4. Pretext

You wake up early the next morning and slip out before the King wakes. Though, your head is slightly clearer than it had been the night before, you still need some time to think. The first rays of dawn are just begin to shine over the horizon as you make your way to the saunas. Lost in thought, you're hardly aware of your surroundings when you approach one of the wooden structures. A sudden rush of hot steam blowing past your face when you open the door startles you back to attention. More vapor is quickly sucked out of the small room and you jump slightly when you make out the outline of a person. The figure steps forward and you quickly blush when the torso and head of the foreign King is revealed. Your eyes briefly run down his sleek, muscular, form that slowly disappears into the thick cloud of vapor swirling around his lower half. Glancing back up, your eyes lock with his somewhat amused looking ones. He seems as if he's about to take another step forward and without thinking you quickly slam the door shut. Realizing what you've done, you pause for a moment, then hurriedly walk back to the keep. Trying to calm your emotions, you decide to go back upstairs for the time being. Rurik has already left the chambers when you return and slowly sit on the bed.

You're not sure why you're so shaken up by your run ins with this new King. Well, you know part of the reason you were so started by this one. Blushing again, you try to put the image of his half bare form out of your mind. After a while, you're finally able to dismiss the thoughts and set about your day. You spend the majority of it in Rurik's study before somewhat apprehensively joining everyone in the great hall. The foreign visitor is already sitting in one of the thrones near the King and you blush slightly when he looks over at you. His eyebrow arches suggestively but he doesn't say anything when you approach. Taking your seat, you fidget slightly as you **** to stare straight ahead. The rest of the night passes by in a blurry haze before you finally find an opportunity to excuse yourself. Despite your **** to have been around him again, you at least gained some more knowledge about him. That came in the form of the form of his name, which, you learned to be 'Alec'. When you arrive back upstairs, you find yourself aimless wandering around the corridors as you think. Turning a corner, you sigh while wishing this strange feeling of anxiety would pass. "We need to find a new way of meeting." Your heart skips a beat at the sound of your language being spoken behind you. Slowly turning around, you see King Alec standing at the landing of the nearby staircase.

He crosses his arms and stares down at you somewhat playfully. "At least this time there's no door to be slammed in my face." Biting your inner lip, you do your best to avoid his enticing stare. Glancing to your side, you realize you're completely alone with him, again. Alec casually strides over to you and doesn't make any effort in hiding his gaze as it moves up and down your frame. "You seem like you've acclimated well to this place." His voice is slightly lower when he speaks this time. You tense slightly when he leans down and his breath brushes across your ear as he says, "But are you really happy here?" Before you have time to reply, he straights back up and steps around you. Hesitantly glancing over you shoulder, you watch as he enters his room down the hall. Even after his figure disappears inside you're still left with a slightly uncomfortable feeling. You find it hard to sleep that night and see flashes of Alec in your dreams. The next morning you feel tired but **** yourself to get up anyway. After dressing, you decide to go straight to Rurik's study since you're not hungry. Walking down the familiar corridor, you stiffen when you see the door to the study ajar. Quietly approaching, you warily peak your head around the frame. You let out a somewhat exasperated sigh when you see Alec's familiar form standing away from you. He turns slowly when you hears you and raises his eyebrow at you again. "Are you follow me?" You demand, growing somewhat annoyed with your seemingly increasing incapability of avoiding him.

"I was going to ask you the same thing." His brow furrows slightly, as he stares down at with the first serious expression you've seen on his face. Shifting slightly, you blush under his uncomfortable gaze before his expression quickly clears. A smile replaces his serious look and he laughs before continuing, "All I am saying is, I was here first..." You open your mouth to protest but realize you don't really have a leg to stand on. Sighing, you cross your arms and turn back towards the corridor. "You don't have to leave." Alec's strange accent is intriguing and you feel yourself compelled to stay. Breathing in deeply, you finally turn and face him. "I was curious about some of these writings, but I can't read the glyphs." Walking over, you glance down at the parchments on the table he's standing next to. They appear to detail some of King Rurik's different battalion formations and other importation information. Turning your head slightly, your eyes dart over to Alec for a moment as you wonder if he has any idea what he's asking about. "It's nothing that would matter to you." Straightening back up, you turn to actually face him. He tilts his head as his eyes meet yours and they look slightly less playful now. Silence hangs in the air for a moment before his good-natured demeanor returns. "Then maybe you can show me what there is to do around here... I've become quite bored." Your pulse races slightly at his words and you quickly look away from him tense gaze.

"Apart from drinking, and the occasional fighting, I'm not even sure what people do for fun." You answer truthful. Alec looks somewhat dejected and you feel a twinge of pity before continuing, "But I suppose I could take you hunting." He seems to pick back up at the suggestion and smiles broadly at you. "Wonderful." His reply makes you slightly regret your choice but it's too late to renege. When you turn to start walking out the door you think you hear some of the parchments rustle. However, when you glance over your shoulder it doesn't appear as if the King has moved. Frowning slightly, you dismiss it and lead him down the corridor. You'd rather not deal with any crowds right now and bring him straight to the forest behind the keep. There's some small game there this time of year and it make for a scenic walk at the very least. After lending Alec a bow, you make sure to loudly explain to the guards at the entrance that you're showing him where the best hunting ground is. They hardly seem to care about your explanation but it makes you feel slightly better. Despite not knowing the way, Alec walks a few paces ahead of you as you make your way through the forest. You find yourself unable to keep your eyes off his broad back as he walks forward. He doesn't seem to be very focused on searching for game or an area to set up. Eventually, when you reach the middle of the forest, he stops and turns around.

You feel your breath catch in your throat as he thoughtful observes you. His light blue eyes look somewhat cloudy and you get the impression he wants to ask you something. After a while, he sighs before saying, "Think this spot will do?" You know that's not the question he wanted to ask but nod 'yes' after taking a quick look around. The King seems distracted as you set up your bow and move behind some a large brush. You're quickly able to fell several wild birds in the time it takes him to get one. He doesn't seem to care about this and you make your way back to the keep sometime later. It's growing later in the day when you arrive back at the fortress. You drop Alec off at his room so he can change before the afternoon meal is served downstairs. When he walks past you into his quarters, his cloak shifts slightly and you catch a glimpse of what appears to be a piece of parchment tucked into the back of his waist band. The door behind him closes and you stand outside for a moment as you think about what you saw. Frowning, you quickly head downstairs and find that Rurik isn't around anywhere. Alec, however, does arrive a few moments later and you watch him warily as he sits down before the large table. After a eating a quick meal, you hurriedly slip away when he's not looking and go back upstairs. It's quiet in the corridor as you hastily make your way back to Alec's chambers and are relieved to find the door unlocked. Taking a deep breath, you slowly pull it open and step inside the dark room.