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Streams of crisp, golden light from the afternoon sun flooded the palace's ornate hallway through the stained glass as Gwyn walked down towards her and Eris's bedchamber. Her husband hadn't been present during lunch for a reason that Gwyn suspected she knew. Still, she wanted to make sure that he was alright and not just assume. Perhaps she could ask someone to send his lunch to their room. For now, she needed to be by her husband's side.
She was about a few yards away from reaching her destination when someone came up in front of her, making her strides come to an abrupt halt. She looked up to find a male looming over her, his sombre hazel eyes transfixed on her. Azriel.
Blushing slightly under his heavy gaze that never got interrupted by so much as a blink, she greeted him, 'Ah, hello, Sir Azriel. How are you today? Her voice sounded dimmed and timid, quite unlike her usual manner of speaking.
'Hello, Gwyn'
She blinked, but it wasn't surprise that clouded her expression. She was indeed the Crown Princess of The House of Autumn, and everyone else, except Eris, was to address her as 'Your Royal Highness'. But Azriel was the sole exception, for he was more than just their knight.
She locked eyes with him and felt her cheeks burning. There was something akin to adoration in those hazel orbs, except there seemed to be a darker, more dangerous shade to it. Something that tugged deep in her heart; it was not unfamiliar, but neither of them dared to put a name to it.
'You look troubled, my Lady', he uttered such formality with such an intimate yet respectful tone, it made her breath hitch, and sparks danced around the beating of her heart.
'Only worried, for Eris wasn't present during lunch'
Azriel's expression softened as he offered her his hand, which was marred by countless battle scars and also a far more traumatic type of barbarity that he had endured when he was a mere child. Gwyn would have acted on impulse and kissed those scars, but she didn't want to risk exposing this fragile trace of something between the three of them to the brash world. That something was precious, and they all vowed to protect it.
So instead she gave him a smile, one that was carved out of genuine affection and placed her hand in his much larger ones. In return, he brushed a delicate kiss on her wrist, the caress lingering far longer than what propriety allowed.
Heart beating fervently alongside the unwavering concern she harboured for her husband, she replied, 'I think Eris would appreciate your presence. Do come along.
Azriel nodded, offering a quiet smile, which she was tempted to trace with her lips. But she kept her expression neutral, although she was sure that Azriel could see beyond any mask both she and her husband would don for the sake of their position. That was something that both thrilled and terrified her in equal measure.
Hand in hand, they made their way along to her and Eris's bed chamber, unaware of the reciprocal fervent beating of the Knight's heart in tandem with her own.