Heirot

Vlad grinned. He was glad of the conversation. *Good. If you can last until morning, I will take it from there. When she wakes, guide them both here, and you can go have breakfast.*

Talon smirked, propping his feet up. *Sounds good,* he replied. He kicked back and waited for morning. When dawn came and Tenele woke up he collected Tenara and urged them into the King's room through the secret passage. Tenele was only mildly awake as her brother led her in.

The vampire deposited the little girl on the far end of her father's bed and urged Tenele to sit.

"How is he?" the woman yawned.

Vlad was sitting up against the headboard with a hand resting protectively on Atul's head. "He should come around in a little bit," he said quietly. "Did the date at least go well?" he asked as he watched the man sleep.

Tenele smiled. "It was very nice. He took me to a play and, while it ended very sadly, I enjoyed it. Then, we we had seafood and conversation, but..." Tenele's smile faded. "I may have hurt his feelings."

Talon coughed. "I'm going to go see about that breakfast..." He excused himself from the room quickly.

Vlad nodded to his bloodling as he left the room. Something about the way Tenele said it made him uneasy. "Why do you think you hurt his feelings?"

"I told him I didn't know if I was the type of woman who could love two men," she replied, dragging her legs up into the chair with her. She fiddled with the gown. "Its not that I've made up my mind.... I just... I don't want him to be hopeful of something that probably won't happen. I'm having a hard enough time loving one man. At first I believed him when he said he was okay with it, but the look in his eyes when that man attacked... It was fire and possession and torment. I was looking at a man who was straining against invisible chains, desperate, hollow, and pained. And I knew in that moment that he loved me as deeply and irreversibly as you do."

Vlad nodded. He understood. He had no choice but to understand. She couldn't love what she didn't love. But even with him, she had never gone so far as to tell him it was probably a no-go. To be invited on a date and then told that his chances were slim...

"I am sorry all of this has been thrust upon you," he said quietly. "It is a selfish thing to ask, but please keep trying to care for him." He brushed his thumb back and forth across his hair. "You should also be aware that last night, in protecting you, he exposed himself to a scandal. His advisors demanded the wedding date be moved forward with Espha. He will be committed to her in two weeks' time. Perhaps it is best that you have not come to truly care for him, because when that is done, we will not be able to spend time with him in public.

"I will keep trying to care for him," Tenele rushed, not wanting Vlad to think she'd given up on the idea already. She couldn't, not after seeing the look in Atul's eyes. "I am sorry for what happened and that his wedding has been moved up. I know how much it hurts you. If I had paid closer attention, he might not have been injured." Tenele felt her throat close up when she looked at the two men, and the way Vlad carefully brushed the King's hair and forehead. "You love him very much," Tenele murmured, glancing away.

"I love him because he loves you," Vlad said. "And because he shares my experiences fighting against his father. I made him fight back when he was weak, and he did the same for me. On top of that, our souls are permanently joined in protection of you. He's put me ahead of his entire kingdom on multiple occasions. He enabled me to have a true daughter, something that would have been impossible. He makes me a better man and a better husband," he murmured, and then stopped himself. He looked at her, a bit sneakily. "Am I making you jealous?"

Tenele blinked at his question, averting her gaze. "No," she replied, not as convincing as she wanted to sound. She immediately winced, which was also not a good thing to do after a lie.

What could she say? That she was only a little bit threatened by the man, because Vlad cared for him so much. That, despite his words, she did partially wonder if he would grow tired of how difficult she made his life and go for the easier lover?

"It is not jealousy I feel," Tenele replied smiling softly. "It is envy. I wish I could give you that feeling. That you could love freely without fear."

Vlad grinned. "That's kind of you. But I think most of the fear is brought upon me by myself, rather than you. You've been quite tolerant, I'd think." He left Atul's side, climbing down from the bed with supernatural grace even though it was garishly high. He stopped a few feet in front of Tenele's chair and crouched, looking up at her so she couldn't avert her eyes. "You're doing fine, Tenele. You're doing all you can."

Tenele appraised him thoughtfully, repeating his words over and over. 'You're doing fine. You're doing all you can.' She nodded, her lips curling. He was right. She was doing all that she could.

"So, how do we go about finding out who attacked us last night?" she asked, morphing into business. Mostly to get the subject off her. "It was dark and it happened too fast to get a look at him. He was wearing a hood low over his head."

About that time Atul lurched up out of bed. It was so abrupt that Tenele jumped. He flexed his bandaged arm and ran a hand through his black hair. "Gods, how long did I sleep?" He started to unwrap the cloth around his wound.

Vlad shot to his feet, fully focused on his recovered lover. "Fifteen hours," he said as he walked to the bedside to peer under the bandage with him like they were passing notes in class.

"Damn, that's longer than normal. I didn't even use that much power," he muttered. "It must have been the blood loss." Atul finished unwrapping the wound. The deep horrid gash that had been where his arm was nearly severed was perfectly healed. He reached forward and started plucking at the useless stitching. "I told that woman it would heal."

His gaze moved to the little girl lying on the far side of the bed. His heart softened at the way she curled around her doll. Then, he turned his eyes on the woman in the chair at the foot of the bed. His throat knotted all up and he flashed his eyes up to Vlad. "Anything happen while I was out?"

"Tenara and I didn't get our story," the vampire said sourly.