He frowned at the suggestion, squinting at Will for a moment as he considered the young man's words. He was quiet, thinking about that. "Fine." he eventually said, a grimace pulling at his mouth again. "If you insist, then I suppose I will." even though he didn't like the idea at all.
Will nods, chewing the last bit of food on his plate. He grabs an apple, a fruit that surely couldn't do him any harm, and takes a bite from it. "It'll be fine," Will murmurs. "If you ever grow tired of your meetings, you know where I am." Done with what little breakfast he had, Will gently stacks his plates and cup. With the apple in hand, Will leaves the room for the library.
He watched Will leave, standing and heading to his bedroom first. He was going to change into something a little more courtly, then go and attend to his duties. He would have far too much to do, and his advisor would be pestering him the whole day…he sighed as he walked towards the throne room, his crown now perched on his hair, glinting in the light.
The day passes with relative simplicity. He reads through a few poems, discusses flowers with Eloise for a spell, wanders around the library getting lost and found again. By the evening, at least Will has a decent idea of all the nooks and crannies of the room. Hell, the library has to be larger than an entire block on his village.
The sun is nearing the horizon when a servant finds Will flipping through a mapbook on a table in the dying light.
"I'm here to take you to dinner, sir," she says, wringing her hands together. "The Emperor demanded it." Demanded? The choice of word causes Will to raise an eyebrow. He bookmarks his place in the book, leaving it on the table with the other research tomes he had skimmed throughout the day.
Will allows himself to be taken through the hallways to the dining room, a path that he has now at least somewhat memorized. Sitting at the head of the table is Kazimir. Will wordlessly takes a seat next to him. Marie is nowhere to be seen.
will straigh tup walks to kaz at the end of the dinner table and snaps his neck no more rp ice you asked for this you fucking loser
(MJ NOOOO)
(thought you wanted the kitten sandwich :( )
(to any stalkers: NO KITTENS HAVE BEEN OR WILL BE HARMED, THIS IS A JOKE)
Kaz looked up as Will came in. The emperor looked tired, and he exhaled faintly as Will entered. "How was the library?" he asked in a soft tone, running a hand through his hair and gesturing to a chair for Will to sit in. "Find anything interesting to read?" he hoped that WIll, at least, had had a good day. His own had been full of lecturing and anger from his advisors, for ignoring them for the past few days in favor of his concubine.
(stabbing you in the face)
"Maps," Will answers briefly. "There's quite the extensive cartography section I never had access to before. I never knew there were mountains that separated this world from mine." It was a fascinating discovery. The peaks acted like a force field, keeping magic concealed to one side. Staring down at the plate before him, Will shrugs and continues. "More horticulture and botany. I also found a short research document on the small rodent we found yesterday in the gardens. Quite interesting creatures."
(kitten)
Kaz squinted in thought as Will mentioned the mountains. "Oh. Yes. Troublesome things, sometimes." he replied. "And…which rodent? The one with the spines?" he could not remember quite which creature they had encountered, only that Will had thought it cute. Kaz was inclined to think Will would have liked any small creature, but it did not matter.
(die)
"The…" Will trails off as he tries to remember the name. "Oh yes, the salgan. It lacks quills but I compared it to a hedgehog." Seems to be an easy thing to confuse. "I couldn't find much on the roses. I would love to talk to a gardener about them someday." Will takes a look at the plate in front of him and takes a careful bite of the main dish: some expensive slab of meat. "And you? Your day?"
(kitten sandwich?)
(wait why is Marie coming in)
(hng i dunno i had nothing else to write I can fix it when I get home in an hour)
(boom fixed)
(lol alright)
He nodded a little bit. "My day went as expected." he replied, taking a bite of his own food. "I had a lot to catch up on, and my advisors were furious at me for spending so much time with you." he cast a glance towards where Marie usually sat, silently wondering where his wife was, but also not wanting to say anything about her. The longer she stayed away, the better, in his opinion.
"Mm," Will hums softly at the mention of the advisors. The one they met in the garden the day prior wasn't too kind to Will's face, he can only image what they say about him when he and Kaz are far from earshot. "Sounds lovely." His tone is as deadpan as the skillet the steak was seared on. "Invigorating, even." He sighs and takes a look at the wine offered. He tilts the chalice in Kazimir's direction. "Will this kill me?"
Kaz reached out and took the chalice, taking a small sip of it. "No." he replied, handing it back. "It will not kill you, though I would advise against drinking a large amount of it." he gave his lover a soft smile, thne sighed. "And it was not lovely. I spent far too much time arguing with them. They tried to dictate to me how to spend my time." for a moment, a dark fury washed over his eyes, and then was gone again in a blink. "They are forgetting who is in charge."
Will purses his lips and nods his head side-to-side, as if mentally weighing his next words. "Well, you did abandon your duties to spend your time with me." He takes a small sip of his wine, noting the heavy alcoholic content. He swalliws it down and makes a mental note to just ask for tea or water for their next dinner. "I'm not complaining, but I'm sure my novelty will wear off and you’ll return to your responsibilities as usual."
Kaz narrowed his eyes at Will, shaking his head a little. "Impossible." he replied. "If I still find you as fascinating and wonderful now as I always have, why do you think that will wear off in the next few days?" he arched an eyebrow, leaning forward in his seat and watching Will.
Will raises an eyebrow in return. "Because that's how it always is with people?" Plenty of potential schoolyard friends ditched him within a week. Countless teachers and mentors that forgot his name and face within the hour. It was never uncommon for Will to be second fiddle, well, perhaps eighth fiddle might be a better term. "People just grow tired of people."
"Darling, have you forgotten how long I have known you?" he reached out to gently cup Will's chin with his hand, touch light. "And if I have not tired of you by now, why do you think I will?" he cocked his head faintly, watching his lover and waiting for some sort of answer, some response.
"Maybe I have forgotten," Will says softly. Truth be told, he only remembers the end of every life he's experienced. None of the softer memories transfered over, just the pain from the betrayal of them. "I'm sorry." He exhales softly and looks away, yet he stays within Kazimir's touch. He isn't sure what he's sorry for; he just knows that his heart twinges.
Kaz exhaled softly, shaking his head a little. "Darling, you do not need to be sorry. All you need to know is that I love you, and I would never tire of your company." he gave Will a soft, sweet, gentle little smile, thumb rubbing gently over Will's chin in a motion meant to soothe. "You matter more to me than they do."
Will's breath comes out slow and shaky as he acknowledges Kazimir's words. "Alright," is all he can truly muster before he goes back to lightly poking at his meal. "I think–" He starts because every good relationship should feature plenty of communication. "I think I just forget that I'm not in the village anymore. People there would often… disregard me after I served my purpose." He doesn't intend it to be a sob story or any point for pity, but he feels Kazimir at least deserves a short explanation.
Kaz's breath left him in a slow, soft exhale. "Oh, darling." he replied, voice gentle. "You did not deserve that." he hated that anyone could do that to his William, his love. "No one would dare treat you like that here." he would make sure of that. If anyone here did not value Will in the way Will deserved to be…well.
William knows he didn't deserve it. He didn't deserve any of the cold shoulders and harsh words, even after all the damned times he decided to help. "I hope not," Will mumbles. "For both their sakes and mine." The memories dont need to be present for Will to understand the sheer power of the Snake. In every life he takes priority, and a protective and angry Kazimir is hardly someone who one would want as an enemy. He moves out of Kazimir's hold to take a few bites of his meal.
Kaz let go when Will pulled away, exhaling faintly and taking a bite of his own food, satisfied that Will understood. Kaz would not let his love be treated like that ever again. Not in this lifetime, for as long as they knew each other. His crimson eyes flickered about the room for a moment, taking in everything, including Marie's absence.