Heirot

Vlad lost his composure as the biscuit assailed him in the skull. He fell apart laughing and tumbled off the bed dramatically. "I'm hated and slain by my own wife," he lamented, playing dead.

Tenele smiled at Vlad's silliness. She enjoyed this, even if they had been picking on her. The light-heartedness was exactly what they needed after all the dark.

Atul joined Tenele at the table, slipping his robe on. He smiled at her as she ate across from him, admiring how the sunlight made her hair sparkly like diamonds. She looked beautiful with bed-hair, all wrapped in a sheet. "Feel free to stay in my bed all day if you want," he told her. "I think Vlad and I may have business in a few hours. Meetings."

"Again?" Tenele muttered. "Are they concerning the towns?"

"We may need to make a visit to Ida," Atul muttered, pushing his food around on his plate. "I'm not sure yet."

Vlad rolled onto his side, comfortable enough on the floor. "How far is the travel to Ida?" he asked, remembering just how little he knew about this country in comparison to his own.

Atul winced. "It will take us about a week to get there, meet with the elders and settle the problem, and return." He pushed his food around a little more, seemingly nervous about talking. "The problem being that I'd like Tenele to stay here and look after the affairs while we're gone. But, I wanted to speak with you about it first. I know how you don't like leaving her alone."

Tenele glanced to Vlad lying naked on the floor. "But, we have Knight now... and I have Stalker. I think its safe to say, that the deadliest enemy we had is gone. I'll be fine alone for a week. Even if I will miss Vlad's presence in our bed."

"Its up to Vlad if he'd like to join me or not. I would like his accompaniment. I think having a member of Ighten with me would easy the people's mind about our alliance." Atul took a bite of his food. "Its not set in stone. We'll see how the talks go today."

Vlad's mood dropped into the stone he was lying on. He forgot to shut his mouth for a few seconds as he studied the king. "You do not know anyone here," he said, stiff and disapproving.

Deep down, he knew she could handle herself. The coldness settling like a rock in his stomach was not about whether she was safe without him. Was he really this needy?

"What is so urgent that it requires us to work separately?" he demanded. It sounded plaintive, and it was. He knew the work of a kingdom could not all be done under one roof, and that political responsibilities would require travel for them both.

Come to think of it, he'd never really been separated from Tenele, except by violence.

Atul frowned, sensing the mood shift. Tenele could sense it too, but more directly. "Ida is a wealthy port town to the north. Arken makes a lot of trades there. I need to convince the leaders of Ida that they need to follow me, or Arken could move in and take them over. If they do that it will cut off a lot of supplies to cities outside of Ida. I need my people fed, Vlad. I need to prove to the leaders of Ida that we have the support of Ighten, or they will side with Arken instead. I'm still not completely out of a civil war, and I don't need another one starting."

Tenele pushed her plate away. "It makes sense for me to stay here, Vlad. I'm capable enough to deal with any problems that may arise while you both are gone. One of us has to represent Ighten... If you feel more comfortable with it, I could go to Ida with Atul and you could stay here. But, someone Atul trusts has to watch over the capital."

*I don't want to be away from you, either,* she murmured through their link. *I'll miss your arms around me at night.* It had been a long time since the two of them had been on separate missions. Many years in fact.

"Of course," the dead king said. There was some stiffness left in his eyes, but his tone was composed. "I should make some preparations." He rose from the floor to his feet, too smoothly for a human. "I may as well bathe, if I'm to play diplomat," he forced a smile at the unsavory idea.

He had too much pride to return Tenele's words, at least not yet. To be devastated before even leaving seemed truly ill-adapted, especially for someone like him who had successfully been alone for hundreds of years before.

Another pang of despair, pursued by frustration.

"I will meet you upstairs, my love," he saluted them both and warped casually from the room.

Tenele frowned when he left.

"He's upset with me," Atul muttered, pushing his plate away.

Tenele shrugged. "Its hard to say. I don't think he's upset with you, though." Tenele moved to stand, wincing. "Ow..."

Atul stood up quickly, putting an arm around her and a hand on her arm. She could tell he was trying hard not to smile, but she could see the pride in his eyes. "I'm glad you find this amusing."

"I'm sorry," he whispered, nodding. "This is very serious. Your husband seems to have left you in my room and its uncomfortable to walk. Would you like me to carry you next door?"

Tenele pushed him away. "I'll manage, thank you."

"You can stay in my bed," he offered again. "I won't mind."

"Get your own shower, your majesty." Tenele tapped him on the cheek with her hand and headed slowly for the door.

Vlad tilted his head back and squinted into the abusively hot water stream. He took a deep, unnecessary breath and tried to clear his mind.

Ever since last night, he hadn't felt like himself. Between the poison and the risk of losing Tenele, and the battle with Verin, he'd been through everything in the past few days. But he'd assumed that when their enemies were conquered, these issues would all just go away.

Instead, he was still riding this sense of adrenaline and impending loss.

He'd heard of things like this before, but even as he acknowledged that, he didn't even consider labeling himself the same way. Creatures like him did not deal with issues like that. He clenched his fists around air and finally punched off the water with enough psychic violence to garner an alert snarl from Stalker in the next room.

Tenele hobbled in, closing the door behind her. Stalker jumped up, padding over to her. He sniffed all around her, his lip curling. "Oh," she muttered. "Don't give me that face. So I wasn't paying attention to you, well you've got me all to yourself for a week buddy."

Stalker seemed to be trying to figure out what... or who... she smelled like at the moment. She imagined he was quite confused given that she'd been packed between Vlad and Atul. Tenele went to the bed and climbed onto the mattress. She crawled under the covers and rested against the pillows on her side.

Stalker jumped up next to her and curled in behind her back, resting his head across his paws.

Vlad was toweling off when he heard Tenele's soft voice talking to stalker in the next room. An unconscious grin crossed his features. It was good to have her in his life. It was good to know she was safe. That he would keep her safe. That she could keep herself safe. He took another deep breath and opened the bedroom door. "No slumber parties while I'm gone. No staying out too late or drinking too much, or generally having any fun without me," he teased.

Tenele smiled against the pillow. "Fine, the same goes for you," Tenele told him. "You and Atul can't have any slumber parties either."

Stalker popped his head up at the sound of Vlad's voice and watched him curiously.

"I don't want you to go away," Tenele whispered, hugging the pillow. "But, its only a week. A week isn't so bad. You were gone a week when you trained Talon."

Vlad came to the bed and sat down next to her. "Yes. After all, I need to get back before Stalker ruins my side of the mattress," he frowned at the beast and his giant form sinking into the cotton platform.

"If you need us, call for us. Don't even think, just call. Okay?"

Tenele smiled at him. "I will," she told him softly. She sat up, wincing as she did so. She laughed softly at how Atul hadn't been lying when he admitted to being very thorough. Tenele cupped Vlad's face in her hands. She kissed his lips gently, letting the sheet slip away from her. "I'll call if I need you, I promise. Try not to get into too many fights while your gone. Let Atul do the talking."

Vlad's face rose into a sadistic smirk. "And deprive this country of my stunning wit? I wouldn't dream of it." He stood and leaned down to give her one more kiss, forcing himself to be quick. Then he pulled on a long cloak with a hood that had been left for him by the maids. he liked the idea of being as covered as possible, if he was to ride in the sun all day. He'd thrown some supplies in a leather sack, which he slung over his shoulder. "I will see you in a week," he said, taking in the sight of her on the bed, her silver hair lit by the morning sun from the balcony. He would imagine her that way, until he could see her again.

With a quick wave, he turned and let himself out the old fashioned way.