Oh.
My.
God.
It had been three hours of nothing but sitting here whilst this guy painted us. For the sake of this man's ability to keep on living, I hope that he will just fucking finish already. These people are lucky that it isn't an actual infant doing this shit because I'm pretty sure it would have made this whole experience as shitty as possible for everyone. However, I am the asshole that has to sit here silently for hours on end.#
Fuck it. No. I can't take this anymore. Peace. I'm out.
Crying came to this body naturally, of course. The moment I let out a slight whimper, all eyes fell on me. For the first time in three hours, the woman hands moved to cradle me slightly. Malachi just stood there awkwardly, unsure as to what to do.
Alcuin, who had been silently reading in the opposite corner of the courtyard, gently placed her book down before walking over to us. She didn't seem to be in a particular hurry. She picked me up and instantly quieted down as Alcuin held me in her arms. She smelled explicitly of vanilla and fresh coffee, it was remarkable, really.
The platinum blonde-haired man sighed as he placed his paintbrush down and ran his fingers through his silky hair. He seemed to open his mouth to say something but seeing the queen seemed to make him reconsider. Instead, he turned to Alcuin, and again opened his mouth to say something but quickly changed his mind.
The ruffle of her skirts made me aware of the queen standing up. As I turned to see, she was curtsying to the king. Without another word, she disappeared back through the door she had first entered through.
A heartbeat of a moment later and the platinum blonde man was already speaking. "I think I just felt my soul return to my body."
"Nuriel! She is my wife!" A big grin was plastered across Malachi's face as he pressed his palm to his chest in faux offence. Both of the men laughed in the way only close friends do.
Nuriel, the platinum blonde man, stood up in a janky, unnatural motion. He almost seemed to fall but had used air magic to hold him up. The swirls of wind then moved down behind his legs and pushed them in order to walk. Malachi was watching him with concern. Once Nuriel had adjusted to moving using the air to move different parts of his lower body, he turned to Malachi. The movement was nowhere near fluid nor did it look all that comfortable but Nuriel just smiled regardless.
"Only the base is complete but we are quite ahead of schedule due to the princesses patience. It will most definitely be done before her first birthdays. Both of them."
What? I thought children only had one first birthday but I suppose you learn something new every day.
Malachi only nodded. "Let me take you to see a priest-" The king began to say but was swiftly cut off by his friend.
"No thank you."
"But your legs-"
"Are perfectly fine. " Nuriel hid his annoyance under a smile. However, he was radiating, 'please, close your big mouth,' energy.
I looked at his legs, wondering what the problem was when I saw the metal that was where his ankles were supposed to be. Alcuin asked the exact question I was thinking. "What happened?"
Malachi only shot his friend an apologetic glance before looking away. The painter ran a hand down his face and let out a deep breath before replying, "I lost both of my legs in a war ten or so years ago." He didn't seem too distressed about it but just... resigned.
Is that why he was using his air magic to move his metal leg replacements? Oh no. Please don't tell me that they have not even invented wheelchairs yet...
"Magic is the only way I can move around. If not for that, I would be permanently bedridden." He said as he took a few steps forward.
Thank you for confirming my theory, good sir, but, oh you dumb poor stupid people. It's literally as simple as sticking two wheels to a chair. I'm not sure if it's only because I am from such an advanced world but It seems that their dependency on magic has caused technological advancements to slow.
I am not having this. While I'm here, I might as well make a few basic improvements. Starting with a wheelchair.
There's just one problem, however....
I am still a fucking houselant!