forum The Old King is Dead (Long Live the King) // OxO // Closed

Started June 11, 2021 by @ElderGod-Icefire

tune

(alright! Np!)

Two days later, Evander was taking a walk in the gardens. He was on a break right now, having finished most of his meetings for today. He was dressed simply, in dark grey, with his hair combed back and his crown sitting on his head. A guard followed at a respectful distance, and Evander had a sword at his side. He was always prepared for the worst, and besides, there had already been attempted assassinations, so it was a necessary precaution, for him to walk around with a sword at his side.

Dacian was ambling around the gardens to clear his mind. After finishing up writing a report for the king back at home. Then before finishing the report, he was with King Evander's advisors. There wasn't much in his schedule for the rest of the day, so he decided to go on a walk. His long dark crimson coat dragged behind him while he kept his head tilted up and staring at the sky. A few strands of his hair fell in front of him, but he did not lay attention to them. He smiled as he kept staring at the clouds.

Evander continued to walk the garden paths, quiet and calm. He liked it here, among the flowers and the bees and the butterflies that populated it. The fruit trees casting shade over the paths, the oaks and maples reaching their leaves towards the sky, shifting and brushing against each other with each soft breath of wind against them. He paused for a moment to look at some of the flowers, a faint smile tugging at his face as he watched a fat bumblebee buzz lazily through the flowers.

The smile softened. Dacian lowered his chin, taking a glimpse around his surroundings. His fingers lightly brushed against some flowers as he passed by them. Some he recalled seeing back at home while others, he hasn't seen before. "Oh you look so mesmerizing today. Don't you?" He whispered to the flowers. Looking over at other flowers, his eyes landed on the king. A soft sigh left him. "Should I go over and talk to him?" He wondered, looking back at the flowers.

The flowers, of course, had no response for Dacian. They were after all only flowers, and couldn't very well respond to him. The bees continued with their work, gathering nectar and pollen, buzzing softly as they wandered the gardens to collect them. Evander hadn't noticed Dacian yet, standing with his hands behind his back as he looked out at the gardens.

"Oh I do not wish to bother him though," He whispered again. Dacian glimpsed over at King Evander, smiling. "He does look strong and regal as always. Doesn't he?" His eyes wandered back to the flowers, watching as a few bees passed by and landed on some of them. He stood up, rolled his shoulders, then turned to continue walking. When he was close enough to the king, he smiled and bowed. "Good afternoon, Your Majesty. Fancy to run into you here," He chuckled. "How are you?"

Evander looked up at the sound of footsteps, looking over at Dacian. "Hm? Oh, good afternoon, ambassador." he replied. "I am well, thank you. And yourself?" he smiled a little bit. The guard with him was quiet, remaining at a respectful distance, but keeping a watchful eye on Dacian.

"Oh that is wonderful to hear, Your Majesty," He beamed. Dacian stood with his arms at his side. "I am doing well myself as well, thank you." Again, he bowed his head. His eyes looked over at the guard, smiling at him before glancing back at King Evander. "The weather is beautiful today, definitely a perfect time to walk around in these gardens. Did you pick out the flowers and plants yourself?"

Evander nodded a little, then shook his head at the question. "No. I picked a few, but mostly these flowers were chosen either by my father, before the war, or by the chief gardener. He gets free reign over these gardens, for the most part." he smiled softly, reaching up to brush a finger against the edges of a rose. "He does well, I think."

Gazing over at some of the flowers, he listened along while taking a good look at the ones close to him. Then when looking back at King Evander, he saw him smile. Dacian could not resist grinning himself. Seeing the king smile truly is a sight to see. He nodded, watching the king touch the rose. "Of course. He does really well, it would certainly look different without him," He stated. "It looks amazing."

He dropped his hands, nodding a little bit as he looked over at Dacian again. "It does." he agreed. After a moments pause, he said, "I trust your meetings with my advisors have gone well? I'm sorry that I have not been able to set up a meeting with you alone yet, I have had other meetings that have kept me busy."

"They have. It always is a pleasure to work with them." Dacian lightly chuckled as he thought back to the meeting today with them. Lowering his chin, he shook his head before gazing back at the king. "Oh it is alright, Your Majesty. I understand," He reassured. "Whenever you are available, so am I. Anytime and any place, I am okay with whenever we meet."

He nodded again. "Ah, of course. My thanks, ambassador. I will let you know when I have time. Do not worry." he said, studying Dacian for a moment. Evander still looked a bit tired and worn, but better than he had two days ago.

"Will do. I am already looking forward to it." He took a second to observe the king from where he stood. Compared to the last time they met, Dacian could say that he appeared to be more well now. That was relieving to see. He wondered if he looked better too, especially in front of King Evander; hopefully. "And if I may say, you look amazing today, Your Majesty. The sunlight compliments you and your eyes."

Evander smiled a little, grey eyes flickering up to meet Dacian's. "Ah. Thank you for the kind compliment." He replied, formal, but soft too. He hadn't been expecting a compliment, but would accept it anyways. A compliment was a compliment, after all.

Dacian beamed, bowing his head in response. "My pleasure, Your Majesty." He kept staring at the king, still observing from afar. It made him happy to see King Evander smile. Even though he had other duties to fulfill, making others smile and feel better was always a duty of his from the start. "You know, Your Majesty, before coming here, I had only seen you in paintings. Funny to say, seeing you in person is like I am seeing a real moving painting right in front of my eyes."

Evander laughed a little bit. "Ah, I see. Well, I assure you, I am not a painting." He smiled again, amused by what Dacian had told him. "Feel free to touch, if you need to reassure yourself of that." He blinked after the words left his mouth, only realizing afterwards that they could be construed as flirting.

"Oh?" His eyes widened as he tilted his head. Dacian felt his cheeks warm up as they blushed. He laughed a little as he glanced over at the guard. Shifting the weight between his feet, he took a deep breath. "Well, I am not sure if your guard would be very happy if I do. I will just take your word for it, Your Majesty," He nodded, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Ah, of course." He replied, another soft laugh leaving his mouth. He found he liked the way Dacian looked, blushing, but of course he wasn't going to say anything about that. That would be inappropriate of him.

Dacian kept laughing along for a while before forcing himself to stop. He softly sighed. No matter how hard he tried, he began to appear stiff, still with flushed cheeks. His eyes wandered down to the ground as he tried to think of what to say. "You sure do have a way with words, Your Majesty," He mused. "You truly have stunned me, and yet, paintings happen to do the same with their mesmerizing appearances and strong auras."

Evander smiled softly. "Well, you have quite a way with words yourself." He responded. "Especially in consideration of the fact that this is not your native tongue." He laughed a little bit.