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Saeko looks out over her kingdom and sighs. She never asked to be the king, but if she’s honest, the idea has been growing on her. It’s been centuries since she’s been able to serve the people of Asgard, and despite her objections while being dragged back into it, it fills her with a true sense of purpose she hasn’t possessed since the mass extinction of her Valkyrie brethren.
It isn’t difficult to see why Keishin doesn’t want to be the king, but it’s almost unfathomable how he can bear to give it up.
As she is wont to do these days, Saeko spends her precious scraps of free time at a tavern in the nearby village. Nobody there knows she’s a king of any sort, so she can sit down and have a beer without being confronted with the sight of a people dragged down from the greatest heights to the lowest. She will never stop thinking about it, but at least her eyes don’t have to.
Her eyes don’t mind the bartender, either.
‘Pretty’ doesn’t quite describe Alisa, who looks around Saeko’s age but is practically an infant in terms of Asgardian longevity. She has long silver-blonde hair and even longer legs, and when she laughs at a joke, she does so with a toothy smile that coaxes a similar one out of everyone around her.
Maybe that’s why Saeko comes here. It’s been a long time since she has allowed herself to experience any kind of joy.
When Alisa spots her, she whisks to the other side of the counter and parks on the stool next to her. “Nice to see you again. You haven’t been around in a while.”
Saeko sighs. “I’ve been busy, but I’ll always come back to see you.” She props her chin in her palm and gives Alisa a crooked smile.
Alisa’s cheeks turn pink and she giggles. “I’m flattered.”
“It’s the least you deserve, my lady.” Saeko brushes a kiss on the back of Alisa’s hand, and she can hear Alisa’s breath hitch in her chest.
Sliding off her stool, on her way back behind the counter Alisa whispers in Saeko’s ear, “I’m off at midnight.”
That draws a shiver of anticipation from Saeko as she nurses her usual tall mug of beer, which isn’t bad for Midgardian swill. She sips and watches Alisa glide from place to place with a sort of grace that seems out of place in a dingy place like this. Her proud stature, her charm and looks, the straight posture that she makes look like the easiest thing in the world — they all remind Saeko of a queen.
Midnight rolls around, and Saeko is outside waiting. Alisa takes her hand and guides her through the long-memorized route to her tiny studio apartment. And even though they’re from different worlds in every sense of the word, Saeko is the luckiest king in the world to have such a queen, if only for a night here and there.