They sat silently in Atlas's hidden cabin in the forest surrounding the kingdom borders. A handful of people knew where it was, and they had ridden horses half an hour getting there. Not a word was said. As Orion brewed some coffee beans, Atlas sat before the empty fireplace with intertwined hands upon his lap. Orion brought a mini tray of coffee and biscuits, laying them on the table between the two chairs by the fireplace. He took a seat and remained silent, and yet it seemed as though there were so many unspoken words between them.
"You were right," Atlas whispered.
Orion merely tilted his head in response as he picked up a cup of the steaming beverage.
"I'm not sure," he continued.
Orion said nothing for a long time. His stillness began frustrating Atlas because he was expecting an "I told you so" from his cousin. But all he got was a quiet; a judgmental, angry quiet. He could sense the disappointment yet the relief radiating off Orion. It was so perplexing, he didn't know if Orion was mad at him for his initial decision, or if he was relieved at his final decision. It would've been better if he had yelled at him even!
"Damnation, Orion, say something!" he grunted out.
He didn't. Orion sipped his coffee a few times, raising Atlas's anxiety, before releasing a tired and disheartened sigh.
"I put in so much thought and effort only for you to chicken out," he joked with a small smile.
Atlas huffed in disbelief at the untimely joke, but couldn't help the smile appearing on his face; he picked up his cup to hide it.
"What do I do now?" Atlas voiced his doubts.
"Normally I'd say that's for you to decide, but not with Sana involved. What you are going to do is separate with your lover and concentrate on repairing your broken marriage," Orion affirmed with an authoritative tone.
Even the King couldn't help but shiver a bit at the covered threat behind Orion's command. If he made a mess of things again, Orion was promising consequences. It was amazing to see how protective he was over Sana, like an older brother she never had. Atlas had no reply to that, but his silence was enough to tell Orion that he understood. There would be no more immorality, no more sleepless nights, no more looking at another, no more tears. And no more laying in a lonely bed.
Sana was walking her room, and she found the door slightly ajar. She assumed it was the maids cleaning up, but what made no sense was that it was already noon. Usually, they'd be done by then. She heard shuffling from within and decided not to startle whoever was inside, and so she slowly and delicately pushed open one of the large wooden doors to reveal a maiden who looked around her age.
What shocked Sana was not that she was rummaging through Atlas's wardrobe, but rather that she was actually smelling Atlas's robes and garments! She held one of his bathroom robes against her face and she inhaled the blissful scent on it. Atlas used a perfume created and fashioned for him specifically, it was unique to only him, and goodness! Did it do its job right! Since there was a servant trying to gorge as much of it into her. She had her eyes closed and appeared to be lost in ecstasy as she tightly clutched the fabric.
Sana was too stunned to do or say anything. After a long moment of just staring, she blinked herself back to reality and quietly took steps out of the room, her room, to give the maid some time to gather herself. Once outside, she faked a lengthy, loud yawn, to which the maid snapped out of her trance in a flurry and as quickly as possible, put the robe back in its place. She cursed herself for losing focus, she was only supposed to smell it for a brief moment! Now the Queen was outside and was about to catch her red-handed. She composed herself, straightened her back and melted her face into one of neutrality.
Sana was intentional about giving the maid some time, before she stepped in rubbing her eyes as she feigned fatigue. Well, it wasn't particularly fake since she truly was exhausted from all the recent stress. She looked up and pretended to be surprised by the maid's presence.
"Oh! Hello, I didn't anticipate anyone in here," she lightly said.
"Your Highness. I apologize, I had woken up late and so cleaning was delayed," the maid responded in a shy voice as she bowed towards Sana.
"Oh, no problem. We all have our days. Are you done? I'm a little tired and would like to nap." Sana strolled over to the extremely lavish king-sized bed in the dead-center of the room.
The maid was quick to take the hint that Sana wanted her gone.
"Of course, Your Highness," she bowed deeply once more before turning to leave.
When the door closed Sana's heavy and tense shoulders dropped instantly. It was…perplexing to say the least. What she witnessed. She knew of the effect Atlas had on the women of the kingdom, and servant girls often considered themselves rather very fortunate at having the chance to bask in his 'excellence'. Sana rolled her eyes at that thought; there was nothing excellent about a faithless man. But anyway, the servant girls were all just happy to be there, overtaken by his attractiveness. Not only was he handsome, but he was also highly intelligent, a great leader for his people, and a compassionate man for those who approached him. He was everything they wanted in a man and more.
But she never expected an obsession such as smelling his clothes!
She shook tiredly her head and sighed. Atlas probably had quite the charming reputation among the maids that she didn't know about.
Her mind then wandered to where he had gone. She woke up alone in bed, like every other morning. However, she'd normally find him in the throne room, the council room or the library if not anywhere else in the palace. She overheard General Amon mention Orion to another councilman, which would certainly make sense. Those two were like children when together, arguing over the stupidest matters, doing the stupidest things. Wherever they were, she was sure they were doing something they weren't supposed to.
"Man-children," she muttered as she started stripping.
She laid under the bed's cover and lowered her hefty head down. As she closed her eyes, preparing to sleep, the smell of smoke gradually filled her nose. She furrowed her eyebrows. Who on earth would be starting a fire so close to the palace? Was there a parade she didn't know off? But then, she heard a commotion outside her room which made her shoot up, jump off the bed and don a gown, before she sprinted out of the room in the direction of the sound.
Just as she exited, she ran into a severely panicked Amon.
"YOUR HIGHNESS, RUN!" Amon exclaimed as he waved his arms for her to move back.