Hevva sits on a blanket.
Hevva re-emerged from herchamber a few minutes later in a dress of cornflower blue. She liked this one because it fastened up the front and didn’t require her maid’s assistance.
The king had returned and awaited her. Leaning against the wall across from her room, he somehow managed to give off the distinct air that he regularly hung out in hallways. Casual was the man’s middle name. That wavy chocolate hair was tousled, and he hadn’t bothered with a shave. He hadn’t bothered to don a jacket either, and the sleeves of his fresh linen shirt were buttoned at the wrists. One muscled arm bent across his chest as he fiddled the cufflink with his opposite hand. Vibrant fern eyes snapped up to hers,
“Countess.” King Hethtar offered his arm once again. “Another new dress, I see. How did your items fare in the fire? Yours, your brother’s, Aylin’s things?”
“You know my maid’s name?”
“Yes?” He eyed her curiously. “Why shouldn’t I? She’s a guest in my home.”
A soft little sound escaped the back of her throat as they paused at the base of a narrow set of stairs. He gestured for her to go first.Well, it’s not like he hasn’t seen it already. She ascended, possibly adding a little extra sway to her step.
“You haven’t answered my question.” Despite climbing behind her, and thus being on a lower stair, the heat from his words sent a few wayward strands of Hevva’s hair flying, tickling against her ear. The sensation was shockingly arousing.
She pinched her own arm. “Our luggage fared well. Aylin is nothing if not quick thinking. As soon as the fire broke out, she shoved our items into a chest and doused the entire thing. Then I tossed it out the window. I may have lost a few toiletries, but nothing irreplaceable.”
“You— you threw your chest out the window?” He’d stopped a few stairs below, so she waited for him on the landing, not sure where they were supposed to go next.
“Yes. There was no one gathered down below yet. It didn’t even pop open, sturdy old thing.”
He chuckled, and as he reached the top of the stairs, the king bypassed offering an escort by arm, instead splaying an enormous palm across her lower back. Heat from his touch flooded her, coursing out from the point of contact and threatening to melt her into a puddle right there on the floor. With a slight application of pressure, King Hethtar directed Hevva to the left and down a short hall. Once they were moving again, he let his hand fall away. Ever the gentleman...sort of.
She chanced a glance over at the young king. Daylight filtered in through the windows beneath the eaves, highlighting his strong cheekbones and the day’s stubble darkening his chiseled jaw.
Attractive.
He was, she could admit it. It was an objective fact, after all.
“Do mama and papaneed me to help them this afternoon?” the innkeepers’ eldest child, a boy of twelve asked.
“They do not.” The king went on to update Haidar and his younger siblings on the work underway on their parents’ establishment and all ofthe exciting changes they could expect in their new living quarters. Hevva trailed behind carrying the littlest, Haifa.
King Hethtar had known all five of the children’s names when he introduced the lady in turn to Haidar and Hala, the eldest and middle child, whom she’d gotten out of the flames and to safety first when the fire began. Then she officially met the oldest daughter, Hiba, and the youngest two children, Hesham and Haifa. Hevva wasn’t sure how the king kept everyone straight, what with the H-theme and all. Throw Hethtar, and her own name in the mix, and it was really a lost cause. They were the sweetest children though, all playing together in the hall’s unused nursery when Hevva and the king first went upstairs. And now, the eclectic group was making its way outside for an afternoon of fun in the sun, per the monarch's command.
She couldn’t help but let her eyes linger on his impressively formed rear as he pounded down his home’s granite steps, kids in tow. Haifa and Hala—she thought that was right—clung to one hand each while Hesham rode atop the king’s shoulders. The eldest boy, Haidar swayed into and away from the group as he ambled along beside them.
The surprises with this man never end.
Sure, they’d been at a few of the same events over the years. But they’d never been formally introduced to one another, and it had always been in a polished setting, each movement choreographed down to the steps attendees should take during dances and the proper number of sips of champagne to have during each segment of the night. This was...different.Very different.Much more in line with how she preferred to spend her time when at home in Stormhill or visiting her people in Kabuvirib. Simply, living. Sure, there were enough duties to attend to that one could ostensibly fill every waking moment of every day with work. But there was also time for life. Hevva would be the first to admit—to herself, only—that she hadn’t expected the king to make time for such mundane, to some, activities.
On the back lawn of Hewran Hall their group of seven was joined by four young members of his staff: two watercourser maids, a firebearer from the kitchens, and another who worked in the stable.
The king set down the boy he’d been carrying and instructed them all to go run around. Hevva held on to the baby, who was rather sweet. It was a wonder that the innkeepers had so many children. Their marriage must have been blessed by the fates; it was the only thing that made sense in an age when most families had two children tops.
“Why the team of servants?” she inquired as they took up positions on the grass.
“To help dispel fears after last evening’s events. A routine to calm the mind,” he explained with a shrug. As if caring for the psychological wellbeing of a near strangers’ children were the norm.
How thoughtful.Her heartbeat quickened a bit, from the exertion of carrying the child, of course. The whole day had been strange, and this was not a situation she’d ever expect to see the king in. It was not one she’d ever expect to find herself in either, to be perfectly fair.
Re-centering herself, Hevva decided to help out with the set up. She pushed out a pulse of magic, smoothing the earth beneath where the king lay out the blanket, and making sure any stray twigs and stones sunk down into the pliable ground. She fluffed the grass a bit too, to make their sitting area plusher.
King Hethtar, who’d already sat upon the throw with the second youngest child, Hesham, glanced up at her, his eyes sparkling. He must have sat on a rock and noticed when it had vanished beneath his bottom. His very well-defined bottom...
Oh. Why’d I go and think of that again?
The firebearers put on a show for the children, a demonstration of skill to assure them that fire wasn’t all horror and destruction. The middle ones seemed nervous at first, before they calmed and clapped with excitement. Water came into play as the coursers and firebearers staged a mock battle, something the king had clearly asked them to choreograph beforehand. Water, of course, was victorious. Even the eldest boy, on the cusp of being a young man but still a bit younger than Kas, watched the display entranced. The entire effect was exciting, riveting, and all around adorable.
