The moonlight poured in the open window, the night was still young. Raina was fast asleep in her room, two doors down and Kyera stood over a sleeping Gale. He was old enough to sit up now… soon he would be crawling. She couldn't sleep. Her mind was lost in thought as she began to hum.
"I can guess where your mind is with that tone." Kan spoke softly as he walked up behind her. Kyera turned just a bit to smile at him.
"I didn't realize you came in." Her comment was almost praise, as he had slipped into the room quietly. However, he could tell by the look in her eyes, something was wrong.
"If your eyes are anything to go by, you don't have much room to notice me." Kan replied as he leaned against the window. The moonlight cast his shadow across the floor, beside hers and the cradle.
"I am troubled. There hasn't been any movement, any word since snowfall. Things have gone almost back to normal in The Forest Gate and Bastil is claiming victory." Kyera reached down and toyed with a strand of the baby's hair. It was starting to turn into tiny curls of moonlight on his head.
"Bastil is a fool." Kan replied shaking his head slowly. "A murderous fool at that."
"I didn't know you felt so strongly about him." Kyera chuckled slightly, but the sound was forced and weary. Much older than her years.
"A ruler must recognize the need and sacrifice of their guard. Only a fool tosses a loyal soldier to his death." Kan replied, he decided to stop himself from saying the name. It would hurt them both far too much.
"I know. As their Princess… I have to move on. As their friend, I feel the pain in my heart." She replied leaning on the cradle a bit. Kan looked at her, he really looked. She was weary and tired, bruises and a few light burns from training were clear in the moonlight. Her exhaustion was so deep in her bones that he could feel her need for rest at his very core.
"Kyera, go sleep. Your husband waits for you and I can stay with Gale. Nothing will happen to him as long as I breathe." Kan whispered moving go her and cupping her shoulder with a gentle hand. It was the motion of a comrade and friend of comfort and compassion.
"Alright. I will see you in the morning. If you need me…" Kyera trailed off as Kan waved a hand at her.
"I will get help if I need it. Go. Rest." Kan ordered and for once, Kyera obeyed. She wandered out down the halls of Fantasy's garden and into the bedroom she once shared with Kyera's grandfather.
Clovis lay in bed his stomach to the soft matress, a book in his hand and a candle on his bedside table. His hair still wet from the soak he had taken several hours before. Muscles were painful things to grow, and he had packed them on in the last month. He looked like a Frost Born soldier now, his skin kissed by the frozen sun leaving a dewy glow to him even as he lay in the moonlight. "Finally coming to bed my Love?"
"Yes…why do I get the feeling my Husband and Cousin conspired to get me into bed?" Kyera pl tired as she slid her dress and armour off facing the wardrobe as she pulled a nightgown from the closet. He remained oddly quiet; intentionally ignoring her comment.
She sighed letting the gown fall into place before walking to the bed. His body was tense and sore from the intensity of the work out today. It didn't take a trained eye to see the way the muscles were stiff and slightly swollen. Kyera felt a twinge of guilt, she was pushing everyone so hard but she had to. They couldn't go into this war anything less than fully prepared. It wasn't like defending the forest. This would not be a little skirmish with minor warriors. This would be a bloody battle and she had to prepare them for its intensity.
Kyera crawled up onto the bed beside him before moving to straddle his upper thighs. Once in place, he glanced back at her curiously. Then the feeling of her palms pressing and kneading his back started to reach his brain. She worked out every muscle with a practiced hand, earning groans and soft gasps as she hit a particularly painful knot. Soon the pain dissipated and the muscles lines of his back softened, no longer quite as painful as before. Kyera leaned down, placing a gentle kiss on his shoulder, letting her body lay on his back. He smiled, letting his wife cuddle and take what she needs from him.
After a long while, she slid off his back and laid down beside him, only to be captured. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her snug against his chest. Wrapping her in a cocoon of perfect safety that said more than words ever could between them.
"I love you." She whispered closing her eyes letting the exhaustion wash over her like a tidal wave.
"And I love you… no more talk." He breathed the words against her hair, kissing those moonlit strands before allowing sleep to take him as soon as her breathing evened out.