the increased boldness of journalists and potential for gossip had left her bedchamber off limits to him and his to her.
Today though, Blaze had finally dared to harness her royal sway. She'd had to be subtle, act in a manner that wouldn't in itself spike hearsay or concern, and yet would allow them the sweet privacy they'd sought for almost a month now. It had been so simple, a request of works suggested in order to train the soon to be prince consort. One of her scheduled tasks was set to lead him down here, into the castle depths.
Blaze hesitated before a set of great stone double doors, wreathed in thick black metal which was all part of a single grand locking mechanism. Six distinct keyholes were scattered across the jagged and yet floral lattice of metalwork, intended to confuse any would-be bandit that somehow crept this deep into the castle. A trio of overlong keys were drawn from her pocket; she crouched to insert one near the bottom right door hinge while a second fit a latch near the bottom of the left door. The third was even more tricky than those two- Blaze slid back a brick three paces right of the doorway to reveal the third working keyhole. One by one they were turned, and then each key was removed in sequence.
Like vines pulled apart, the metalwork bent all on its own, unravelling to reveal the split between the two doors. The moment the lock came to a standstill Blaze placed both hands against the stone and began to gently push. Once there was scarcely enough space, the feline angled her body to slip through rather than risk the whining of metal or scraping of stone across the floor. The instant she was inside, she turned to put her shoulders and palms against the half open entryway and reseal it. Her toes curled as the fresh cacophony of metal reknitting itself sounded to her backside, again her ears spiked high.
No footsteps sounded against the marble floor. Once again silence had claimed all. Well, almost all. One rodent was stirring in the chamber before her, it was just a matter of finding him...
Before Blaze lay the royal treasury in all its shining gaudiness. While the Sol Emeralds were kept sealed away in the Crystal Caves, the traditional wealth of the monarchy lay beneath the palace itself. Garish suits of armour set upon posed mannequins, golden hilted falchions with shining silver blades, great bronze busts of her ancestors, paintings of the islands they ruled over, and thrones so numerous one would think them common folding chairs. That wasn't to mention the less assuming chests stuffed to burst with jewellery, unworn for at least a century, and ornate wooden closets filled with equally untouched clothing.
The cat set her shoes down to the left of the door and loosed her long coat to land atop them. She'd dared to break formality beneath that jacket, instead wearing one of the less formal pieces Amy had bought for her as an engagement gift; a metallic silver top with the word Queen emblazoned on the front of it in a graffiti style font. It certainly wasn't the type of clothing she'd select for herself, her stomach had turned upon first sighting it, but she wanted to break away from the endlessly ceremonial front she'd had to put on for weeks at this point. It was garish and juvenile, but it'd helped to prepare her for this moment.
She stretched as she strode deeper into the room, trying to loosen up. It didn't take long for her to see the first signs of him; not his body but the glow of cyan above. Passing beyond a wardrobe, Blaze caught sight of cutlery cascading through the air in a slow arch. Whenever a piece of silverware reached the apex of the curve one of three different cloths, themself floating under psychic control, would polish it until it shone before floating down.
Recognising where Silver actually proved to be more difficult. He wasn't simply standing beneath his work. It took the cat identifying an errant quill and foot, poking out from opposite ends of a high backed throne, to locate him. It was a wonder that he hadn't heard her enter; he truly did dedicate himself to whatever task he was set, no matter how mundane. Then again, he was plainly lounging atop a historic artefact of the royal line... if anyone else had found him then he'd have received an earful. Perhaps he still would...
The soon to be queen silently closed the gap to her almost prince, observing his work from behind the chair. By the looks of it he'd been working down here for a while; all manner of metal objects, ranging from weapons to coinage to statuettes, were sitting in a shining pile to the right of him. He'd certainly done enough to earn a moment of respite. Not that she was going to give it to him.
She stepped out from behind the throne, knocking his boot from the throne's armrest with her thigh as she swivelled around to stand in front of him.
"Blaze!" She immediately caught the excitement in his eyes, it was more than enough to distract her from the clattering of disused valuables behind her, "S-Sorry, I-
She swept in without hesitation, capturing his lips in her own. The taste of apple was both obvious and familiar to her- almost as familiar as the sensation of him overeagerly attempting to return her efforts only to find himself quickly cowed. He was soft and rugged in equal measure; capable of pushing back but quicker to melt beneath her touch. She had him wound around her finger tight enough to charm him into acting but, for now at least, she wanted control.
The cat reached for his chest, only to find that her hand didn't fall upon fluff as she'd expected. Fabric was in the way; she'd been too swept up by the sight of his face to even consider what he was wearing. Frustration irked her brow, what garb dared put itself in her way?
The feline kept her hand on his chest, pinning him in place as she pulled back from the kiss. For a moment she was again captured by his gaze, the longing in his eyes was almost strong enough to pull her back in. To take something she knew was so strong and reduce it to being cute; there was a thrill that came with that ability, an excitement Blaze was certain would never grow dull.
Despite that truth, when the cat's gaze fell to the obscuring fabric on Silver's chest, her frown only grew harsher.
"Silver," Her brow arched.
"Y-Yes?" He gasped.
"Silver," She repeated.
"Yes, Blaze?" She'd missed his voice so much.
"Where did you get such a ridiculous shirt?" Blaze dared to ask.
Barely reaching down to the hedgehog's midriff was a simple black t-shirt with just as plain white lettering. Two simple words were bluntly stated on the fabric, positioned almost perfectly to obscure his chest fur and only his chest fur. Trophy Husband.
"You don't like it?" He seemed genuinely surprised, "Amy got it for me, it was an engagement gift."
"Of course she did," The cat rolled her eyes; the pink hedgehog would surely have loved to see them both in these ludicrous tops.
Now Blaze would make sure that she never would.
Sharp predator eyes swept over the hedgehog more thoroughly now, sizing him up lest any other surprises could get in her way. Her gaze lingered on his left hand, specifically the fourth finger on that hand. She had placed a ring there some time ago now- a golden band encircled with red gemstones. Blaze had never much enjoyed her own royal title, but that of prince consort had an undeniably humorous undercurrent. It suggested he was hers to do with as she pleased, just like all of the other trinkets in this room. That thought fuelled the cat's cunning.
Blaze snatched his left hand up in hers and entwined their fingers, forcing it up above his head and against the plush of the chair's backrest. The cat forced herself in closer, feeling the knee of her leggings rub against the seat as she pushed in to leave no separation between them. She stared into his eyes, awaiting his next move. When he tried to close the distance between them she kept her weight on his chest.
"W-What are you doing?" He asked, as if he didn't know.
"The queen should be free to arrange the treasury however she desires..." Her hand slipped beneath the foolish top as she leaned closer still, nuzzling into his shoulder, "The silverware comes under that purview..." She felt him shudder as her lips grazed the side of his neck, "Do you understand?"
"Y-Yes," He whelped.
"Good," She praised him with the faintest of kisses, "Now, just what should I do with this trophy of a husband?"
The pyrokinetic felt the time traveller's body stiffen. At first she hesitated, wanting to leave him hanging in anticipation before her next strike, but then a snort breached the air. He was trying to fight it, trying to smother his nature, but there was no hiding it. The hedgehog was laughing.
Unable to contain her smirk, Blaze shifted to his ear and spoke in as serious a tone as she could muster, "Do you find something amusing?"
He was wriggling beneath her, "N-No, I-
"I don't believe I gave this trophy permission to laugh," She recounted.
"You just," She pushed down on his chest, ensuring he could not see her grin,"You sounded so serious," Silver panted, "And your fur, it's tickling-
"I may choose to tickle you if I so desire," She insisted into his ear, tail twisting against her back, "That does not mean I grant you permission to laugh..." He'd just about fully regained control of himself, she couldn't allow that, "I suppose I'll have to shut you up directly."
Her lips reclaimed his, pushing his head deeper into the chair. With each passing second her grasp on him sunk deeper. She didn't have to hold his hand for it to stay pinned above his head; soon her touch swept down to claim his quills and shift his head to deepen the kiss. Feeling him push and ply for more only served to encourage the cat to further smother him; feeling him struggle to assert what little control he had only to fall short beneath her time and time again. He was still so delicate, so gentle with her even when she opted to act so domineering.
It was only when breath became a barrier that the cat broke their lips' embrace and again buried her head against his neck. It'd been so long since she'd lingered by him long enough to catch his smell; that of outdoors from his time spent wandering and the fruit he partook in much too often. To hear and feel his heartbeat thudding as he gasped for breath; to know he was not only alive but here with her. Set to spend his life by her side...
"Not to say I'm not enjoying this but, um," His hands finally dared to move, settling on her back, "S-Should we maybe talk about how things are going to change in the next couple of months? I still don't really know what being a prince actually means," He was struggling to meet her eye, "Well, I know what it literally means but-
"I suppose I'll allow you to ask a few questions," The cat pushed her lips to his again, savouring one more kiss, "But you'd better not waste my precious time. You're not royalty yet after all."
She shifted to no longer lean over him, instead sitting within the to-be prince's lap with her legs kicked over the armrest. She had left him a bit of a mess, quills flopped to the left side and his crop top pushed up to the point of unreadability, but it was as she had decreed. This trophy was hers to do with as she pleased.
"Do you think I'll make a good prince?" Those words stole the humour from Blaze's mind, her gaze hardened, "Genuinely, don't lie to make me feel comfortable. I need to know."
She looked deep into his eyes, plainly catching his hesitation.
"You've been thinking about this often," She mused rather than answer, "For how long?"
"It's been on my mind for a couple of weeks now," He confessed, "You've been busy, I didn't want to bother you. We've had so little time alone together recently that I-
Her palm found his lips, fingers coiled around to cover his face. The cat did hesitate, her gaze faltered. It took her settling upon the right words to steel herself and meet his eyes once more.
"First of all, I think you will do wonderfully Silver," She stressed, "But I'm sorry that we didn't have this conversation sooner. We surely should have, perhaps even before becoming engaged..."
He took her hand in hers, their rings brushed.
"I've realised I don't really know what I'm meant to do once I'm a prince," His honesty was heart wrenching, "I can fight to defend the islands, but there's more to ruling than that," He was expressing feelings she too had experienced all too often, "I've only really helped people by fighting for them. I'm not much of a... diplomat."
"Well, you've got a better temperament for diplomacy than me, even if you lack the scrutiny that's typically required," She honestly responded before pushing herself, "I don't think anyone can truly suit this position, there are no ideal monarchs. I've certainly never felt comfortable with my role."
"I guess, at least we'll be uncomfortable together?" He grimaced, "But you do a great job, you've had a lifetime of learning in the role, I've just..." Silver rummaged his mind for the right words, "Fought. I've been fighting for my entire life."
"It's not going to be an easy change, you're wise enough to recognise that much. But I'll be by your side through it all, like I always have been," She insisted, "If you make a misstep I'll be there to catch you, just as you've always been there to catch me in a more literal sense. I promise," Her shoulder met with his, "We agreed never to part again, that's what engagement symbolises. Never alone again, set to carry all of our burdens together."
"But what will those burdens be? How should I prepare for them?" He asked, panic still plain in his tongue, "I don't want to slow you down, there's already more than enough pressure on-
"Silver," She cut him off, brow hardened, "Your presence could never make things more difficult for me, regardless of what you think. Just having you by my side whittles away life's toils," A sigh slipped past her lips, "As for what specifically you will do, our roles have a rather broad remit..."
"Just give me some sort of target. If I have something to focus on, something to obsess over, you know I'll get it done," Blaze went quiet once more, searching for words, but he filled the void, "You know, when you set those trials for me today, I thought that might be what was set for my future. Doing simple jobs around the palace rather than helping you directly," He confessed, "It'd probably take the rest of your rule for me to properly clean all this..."
"Well, ignoring your shirt, at the very least, you do look like you belong in here," The cat professed, her brows softening again, "But, you don't look bad on a throne either."
"Will I be staying here for the remainder of your rule then?" He questioned, less than seriously, "Endlessly polishing spoons so that you can surprise me at any given moment?"
"Perhaps," The cat hummed, again burying her head against his neck, "Although, it seems a waste not to put such a wonderful trinket on full display..." Her fingers brushed against his ring, "As long as everyone knows who you belong to, I suppose I can allow others to stare. A mix of public and private display seems best for this trophy."
Again her lips arrived on his neck, but this time she allowed a hint of fang to slip through. With each kiss she snuck further along his jawline, taking her sweet time on the path to his lips. She lingered before that final stopping place, waiting until his patience wore out and his eyes reopened.
"So disobedient," She purred, "So naive."
Lips collided with a rumbling fervour, making up for more than their share of lost time. It was admittedly difficult to come up with an answer that would soothe him while her heart was pounding at triple speed and her mind was endlessly sparking in pursuit of pleasure. Fingers again started to hitch against fabric, Blaze heard her own purrs fill the air.
She was finally about to consider switching places, offering her trophy a chance to prove its worth and claim a position for himself, when her ears shot up straight. Her back arched as she pulled her lips from his; she completely froze and her rumbling ceased. When Silver went to speak her hand found his mouth once more; a quiet cacophony of clicks was sounding from the far side of the room. The great sealed door was reopening...
Someone else was about to enter the treasury!
Blaze shot to her feet, her eyes fell upon the dazed hedgehog slouched in the throne. Her gaze flashed across their surroundings; the floor was still littered with silverware the hedgehog had dropped, but the other ornamental pieces would provide them cover at least for a moment. He could be seen here, he was scheduled to do this work, but what would the intruder think of her? Who could possibly be walking in on them now? How long had she spent down here, basking in his company?
The psychic seemed to have realised what was panicking her; he rose to his feet just as she had, "Do you want to hide?"
The cat answered his whisper, "I think that would be wise, I'm not meant to be here..."
He snatched up her hand but didn't pull her far, casting his eyes across a trio of old wooden closets. With a wave of his hand all three swung open, revealing a variety of anachronistic dresses in varying states of decay. With a second gesture clothes from one of the cabinets emerged to arrange themselves across the other two, leaving a fully empty space.
"I'll put it all back later, get in there," He instructed, taking control after being beneath her this whole time, "I'll get rid of whoever it is, they've almost certainly come looking for you rather than me."
Blaze stepped into the wood cabinet, but hesitated on the threshold. She turned back to the hedgehog, reached to his chest, and in one swift movement pulled the crop top over the hedgehog's head. She muted the look of surprise in his eyes by reaching out with her free hand and sorting his quills.
"I can't do anything about your blushing, but I can at least make you look a little more proper," She quickly fussed before pulling back, beginning to close the door, "Do what you can to get them to leave, go with them to look for me if you have to. I'll sneak out a few minutes after thing have cleared."
As the closet door shut Blaze heard the sound of psychic whirring; the hedgehog was plainly setting more of a scene and tidying up in advance of the intruder's arrival. Beneath that din Blaze couldn't hear the newcomer's footsteps but, eventually, Silver's noise quieted. With no way to see in this tiny space, the cat could only press her ear to the doorway.
"...but have you seen her majesty?" A clear voice sounded, one of the butlers, "I believe she's resting between meetings at the moment but another florist has appeared, interested in offering their services for your upcoming wedding."
"Oh, um," His acting was already off to a poor start "No, I've just been down here, doing the work she assigned me."
"Ah yes; some simple duties to get you more accustomed to royal life," The posh sounding servant exclaimed, "I must say, I spent a few hours in this room myself tending to the heirlooms. I do have some recommendations if you'd lend your ear? There are..."
This could go on for a while; thankfully the worker's own longing to explain the mundane was keeping Silver from over-speaking. He was surely being bored to death but he could handle that. If things went on like this then the visitor would catch themself sooner or later, notice they were wasting time here rather than seeking her, and resume the search elsewhere. They'd leave soon enough of their own accord.
Realisation struck the cat, bringing with it a wave of panic. For all of her sneaking, despite the luck she'd scored ducking into the wardrobe, she'd made a blatant misstep. Her jacket, not to mention her shoes beneath them, were piled by the door. The butler seemed not to have noticed the garments upon entering, but when he returned to the door he'd surely see them!
"When it comes to the older golden works a delicate hand is absolutely necessary. I've found the certain cleaning products tend to take the shine off of..." The koala was still prattling on, she had an opportunity!
But she was trapped, they were surely just beyond the closet doorway and she had no idea what direction the butler was looking. She could emerge only to immediately step into their eyeline or be totally free to creep around and to the pile... perhaps even out of the treasury itself. But that wasn't a solution, just a poor option, there had to be another way.
The cat turned, feeling along the wall at the back of the dresser. Not only was it a valued heirloom of generations long passed, it was too well made to quietly break off or through. Singing a hole certainly wasn't an option either, both the smell and the historic value lost would be too great. Admittedly, if she didn't care for it she wasn't sure why anyone else in the kingdom would, but that wasn't the point!
"Actually, I do have a few questions," Silver's voice stirred the cat from her panic, she turned back to the entryway, "Would you mind joining me over by the armour?"
What was he doing? It wasn't as if he knew she'd abandoned her clothes and was searching for an out... granted, he probably presumed she'd had shoes on before coming here? Did he genuinely want tips on polishing armour? Surely not.
Blaze waited until the footsteps had moved beyond earshot and words were no longer clearly audible. She gently pushed the left door ajar, just wide enough to gaze out and confirm they weren't standing immediately in front of the door. It was possible that the box's entryway was still within view, but she was willing to trade potentially being caught for an immanent certainty.
The door was quietly shut behind her; the princess' ears once again spiked high but now her body was hunched to crouch low, hoping to harness the relics littering the space as a thorough form of cover. She weaved deeper into obscurity as she made for the doorway, avoiding the most direct routes for fear of falling into obvious view. She spun over chests, beneath hanging tapestries and around a standing army of overdressed mannequins.
By the time she'd snuck her way back to the treasury's entrance she was panicking that the intruder would be on their way back too. Her clothes were bundled beneath her arm, she threw her eyes around the room but thankfully found no stares returned. For a moment she debated fully fleeing but quickly decided the locking mechanism's clicks would draw too much attention. No, she had to return to hiding... but there was little need to return to where she'd been before.
Blaze put her back to the left wall but kept low, edging her way around with baited breath. She slipped closer upon becoming aligned with a set of eight hanging tapestries, decorated with golden and red patterning; depicting all manner of historic regal insignia ranging from great golden wings to glowing flames and feline faces of times long past. With her body behind the fabric wall she felt more than comfortable. At the sound of passing footsteps she could so easily round to-
The sound of voices snatched the pyrokinetic's attention. She didn't dare step through the cover she'd secured, now entirely blind to their positioning on the other side, but she couldn't help listening. Though it at first sounded about how she'd expected, with Silver being talked through the steps of dismantling and repairing aged armour, she couldn't help but notice how quiet the hedgehog was being. For what felt like minutes the attendant babbled away, had the hedgehog really been curious about doing this job better?
"Hey, um," Silver finally piped up, "You should tell that florist to make an appointment and come back later," The words seem to almost burst from his throat, he immediately began to ramble, "Blaze has been swept off of her feet lately; she normally is with royal duties, now she has our wedding planning on top of that. If now is meant to be a break for her then she absolutely needs it. I know she has been doing this her whole life, but if she works too hard now she'll struggle later," Silence filled the air for a moment, Blaze thought she heard the fellow begin to speak but Silver cut him off, "I know I'm not the prince yet, so I can't take burdens from her directly, but it's always been my job to look out for her. If this can wait then she should be allowed to rest."
The guardian was stunned, realisations flashed through her mind. He'd been trying to get her out of earshot, trying to make sure he could make this insistence without her emerging and insisting otherwise. Concern for her, their lack of rendezvous and the extremes she'd gone to in order to meet him today, had plainly pushed him into acting. How long had this all been weighing on his mind? Had he done this before? Had he tried to?
"I suppose you would be in the best position to know her needs," The servant admitted, "But are you certain she could not spare-
"I'm certain," Silver cut the butler off, "I don't know where she is, but I'm sure she's hiding in the hopes of getting just a few minutes rest. Just getting into that position will have already stolen time from her break this afternoon."
"That is assuming she is hiding in the first place," The intruder pushed back.
"You'd never get her to admit it if she was. She'd happily take to the work the moment she heard there was a visitor," Silver retaliated, "But I'm telling you, she needs to rest just like any other person. She's strong and smart and..." The hedgehog seemed to catch himself, she could imagine his hands flailing, "She's a lot of wonderful things, but she's a person just like the rest of us. Everyone needs rest."
The conversation grew quieter and scanter, Blaze was tempted to step closer only to then hear the sound of footsteps passing. Clicking soon followed that movement, the sounds of the great door's mechanism shifting, followed by the great shifting of stone and then its resealing. Were they alone again, or had Silver been the one to leave? What had happened in their quieter conversation?
She dared to peek beyond the over-expensive curtains only to sight a cyan hue and hint of white quill moving away from her. A smirk crossed her lips as she stepped out from behind cover, leaving her clothes behind again but keeping a stolen piece with her. For the third time today her senses heightened, the cat found herself walking on her tiptoes as she again rounded by the heirlooms and relics of her kingdom. Her eyes locked upon a set of wild white quills arriving before a familiar piece of furnishing.
"The coast is clear," She heard him call out, opening a closet, "Did she slip away when I was-
For the second time today, the cat snuck up on her companion. Her right hand found his waist as she moved to stand beside him. As expected, he was staring into a thoroughly empty closet. Well, she was too.
"Perusing the royal treasury?" She let her head tilt to reach his shoulder, "I wonder what you're looking for..."
"Something important," It'd taken him too long to come up with that, but now his arm was around her waist too.
"Wouldn't happen to be this, would it?" She held up the shirt Amy had given him, the word trophy husband was plainly within her grasp.
"Not quite," He picked up the shirt regardless, slinging it over his shoulder, "This however..."
His right hand found her left, his fingers slipped to fill the gaps between hers. She rolled her eyes at his corny display, but squeezed his hand in return. His lips topped her forehead as her tail joined her arm in curling around him.
"I will admit, that was all quite professionally handled," Blaze almost complimented, "You were quite close to princely, almost there."
"What?" He blinked as he started to blush again, "Oh, I take it you heard all that then..."
"Only the good parts," Blaze insisted, rising to her tiptoes to rival his height, "Though I'd have liked to hear some more compliments."
"Those I can provide," Now they were forehead to forehead, lips so dangerously close, "But, I'm sorry I tried to hide what I was doing from you."
"You did," She pushed her nose to his, allowing lips to shift closer still, "Why?"
"Why? Well, um," She closed her eyes as he started to panic, "I got the feeling if you heard me trying to stop you working, you'd just insist on working harder?" She could feel him fidgeting, "You've done that before."
"That doesn't sound like a compliment to me..." He squirmed even more at those words.
"Y-You're right about that, but I feel like I need to explain," He took a step back and her eyes opened, meeting with a serious yellow stare, "I did it because I don't really know what my job here is going to be like, or what a prince consort really is, but I know what I want to do. It's what I've always done," She felt his grasp on her tighten further, "I make sure you're okay. That comes first, always."
"Silver," He was only getting more sentimental with age, he truly was growing into his role, "Well, I suppose that's not too far from the title's literal meaning."
"This is what I'll do, from now on and forever," She could feel herself growing more flushed, he always had been too blunt, "Even if that means tricking others; I'll dedicate myself to keeping you as comfortable as possible. That should be my job, nothing else."
"You're so naive," Despite feeling like she was burning up, a wiry smile lingered on her lips, "But I like the sound of that," She could permit his foolishness, at least for a little while longer, "Why don't you show me?"
She slithered from his grasp but kept hold of his hand, set to lead him back to the throne they'd shared. The soon to be queen would be claiming the seat this time. After all, he'd said it himself, it was important that she rest during her rare breaks.