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

Started June 11, 2021 by @ElderGod-Icefire

tune

Evander smiled a little. "My thanks for the compliment, ambassador." He replied, looking up at Dacian. "And I hope I find my moon as well. And I hope you find your matching pair, whether you are a moon or a sun in this pair."

Bowing his head to the king's words, his smile grew bigger. Dacian was not able to force the gleam on his face to go away no matter how hard he tried. And despite thinking about what King Evander had said, he continued to blush and smile. "Why, thank you, Your Majesty. Your kindness and grace are immeasurable," He said. Holding his hand back up, he looked towards the sun. "I am not sure what I would be in my pair. Whether I am the sun or the moon, I would be happy to have someone to shine with, to be with. Hopefully they are not so bright that I have to hold my hand up like this."

He nodded. "We all want to be able to look at our partner, I think, even if they are the sun." He replied, stretching slightly and letting out a quiet breath. "And my thanks for the compliment, again." He was flattered by all the compliments Dacian kept giving him.

Lowering his hand, he turned to face the king. With that same hand, he rubbed the back of his neck as he looked down at the ground. "It is my pleasure, Your Majesty," Dacian nodded. His cheeks were gradually turning red. "I know it must be a bother, so I will try to limit my compliments. My lips must be possessed by some poetic spirit." He laughed a little as he shook his head.

He laughed faintly. "Perhaps they are, though I daresay your lips do quite well on their own." he replied, the faintest edge of flirtation managing to make its way into his voice. He almost immediately regretted it, hoping he had not overstepped the boundary. As king, he had power, sometimes maybe too much, and he never liked overstepping boundaries because people didn't call him out on it, because he was the king.

Dacian's head swiftly looked over at King Evander. His breath hitched while his eyes widened. At first, he thought that it was his imagination playing tricks on him. Then a moment after, he observed the king, realizing that it wasn't in his head. He chortled before throwing back his head with laughter. "I suppose that you are right, Your Majesty," He breathed. "Although I do believe they do well with someone else around, but I am not sure."

Evander let out a silent breath, relieved that Dacian didn't seem offended or upset by what he had said. "Ah, well, neither of us are impartial judges in this case." He replied, meeting Dacian's gaze easily. "But I think that that does not matter too much."

"I agree. It does not matter necessarily, Your Majesty," He mused. Holding his hands in front of him, he rubbed his right thumb against the left. Dacian let his shoulders slowly dropped while he tried to relax the rest of himself. "On the other hand, I suppose it only matters if it really is a spirit or if it the intention of the heart. Sometimes it is difficult to know at that point; you can only know after it all happens."

"True. Perhaps some day we shall look back at all of this and see the truth of what happened, but until that day I suppose we shall have to be content with grasping in the dark as to why we say the things we do." Evander spoke calmly, smiling just a little bit as he looked over at Dacian.

"In the dark…." He softly repeated the phrase to himself. His eyes wandered over to the side while he kept fidgeting with his fingers. Dacian was not sure what was wrong with him; he felt timid yet oddly calm at the same time. The king's voice was sweet and very pleasant to hear. And he shouldn't even dare to start on King Evander's smile. While he did not mind the usual sight of the king, there was something about the monarch now that made him feel afloat. Hesitantly, he quickly nodded, "I suppose we shall, but what if are with someone who is like a candle in the dark? I wonder if we would know some day or if we could know now…"

Evander considered the question, and eventually shrugged. "I do not know the answer to that one." He said. "Or at least, I cannot think of a satisfactory one. I may be king, but even I don't know everything." He studied Dacian still, grey eyes calm and steady as they always were, full of careful control.

He wanted to ask the king so much, but he was too worried about bothering the king. And at the same time, Dacian was troubled by the king's eyes. Not in a bad way though. The way they reflected and shined is just so captivating to him. "But a king should know how handsome he is, shouldn't he?" He asked, tilting his head to the right.

He raised his eyebrows slightly. "Ah, perhaps we should, but then, perhaps it would inflate our ego too much, if that were the case. A prideful king does not make for the best of rulers."

"Oh…." Dacian whispered to himself. He wasn't sure where he was trying to get with that, but he just stood there and nodded along. It was hard not letting his eyes linger, looking at the king. At the same time, it was getting difficult to find words to say without letting his mouth simply wander. "I….I believe that it would not be the case with you, Your Majesty. You already are a wonderful ruler. You also are handsome and have beautiful eyes."

Evander let out a quiet laugh, looking over at Dacian. "I…I'm not sure how I am supposed to respond, ambassador, but I must thank you again." he smiled a little, a quiet little smile that wasn't very large. "You are quite free with your compliments."

The king's laugh resonated in his heart. He placed both of his hands over it as it thumped. "It is, isn't it, Your Majesty?" He asked in a whispered tone. "My heart is always free around those it flutters for, but I really must be stopping myself before causing you any trouble."

He stared at Dacian at the words about the man's heart, lips parting for a moment before he spoke. "Oh. Yes. Ah…" He trailed off, not sure what to say now, not when the ambassador's words seemed to perhaps hint at something…more? Unless Evander was mistaken and that too was quite possible.

"Is there something of the matter, Your Majesty?" Dacian asked. He looked at the king with wide eyes that lit up while his lips trembled with worry. "You…You may…You may say whatever that it is. I will appreciate whatever it is that you may say or do, Your Majesty." His eyes flickered down to the ground as he let one arm drop to the side. The other still lead over his heart beating quicker than before.

"No, there's…ah…there's nothing wrong." he replied softly. "Please don't worry about that, it's not…not a problem." he shook his head faintly, looking over at Dacian and really unsure about what the other man had meant, what was going on now.

Dacian was not sure how to put everything into words. "Do you not feel something in the air between us? Something more than a king and his ambassador, more than a friend and a friend?" He questioned. Licking his lips, he shook his head. "I am not sure what to say, Your Majesty. Everytime I look into your eyes, I see something that just pulls me in. My face feels incredibly warm. I am not sure if I am unwell or if it is something else."

Evander felt more like an embarrassed schoolboy rather than the dignified king he was supposed to be. He pressed the back of his hand to his forehead, eyes fixed on Dacian. "I…" His mouth had gone dry. What was he to do? This couldn't…he couldn't do this. Not with the creature inside of him, always wanting to burst free of his control. Not with a damaged, battered country relying on him to keep it together and heal them. Not with tensions so high between so many countries.

What was he doing? His body froze in place. Dacian was not sure what was going on nor what is going through his head. It was like an outer force was controlling him. He wished it would stop. He wished he had better words to say to King Evander. "I am so sorry, Your Majesty," He said in a whispering tone. "It's just that….I have been fascinated by you for a while now. My heart skips a beat sometimes when I look at you….That is all."

Evander stammered for a moment, eyes fixed on Dacian's face. "Ambassador, I…" He trailed off again, completely at a loss. This was not a situation he had ever had to deal with before; he had been so busy with the war that things like this didn't generally happen and when they did it had been easy enough to let the other person down and continue on but now? Now he didn't know what to do.

"Yes….Your Majesty?" Dacian stared back at the king. His heart kept on fluttering to the point where he wondered if he should be concerned or not. Perhaps he should. He is standing in front of King Evander, letting all these words spill out from his lips. Now the king is standing before him with a confused look. He stood still like a statue, trying to figure out what to do next.

He took a small step closer, still studying Dacian as if the other man were something he had never seen before. "The things you say, I…" He really didn't know how to respond to all of this. What he could possibly say in response to Dacian's words.