Heirot

The vampire didn't look at the man as he left. He stood very still until he heard the man part ways with Tenele.

"Forgive you..." Vlad scoffed to himself, his voice barely a whisper. He felt so horribly lonely all of a sudden that he regretted killing the pirate. He leaned against the wall and slid to sit on the floor.

Tenele finished breakfast. But, Vlad hadn't come out of the room. The King was gone. She sat at the table, pushing the left over food around on the plate. After several long minutes of sitting alone she stood up and went to the door shielding Vlad.

She hesitated, pacing back and forth outside, before she knocked. "Vlad?" she called through the door. "Are you okay? The King went away... Do you want to go back to the room?"

Vlad opened the door and showed her a false-calm expression. "Sorry. Picking at my food," he murmured, stepping out. In the end, he actually had made use of the man Atul provided. He kept reliving the king's expression, and his words. How could he say those things? How could he come to him and ask him to rely on him, after disappearing like he had?

Would it hurt less if he pretended he was okay with just being friends again? It seemed to be what Atul wanted. Why did he have to feel so guilty, when doing what the king asked would certainly be torture?

He blinked, jerking back to reality. He'd lost focus, and he was holding onto the door frame with a grip that could crush iron.

Tenele reached up and took his hand, prying it from the door. She took it and pressed it to her cheek. "Its okay," she told him comfortingly. "Come on. Let's go relax. Everything will be okay when we get Tenara back tomorrow." Tenele tugged him towards their room.

Back inside their room Tenele pushed Vlad gentle to sit on the bed. She climbed on after him, lying down with her head in his lap. "Do you want to talk about what happened with the King?" she asked him softly. "I'm good at listening."

Vlad looked down at her, hesitating. "He needs me. Not as a lover, but as his friend," he realized quietly. "I lashed out at him. He needs me, but I shut him out."

Tenele frowned for a second before a slow smile stretched across her face. "You can un-shut him out," she replied, her fingertips running over his knee. "It is simple. Go to him. I saw the look on his face. He was very upset when he left breakfast. It can't be easy for him, if he loved us so much, to be forced out of a relationship. He's a king... he had to weigh the lives of thousands against his own happiness. He did what a good king would do, didn't he? It seems pretty selfless of him... at least to me. I'm not sure how I saw it before I lost my memories."

Vlad hated when his wife was right. "I still love him," he murmured. "I wanted him to join our marriage."

Tenele remained very quiet, trying to imagine what sort of relationship they had that made Vlad willing to add another man to it. "I'm sure he still loves you too," she whispered to him. "Why don't you go see him?"

"I don't know what to say to him," Vlad said. "I wanted to see him for so long, but when we're face to face, I can't say the right thing."

Tenele sat up slowly. "Then, don't say anything at all. Just sit with him," she replied. "When I was frightened and upset you sat with me, and you held my hand. You didn't need to talk to me, and that was comfort enough. Maybe if you sit with him... he will talk to you?"

Vlad thought about it. "I suppose I can try. I'll go see him."

Tenele ginned, throwing her hands up. "Good!" she replied. "I'm sure everything will turn out nice. If you don't mind... I think I'll stay here. I don't know if I can warm up to him as easily as I did to you. He makes me nervous... a lot like you made me nervous when I first met you."

Vlad touched her cheek gently. "Maybe that's for the best. It may make things easier for you." He stood up and tried to be calm. "I'll go find him. See you later."

It wasn't hard to find the king's quarters, what with the guard posted outside. It wasn't the largest ship in the world. Vlad met eyes with the guard, and knocked on the door.

Atul looked up from drying his face, staring at his reflection in the mirror. He heard the knock, but he wasn't really prepared to deal with anyone at the moment. One interaction with them and he'd managed to revert back to the state he'd been in for weeks after leaving them. The shadows seemed to just flourish under his eyes, and the light dwindled from their blue twinkle.

This was torture, he thought darkly as he straightened and smoothed his clothing. But, it wouldn't be long. Vlad wouldn't tolerate his company, and he didn't blame the man, so he doubted they would stay in the capital very long after they found what they were searching for.

"My king," the guard called when he didn't go to the door immediately.

"Yes, yes, come in," Atul sighed, flopping into a wicker chair tucked into the corner of the room.

Vlad focused straight ahead as the guard let him in. He caught sight of Atul in the corner and narrowed his eyes. Had he looked that tired at breakfast? He seemed depleted, like all the air was let out of him.

The vampire stepped into the room slowly. "Atul..." he faltered. "I thought I might...stay with you a while."