"I'm not embellishing anything, your Majesty," Xarakas was quick to assure her and defend himself, grateful that she didn't want to pry for details, but he wanted her to know that he wasn't lying. "There may have been some flirting that occurred during our training sessions, but other than that today was the first time things escalated beyond that."
He looked down at his lap with a sigh, nodding as she suggested that he speak with Asha when she woke later on. "I intend to, but I'm not sure what I'll say, and I'm afraid of how she'll react."
He fell silent as she began to tell her story, listening intently as the queen shared what was clearly an important and personal story about her relationship to the king and Asha. He couldn't help but smile faintly as she spoke about how Asha had acted, nodding in agreement as she stated that the princess didn't often think of herself.
"I've realized that. I'm just grateful that she listened to me when I told her she had to stop skipping meals a few months ago," he spoke, hesitating a moment before nodding as she instructed him to trust Asha's instincts should she decide to pursue a relationship with him.
"Admittedly we did talk a little bit about trying to pursue something more than just a purely physical relationship earlier, and seemed to be in agreement then, but after what I've done... I just don't know if she'll want that anymore, or if she feels like she could trust me. I know that I would have serious doubts if I were her. But I appreciate your help, and am grateful that you're not going to tell the King... I'll have to figure out how to deal with my patron, too, should Asha decide she wants to pursue a relationship... The High Priestess isn't exactly understanding of my requests for free time or deviations from my usual schedule… God, she's probably furious that I haven't returned already," he said as he stood, excusing himself before heading back to the bathroom to retrieve his wet clothes, attempting to wring them out as much as he could before he attempted to dress, struggling to get his pants on before returning to the Queen.
"I know that I'm not really in any position to ask for favors, but would it be possible to borrow a pair of dry clothes? I think people would notice and have questions if I were to try to leave like this."
Katze smiled as she noticed Xarakas's reaction to hearing about Asha when she was younger. It was easy enough to profess fondness for another, but he showed it in the way he acted.
Truthfully, it made her hopeful for Asha's future. She'd worried Asha would marry for the sake of whatever she thought best for Hell, partially because Asha would have already done just that if Katze hadn't leveraged her support in helping Ash keep her secrets to make Ash promise she wouldn't jump into marriage with any of her suitors unless Katze approved.
Shax, of course, had no clue about the arrangement, and Asha had become frustrated with Katze, but Xarakas gave her hope that she'd done the right thing.
"I'm grateful too. However you convinced her, you have my full blessing and even encouragement to do it again if you notice her doing anything else that's bad for her. God knows I've tried, but I have to pick and choose my battles."