Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A gust of wind blew through the window. Less cold than normal. You visit cruel king once more. Checking up on him to see how life has been ever since collecting the ice dagger. However, through the snow you see a patch, a yellowy green colour, the first sign of spring.
Winter is coming to an end.                            A sense of hope glimmers through you. The king is recovering. 

A sense of anticipation speeds up your steps, thus leading you to the palace in no time. Your  palms sweat. The kingdom once cold and barren seems to be bustling. Children run through streets, merchants set up shop and it’s loud. 

You stop. The palace in its full splendor lay infront. Still dull coloured but a bit more massive than you’ve seen in a while. 
Still it seems off, it contrasts. Too dark and surrounded by light.

You put your hand through the door knocker, push it forward exactly twice, and get immediately stunned by the king. 

“I’ve been waiting,” He intoned. 

“My majesty. How unusual of you. Lost your formality hm?.” You exclaim, immediately regretting your choices, until a snicker is heard. Not from you, or any of the civilians but from the “cruel” king himself.

Not vain. Or cold. But real. So real, and it’s his.

A sudden cheery, “well then, come along!” Pauses your thoughts for a moment. 

How odd. 

A smile darts across his face, the ice is mostly gone, revealing something beautiful, rather than stoic and cold. 

“ah finally. Wouldn’t you know I’ve been so lonely lately!”

”Do you not have your knights or the kitchen wizard to keep you company?”

”Well I do, yes but they happen to be my employees, not someone that truly knows me. “

“Oh, okay”

”yes.”

You two sit at a table near the crackling fireplace, everything is silent except from the scraping forks on plates. It’s nerve-wracking. You should probably say something to combat the awkward silence..

”So, how are you feeling now my king.” you mumble.

”Please dear, don’t chew with your mouth open.”

You feel stupid. That was a mistake.

The very thing that caused your misfortune gets chewed into mush and swallowed. And then, you try again.

“My king, how are you feeling now..?  Any better.” You cooed. 

“Much better, thanks to you, and for your kindness and determination, trust you will be taken care of.” He asserted.

“I assumed I was just here to visit, my king. The weather seemed a bit better so I should be good to go home. No?” 

Cruel king swallowed. Weird. You didn’t notice him eating but now, his plate looks almost done though.

”Well yes, but that doesn’t mean you can’t stay, no?” His smile falters a bit, barely noticeable but there.

“Maybe for a little while..”

You look at him now, fully look. Still pale, but a face adorned with something opposing his usual dry expression. When you first met, of course under unfortunate circumstances he seemed cold. Dismissive. So much baring on those shoulders.. 

Some of the ice, as noticed earlier, had melted away. The glow from the fireplace shines through, surfacing all kinds of geometric patterns. It however, had a backlash. His right eye is trapped underneath. That must make it harder to see. Truly an annoyance.

On His neck, theres a scar. Tinted blue. Starting from his shoulder blades and ending near the carotid artery on the right too. It seemed as if the ice left a mark. Moving downward, you see a new addition to his clothing. Yes it’s still almost the same mundane red waistcoat and black shawl scarf combination. But gold accents were added to the buttons and epaulettes hold gold tassel and jewellery stretching from one side to the other. The only reason you even notice this is because his shawl was left on the chair. 
His forearms are visible, almost perfect except for the tinting of blue on his fingers. A curse from the ice dagger. A beautiful curse.
His nails are of normal length. Seeming that lately he’s been maintaining his health.

He holds his fork delicately. It seems cold for him. Everything seems cold. Almost painful. He’s tense too. I think he knows your staring. No food has been put into his mouth. Then, the fork is dropped. 

In one swift motion, he grabs his wine and downs it. A little dripping from his mouth, to the cloth on the table. Leaving a stain on the clean white fabric. He wipes the remainder off his chin and goes to get a napkin. For a king, it’s certain he takes care of himself alot. Maybe that’s why he felt so lonely. Nobody to talk to. On the throne all day. Or his desk. Fixing civil matters.. 

You could tell he cared so much about them. Maybe nobody realised, but calling someone cruel because of their antisocial tendencies is cruel on its own. For what he thought was his final wish he begged for safety of not him but the people in his kingdom. Guilt. flew through your body. Spreading from your heart to the rest of you. After almost causing his death, you were let in with open arms, given food and made sure your needs were met even whilst he was recovering. 

At first. Hearing his name you expected him to be awful. Insufferable at best. But now all that spite has turned into admiration. 

You hear a chair scraping and that immediately snaps you out of your thoughts. 
The king is back.

”Sorry, I had to go get a napkin, as you can see a droplet of wine spilt on the table.” He giggles. 

You immediately pause him. Grabbing his hand. 

“My king, wiping the wine won’t work.”

He looks stunned. Embarrassed even, you could notice his eyes dart from your face. To your hand holding his. If him blushing wasn’t visible earlier, then it sure is now. It’s adorable. Cheeks painted a faint rose. 
He tangles his fingers in with yours, and you pull him closer. 

Although, his fingertips are freezing. 

It seems he’s shocked not only from the bluntness you possess but the warmth radiating from you seems to have trapped him. The scent of wine from his breath is intoxicating. Fruity, floral and earthy.

He leans in, and whispers into your ear, 

”You saved me..”

‘Cruel’ kings breath lingers  for a long moment. He lets go, slowly sliding his fingers away from your hands. Your unfinished meal and his spillage are long forgotten as he turns you to face him. 

Unexpectedly, he clasps your face and pushes your lips against his. Feeling your lips against his tongue, then lets go. 

“As a thank you. My dear I’ll be in the room next door if you need me. For now please finish you meal and the first room upstairs is yours for the night.” 

Once he’s out of the dining room, you lick your lips. Tasting the wine he had earlier drank. Almost as if he wanted you to taste it. Totally. Totally not because he wanted to kiss you. Why would the ruler of blackrock want to kiss you, and what was he even doing in that room. 

You change into pyjamas so kindly laid and folded on your bed. The dark red silk feeling so inviting on your skin.
The pyjama shirt was a long-sleeve button up with white basic rimming on the sleeves and the trousers were wide legged, running down your legs and stopping perfectly at your ankles.
Heavens above this is the comfiest thing you’ve worn. Might as-well ask the “cruel” king to keep it. 
Oh yeah. Him.

Right. You should probably go downstairs to talk to him. Not about the kiss of course that would be too awkward, but a guest shouldn’t be so unkind.

You knock on the door. 
“my king? It’s me.”

”Come in.”

soon enough the door opens. 

There he’s sat. Chewing on the end of this expensive looking pen while staring at a large amount of paper. His brows were furrowed in frustration. Or focus. You really couldn’t tell. He looked up with a tired and dismissive smile.

The room was a mess. Books and paper were everywhere. Concepts of buildings scrunched up yet the shelves were left unused. Books lay in a pile on the floor. The only thing illuminating this system is the candle on his desk. There not for comfort. But a signal of when he ought to stop. He couldn’t overwork himself that state. Not again. 

“How are you?… it’s quite late in the evening no? Shouldn’t you be going to sleep?” You remarked that almost too casually, as if it wasn’t a question, more a command. 

“Sorry about how that came across. I would rather you not overwork yourself hm?”

He stared at you a little before putting his pen down. Then slowly gets up, walks towards the door and looks out. The time is 10:56pm. He nods then looks back at you. 

“Maybe I do need some time off.” He sighs. 

Chapter Text

After breakfast, the blackrock tourists get a look of outside the castle. They’re not allowed in for obvious reasons. 

However that doesn't currently concern you as you wake up with food next to your bed. With a note in the corner of the tray, folded why’re nearly