From the moment Christopher was born, he was raised to one day rule as king. Everyday training and striving to live up to the expectations, but never able to reach it. All Chris knew was that she had been sculpted to be a perfect tool, and that even after Christopher took the throne, Chris would only be a figure head for her father.
All public appearances had been strictly monitored and staged to protect her secret. Even the day that Christopher would take a queen and have an heir was planned. There was no room for her, all they wanted was Christopher. She was never permitted to step a single foot outside the carefully drawn box, and she had been suffocating long before she knew what the taste of air was.
For all of their tragedy, on the battlefield was the first time she had a chance to lead and make decisions. Being so far from her father's grasp, she was allowed new chances. She had several chances to put her knowledge and strategies to use as the commander of the army. Despite her father putting her in that position mainly for show and ordering a string of generals to make decisions behind her back, the only battles that their army won were the ones that she studied and strategized for.
But none of that matter now, now was not the time to wallow in self-pity and regret, now was the time for action. Chris was not ready to go quietly, she had bowed her head to too many people too many times. Chris knew what a good king looked like, and her people needed a good king. This moment in time was simply an obstacle standing in her way. And the quickest way to get around something was to get through it. She needed coffee, she wouldn't be sleeping tonight.
The evening came and went, the night came and went, and Chris paced around the dining table for the millionth time as she scribbled notes on the pad of paper. Every so often pausing to take a swig of coffee or rearrange the scrapes of paper that covered the tabletop.
Gunter had come and gone in that time. When he arrived back at the house he heard something in the kitchen and came in to see Chris making coffee. One look at her let him know that there was nothing he could do to convince her to go to bed, so he didn't. Gunter smiled, pointed out where the extra pads of paper could be found and left the disaster area.
With the morning sun beginning to pour into the kitchen Chris figured she'd waited long enough, and she left her mass of papers on the table and left the kitchen. She passed Gunter on the way up the stairs. She said something to him that he wasn't entirely sure was even words before continuing to climb. Instead of walking up the stairs and heading to her room, she threw open the door to Zeven's room.
"Time to wake up! I think I found a solution." The lump in the bed curled in tighter as it made angry, tired noises. Chris didn't have time to wait for Zeven, so she strode up to his bed and ripped the blankets back. "I literally fell asleep twenty minutes ago." His voice was gravely and tired as he stumbled over his words. He began moving, uncurling from a ball, Chris saw that his chest was bare and apart from his boxer's the only other article of clothing on his person was a stray sock that clung halfway on his foot.
Finally sitting upright, Zeven rubbed his eyes and suppressed a yawn. He looked up at Chris and froze as for a moment the person in front of him was the woman and his voice caught in his throat for a moment. Turning his head to the side he grumbled "Give me five minutes. Close the door on your way out." She did. Making her way back downstairs to grab another cup of coffee.
Zeven put his head under the faucet and tried to scrub away the memories. His lack of sleep wouldn't kill him, but it didn't help the situation. When he saw Chris standing in his room, he didn't recognize her. All he could see was the woman, she was fuzzy like a faint memory, but everything about her was remembered by him as she was. Her hair, her skin, her voice haunted him; she snuck into his dreams and, now that Chris was here, she had even managed to appear when he was awake.
His rational brain understood that Chris was not the woman, but sometimes the lines blurred and he was caught off guard as two blended together.