Will decides on a thin book with a soft green spine. It's well worn and probably made for children, but at this point, Will couldn't really care. The two books he was adamant on reading are still in the bedroom and he still doesn't know how to return. He carries down the stairs and falls into a comfortable armchair across the room from the young woman. She looks up over her pages. Will meets her dark silver eyes. She has pointed ears, fluffy black hair, and dark, warm brown skin. "Hello," He greets quietly before reading the title of his book.
"Morning," she responds in the same library voice.
"He is." Marie replied simply, as if that was the entire truth. "Now tell me the real reason, Kazimir. You married me, not that whore."
"He's not a whore. Don't call him that." Kaz said sharply.
"Then what is he? Why are you so concerned about him? I am your wife, Kazimir!" she shouted. "He is some ugly human you dragged in, why does he matter so much to you?"
Will had only just flipped through the table of contents before the woman across the table stands up. She shouts, followed by a loud thump. Will sits up and finds her flat on her face, her short heel stuck on the leg of the table.
"Are you alright?" Will quickly sets his book down to help her to her knees. Her face is blushing bright red, eyes wide with humiliation.
"I'm fine, I'm fine…" She waves Will away, looking like she wants to bury her head in her hands. "I didn't mean to disturb your reading."
"I…" Kaz trailed off. He couldn't tell Marie the truth, but what could he tell her? What could he say, that she would accept?
"Tell me, Kazimir, what that ugly slut has done to make you so enamored with him." she snapped, standing up and still glaring daggers at her husband. "Now, darling. Or I'll get in contact with my father and see what he can do about this."
He gritted his teeth. "He's…" he searched his brain for a long moment. "He's pregnant." he finally blurted, before he could fully think through the consequences of those words. Then his eyes widened, and he shot from his seat. "No, Marie, wait–"
"I see." she was already walking from the room before he could get another word in, and he plopped back into his seat with a sharp exhale. What had he just done?
Completely unaware of the utter bullshit happening in the other room, Will helps the woman to her feet. "Are you sure that you're alright?" He asks again.
"Yes, I'm sure." She laughs sheepishly and tucks a chunk of hair behind her ear. "I'm Eloise."
"William." Will reaches a hand out to shake. She carefully takes his hand in her own and shakes. "I haven't seen you around before."
"Oh, I'm usually here or in the ballroom. My father likes to know where I am, so I rarely stray away." Eloise laughs softly, her voice oddly musical. "And you–"
"I'm–" Will cuts himself off. The word concubine sounds disgusting on his tongue. "The emperor's… companion."
He groaned faintly, rubbing his face with his hand and swallowing back the last of his coffee. Well. Perhaps he had better go find his concubine before Marie did. Unless she was headed back to her room. He wasn't sure what she was going to do, and he wasn't going to ask. Not when she was so furious at him already. Sighing, he left the dining room and began to head towards the library.
Eloise squeaks as Will introduces his title. She dips her head and pulls at her skirt in a hasty curtsy. "Please, don't do that–" Will cringes. "Just treat me as a friend."
"I'm sorry–" Eloise straightens, the friendly awkwardness from before now much more formal. "I just don't meet a lot of the emporer's… lovers?" She seems juts as uncomfortable at the prospect as Will. "Unless you count Lady Marie, but believe she's much more of political figure than a wife."
"Understandable," Will agrees with a short nod. "I've only known her for a short while but she's been… unpleasant." Eloise snorts behind her hand at the confession.
Marie was unpleasant to everyone, really. She did not like this area. She wasn't from it. But she could not move away from the capital without causing too many rumors about things going on between her and Kaz.
Kaz walked slowly, knowing Will probably needed some time to calm down after all those interactions with Marie. She…had not been pleasant. He almsot didn't understand it. It wasn't as if she and Kaz loved each other. This marriage had always been about political conveience, for both of them.
Eloise grabs her book from Will and carries it over to a vacant slot in a shelf. A poetry book. "I've known Marie for decades. Even before she married the emporer she was temperamental and rude." Her face screws up as she turns to Will. "I don't like talking much about it."
"If you don't mind me asking," Will begins. "How did you become affiliated with the kingdom?"
Eloise sighs. "My father is a member of the king's court. Rhuben Kniyte, a treasurer for the kingdom. He was placed into this position shortly after the emperor returned to power and my father took me with him." She shrugs. "I've been here since I was a teenager. This place is practically my home."
Kaz continued walking, hoping that his accidental slip to Marie wouldn't end in trouble. He didn't have any children, in this lifetime. Not with anyone. So if Will had been pregnant, it would have been his heir. Which…didn't bode well. Marie would be furious at the idea of someone else having his heir.
"So, do you know Kazimir?" Will inquires and Eloise looks fairly shocked at the passive use of the emperor's first name.
Recovering from her stupor, Eloise shrugs. "I've been in the same room as him. He made eye contact with me once, and I thought I was going to be struck down by some divine bolt of lightning." She wrings her hands together and sits down on a cushioned loveseat. Her soft blue dress poofs. "He terrifies me."
Will purses his lips. "He's not too bad–"
"You've only known him for a few days!" Eloise laughs. "William, how biased has he made you?"
Kaz eventually came to the library, opening the doors quietly and starting to look around for Will. The human could be…anywhere, really. There were so many nooks and crannies and small hiding places within the library that if WIll had hid himself, it could take a long time to find him. Of course, Kaz doubted that Will had hid.
"I'm afraid he's poisoned my mind already, Eloise," Will teases. "If you don't mind me asking, what were you reading?" He tries to glimpse at the title of the rose-colored cover.
"Oh!" She shows the cover. "Just some prose. I've read it a thousand times." Her eyes glisten. "Here, let me show you the section." She grabs Will's wrist and leads him across the sitting area and past the front door towards a second, more hidden set of stairs. Will just barely catches a glimpse of Kazimir as he's dragged past.
Kaz immediately saw Will as the young man was pulled past him, and he began to quietly follow the pair. Not, of course, in a creepy way, just in a quiet way. He didn't want to interrupt, but he also had come here with the intention of finding William, and in a library this large, if he did not follow now, he might not find them again for a bit.
Eloise finally stops her bustling when she reaches a tall, beautiful curved shelf. The titles are in various languages, the colors in every pastel of the rainbow. "My favorite author is Fellinworth–she also wrote a lovely romance series I grew up on, if you're into that kind of thing." Her fingers sort through the shelf, landing on a large dedicated section to Reghn Fellinworth.
"She sounds talented." Will carefully pulls a tome from the shelf and carefully flips through the first pages. From the corner of his eye, he spots Kazimir lingering near the staircase. "Hello, again," He greets softly. Eloise whirls around with her eyes wider than saucers.
Kaz gave Will a soft smile, approaching them. His gaze moved over Eloise for a moment, but he didn't say anything, just wrapped an arm around Will and pressed a soft kiss to his temple. "Feeling a bit calmer now?" he asked softly, gaze flickering to Eloise again after a moment. "Made a friend?"
Will goes still as the Snake kisses his head, eyes wide as his mind struggles to catch up to the situation. His heart stutters and stops and races all at once and he could very easily fall over if not for the arm around his waist. (God, is he this touch-starved?) "Yes," he agrees after a beat. "Her Highness a hard woman to be around." And then he turns his attention to Eloise. "And yes, I'm sure you've met Eloise? She's the treasurer's daughter." Eloise stiffly raises a hand to wave.
"Hmm, she is." he replied, in agreement to Will's words about his wife. He studied Eloise for a long moment, raising his eyebrows faintly. "And yes, I believe I have met her. It was a while ago, though." he was quiet again, letting the silence simmer, before adding, "Good to meet you again, Eloise." he continued to hold onto Will, tightening the arm around his waist just a little bit.
"I–uh, yes, uh thank you your majesty–" Eloise looks more panicked then anything. Her dark blue eyes flit around the room before she slots her book on the table. "It's uh–bye–" And then she's off, her flowing blue dress tailing behind her as she sprints down the stairs.
"You scared her off," Will mutters, finding himself leaning into Kaz's hold. His head drops onto Kazimir's shoulder; his eyes slip shut.
Kaz hummed quietly, leaning his head against Will's. "Mm. My apologies, darling, should I summon her back?" he asked, not seeming to consider the fact that him summoning her would very likely scare her even worse than a simple greeting had. He liked his treasurer, for the most part; the man seemed to be a decent sort of person, which was hard enoug to come by in Faeryland. Not, of course, that Kaz really had much room to talk.
"No," Will murmurs. "No, I'll find her later." The pet name lingers in his mind. It feels warm. Homey, lulling him off to a peaceful state of mine. "I've missed you." The words unexpectedly fall from his lips, but Will isn't surprised at the truth. How long had he spent longing for the hold of someone from lost memories?
"And I have missed you." he replied, voice soft. "I waited for so long for you to come." he hummed very faintly, reaching to wrap his other arm around Will and holding him close, reaching to gently cup the back of Will's head, smoothing his hand over the human's hair. "I am glad you are here now." should he warn Will about what Marie now thought was the truth? Probably.
"Okay," he mumbles, not entirely sure of what else to say. The moment is soft and tender, nearly delicate as any inconvenience could break it. It's warm and Will never wants to leave. He leans into Kazimir's touch, trying not to think about how those same hands he's leaning into are the ones who have killed him in thousands of lives before.
Kaz was silent for a long moment, hesitating on if he should break this silent, soft moment. It was sweet, and Will had not been open to this sort of sweetness much this cycle. But…he had to say it. He sighed, leaning his head against Will's. "I, ah…accidentally told Marie that you're pregnant." he said, voice low and a touch embarrassed.
"What." Will's eyes fly open. "What." He pushes away to arms-length, fingers digging into Kazimir's biceps. He can't even marvel at how sculpted they are because his mind is too busy trying not to explode because Kazimir told Marie what? "You told her I was pregnant?" His voice raises and he wants to shake the Snake senseless.
