Paris (Troy) / Reader - Part 4
Thassos had not changed at all. Sure it had been only a year but then again you had secretly feared during every storm that had raged over Troy, you had feared that the same storm would be raging over Thassos too and there would be no one guarding the sleeping city in case of wildfire. You knew or hoped at least that you had managed to convince the guards, or some of them, about the importance of keeping an eye on the forest-covered mountains during the storms because those were the spots that were in a high risk of getting hit by a lightning. You were also very happy to see that there had not been any big earthquakes that would have damaged the city. Yes, a year was a short time but sometimes big changes happened fast and entirely unannounced.
When the ship had sailed as close to the harbor as it possibly could, Paris ordered the men to anchor the ship and two of the oarsmen to row you and Paris to the shore with a smaller rowing boat. You climbed over the railing and down to the small rowing boat by rope ladder after Paris who helped you by grabbing you by your waist to support your last steps on the ladder. You sat down opposite from Paris and smiled at him without saying a word. Paris smiled at you in return but you could see that he was worried and maybe even a little bit suspicious about your wellbeing; what if you were just acting brave and hiding your real feelings?
Of course Paris understood that in order for people to take you seriously you had to be above human emotions, grief for example, and you had to stay strong at all times; the people did not need a queen that cried her eyes out but a queen who comforted her people while they cried their eyes out. Besides Paris knew that you had been raised for this and therefore doubting you and your capabilities made him feel slightly guilty, almost like he had been waiting for you to crack under pressure… however your husband was able to see that you were tired, you had kept your distance during the boat trip and when Paris had tried to have a conversations with you, every single one of them had soon dried off because you had not really contributed to the dialogue.
You and Paris were greeted by a crowd of mourning people when you arrived to the harbor. People were crying and they looked like they had been holding a great burden on their shoulders as they greeted you with deep bows and silent condolences. You responded with nods and even shook some people’s hands but you did not have time to stay with your people, not right now at least. Now you had a funeral to arrange and many meetings to be settled because you knew that the delegation from Troy would arrive tomorrow, early most likely… maybe even this evening since Poseidon had not been exactly compassionate towards your sail and therefore your trip from Troy to Thassos had taken one day longer than it usually did.
- Your Highness. the servants said when you arrived to the palace with Paris. You ordered some of them to arrange rooms for the arriving guests and to make ready the room for you and Paris as well.
- Paris and I will accommodate in my private chambers. you added when your maid was about to leave. You were not ready to move into the king’s bedroom because your father had not even had his funeral yet and therefore you could feel his spirit lingering in the palace.
- Will you share the room with me? you asked Paris, hoping that he would agree with such arrangement. You knew that your relationship, well, in the real meaning of the word, with your husband had just begun and therefore you did not quite know yet how to play the role of a wife. You had thought for a brief moment that you knew how your life was going to be, what your role was and also that you would have time to grow into that role but then all of a sudden you had been delivered the news about your father’s death and instead of learning how to be a wife, you had to learn how to be a ruler instead. Therefore you hoped that Paris, who had been very patient and understanding already, actually more patient and understanding than you had ever assumed or hoped him to be, would give you a little bit more time and space to learn to be both; a ruler and a wife.
- Of course! Paris exclaimed and bowed as a sign of agreement. He followed you into your private chamber and after closing the door behind him he hurried to you and wrapped his arms around you. The embrace felt strange and familiar at the same time. It felt good and comforting but also somewhat forced, not for Paris but for you and Paris sensed it almost immediately, yet he refused to let you go. He held you close and massaged your back with gentle, circular motions using his fingertips and after a couple of minutes you finally wrapped your arms around him and exhaled deeply. Paris sighed relieved as well because you finally allowed yourself to relax and let your husband to offer you a safe place where you were free to be just as you were and to feel whatever you were feeling. Paris hid his face into your hair and breathed in the flowery scent of it, which he loved very deeply. Then he shifted himself a little and found the crook of your neck which he pampered with soft kisses.
- We should probably change our clothes for the dinner. you stated finally and drew back from the comforting embrace.
- Yes, of course. Paris replied and nodded. He would have wanted to kiss you but despite of holding you close for a long time you still seemed a bit distant and therefore Paris decided not to push it. He reasoned that being back in Thassos as the ruler was challenging enough by itself and therefore you probably did not need any extra pressure from the husband-department.
You washed yourself quickly and changed your clothes into a beautiful chiton-dress which had a flowing hem and a very flattering neckline. You tied your hair up and decided to wear some golden jewelry to make you look regal and powerful. In the meantime Paris was getting undressed so he could also wash himself and get dressed in comfortable yet formal clothes. You kept glancing at Paris secretly every once in a while and admiring his flawless physique as he washed himself with the washing cloth. When you noticed him struggling with his back, you walked to him and asked for the cloth. Paris gave it to you and breathed slowly in as you soaked the cloth in the lukewarm water and then wiped Paris’ tanned back with it very gently and with great care. With this kind gesture you wanted to show Paris that you loved him even though things were now rough and you were perhaps mentally somewhere far away from your husband.
After washing Paris’ back you handed the cloth to him and returned to finalize your hairdo. Just as you were walking away from your private bathroom, Paris turned around, grabbed your hand and with an assertive motion he pulled you closer and raised your hand onto his lips. He pressed a kiss on your knuckles and smiled at you as he let you go to return to the things that you still had to do to get ready for the dinner. You felt guilty for being unable to let Paris close mentally, especially since he had shown you many times during the voyage from Troy to Thassos that he wanted to be there for you… that he truly loved you. Paris got dressed as well and offered you his arm as you both were leaving your room and heading towards the dining hall.
- I just need a little bit time to sort everything out. you said to Paris, inhaled deeply and then started to walk along the long corridor side by side with your husband, however you did not take his arm this time.
During the following week you kept yourself busy with everything; the funeral, the coronation, countless meetings with the diplomats and doing your best to find out what had happened during the past eleven and half months that you had been gone. The delegation from Troy left eventually and suddenly you found yourself in a situation where you had a huge gap in your daily schedule. You knew deep down that you probably were supposed to fill that opening with spending time with Paris in private and getting used to being a wife but still, even after a month of living as the king and the queen of Thassos you still kept your distance.
You slept with Paris in the same bed and occasionally even kissed with him but otherwise you did not let him close and to be honest, Paris did not even try anything which made you worry that he would soon lose his interest and maybe take a mistress. Paris told you constantly that he loved you, at least twice a day; when he woke up next to you and when you lay down every night beside each other to fall asleep. During the days you and Paris visited the gold mines, attended councils, greeted the ordinary people and pretty much tried to establish yourselves as the new rulers. During the times that you had free from your duties you and Paris sat in private and stared at the sea.
You did not talk much because during these moments when you were sitting privately with Paris you mostly processed your grief so you would be able to be strong during the times when you were surrounded by the diplomats and so on; the politics were ruled by men and it was quite clear that the diplomats and even the councils of your own court were expecting Paris to take the reins. Paris however was very happy to stay on the background and to support you, of course, but not to get involved with the ruling process too much. Paris admired you for carrying the responsibility of ruling the small island kingdom basically all by yourself and he occasionally felt angry at the politicians and diplomats who turned to him for answers instead of asking you, the ruler of Thassos.
It was the end of August and after ruling Thassos for three months you finally had started to feel more comfortable in your new role. It was strange how the things that you had learned during growing up had come back to you very quickly during the summer; in the beginning you had felt like a fish out of water, always doubting yourself and the decisions that you had made but now you had started to feel that you were exactly where you were meant to be and this, being the ruler, was precisely what you had been raised up to do. You had been very aware of your capabilities and confident about them before sailing to Troy and now, finally, you had returned to that state of mind which made the handling of the daily routines so much easier. It was not like you had forgotten everything during the eleven and half months you had spent in Troy although it had felt like it in the beginning, after returning to Thassos.
It was a very hot night and the heat woke you up. You got up from the bed and walked to the window, opened the curtain a little and sighed as you were greeted with a mesmerizing sight; there was a full moon in the horizon, the sky was free from clouds and the sea was calm. This was exactly like the night when you had met Paris had been and you just had to sneak out for a swim. You took a glance at Paris who was sleeping peacefully on his side facing away from you. You walked to Paris and squatted beside the bed, brushed his brown, curly hair with your fingertips and wondered whether you dared or not to wake him up.
- Hey. you whispered when Paris opened his eyes and slowly woke up. He smiled a little but his expression changed from calm and relaxed to worried and confused almost immediately when he realized that for some reason you were not sleeping beside him.
- Are you alright? he asked immediately.
- Yes. you replied with a light chuckle.
- Why are you up then? Paris asked, took your hand and pressed a kiss on your knuckles.
- I am going out for a swim. Would you like to join me? you asked with a slightly shy yet flirtatious smile on your face. Paris chuckled a little with a surprised and somewhat puzzled look on his face and then replied “I would love to.” You stood up, pulled Paris up as well and then sneaked out to the balcony. You had climbed down in your light nightgown countless times before and there was a hidden path down on the steep hill that led to the cliffs by the sandy beach. Paris followed you as you held his hand tightly and told him where to step so he wouldn’t lose his balance and roll down. When you and Paris had managed to sneak down to the cliffs you made sure that there were no guards around and got undressed. You opened the small clasps and let the light nightgown fall down by your ankles, stepped out from the pile of dress and hung the garment on a branch of a small tree. You reminded Paris about the sea urchins and took a sharp glance at the sea. After coming to a conclusion that nothing had changed and therefore it was safe for you to jump down, you smirked at your husband and filled your lungs with fresh air.
- Wait until I have come back to the surface. you instructed with a barely audible tone, inhaled slowly and then jumped off the cliff like you had many times before after getting a confirmation from Paris that he had understood what you had said and he would patiently wait until you said that it was alright for him to jump. You jumped into water and sank into the dark calmness of it. It had been such a long time since you had been swimming in the sea, actually it had been over a year because the previous time you had been swimming there had been when you had saved Paris.
Paris removed the shawl that was wrapped around his hips, hung it on the same branch next to your nightgown and then focused his attention to the spot where you had jumped. He stared at the dark yet calm sea many meters below and waited patiently as he tried to debate with himself whether he should or should not jump off the cliff. He waited for you to appear on the surface but as the seconds turned into a full minute he saw nothing but sea that looked black in the pale moonlight.
You closed your eyes and let the gentle waves rock you. You had missed the sensation of being submerged and surrounded by water and therefore you just wanted to float in the darkness for a moment. The water was warm and welcoming, you knew the limits of your capability of holding your breath and you were also aware of the fact that the surface was only one or one and half meters above you. Then suddenly you got a feeling, like an omen of things to come, almost like you had been dissolving into the sea and fading away. The feeling was slightly terrifying because it felt very real but at the same time the gentle rocking made you feel like you had arrived home. You looked up and imagined seeing whitecap waves right above your head like the sea had been raging in a storm.
Paris stared at the calm darkness below and got increasingly panicky because it had been already almost two minutes since you had jumped off the cliffs and disappeared below the surface. He glanced around only to find out that there were no guards that could have helped him and therefore he had to make up his mind whether he should or should not jump to your rescue despite fact that he was not a good swimmer. Paris filled his lungs with air and jumped off the cliff into the dark sea many meters below. He sank into the water with his eyes open and when he did, he saw your eerie form just floating in the sea. You looked hauntingly beautiful but in Paris’ opinion you had been underwater too long already and therefore he was convinced that something was wrong.
You recoiled from your thoughts when you felt the water shift as Paris jumped into the water behind you. Soon you felt his strong arms around you, pulling you back to surface but as you reached the surface, you sensed that Paris was at the end of his strength and there was no way he was going to swim back ashore by himself. Paris cursed silently when he realized that instead of saving you, you would have to help him or he would surely sink below the surface and drown. You told Paris to relax and to let the water carry him. He did as you asked him to and you managed to help him back to the sandy beach that was located behind the rocks, quite nearby the cliffs.
- Why the hell did you do that? you asked when you got out from the water. You were angry at Paris for risking his life that way and defying your request. Your plan had been that you would get back to the surface and then make sure that Paris knew where and how to jump... and most importantly, that he would be in a calm state of mind when he jumped. You had been entirely sure that it would have been completely safe that way but not this way!
- I… I was worried… Paris panted as he crawled out from the water. “I had to save you” he added and lay down on his back on the warm, soft sand.
- Save me? you exclaimed. The thought was absurd to you because you were a skilled swimmer as well as diver and the about fifteen-month-break had not changed it. “You did not come back to the surface and I panicked” Paris replied with an exhausted yet sincere tone and sat up to look at you as you sat beside him on the beach. “Paris, you can’t swim well!” you exclaimed with a disapproving tone. “You must be calm when you jump into the sea” you continued with a soft tone that still had a slightly judgmental undertone in it.
- I had to save you. Paris repeated and after a small pause he corrected himself by saying “To try at least.” He spoke with an assertive tone and this time he did not sound apologetic. You stood up and glanced at the horizon that glowed in the soft moonlight. “That is the most idiotic thing…” you said as you shook your head and turned to look at Paris who was still sitting on the sand. Your husband did not comment and it was somewhat obvious that this was not the first time that Paris got scolded for being impulsive and not thinking it through. Then you realized that even though Paris’ actions had been foolish and reckless, he had acted because he loved you and therefore you couldn’t be angry at him, especially now that you saw how deeply your words hurt him. They indeed cut him worse than any sword ever could.
- But it was also the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. you continued and offered your hand to him. Paris shifted his gaze from the sand to your eyes and gave you his hand. You pulled him up to stand and led him into the sea.
When you and Paris were in the water up to your waists, you turned to face him and pressed your hand on his heart that was beating calmly under his ribcage. From there you slid your hand on his shoulder and placed your other hand on his chest. You stepped a little bit closer, massaged gently the strong, firm muscles of Paris’ chest with your fingertips as well as your palms, using the right amount of pressure to make Paris relaxed. You wanted him to love the sea just as much as you did and trust the waves to carry him but in order for him to do that, he had to feel relaxed and comfortable in the element. You caressed his arms and chest, crossed your fingers with his and guided him to press his hand on your breast as your other hand traveled slowly lower to caress him more intimately.
Paris gasped for air as you ran your fingertips on his skin, sliding down as you traced the outlines of his muscles and finally reaching his lower stomach as well as his relaxed manhood. You rubbed him slowly and pulled him to kiss you. Paris wrapped his arm around you while his hand kept massaging your breast gently, teasingly and adoringly. Your husband was filled with suppressed passion but he wanted to make you want him and to waken up your body before allowing himself to reach the climax. “Slow down” he whispered against your lips, slid his hand on yours and guided you to wrap your arm around him. When you were embracing him with your both arms, his body firmly pressed against yours, he finally pressed his lips against yours.
You surrendered yourself entirely to the passionate kiss that grew deeper and more consuming by every passing moment. Paris tangled his fingers into your wet hair and guided you to tilt your head so he was able to slide his tongue into your mouth and possess it completely. He caressed your skin, sometimes only modestly and sometimes more daringly, waking up your senses as well as the desire that you had for your husband. You led Paris into slightly deeper waters where you both kept glued to each other, occasionally kissing underwater and then reaching the surface, gasping for air as the gentle waves rocked you.
Eventually you and Paris got back ashore, but it did not mean that you were anywhere near finished with each other. You pushed Paris to lay down on the smooth sand, the lower part of his body still in the shallow water. You crawled on top of him, planting soft kisses on his stomach and chest as you got nearer to his lips. You stopped to adore his neck and nibbled his earlobe before continuing your journey forward. Paris caressed your sides and trembled a little as you moved yourself against him with circular motions, your knees on the both sides of his hips, making him aroused again.
Paris moaned softly against your lips as you brushed your lips against his. You nibbled his lower lip and chuckled mischievously when he tried to reach to kiss you properly but you always drew away a little and rubbed yourself against him, which was making also you feel very aroused and ready. You locked your lips with Paris for a moment and then abandoned the heated kiss because there was something else that you wanted. You told Paris to lay down and enjoy and then you kissed, licked and trailed the paths down from his lips all the way to his lower stomach with your mouth, taking your time to adore his physique.
Paris gasped quite loudly when you took him into your mouth, he moaned so loudly actually that you had to draw back and tell him to be quiet so the guards wouldn’t hear him. Paris laughed nervously and covered his mouth with his hand as you continued your slow seduction. You used your hand, lips and tongue to give him pleasure, always slowing down when your husband started to moan too loudly. His skin tasted salty and his manhood felt silky against your lips. You found the spots that made Paris tremble and twitch, moan and gasp and finally you drew back, shifted your position and lowered yourself on him.
You wanted your loved one to enjoy and reach his release so you moved yourself slowly on him, grinded yourself against him and followed his reactions carefully in the moonlight. You moved yourself sensuously and guided Paris to massage your breasts while you provided him pleasure with your body. Paris however sat up, wrapped his arms around you and buried his face to the crook of your neck which he massaged with his tongue, bit gently and sucked as he ravished the sensitive skin with his open mouth. He helped your to move a bit faster and after reaching his release he pulled you to rest on his chest on which you pressed soft kisses while he returned from the heights where you had taken him.
You stood up, helped Paris to stand and after washing the sand off from your bodies and making sure that there were no guards around you and your husband sneaked back to the hill, got dressed and climbed up to the balcony of your private quarters. This time Paris did the leading part and when you were back in the palace he led you to the bathroom and undressed you instantly. He poured some water to a bowl that was made of silver and took the washing cloth. He washed the salt away from your skin with adoring, slow movements, reaching every inch of your body and using plenty of time to pamper your tanned skin. After he had finished he took a jug of scented olive oil, poured it on your shoulders a generous amount and after putting the carafe away he started to spread the oil on your skin with the same slow, adoring motions.
Paris used his entire hand to massage your muscles and making the oil to get absorbed to your skin making it feel silky and look like it had been glowing in the soft candlelight. He led you to the bed, lay you down and added some more oil as he changed his touched from relaxing to arousing, still paying attention equally to every part of your skin, even your wrists and ankles. He massaged you intimately, using plenty of oil to keep his touches highly exciting and seducing, making you lose all sense of time and space as he provided you pleasure with his skillful fingers. When you reached your release Paris left the bed for a moment, washed as well as oiled himself quickly. Then he returned to you, crawling higher as he planted kisses on your legs and slowly ran his tongue on your soft skin.
- My Goddess, the daughter of Poseidon, all mine. Paris murmured against your inner thigh as he parted your legs and after teasing you for a moment he began to provide you pleasure with his mouth. His tongue was gentle and soft but his actions were firm and assertive which made it entirely apparent that Paris knew what he was doing. He knew how to make you lose your breath, how to tease you and make you feel needy… how to make you beg. Paris took his time, prolonged your release and after letting you calm down started again.
You took a large pillow and muffled your moans with it although it was pretty certain that the guards had heard at least half of it and knew exactly what was happening in your room. “Let me hear you” Paris demanded and chuckled against your inner thigh when you threw the pillow at Paris. “Oh you will pay for that” he groaned and twisted his fingers deep inside which made you shake from intense pleasure and moan loudly. Paris repeated his actions and watched you becoming undone under his caresses before burying his face between your legs again.
Finally he stopped, after giving you a release many times and your moans had changed into exhausted gasps. He crawled on top of you, pinned your hands against the pillow and with one intense motion he filled your throbbing womanhood entirely. You wrapped your legs around his hips and helped him to rock himself against you until he reached his release and collapsed on you to rest. You sank your fingers into Paris’ hair as soon as he released your hands and pulled the light covers on you both. Paris stayed there, close to you and fell asleep with his cheek pressed against your chest that fell and rose slowly.
After this night you and Paris were finally a real married couple and behaved like one too, you sneaked out for late night swims every once in a while and made love passionately without caring whether the guards heard you or not. Sure it was sometimes slightly awkward to leave the private chamber and look the guards into eyes after a long, hot night but then again, everyone in the court and in the whole kingdom was waiting you to get pregnant so the future of the island would be secured so it was more than natural and expected you and Paris to enjoy the marital life for the fullest. You however did not get pregnant and for now you were secretly pleased about it; there was plenty of work to be a loving wife and a wise ruler and therefore you did not need any other responsibilities… not yet at least.
The summer changed into an autumn and the days got rainier as well as chillier. For your luck Paris loved his new home very deeply and he very rarely missed Troy. However you had told him that he was free to visit his homeland whenever he wanted to but you also reminded him that during the winter the sea was restless and it was smart to wait until the spring because it seemed that Poseidon couldn’t be calmed down during the winter months for some reason.
You visited Troy at least once in a year and Hector visited Thassos with his wife and child. Your island kingdom of Thassos stayed in close contact with the realm of Troy, enjoying the mutual prosperity and peace, friendship and companionship. The time went on and the love you and Paris had for each other grew deeper each passing day as there was peace and prosperity in your kingdom. Suddenly four years of your rule had slipped away, so quickly.
One the morning of the fifth anniversary of your marriage with Paris he woke you up with soft kisses that he liked to plant all over your face as well as your chest. When you finally woke up you saw a silver pendant hanging above your face and your husband laying next to you on his side while he dangled the precious gem in front of your eyes.
- What is this? you asked with a morning husky voice.
- This is my gift to you. Paris said and added “Happy anniversary, my love” with a soft voice. You rolled on your side as well and smiled at your husband. You took the pendant and looked at it curiously, such fine craftsmanship.
- A pendant of rainbow moonstones and silver, to remind you about the night that we met. Paris explained with a dreamy look on his face.
- It is beautiful! you exclaimed with a fascinated expression and then sat up.
- May I? Paris asked and sat up as well. You nodded and followed Paris keenly as he leaned closer and slipped the leather chain above your head so the pendant sat right between your breasts.
- It is… perfect. Thank you. you said and basically jumped to kiss Paris who rolled you back to bed and mumbled against your lips
- As the moon is eternal, so is my love for you. It will never fade away.
- You are my sea, my everything. you replied and pulled Paris closer to kiss you.
His lips explored yours modestly and sweetly at first but eventually the kiss grew hungrier, more passionate and more consuming as it grew deeper and changed from sweet and innocent into demanding and more intimate. Paris filled you, your body as well as your soul as he joined you and moved in the perfect unison with you. It was gentle and passionate, intense and captivating, hot and even a bit rough time to time, but the most important thing in your relationship with Paris was that neither of you were ashamed to ask for things.
You were perfectly comfortable in your bodies and understood that there were no boundaries as long as you both respected each other and each other wishes. It was sometimes quick and sometimes it lasted the entire night but every time it was equally important for both of you that whatever either of you did brought you closer together somehow. It didn’t even have to end with a climax when you just needed to be held by the other, to feel the other as close as possible, and sometimes you even denied the release from each other to spice things up a little… to make each other a little bit frustrated and even needier for each other.
During the past four year of your marriage, ever since that night when you had taken the swim together, you had learned to satisfy each other both mentally and physically and to support as well as trust each other entirely. There was however one thing that bothered you a little and you had not found the right words to talk about it with Paris. The thing was that he had not even tried to participate on the ruling duties. Sure he was very supportive but you sometimes felt that as long as you were the one who always took responsibility for the wellbeing of the kingdom, the realm that you and Paris were supposed to rule together, there was no real equality between you and him because Paris would always be the one standing in the sidelines. Besides you were absolutely certain that Paris was capable of great things if he set his mind to it, hell, he had stopped flirting with other women and become a somewhat perfect husband during your marriage, but still his unfulfilled potential kept annoying you occasionally.
After getting up from bed you decided to take a quick swim even though the weather was windy and rainy. You asked if Paris wanted to join you but after taking one glance out from the window he shook his head a bit awkwardly. The truth was that even though Paris had gotten better at swimming he was not great at it and there were rather big waves today due to the strong winds blowing from the north. “Alright” you said with a smile on your face and told him that you would meet him soon at lunch.
It had been a somewhat cold spring and the sea was still pretty cool, it was early summer and you had not gone out for a swim for six months because there was a new bath house quite nearby the palace and you had started to go there with Paris at least once in a week. The water there was nicely heated and it was not salty so it was much gentler to your skins compared to the salty seawater which made your skins feel dry. Therefore this was your first real swim of this season and you were particularly excited for it. This time however you did not dare to jump off the cliff because the waves were hitting the rocks quite strongly and you decided that it would have been dangerous.
You walked down to the sandy beach and stared at the gray horizon. It was raining a little and the wind made the weather feel very chilly but you had to start the swimming season, right here and right now. You got undressed and walked into the water, attacked towards the waves and swam a little bit further away from the shore. The water was indeed quite cold still and you decided to swim back ashore before you would get a cramp or something and put yourself into an unnecessary danger. When you swam closer you noticed that there were a couple of sea urchins now accommodating the seafloor since you had not ordered your servants to clear the beach yet. In your opinion the creatures were most welcomed to live wherever they wanted but this beach was yours and therefore your servants kept it clear for you. However this time they had not managed to do so yet since the spring and the early summer had been rather cold and stormy and therefore you had not ordered them to execute the clearing yet.
You stood up in the water that was only up to your knees and stared at the black sea urchins in front of you, living beside a couple of rocks, just a meter away. You got lost into your thoughts as the waves kept rocking you and the wind howled in your ears. What if you stepped on a sea urchin deliberately? You knew that only some of them were poisonous, not all of them, and you were healthy so even if you got an infection from a puncture wound you would most likely survive it. What if you stepped on a sea urchin deliberately and forced Paris to take the reins for once?
You see, you firmly believed that if Paris was put in a situation where he had to exceed, he would eventually get his shit together and come on top as a winner. You believed that he had a strong character, a nature of a king but as long as he was able to hide away from the responsibilities or difficult decisions behind someone else, you for example, he would never show everybody, mostly himself, that he was indeed capable of ruling a kingdom wisely. It was a luring idea but then you realized what you were planning and abandoned such thoughts immediately; your mother had been killed by a sea urchin and she had been about your age at the time, perfectly healthy and in great physical shape.
Just as you were about to walk to the shore, there was a big wave coming from the open sea from such angle that it made you lose your balance and fell down to the water. You raised your hands involuntarily in front of you to shelter your torso from the impact when you fell with your front side first. Your other hand slammed against the slightly sharp-edged rocks and the other slammed ironically against a sea urchin. In a flash you remembered all the times when you had warned Paris about the black, spiky sea creatures and now you found yourself injured by one.
You stood up immediately and cried in pain as well as shock as you stared at your hand that was now bleeding and had a couple of black spikes sticking out from it. You pulled the spikes out accompanied with a loud scream and rinsed the punctures wounds with seawater before hurrying out from water. You got dressed on the beach, stormed into the palace and called the healers to aid you, hoping that this sea urchin had not been a poisonous one, not all of them were. You knew that the poisonous ones made you feel numb, caused shortness of breath and chest pains… and those were exactly the symptoms that you were now feeling. You did not know whether you were just imagining it or not but for the first time in your life you felt scared for your life. Finally the healer ran into the room with some medical supplies. She took your hand immediately and inspected the injury, cursed and gave you a piece of fabric to stop the light hemorrhage with. She told you that she had to go and get some supplies before being able to help you properly.
- What happened? Paris exclaimed when he noticed you covering your palm with a cloth. He had heard the servants talking to each other and after a moment a healer had practically stormed past him without stopping to greet the king of the realm.
- A little accident. you sobbed as you sat on a wooden bench.
- Show me. Paris said and after hesitating for a moment you opened your fist and removed the cloth that was supposed to stop the bleeding. The healer had gone to get some clean water as well as medicinal herbs that would hopefully prevent the infection and take away the pain that the poison might cause.
- Your hand looks like it had been punctured with needles. Paris stated as he patted your palm with the cloth softly to remove the blood. Your other hand was slightly bruised as well but it was not even bleeding. “How?” Paris asked with a soft, yet assertive tone.
- I was swimming. I’m sorry, I wasn’t careful. you replied and swallowed your tears.
Paris took a closer look on your hand and saw a small black spike in one of the puncture wounds. He took the tweezers that the healer had brought and managed to pull the spike out. That was when he understood what had happened. Paris went completely pale and dropped the tweezers as an involuntary reaction. It was ironic that it was you, you from all people who had somehow managed to get injured yourself with sea urchins since you were the one who had been warning Paris about them, every time you and him had gone out for a swim. You knew what Paris was thinking… it was obvious but instead of scolding you and despite the horror you had put him into he smiled at you immediately when he noticed you staring at him with an apologetic and deeply shocked expression decorating your delicate features.
Paris guessed that you did not need him to point out that you had not been careful, surely you knew and by the look of it, you were in great pain. Paris put his hand on your jaw and brushed your lips softly with his thumb. He noticed your breathing becoming shallower as your face went pale and even your rosy lips lost their natural color. Soon the healer ran into the room and started to clean the wounds with the cold, fresh water. Paris sat beside you on the bench and guided you to lean on him while the healer cleaned the medicated the palm of your hand.
After this Paris walked you into your room, lay you down and tucked you in. He stayed with you for a moment and helped you to drink every once in a while when you recoiled from the state of somewhere between awake and asleep. A couple of hours passed and then your fever started to rise. You cried in a fetal position because your muscles kept aching and there were massive shivers running along your spine constantly, spreading everywhere in your body. Paris helped you to drink some medicine that made you fall asleep and ordered the servant to bring more blankets to keep you warm while you slept.
- She’ll be alright, won’t she? Paris asked the healer when she entered the bedroom to change the bandage in your hand. Paris had been sitting by the bed, trying to figure out how this had happened and trying to come up with a plan how he would manage the realm by himself. The healer ignored the question so Paris asked it again. This time the healer couldn’t overlook the king’s question and after clearing her throat she replied with a somewhat shaky tone
- (Y/N)’s mother died after stepping on a sea urchin.