The Warrior King

Seven

The Warrior King blinked several times, his eyes beginning to lighten. After a moment, he began to laugh and it was the manliest sound I had ever heard. It was warm and deep and I'm pretty sure I could've made a blanket out of it. 

I stood there, my arms at my side, not knowing quite what I should do. He finally stopped laughing and smiled at me, a big wide grin showing his perfectly white teeth. 

"My full name is Tristan Augustus de Helm but I go by Tristan," he replied kindly. 

"Oh, Tristan," I said trying it out. "That's a nice name." A nice name? Of course it was a nice name, he's a king! I cringed inwardly. He looked at me expectantly. "Oh right! My Sasha is name. I mean, Sasha is me. My name is Sasha." Well if it wasn't obvious before, it was certainly obvious now. I was not a queen. I could feel my entire body turning red with embarrassment. Luckily, at that moment the Elite commanders and a few of his guards joined us outside. Tristan held up his hand and indicated they should return inside. 

"All of you, go back and enjoy the feast. I will let you know when you are needed," he told them. Ross and James looked worried.

"Are you sure your highness?" James asked. "We can certainly escort you the rest of the way back to camp." Tristan shook his head.

"No, stay. If I can't keep my queen safe in my own kingdom, then I'm not much of a king." There's that word again: queen. He couldn't possibly be speaking about me after that fabulous display of articulation, could he? The commanders and the guard snapped off salutes and went back into the hall. Before closing the door behind them, Ross winked at me and I couldn't help but smile at him. Tristan growled at him and Ross gave him a big grin before slamming the door shut. I looked up at Tristan, taking in his chiseled features. His lips were full and drawn tightly together, clearly annoyed at his number two. I noticed that he had two parallel scars slicing through his right eyebrow and another long scar running down the right side of his neck, starting behind his ear and disappearing under his collar. I controlled the urge to reach out and run my finger along his neck. Instead, I decided it was time to get some answers. 

"Excuse me," I said, clearing my throat, "I don't mean to be impolite and I certainly don't mean to sound as stupid as I know I do but I don't understand what is happening right now." Tristan smiled, moving toward me, looking in my eyes. The world stopped and fell silent. I could smell his scent. I had expected something along the lines of sweat and dirt but instead it was leather, saltwater, and...was that lavender? Yes, the kingdom's most deadly warrior smelled like lavender.

Before he could answer, I felt something brush up against my leg. I looked down to see the white wolf sitting next to me, his head level with my ribs. It looked up at me with big dark black eyes and without thinking I reached over and rubbed its ears. This animal could easily rip my arm off and eat it within seconds but instead, it chose to lay down at my feet, his fluffy white belly in the air.

"Silas, not now," Tristan grumbled. The wolf let out a whine and remained on his back, his fur begging me to run my fingers through it. Before I knew it, I was kneeling beside him, rubbing his belly. Finding his favorite spot, I scratched with my nails, his right leg wildly beginning to thump. I heard a soft chuckle and quickly stood up. I wasn't sure what to do, so I just stared directly at his chest. Again, he placed his finger under my chin and drew my face up to look at him. 

"Do not ever refer to yourself negatively or be afraid to look me in the eye," he said kindly cupping my cheek with his hand. I stared into his gray eyes and could feel myself relaxing. Tristan tilted his head and gently placed his lips on mine. I knew I should push him away since this was obviously an unwanted advance on my part; wasn't it? After all, this was my first kiss and shouldn't it be with someone I had known for longer than five minutes? Except I was being kissed by the Warrior King, who also happened to be the most handsome man I had ever seen. I wanted this kiss. 

I closed my eyes and leaned into it. The next thing I knew, he was putting his arms around my waist, drawing me closer, and I was putting my arms around his neck. Everything about the kiss, this moment, felt right. It felt like the most normal and natural thing I had ever done in my entire life.