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“Good morning, Queen Ivy.” An all-too-familiar sound makes its way into her room, and there’s that 6’2 giant of hers, consisting entirely of repressed emotions and sleep deprivation. She’s grown far more dependent of him in the last few months than she’d originally liked to admit. Honestly, the only reason he’s yet to find his equal in combat is because he’ll be the death of himself before it’ll happen.
Still, being able to prod him is far more amusing than her long night of deskwork was, so it was a welcome change of pace.
“Morning, dear. Slept well?” She says, shooting him an analysing glance he’s become far too fond of.
He stretches his arms, preparing to disappoint her with his regular self-destructive ways. “I got far too busy running all the way over here to even consider it.”
She sighs. “Of course you did.. what’s the occasion, anyways?”
“I figured I’d find you working a long night and thought you could use a break.” He says, smiling at her as brightly as ever.
And luckily, it is a much-needed respite that rubs off on her. She’s not one to show much emotion, but the small bit of tension leaving her shoulders is enough of a victory for him.
“Much appreciated. At times like these I really do envy you Brodians. I wish I could brawl my problems away just as easily, but it’ll take far more diplomacy than that to sort out this mess.”
He frowns. “Yeah.. my father certainly left us with quite the world to govern.”
But, he thinks, they’ve been hurt by the past long enough to ponder that now.
They’ve been making an incredible difference in a short time, and he had to make certain she didn’t lose sight of that either – so he decided to place his hand on her shoulder as an act of affirmation.
“But still, it is our world – and we’re doing a great job. It won’t be long until our nations can walk hand-in-hand.”
Her lips curve ever so slightly into a smile. “You’re right.. thank you, Diamant. That’s in no small part due to your charisma as well, however. I’m amazed that the Brodian nobles budged so easily.”
“Hah, you’d be surprised. The first batch of Elusian jewelry using our gems is all it took to change most of their minds. They’re like corvids with that sort of thing.”
His brazen way with words never fails to amaze her. “Quite a way to talk about your own people, King Diamant!”
Oh, but he knows she’s messing with him if she’s bringing out the honorifics. “I’m just saying it like it is! You’ll see for yourself one day.”
“Yes.. I sure hope so.” She says, with a surprisingly solemn look on her face.
“Certainly. At this rate, it won’t be long until the Divine One makes the preparations for that party they’ve been wanting to throw ever since we’ve told them about our plans.. regrettably.”
They had been seeing each other in secret for quite a while, but it wasn’t until their visions of the future were being put in motion that they had the hope to one day reveal it publicly - and so they decided to marry in secret until their nations were as proud to see them walk hand-in-hand as they were.
She smirks at the concept of him being the center of the wedding’s attention. “Oh yes, you struggling with the crowd Pandreo’s going to gather is a mental image that’s kept me going for a long, long time.”
He scoffs. “Like you’re any better with them!” There’s nothing quite like riling him up to recharge her energy.
“Not at all, dear! But you’ve always been wonderful at making my suffering a lot less lonesome.” She sneers, just before giving him a quick kiss on his cheek as a reward.
And there’s also nothing quite like her earnest affection to throw him off-guard.
“Yeah.. we’ve certainly been through a lot together. Hard to believe all this started because a certain princess got scared of some foliage.”
Considering she’s poked at one of his weaknesses, he thought it only fair to follow up.
“Tch. You should be glad nobody else was around to hear that.” She grumbled, jokingly.
He smiles wryly, knowing she’s sure to get her revenge one day. “Wouldn’t dare say it otherwise, dear.”
She ponders about their past for a moment. “..But yes, we’ve certainly come a long way since then. I.. can’t thank you enough for it, Diamant.”
He shakes his head, and holds on to her necklace with the same wonder in his eyes as when he saw it for the first time. “No need to thank me. Even if the gem gave you the courage, you’re the one that shaped my vision of the future with this. I wouldn’t be nearly as driven towards making it a reality if it weren’t for you.” He lets go of the necklace, and instead, hugs her tightly. “Thank you, my love.”
As always when he proclaimed his pure and unwavering love, she clammed up at his sincerity.
Growing up, everyone around her was nothing more than conniving and scheming – so she couldn’t help but be suspicious.
But Diamant.. Diamant is different. Far too simple for ulterior motives. He wants nothing more than to make amends for the country his father’s left behind, and due to their relationship, he’s devoted body and soul to mending even Elusia in his own way.
They’ve both lost so much, but gained a comfort none other could understand in the process.
And they’re certain there’ll be a day where everyone in their world learns all about it.