HOME | DD

Description
The enormous corridors of the castle were warm busy, with many paintings and ornaments carefully placed along the walls which gave it an inviting look, but didn’t take away the fact that you were inside the royal palace. You followed anxiously behind the King, too afraid to make eye contact with the stern looking guards that looked you up and down with intimidating stares as you passed. The sun filtered its way through the colossal glass windows, painting your exhausted face with an illuminating light and causing you to squint. The only sound now was the rhythmic tap of the King’s and your feet combined echoing through the hallways.

You stepped with your back straight and your eyes focused, absorbing the image of the man that strode before you. His masculine shoulders dipped with each step, and you watched the fabric of his clothes crinkle with his muscles and movements. A few stray white hairs had escaped from the King’s head and lay lazily over his forehead. He quickly combed them back with his pale fingers, before turning to face you.

“Here is where you will get cleaned up,” he said, motioning towards the closed door. You dipped your head in response, remembering the dirty ash that stained your cheeks. Elias’ lips twitched into a friendly smile. “A maid will be in there to help you.”

You nodded and with a small thank you and turned to enter the room, but a firm hand on your shoulder stopped you. You craned your head towards the King, your eyes connecting with his. His pupils seemed to enlarge ever so slightly as your line of sight connected, sending a chill down your spine. Or, maybe, it was his power radiating from his hand?

“And leave those gloves on, _______. We’ll be dealing with them later,” he said, his voice coated with a friendly tone. You couldn’t help but smile at him.

“Okay, Your Highness,” you responded. You didn’t like the feeling when his smile dropped, but his ice-looking eyes still had a warm glow to them.

“Please, ______, call me Elias,” he smirked. He gave your shoulder a light squeeze, before finally letting go and allowing you continue on your journey to the bath.

You had to admit, it was embarrassing being stripped down by other woman and place in a hot bath. As soon as your skin collided with the hot bath water, the swirling, steamy liquid turned a filthy grey. A maid pulled a face at your shameful state, before pulling out a fluffy brush and towel and scrubbing you down. You were sure she scrapped some of your skin right off with her hard scrub, but it was nice to finally be clean. In all honesty, you hadn’t had a hot bath in months. Not everyone had the same privileges as The Great King Elias himself.

The maid’s skinny fingers jabbed and poked at your skull as she scrubbed your hair clean, her unyielding grip ripping your fine hairs from your scalp. You contorted your face as she poured the now luke-warm water over your head, the shower collecting all the bubbles that danced on your head.

With your clean self finally out of the bath, the maids grabbed and pulled at your hair, brushing all the knots and curls that you had grown accustom to all these years. You grit your teeth as they harshly ripped and pulled your poor hair. Your scalp felt like it was going to rip right off if they pulled another hair out. After what seemed like hours of pain, your hair was finally brushed and clean, tied back into an appealing French braid.
You stared at yourself in the slightly cracked mirror, your fingers massaging your gloved palm. You hadn’t seen yourself so clean and done up in years, it looked strange to you. You weren’t used to looking so... nice.

You were dressed back into your now clean leather huntress wear, refusing to wear the silk dresses that the maids offered. Too flammable. Too dangerous.

Finally, after minutes of stubborn arguing about clothing, there was a knock upon the door. You breathed out a sigh of relief as the King appeared in the doorway, his familiar warm smile still painted across his face. You could finally escape the rough grasp of these maids. You stood to face him and tried to return his friendly smile, but it came out more awkward than expected. The King’s smile dropped ever so slightly as his eyes flickered up and down your now clean body, his light brows coming down into a concentrated frown.

You fingered a stray piece of hair back behind your ear and broke eye contact with the King, turning your body away from King Elias’ stare. The King’s stare returned to your face and he shook his head, his pink lips slightly parted in awe.

“I’m sorry, I do not mean to stare. This is just the first time I’ve seen your face properly,” Elias remarked, “it’s nice.” Elias blinked and unfocused his eyes, as if he was thinking about what words unexpectedly escaped his lips. His nose twitched and crinkled as he pursued his pink lips and looked to his feet. You could almost swear there was a sponge of pink spreading on his pale cheeks.

“Oh, thank you,” you smiled awkwardly, your voice raised with a chuckle. You flexed your gloved fingers and brought them to your face. Elias seemed to get the idea.

“Shall we begin?” he asked. You nodded with anticipation, a real smile now spreading across your face. Elias breathed a laugh out his nose, before motioning you with his finger to follow him. You cracked your fingers and rubbed your palms together as you followed the blonde man, a small tinge of nervousness stabbing at your gut. What if you couldn’t do it? What if you hurt him? What if... you killed him?

You began to make yourself anxious. A small bead of sweat travelled from your brow to your cheek, which you quickly flicked away before Elias could see. You followed him out to a small courtyard. You bit down on your lip, remembering how you had flooded the other main courtyard with your stupid actions.

“We shall practice here. Alone, might I add, so do not worry about anybody watching you but me.” Elias turned to you. He looked so fierce and dominate over you; you felt so small and feeble standing before him.

“Okay,” you replied, tensing your jaw and straightening your back.

“Now, remove your gloves,” he said. You blinked at him, your bottom jaw dropping ever so slightly.

“Now? So soon?!” you rushed, your anxiety returning. You could feel your hands heating up upon hearing about their escape. King Elias nodded, flexing his own fingers and raising his palm. With a flick of his wrist, a burst of cold and ice danced from his palm into the air. You felt the cold air brush past your cheeks as the ice disappeared.

“You must feel your power. Do not be afraid of it. You are the one who creates the flames. Do not let the power control you; you must control it.”

You stared at your gloved palm, taking in each word he said carefully. King Elias took a step closer to you.

“Do not be afraid, ______. You will not harm me,” he smiled down at you. You pursed your lips and pointed your fingers, your other hand reaching for the tips of your glove.

“Do not be afraid,” you whispered as you clenched your gloved fingertips. You began to slide the titanium from your hand, but your increasing breath stopped you. You pulled the glove back down over your hand and looked up at the King, your face twisting in fear.

“How? How do I not be afraid? I am always afraid!”

“Okay. I see what we must work on first,” the King said, a calm smile never leaving his face. “We must take control of this fear.”

“B-but how?” you stuttered. The King motioned your with his pale fingers.

“Come sit,” he said. “Fear is a strong emotion, and it tends to complete take over your body. Trust me, I know. I used to be just like you, ______.”

“Really?” you asked as you sat before him on a seat conveniently placed in the court yard.

“Yes. Do you remember that raging winter that took over two summers ago?” he chuckled deeply. You watched his pale cheeks dimple with his smile.

“Oh yeah, and you and your brother worked together to defeat the dark voodoo!” You blinked and thought for a moment, realization taking over. “Hold on. W-was that you that caused that winter? Your powers?”

Elias dipped his head at you, his white teeth nibbling his gentle pink lips.

“Yes, that was me. Did you see how afraid I was? I caused the entire kingdom to freeze, and if everybody died, it would be my entire fault,” he said. You gulped at his words, your throat burning as fear ripped at your gut. “But my brother helped me control my fear, and I ended up unfreezing the entire Kingdom.”

“Woah,” you breathed, your eyes wide with awe. There was a silence between the two of you as you watched each other. Elias eyes seemed to glaze over with a sort of pride at your reaction, his jaw tensing and giving him a masculine glow. Suddenly, he cleared his throat, breaking the silence and turning his eyes away.

“Breathing is very important,” he said quickly. “Breathing changes when we are feeling anxious. We tend to take short, quick, shallow breaths that can gradually add to our fear. I want you to copy me, _______.”

“Okay.”

“Take in a slow breath in through the nose, breathing into here,” he said, tapping on his hard lower belly. You copied him and tensed your shoulders, drawing in a long breath through your nostrils and holding it in your gut. The King’s hands reached out ran along your shoulders.

“Relax. There must be no tension,” he said, his face noticeably leaning in closer. You tried to relax as his dark pupils burrowed into your own. “Now, you must hold this breath in your lower stomach for about 2 clicks of a finger.”

You held the breath inside as he lifted his hand and flicked his wrist, his fingers clicking twice. “Now exhale slowly through your mouth for about three clicks.”

You did as he asked and released your breath calmly. You had to admit, this breathing technique worked quite well. You could feel the beats of your heart calm as you repeated each step, your smile growing with each breath.

“Good, good,” the King smirked, gently breaking you from your calm trance. “How do you feel?”

“I feel... nice. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this calm before,” you sighed happily. The King seemed jubilant with your response. He clapped his hands excitingly as a burst of laughter rocketed out of his mouth.

“Good! See, this is a good start!” he cheered, leaning forward in his chair and clutching your hands. You flinched and inhaled a sharp breath, your heat beginning to contract faster within your chest, pumping fear through your veins. Elias noticed this but kept his grip on your gloved hands.

“Breathe, _______. Whenever you feel that stab in your gut I want you to breathe the way I just showed you.”

You did as he asked and repeated the earlier steps, the gentle breaths soothing your beating heart and destroying all fear that writhed within your veins. Here you were, tranquilly holding the King’s hands. This was a colossal step for you and you couldn’t help but feel proud. You pursed your lips and palmed at your eyes, feeling stupid for the tears the collected in your eyes.

You and the King practiced for what seemed like hours, taking control of your breathing and working on keeping you calm.

As the lesson came to an end, Elias head slanted as he watched you, his eyes warm and joyous. “You should very proud, _______. I want you to practice this breathing technique every morning when you wake up, and every night when you are ready in bed.” You nodded at him and sat up straight, having the courage to take his hand in yours again. The King smirked down at his entwined fingers upon your lap.

“Now, are you hungry?”

“Are we done now?” you asked, a little disappointed.

“For today, yes. I want you to work on your breathing and controlling your fear.”

“Uh, sure, I guess I’m a little hungry,” you said awkwardly.

“Perfect. Come along,” Elias chimed, untangling his hands from yours and stepping up from his seat. You followed him, your gut growling at you for forgetting about it for so long. To be honest, you were starving.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You lay in the large bed, your frame positioned dead center of the waves of soft sheets and blankets. Your stomach moaned in pleasure as it digested your dinner. A yawn escaped your lips as you rubbed your eyes, your tired body begging for rest. You practiced your breathing first, before losing consciousness mid-breath.

You dreamt about many things that night.What you will be practicing tomorrow, what you had for dinner, and of course, King Elias.

Description
The enormous corridors of the castle were warm busy, with many paintings and ornaments carefully placed along the walls which gave it an inviting look, but didn’t take away the fact that you were inside the royal palace. You followed anxiously behind the King, too afraid to make eye contact with the stern looking guards that looked you up and down with intimidating stares as you passed. The sun filtered its way through the colossal glass windows, painting your exhausted face with an illuminating light and causing you to squint. The only sound now was the rhythmic tap of the King’s and your feet combined echoing through the hallways.

You stepped with your back straight and your eyes focused, absorbing the image of the man that strode before you. His masculine shoulders dipped with each step, and you watched the fabric of his clothes crinkle with his muscles and movements. A few stray white hairs had escaped from the King’s head and lay lazily over his forehead. He quickly combed them back with his pale fingers, before turning to face you.

“Here is where you will get cleaned up,” he said, motioning towards the closed door. You dipped your head in response, remembering the dirty ash that stained your cheeks. Elias’ lips twitched into a friendly smile. “A maid will be in there to help you.”

You nodded and with a small thank you and turned to enter the room, but a firm hand on your shoulder stopped you. You craned your head towards the King, your eyes connecting with his. His pupils seemed to enlarge ever so slightly as your line of sight connected, sending a chill down your spine. Or, maybe, it was his power radiating from his hand?

“And leave those gloves on, _______. We’ll be dealing with them later,” he said, his voice coated with a friendly tone. You couldn’t help but smile at him.

“Okay, Your Highness,” you responded. You didn’t like the feeling when his smile dropped, but his ice-looking eyes still had a warm glow to them.

“Please, ______, call me Elias,” he smirked. He gave your shoulder a light squeeze, before finally letting go and allowing you continue on your journey to the bath.

You had to admit, it was embarrassing being stripped down by other woman and place in a hot bath. As soon as your skin collided with the hot bath water, the swirling, steamy liquid turned a filthy grey. A maid pulled a face at your shameful state, before pulling out a fluffy brush and towel and scrubbing you down. You were sure she scrapped some of your skin right off with her hard scrub, but it was nice to finally be clean. In all honesty, you hadn’t had a hot bath in months. Not everyone had the same privileges as The Great King Elias himself.

The maid’s skinny fingers jabbed and poked at your skull as she scrubbed your hair clean, her unyielding grip ripping your fine hairs from your scalp. You contorted your face as she poured the now luke-warm water over your head, the shower collecting all the bubbles that danced on your head.

With your clean self finally out of the bath, the maids grabbed and pulled at your hair, brushing all the knots and curls that you had grown accustom to all these years. You grit your teeth as they harshly ripped and pulled your poor hair. Your scalp felt like it was going to rip right off if they pulled another hair out. After what seemed like hours of pain, your hair was finally brushed and clean, tied back into an appealing French braid.
You stared at yourself in the slightly cracked mirror, your fingers massaging your gloved palm. You hadn’t seen yourself so clean and done up in years, it looked strange to you. You weren’t used to looking so... nice.

You were dressed back into your now clean leather huntress wear, refusing to wear the silk dresses that the maids offered. Too flammable. Too dangerous.

Finally, after minutes of stubborn arguing about clothing, there was a knock upon the door. You breathed out a sigh of relief as the King appeared in the doorway, his familiar warm smile still painted across his face. You could finally escape the rough grasp of these maids. You stood to face him and tried to return his friendly smile, but it came out more awkward than expected. The King’s smile dropped ever so slightly as his eyes flickered up and down your now clean body, his light brows coming down into a concentrated frown.

You fingered a stray piece of hair back behind your ear and broke eye contact with the King, turning your body away from King Elias’ stare. The King’s stare returned to your face and he shook his head, his pink lips slightly parted in awe.

“I’m sorry, I do not mean to stare. This is just the first time I’ve seen your face properly,” Elias remarked, “it’s nice.” Elias blinked and unfocused his eyes, as if he was thinking about what words unexpectedly escaped his lips. His nose twitched and crinkled as he pursued his pink lips and looked to his feet. You could almost swear there was a sponge of pink spreading on his pale cheeks.

“Oh, thank you,” you smiled awkwardly, your voice raised with a chuckle. You flexed your gloved fingers and brought them to your face. Elias seemed to get the idea.

“Shall we begin?” he asked. You nodded with anticipation, a real smile now spreading across your face. Elias breathed a laugh out his nose, before motioning you with his finger to follow him. You cracked your fingers and rubbed your palms together as you followed the blonde man, a small tinge of nervousness stabbing at your gut. What if you couldn’t do it? What if you hurt him? What if... you killed him?

You began to make yourself anxious. A small bead of sweat travelled from your brow to your cheek, which you quickly flicked away before Elias could see. You followed him out to a small courtyard. You bit down on your lip, remembering how you had flooded the other main courtyard with your stupid actions.

“We shall practice here. Alone, might I add, so do not worry about anybody watching you but me.” Elias turned to you. He looked so fierce and dominate over you; you felt so small and feeble standing before him.

“Okay,” you replied, tensing your jaw and straightening your back.

“Now, remove your gloves,” he said. You blinked at him, your bottom jaw dropping ever so slightly.

“Now? So soon?!” you rushed, your anxiety returning. You could feel your hands heating up upon hearing about their escape. King Elias nodded, flexing his own fingers and raising his palm. With a flick of his wrist, a burst of cold and ice danced from his palm into the air. You felt the cold air brush past your cheeks as the ice disappeared.

“You must feel your power. Do not be afraid of it. You are the one who creates the flames. Do not let the power control you; you must control it.”

You stared at your gloved palm, taking in each word he said carefully. King Elias took a step closer to you.

“Do not be afraid, ______. You will not harm me,” he smiled down at you. You pursed your lips and pointed your fingers, your other hand reaching for the tips of your glove.

“Do not be afraid,” you whispered as you clenched your gloved fingertips. You began to slide the titanium from your hand, but your increasing breath stopped you. You pulled the glove back down over your hand and looked up at the King, your face twisting in fear.

“How? How do I not be afraid? I am always afraid!”

“Okay. I see what we must work on first,” the King said, a calm smile never leaving his face. “We must take control of this fear.”

“B-but how?” you stuttered. The King motioned your with his pale fingers.

“Come sit,” he said. “Fear is a strong emotion, and it tends to complete take over your body. Trust me, I know. I used to be just like you, ______.”

“Really?” you asked as you sat before him on a seat conveniently placed in the court yard.

“Yes. Do you remember that raging winter that took over two summers ago?” he chuckled deeply. You watched his pale cheeks dimple with his smile.

“Oh yeah, and you and your brother worked together to defeat the dark voodoo!” You blinked and thought for a moment, realization taking over. “Hold on. W-was that you that caused that winter? Your powers?”

Elias dipped his head at you, his white teeth nibbling his gentle pink lips.

“Yes, that was me. Did you see how afraid I was? I caused the entire kingdom to freeze, and if everybody died, it would be my entire fault,” he said. You gulped at his words, your throat burning as fear ripped at your gut. “But my brother helped me control my fear, and I ended up unfreezing the entire Kingdom.”

“Woah,” you breathed, your eyes wide with awe. There was a silence between the two of you as you watched each other. Elias eyes seemed to glaze over with a sort of pride at your reaction, his jaw tensing and giving him a masculine glow. Suddenly, he cleared his throat, breaking the silence and turning his eyes away.

“Breathing is very important,” he said quickly. “Breathing changes when we are feeling anxious. We tend to take short, quick, shallow breaths that can gradually add to our fear. I want you to copy me, _______.”

“Okay.”

“Take in a slow breath in through the nose, breathing into here,” he said, tapping on his hard lower belly. You copied him and tensed your shoulders, drawing in a long breath through your nostrils and holding it in your gut. The King’s hands reached out ran along your shoulders.

“Relax. There must be no tension,” he said, his face noticeably leaning in closer. You tried to relax as his dark pupils burrowed into your own. “Now, you must hold this breath in your lower stomach for about 2 clicks of a finger.”

You held the breath inside as he lifted his hand and flicked his wrist, his fingers clicking twice. “Now exhale slowly through your mouth for about three clicks.”

You did as he asked and released your breath calmly. You had to admit, this breathing technique worked quite well. You could feel the beats of your heart calm as you repeated each step, your smile growing with each breath.

“Good, good,” the King smirked, gently breaking you from your calm trance. “How do you feel?”

“I feel... nice. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this calm before,” you sighed happily. The King seemed jubilant with your response. He clapped his hands excitingly as a burst of laughter rocketed out of his mouth.

“Good! See, this is a good start!” he cheered, leaning forward in his chair and clutching your hands. You flinched and inhaled a sharp breath, your heat beginning to contract faster within your chest, pumping fear through your veins. Elias noticed this but kept his grip on your gloved hands.

“Breathe, _______. Whenever you feel that stab in your gut I want you to breathe the way I just showed you.”

You did as he asked and repeated the earlier steps, the gentle breaths soothing your beating heart and destroying all fear that writhed within your veins. Here you were, tranquilly holding the King’s hands. This was a colossal step for you and you couldn’t help but feel proud. You pursed your lips and palmed at your eyes, feeling stupid for the tears the collected in your eyes.

You and the King practiced for what seemed like hours, taking control of your breathing and working on keeping you calm.

As the lesson came to an end, Elias head slanted as he watched you, his eyes warm and joyous. “You should very proud, _______. I want you to practice this breathing technique every morning when you wake up, and every night when you are ready in bed.” You nodded at him and sat up straight, having the courage to take his hand in yours again. The King smirked down at his entwined fingers upon your lap.

“Now, are you hungry?”

“Are we done now?” you asked, a little disappointed.

“For today, yes. I want you to work on your breathing and controlling your fear.”

“Uh, sure, I guess I’m a little hungry,” you said awkwardly.

“Perfect. Come along,” Elias chimed, untangling his hands from yours and stepping up from his seat. You followed him, your gut growling at you for forgetting about it for so long. To be honest, you were starving.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You lay in the large bed, your frame positioned dead center of the waves of soft sheets and blankets. Your stomach moaned in pleasure as it digested your dinner. A yawn escaped your lips as you rubbed your eyes, your tired body begging for rest. You practiced your breathing first, before losing consciousness mid-breath.

You dreamt about many things that night.What you will be practicing tomorrow, what you had for dinner, and of course, King Elias.