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Soren's eyes were closed as his elbows rested on his desk as he rubbed his temples while trying to keep his breathing calm. There was less than a month until Aaravos returned so he couldn't freak out like this, not over someone who was supposed to never show up again. All because Claudia decided to target a groupd of Celestial Elves and blinded a guy named Kosmo which led to the group trying to find her to get justice. Which also led to Lissa being dragged into the throne room because they believed her to be Claudia.
"You can't just barge in-" The doors slammed open and a woman with graying blonde hair was thrown into the room and onto the floor. "This witch attacked us!" The woman looked up, probably about to defend herself before she let out a choked noise.
Soren started at her and felt his blood freeze before it started to boil. He felt the familiar feeling of his skin starting to harden as he just stared. The woman- a witch in the eyes of the elves- was Lissa. "Soren?" Lissa sounded both heartbroken and relieved and he didn't understand it.
"She-"
A gentle knock cut off the memory and when he opened his eyes, Soren saw Corvus holding a basket. "Hey." Soren let out a small hum while Corvus entered and shut the door behind him. "You've been shut in here for a bit, are you hungry? Barius made some treats." Corvus gestured to the basket and Soren just stared at it.
He wasn't that hungry due to his stomach feeling like a giant lava pit. "Not really." Corvus hummed as he walked closer, placing the basket on a small table near a shelf. "Would…would you like to talk about it?" Soren looked at his desk and rested his forehead against the heels of his hands.
He didn't want talk about what happened or even acknowledge it, he just wanted to pretend it never happened. And it seemed Corvus understood that because he simply brought a chair close and sat down before placing a hand on his back. Soren couldn't help but lean closer to Corvus, his head resting on the man's shoulder. "She's with Callum and Opeli if you want to sneak out." Soren shook his head, he didn't want to do anything but he had some things to do, like paperwork.
"I have to do paperwork." Corvus hummed as he leaned his head against Soren's. "I thought you hated paperwork?" Soren let out a small huff.
"I do but Opeli is hounding me about it." Corvus let out another hum as he gently patted Soren's back. "Would you like some help?" Soren pulled away from Corvus and raised a brow.
"Why would you want to help me do paperwork?" Soren found it to be the most boring thing to ever exist in the world. So why would Corvus want to willingly do it? Unless he wanted something in return. The thought made Soren smile a bit which made Corvus raise a brow of his own. "Are you trying to get into my pants?" His question caused Corvus to weakly hit his arm with the back of his hand.
"I'm trying to be helpful." Soren snorted while Corvus just smiled at him. "Uh huh, sure." Corvus rolled his eyes while Soren couldn't help but giggle.
And he couldn't stop even while they did the boring work, even Corvus ended up a bit giggly. Which meant they didn't get much work done which meant Opeli would probably hound him even more but Soren didn't mind, not when Corvus was clearly entertained. But the joy ended when someone knocked on the door.
"It's unlocked." The someone was a guilty looking Rayla. "Your mom- Lissa… wants to see you." Soren felt the pit of lava in stomach slowly start to boil again.
"She refuses to explain unless you're there, we tried-" Her voice slowly became muffled while ringing took over.
It was like Viren. He never wanted to explain things unless he had someone he knew would believe him listening. Wasn't she supposed to be different? She never used Dark Magic, she never used people. Lissa was supposed to be different.
"Soren." Soren jumped slightly when he was pulled away from his desk. The wood was smoking and a few papers were slightly burnt. That's when Soren noticed how much his arms and hands hurt. They felt like they were ripped opened and like something boiling was poured into the wounds. "Hey, look at me." Corvus carefully guided his gaze away from the burnt mess and to him.
"I'm sorry, I ruined all-." Corvus just gave a small smile as he covered Soren's mouth. "It's ok, we didn't get a whole lot done anyways." Soren nodded as he let out a shakey breath before leaning against Corvus again.
Why did Lissa's appearance seem to throw him off? It shouldn't mean anything, she shouldn't mean anything. "You don't have to go." Corvus rested his cheek against Soren's head, his fingers running through Soren's hair. "She won't talk." Corvus hummed.
"Lissa…she isn't your responsibility, you don't have to help her." Soren hummed as he closed his eyes. "I'm Head Crownguard, if someone's guilty then their punishment tends to fall onto me and I…" Soren didn't want to think about that.
"Don't want to deal with it?" Soren nodded and Corvus hummed. "Would you like me to go with you?" Soren pulled away to look at him.
He wanted Corvus at his side but he didn't want Lissa to know about him. What if helping to confront one piece of his family drama made Corvus want to leave and never see him again? That was terrifying, probably more terrifying than disappointing his family. "No, I can go alone." Soren wiped at his face, willing any sign of distress to disappear.
Corvus simply raised a brow as if to ask if he was sure. Soren gave a weak smile and pressed a quick kiss to Corvus' lips before standing. "I shouldn't keep them waiting." Corvus hummed and Soren couldn't help but press a kiss to Corvus' forehead before leaving.
He can do this. He can handle hearing if Lissa is guilty or innocent. He can handle fulfilling any punishment she might have to face if she's deemed guilty. He just has to ignore the fact that his blood felt like it was boiling. Because he can do this, he's Head Crownguard afterall.