2 Chapter 1: The only female

Creaking of fallen winter leaf, wild whistling of gusts and the lonesome of a traveller. How long has it been since she went out on this adventure? 100s? no. More than that, to the point she almost lost herself. Grow, laugh, cry, age, die and repeat. A loop of endlessness. Suffocating to the point that she prefered death. At least it gave her a moment of peace. 

Like a soul of a dead traveller, struggled to but she walked, walked and walked. The cold sands of the winter desert slipped from under her feet. The stars and moons disappeared from the sky, the blowing winds by her ears seemingly pulling her under her. Sucking her inside the unknown void, a whimper of help left her lips as finally the desert scarf that was wrapped around her face flew away, letting the miserable winds grace her wheat skin. Her light brown eyes glossed with tears as they escaped her eyes and disappeared in the yonder. Her autumn leaves red hair floated in the air as if the world around her was devoid of gravity, no shimmer of moonlight glaced it to showcase her beauty. The sorrow laced expression she had only spoke one thing- "Just grab my hand, just one time..." 

But her voice did not come out, as the darkness slowly consumed her being, a last drop of tear escaped it. 

...

Suffocating. As if the supply of air was cut off from his lungs. Automatically, rather reflexively his big palm moved up his hard chest and clutched the cloth over it, as if hoping to be relieved of whatever was suffocating him. 

Like rain quenching the thirst of dry land, like a mother's gentle touch would calm a crying kid, the king was suddenly pulled out of the momentary struggle. Small yet thin hand cupped his face, radiating rather cold temperature than warmth; it oddly calmed his rampaging heart. Beads of sweat still on his forehead but it was as if nothing was restricting him from moving. His eye-lids reflexively jolt-open, not a gasp but a small inhalement was made. His metalic eyes looked into the brown ones looking into his, her eyes smiled as her cherry lips curved up at the sight of his relieved face. 

"Good morning, your majesty. You seemed to be having another nightmare. Does immortality curse you with nightmares?" Though her smile was sweet as honey, her words were prickly like an aged cactus. With sarcasms being made, she withdrew her cold hands but the king took a hold of one of her hands. Sitting up but still holding her hand over his cheek.  Though a little taken aback, she still complied with his action, after all she was the one who touched him first. "Cold. Both your words and your hands. Not a shred bit of gentleness in them." 

She rolled her eyes and sighed annoyedly, pretending as if the king wasn't in front of her, as if she wasn't sitting on the edge of his bed, as if he wasn't holding her cold hands with his warm ones and looking dead in her eyes. His eyes always had intensity in them, always threatening to swallow her soul. She smiled again, switching back to her formal mode. "Only dumb people expect to get the things they can't get." 

"I beg your pardon? Did you just call me- the ruler of Hawkins, a dumb person? A flick of my finger can behead you for this." He threatened, half serious. Displaying how offended he was. 

She moved her free hand over her lips and faked a giggle. "Oh dear no! you misunderstood what I said, I was merely making a statement, your majesty. What I meant was how could I dare to show gentleness to the ruler of all? I'm merely your assistant." 

"No, you still deserve punishment for being so thoughtless." She crooked up her one brow, intrigued at what he would come up with. "Certainly." 

Moving the hand he had been holding onto near his lips-

"WHA-"

Before his lips could even touch her skin, she roughly withdrew her hand. A small shade of scarlet was dusted on her cheeks. She was easy to read and tease. Getting off the bed, she dusted off her pants and patted her coat to be well, she called out to him. "Enough with the morning jokes. You have more important work to do." 

"oh? What could be more important than punishing you?" 

The colour of scarlet reached her ears.

"Ruling the kingdom! Now get out of bed before I flood your comfortable chamber with a mountain full of paperwork, your majesty." 

He scoffed, not smirking but is-this-a-challenge-? expression was on his face. Looks like not aging has just made him more childish. "is that a threat?" 

Returning his expression with a yes-it-is expression, she replied. "No, your majesty, it's your own piled up work." 

He sighed and got off the bed. Luna picked up his warm coat in one hand and walked up to him who was aiming to reach a pack of cigarettes. Gently snatching the cigarettes from him and handing him his warmer instead, she smiled. "What are you doing?"

"My job."

"Your job is to help me in work. Not to control my life."

rude.

"In order to do my job, I need you alive and healthy hence, you will not have a cigarette on an empty stomach and certainly not right in the morning." 

She stuffed the cigarette in her breast pocket and clapped her hands. The butler and his under workers brought a big tub of warm rose water with a toothbrush and toothpaste on the sides.

"Please freshen up. I'll leave you to the butlers and prepare your office according to today's schedule."

With a last bow, she turned on her heel to walk out of his room but turned back. "Oh I almost forgot!"

At this point, he prefered being haunted. 

"Now what?!" He yelled. A new worker would consider that to be a bad sign but the head butler just smiled, it was like a regular routine. 

"You also have a schedule to visit the historian's magic tower."

"And?"

She looked slightly distressed.

"They sent word saying, they discovered something relating to exorcising the spirit of a mythical creature. Although, I do not suggest keeping your hopes up, your majesty...."

He turned his head to look back at her, a sarcastic- slightly menacing smile on his face.

"Do you really think I would have any hopes left after all this time?"

Switching back to her professional mood, she put on a polite smile on her face again.

"It is not my place to make a judgement on his majesty so casually." She paused,  raising her hand to slide back the strand of autumn lock behind her ear. "But if I had to make an assumption as me, Luna, then you, His majes- No. Rayneld Hawkins has not lost hope, he never has. Which is why you still support the magician's tower financially and has maintained a good relationship."

The butler and the other workers watched in silence, some new ones terrified at the fact that the king's assistant had just called him by his name and others who were old employees, they just watched with empathy filled eyes. Silence befall the two of them, The king fell silent, not knowing what to say. Rin bowed her head and turned on her heel, left to attend to her own work. 

Rayneld let out a soft smile and scratched the back of his neck. "I think she nearly snapped by the end of it, don't you think?" The butler just gave a nervous smile, unsure of how to respond.

"Luna luna luna..." Rayneld removed his warm coat, walking in circles around the room. Almost as if dancing to an unknown tune. With each step he took, he unbuttoned his buttons. Eventually letting the silk fabric slide down his smooth pale skin, no scar or a form of taint was found on his skin. As if an angel in human skin, his skin shined in the morning light. The new workers blushing just at the sight of his perfectly slim body yet, decorated with the right amount of muscles on it. His navel displayed two clear line of V so did his back. "The only female in the entire kingdom to be allowed to work inside the castle of Hawkins' ruler. Even so close to him." Walking back to the butler, he stood in front of the warm water tub. A warming red magic gem was inside it to keep it warm. He digged the water with his long fingers, pooling the water in his palm and splashing it on his face, wetting his silver locks along with his skin.

The water drop hung on to its dear life on top of the tip of his hair, some failing to hang on and end up sliding his body, marking the dry skin with its wetness. The butler offered him a white towel but he didn't take it, instead he vigorously shook his head, in a way, splashing the water in his hair onto  the people around him.

The butler nodded alongside.

"She's something."

(Proofread it.)