The King

“No! Please don’t!” Daniel leaped from his bed before his eyes were even open, and he couldn’t remember how he got to Rosemary’s side when he reached her. Everything was a blur of panicked screams and his heart pounding in his ears as he threw his arms around her in the dark corner of her room in which she cornered herself.

“Just a dream.” Her back was wet under his fingers when Daniel slid his hand to her head and cradled her against his shoulder.

Her body heat made her scent hang in the air like the flowers in the meadow on a hot day, and Daniel wished he picked some for her the last time he was there. Every time he went riding across it, he’d catch a whiff of her in the breeze, and it brought amity to his cold, black heart. “Shh.”

She trembled against Daniel’s chest as he held her so tight that she could hardly breathe, and he pressed his lips against her forehead while he rocked her back and forth. “It’s alright. I’m here. No one will ever hurt you again, I swear.”

Pressing her face to his hot bare chest, Rosemary closed her eyes and concentrated on his heartbeat, and tried to match his breaths as they both soothed each other back to serenity.

Her soft fingertips stroked the patch of dark hairs on his chest, making him shiver. He stood before many enemies in his lifetime, but Rosemary’s touch was the only thing that made him falter.

Looking down over her perfect face bathed in moonlight, Daniel slid his fingertips to her cheek then drew them down the soft curve of her face.
She closed her eyes as he brought her closer then whispered a spell he never intended to make. Everything was bigger and more mystical whenever Rosemary was near, so when he said- “sleep now”-she had no choice but to obey him.

Her heavy eyes knitted shut in an instant, and he stroked her hair as he watched her sleep. “I wish I could just snatch those memories from your mind, and then you could have one night of peace.”

Leaning into the wall behind him, Daniel wrenched his neck to the side, and the blanket he’d been looking at slowly slid across the floor like a soft snake until it fell as it met his fingertips. He wrapped them both in its warmth and kissed the bridge of Rosemary’s nose, then closed his eyes. “Goodnight, my Queen.”

When the birds of morning sang and the warm rays of sun poked through the balcony doors to touch her skin, Rosemary’s eyes opened to find Daniel watching her.

Realizing she was still wrapped up tight against his naked chest, Rosemary curled her lips under into an embarrassed grin, and her cheeks became as red as the apples that grew on the trees outside the gates. She pushed herself up from his lap and slid to the floor beside him. “I’m so sorry, Daniel. You should’ve woken me.”

Pulling his knees to his chest, Daniel rested his chin on one, then gazed at Rosemary. “Many nights, I listened to your screams and wanted to be the one to come hold you. I know last night was scary for you, but having you in my arms was all I’ve ever wanted.”

She smiled at his way of making her feel safe and afraid all at once. “I’m afraid you might get weary of that. I have nightmares every night.”

Gently placing his fingers through hers then closing them around her hand, Daniel made his vow to her. “Then I’ll be here every night. It’s my job to take care of you; that’s why I came here.”

She sighed at her pathetic way and rested her head against his shoulder. “Well, you’ll never run out of opportunities. I’m quite a mess still.”

“I don’t mind.” Daniel drew her hand to his mouth and pressed his lips against it. “I have nothing but time and no one else I want to spend it on.”
Nervously rubbing the pad of his thumb over the backs of her fingers, Daniel looked down over her. “Can you teach me the old language? All the books in the library are written in it, and I’m just not catching on as well as I thought I would.”

She tugged on his hands and nodded to the door. “Go get ready, and we can start after breakfast.”

The fates were kind to Daniel in the days Nicholas was gone from the Woods. He spent almost every day locked up in the library or out on walks with Rosemary.

As he stood before a mural in the library of the great King striking down the beastly enemy, Rosemary came to his side and slid her arm through his. “His name is King Asnamar. Does he look familiar to you?”

Shaking his head, Daniel twisted his lips to the side as he considered it. “No, not really. Should he?”

She pulled on his hand and led Daniel to the bench by the window. “Come, let me show you something.” Sitting down on the tufted chaise lounge, Rosemary patted the space beside her, inviting him to join her. “You don’t know much about your family’s history, do you?”

Daniel took his place next to her and peeked over her shoulder at the book she flipped through. “No, nothing.”

Her eyes danced with excitement as she began the tale. “Well, King Asnamar and his wife were dear friends of my parents. They were killed during the Great War after a valiant campaign against the Great Evil. It was a very long time ago, a thousand years. I’m quite surprised you’re as strong as you are. Typically, Earthborn witches are weaker because their ancestors mated with humans and diluted their bloodlines.”

Daniel rolled his eyes, and a shot of air puffed from his nose as he pointed to his chest. “Wait a minute; you think I’m related to Asnamar?”

She elbowed his arm and narrowed her eyes at him as she pointed to the drawing. “Look, Daniel. He looks like you.”

“Are you saying I’m a king?” Everything he hung his faith on when he walked through that portal in the forest rested in Rosemary’s answer.

“I’m saying that if you want to be a king, that your kingdom waits for you to claim it.” She wrapped her fingers around his and looked up into his eyes. “I don’t know of any other descendants in the Realm, but there isn’t much to rule these days. That land was long ago taken by rogue wolves and the worst sort of witches. It’s a terrible place now, I’m afraid. Such a shame. My father said it was quite a lovely castle in its glory.”

Rubbing his fingertips over his lips, Daniel smirked to himself and shook his head. “That figures. My entire life, my family looked down their noses at me like I was lower than the filth on their shoes. Now I have a chance to be a king, and they’ll never know it.”

She squeezed his hand and snuggled closer. “They didn’t know the real you, and they don’t matter anymore.”

Flipping through the pages for her because Daniel didn’t want to give up her hand, Daniel stopped on Asnamar’s Queen. “Is that his wife?”

Reading over the text, Rosemary nodded. “His Fated Mate. There’s quite a funny story there, really.”

“Fated mate? What does that mean?” Daniel’s eyes drifted up from the page to Rosemary. She tried hard to hide things that made her uncomfortable, but it was hardly useful anymore, and the side of his mouth curled as he read her thoughts. “Like you and me?” His fingertip tapped her forehead, and he whispered into her ear. “You can’t hide from me. I can see it all.”

She nodded and closed the book, then set it on the table beside her. “Yes, I think so.”

He pushed her hair away from her ear and rubbed the tip of his nose against it. “What does it mean?”

Her whole body quivered as his fiery breath crossed her face, and she closed her eyes to steady her nerves. “His soulmate. His other half. The one he was meant for. You can’t ever be whole until they are by your side.”

While she shivered against him, Daniel slid his arm around her back and pressed his forehead against her shoulder as it all finally made sense. “That’s why this is happening to me, why I can read your mind, how I could do that in the meadow. It’s you. You strengthen me.” Hearing the doubts in her mind telling her she wasn’t good enough for him, he shook his head and lifted her chin to face him with his fingertips. “You are. You are everything to me.”

She closed her eyes as the tears spilled over, and she licked them from her lips. “You deserve someone who isn’t broken like me.”

“No.” He cupped her cheeks in his hands and brought her close to him. “I’m the one who’s no good, but I love you. Since before I met you when you were just some phantom in my mind, I loved you. I’ll be good to you, Rosemary. I swear it.”

She gripped his arms and nodded against his lips. “I love you too.”

When he pulled her to his mouth, it was like every light in the house came on in an instant. Every cell of his body buzzed with Rosemary’s healing touch and wanted more. It awakened every impulse and sent every sense into the atmosphere.

She sank into his mouth, and as he sucked her bottom lip in between his, he knew everything was different now. He was a new man forged in the heat of Rosemary’s kiss. Whether or not he ever stepped foot in his rightful homeland, it didn’t matter. Daniel was now the King of all things.