The next morning Chris woke up with the sun and slumped down to the bottom floor of the house.
She sat down on the couch and tucked her feet to the side. She felt lighter now. Less trapped, in fact, she felt freer than she had in her own castle. For the first time, she didn't feel the need to act a role in a play. Zeven was still an issue, but Chris could work around that. Especially in the mornings. He didn't seem like an early riser, which left her a good hour or two to do as she pleased.
Gunter was also awake, but Chris found herself liking the old man. He was short, and slow, but he was a genuinely good person. It was easy to see why Zeven kept him around. Their personalities were polar opposites, which made sense seeing as having two people as high maintenance as Zeven would be a nightmare.
It was cute to watch Zeven follow Gunter around like a small child, but it was hilarious when Gunter would turn back and scold him. Chris had even begun to notice similarities in their behavior. Like how they comforted each other and the looks they threw around. There were some stark differences too, most of Zeven's probably stemmed from his actual father or at least the people he was around before he met Gunter. It was almost like there were different masks Zeven wore; he had his hardened war general, the child, the son, the prince, and most importantly the King. She never knew which one to expect, nor did she know which one unsettled her more.
Zeven was different from anyone she had ever known. He didn't stay in any of these mindsets for long, he could shuffle through the different faces at the speed of light, which left Chris dizzy. She couldn't understand how Gunter could manage to keep up with all of them. Which led her further down the rabbit hole, wondering if any of those masks were actually who Zeven was.
They say you should know your enemy and it felt like he could read her like a book, while she couldn't even reach his shelf. These thoughts kept her occupied for some time as she also started to doze off. Her head rested on the arm rest and her arms were splane over the back and in front of her body.
An hour passed before Zeven finally shuffled down the stairs. He kept his hand on the railing of the stairs as he walked down. Rubbing his eyes before deciding to close his eyes all together and just feel his way through the house. This was not an uncommon occurrence and he made his way into the kitchen with no trouble.
Gunter was already waiting for him with a cup of coffee, pre sweetened. "If I may… you look awful." Zeven rubbed his eyes as he sat down on a bar stool and leaned over the counter top. He kept his hands on his mug to keep from knocking it over at some point. "You really should be sleeping more." The earned Gunter a look from squinted eyes as Zeven silently told him his joke wasn't funny.
Zeven propped himself up on one elbow and used his other hand to bring his coffee mug to his lips. "Is Christopher up?" he took another sip of coffee, it was less sweet than he wanted it to be, but Gunter never let him have his way with the sugar jar, he was always stopped before he could get his fix.
"She is, she woke up hours ago. Out of the two of you, you definitely look worse." Zeven squinted at Gunter, as Gunter smiled proudly at him. "Don't look so pleased old man, I can still take you on." Zeven was particularly grumpy this morning and Gunter got his kicks in where he could. "Not this early you can't."
"It's almost noon-"
"My point exactly."
Zeven took an exasperated breath before collapsing back on the counter top. Gunter laughed softly at Zeven before laying a hand on his shoulder and giving it an affectionate squeeze.
Finally peeling himself off the countertop, Zeven took another drink of coffee. He ran his hand through his hair, trying to tame some of the stray curls. "Where did you say she was?" He looked over at Gunter who had made himself busy washing vegetables. "I didn't." Zeven pinched the bridge of his nose and shot a glance over at Gunter, who looked like he was barely holding in a fit of laughter. "It's too early for this," Zeven said.
"It's nearly noon."
"My point exactly."
This time Gunter couldn't stop the laughter and his old shoulders shook with his chuckles. He barely managed to point his finger in the direction of the large living space outside the kitchen. Zeven assumed it was the answer to his previous question.
He made his way out of the kitchen and scanned the large living space for any sign of Chris. Expecting her to be up pacing he was startled to see an arm flung over the back of the couch. Stuffing his hands in the pockets of his pants, made his way to the center of the room. There was a small coffee table that sat in between the couch and the armchair, and Zeven sat on the edge of it. Leaning in closer to Chris so he could see her face more clearly. She looked fast asleep. And Zeven chuckled to himself after seeing how much of the couch she took up in her sleep. From end to end she had spread out, leaving no room for anyone else to sit.
It was not princely behavior to do such, so he figured she must have moved in her sleep. Her light blonde hair was strung every way and was knotted and tangled and crushed in her sleep. He couldn't help but want to reach out and touch it, it reminded him of a time in his childhood he often looked back on. But his time to indulge in such things had passed for when his gaze returned to her face, her eyes were already open and she was staring back at him.
Before he could say anything, she had already returned from her sleeping position to an upright royal position. Pulling her legs and arms back from their extremes. If not for the crown of messy hair, he could have believed that the sofa was her throne and she was in the middle of royal negotiations. He couldn't help himself from taking this moment to tease her, "I see you are using your month wisely."
"I've been thinking-"
"Did it hurt."
"Zeven-"
"Hold that thought… Please~" the way he said please made it clear that it was more of a joke than a formality. Practically skipping out of the room, Zeven made his way back into the kitchen. He grabbed the medium package that he had dropped in his rage last nice, and sauntered his way back to Chris. She had not moved, but it was clear that his abrupt disappearance was not appreciated.
"Wipe the frown off your face. I come bearing presents!" This did nothing to change her icy stare, if anything she looked colder. Zeven walked around in between the coffee table and the sofa, setting down the brown package he stuck his hand in and grabbed an item off the top. Concealing it in his hand, he turned to Chris and smiled, "Close your eyes," He paused waiting for her to do such. "You must be out of your goddamn mind if you think for a second I would willingly comply." Zeven leaned over towards her, his hands coming over the top on either side of her, "pardon my reach." he joked.
Chris didn't find it funny as she used her own arms to break out. She remained seated, and this was her downfall. After he had been brushed aside he swung his knee over her lap. Careful to pin her down without hurting her. He then wrapped his arms around her torso trapping her arms in a tight hug. Chris was too shocked to retaliate as she was immobilized. She flinched as she felt his rough hands graze her neck. Although she couldn't see what he was doing, she could feel his hand gently pulling at her hair. His chin nestled in the crook of her shoulder as he worked. Humming softly in her ear he released her from his hold before dashing to the other side of the coffee table behind the armchair.
He rested his hands on the back of the chair ducking slightly behind it. "You can call it a peace offering." he crouched lower in case she decided to throw something his way. Zeven watched as Chris's hand reached back to her hair. He could see her feel what he had placed there, "It's not pink!" he added quickly.
He had placed a soft ribbon in her hair, the ribbon itself was nothing special, but it was a pale blue color that reminded him of something. Her platinum hair was still knotted but now it was pulled back away from her face. "You can keep it in your hair for now, we can use it for other things later."
Chris finally snapped, she stood up and grabbed the closest thing to her, the brown package and hurled it towards Zeven's face. He ducked completely behind the chair which gave Chris a split second to round the table unnoticed. When Zeven peaked his head over the back of the chair he saw that Chris was gone. The intense arua behind sent a shiver down his spine as he figured out where she was.
His laughter erupted causing his body to shake. Chris practically pounced on him, she wrapped her arm around his neck in a choke hold. He took his hand and grabbed onto the arm around his throat, pulling it just enough so he could breathe. He kept laughing the entire time as he began to stand up from his crouched position. Chris was in no mind to let go as she hooked her legs around his waist. Tightening her grip on his neck, she was determined to not lose this fight.
Zeven's laughter confused and frustrated her, the hand on her forearm had a firm grip. His rough hand wrapped around her arm, completely encircling it. His other arm rested on one of her legs that were around his waist, doing nothing more than sitting on her skin. He stood completely upright for a second before another wave of laughter hit him, this time he bent forward. Chris could feel herself slipping, she squeezed her legs tighter, but what kept her from falling face first was Zeven's hand which held her left thigh steady.
As he laughed, he carefully maneuvered his back to the chair. Chris felt her butt brush on the back of the arm chair, and then fully rest on it. Zeven's rough hand on her neck tapped out, "I give. I give." It was hard to understand him, his voice was breathy and raspy. Chris understood what he wanted, and although she would have enjoyed seeing him pass out, she released her choke hold. Using her hands to balance herself on the back of the chair, she glared at his back. Watching him as he moved away from her, his laughter finally started to stop. He threw himself on the couch and Chris watched the rise and fall of his chest as he got his breathing under control again.
"What was so funny?" She looked at him as he smiled away. "You tried to use strength moves on someone almost twice your size. What are they teaching you over in your country?" Her chest tightened, the majority of hand to hand combat she had learned had been centered around being either stronger or bigger than your opponent. All of it was almost useless against him.