I Scored Myself A Mate

The king knew he had to. Even though he didn't really want to, he had to. He needed to find the young elf girl who had run away from the throne room in shock and explain to her the whole situation. The truth was that he hadn't thought about what he would do with her yet. He didn't want to marry her, that was obvious but at the same time it was clear he couldn't send her back home. Her mother had been awfully annoying but at the end of the day she had been thinking of her well being so sending her back there like a sheep ready for slaughter didn't sit right with him. 

At the same time he didn't wish for her to get the wrong idea. Just because he was planning on comforting her in a vulnerable state it didn't really mean they would get married. That's why he had convinced Theseus to stick with him as they searched the whole palace to find her. The general was unwilling at first, not wanting to meet with her after everything the royals had said but Allias explained to him that this way they would honestly show they were never going to separate so Allias would get married. The white haired man had agreed as a sigh escaped his lips and now they were completing one and a half hour of circling the palace. 

"I don't think we will find her today. Let's just stop." Theseus said. 

"We can't do that. She is all alone hiding somewhere. She just came here." the king said. 

"Then send the guards." 

"That will make us look even more hostile."

"Well, it's not like I am friendly or peaceful. Hostile would be about right." The general said and a chuckle escaped from the king's lips. He stopped himself, immediately feeling bad and smacked Theseus' arm. 

"Come on. It's not her fault that things happened like that. She had been imprisoned for so long. Let's just try. She could be nice. I mean, she seemed to feel really bad about the men even though they were scum of the earth. So let's be positive for once."

"Have you met me? I don't do positive. I already know that the worst is going to happen. I don't even try to think about it after…" Theseus began talking but the king stopped him by bringing his index finger in his own lips and signaling him to be quiet. After Theseus stopped he followed his green eyes. 

Finally they had found her. She was laid on the grass underneath a tree in the back of the garden. Allias stared at her from the window, her eyes were closed, stained cheeks from the tears as she seemed to be sleeping. 

"Let's go." the king said and they hurried outside, worried that if they were late she would slip away once again. 

Allias frowned as the bright sun hit his face and he placed his palm on top of his eyes to create some shade. He searched again for her, finding her easily and walked quietly towards the fruit bearing tree. It was a pear tree, green fruit on its branches, heavy and ripe ready to be collected. Pears were nice, he liked them, Allias thought as he cut one from a branch. 

The snapping of the separation of the pear from the branch caused her to awaken. Startled by the slightest sound as she seemed to be alarmed even during her sleep she sat up, taking a deep breath and looking around to spot potential enemies. 

"Hi" Allias said and smiled brightly at her. "Here, try this. You must be hungry." he told her and gently threw the fruit at her. The girl, still stunned by his appearance, didn't catch it. It simply landed on her lap, left there. 

"You killed that man. You people took his life." She said, her face turning serious. 

"We didn't really kill him, he is being sent to a healer. He will be fine. All of them will, unfortunately." the king said before he sat on the green grass. The girl stared at him, moving her body to get further away from him when she felt her back touch something. She turned around, her blue eyes landing on a tall man, dressed in black with an expressionless face. His violet eyes were stuck on her and she gasped, terrified. "It's fine. We won't hurt you. I promise." Allia said, wanting to calm her down. "I know what you saw might have shocked you but those people, they are not nice. They would do anything to meddle in the kingdom's affairs. They are corrupted and against me." he explained. 

"Just because someone is bad becoming bad yourself does not excuse anything." She stated and she heard a scoff. The man behind her was grinning, his eyes still stuck on her. "Please stop looking at me like that. You're making me anxious." she said and Allias laughed. He moved his hand, calling Theseus and the white haired general sat down on the ground right next to Allias. If someone didn't know any better they would seem like three friends going on a picnic. 

The girl played with the pear that had been left alone in her lap. She touched the smooth peel and admired its vibrant color as she waited for someone to speak. 

"I am Allias and he is Theseus. He is my partner." Allias introduced them and the girl raised her head, dropping the pear. "You're Rayla right?" he asked and she nodded. 

"You have a partner but you're engaged to me." she said, seeming confused. 

"Yes. About that. I am really sorry but I can not marry you. I am with Theseus. I know the people want me to give them an heir but I can't marry someone that I do not love. That doesn't mean you will be kicked off the palace. I remember my mother telling me that you are a very skilled healer. We could give you a position here…."

"I do not wish to stay in a palace where I will be looked at with pity every day. Everyone will know me as the woman the king rejected to be with a man. That will be too embarrassing." she said and Theseus scoffed. 

"I understand, but for now, until we at least solve the problem with the royal families it is important that you stay here. For your own safety too. No one will harm you or bother you. The people in the palace are nice."

"Yes, I had a little preview of that kindness a while back." she told them with a frown. "Why can't you just marry me and save me from embarrassment. I can give you an heir. You simply need to sleep with me a few times. Many kings had secret lovers. You will not be any different from them." she said. 

"Listen." Theseus said, talking to her for the first time. "He won't be doing that."

"Why? Are you jealous?"

"No. He simply doesn't like lying to himself. It is that simple. Marriage, having a soul link is sacred. Not everyone can simply do that. Allias loves me and I love him. We have been together for thousands of years and no, not even an agreement his late mother had will stop us." the general told her. Rayla stared at the general in silence, her innocent eyes focusing on his handsome face as she listened to him talk passionately about his love for Allias. Her cheeks turned a faint pink and she looked away, wanting to hide her distressed state. 

"I am sorry if this is hard for you. But you can always meet someone else. I am sure love is not impossible." Allias said. 

"I don't want love. I want stability. I don't want to be taken away and tortured again. I want to feel safe." She told them, pain flashing through her eyes. Allias and Theseus seemed to have forgotten that this girl had been imprisoned by the worst kind of people for almost a century. What she must have gone through would be so hard to imagine, the pain and the anguish. Allias would have lost all hope but she stood tall, proud. For at least that she deserved to be admired. 

"I can guarantee your protection. I will do everything I can to protect you but for that, I need you to stay in the palace." The king told her. Her eyebrows furrowed as she thought about his offer, her slender fingers teasing the fruit once more, a way to stop her anxiousness. She sighed, knowing that there wasn't really any other option and nodded, agreeing to stay there. 

"But once this is all over I want you to let me leave. I do not wish to stay in the palace." 

"As you wish." Allias told her with a gentle smile.  The only thing the king could think of was that Theseus would be relieved that Rayla wasn't interested in him. As it seemed for the first time in a while things seemed to go smoothly. He tried not to put so much thought into it though, that way he could avoid jinxing it. "We will have someone show you the palace tomorrow. So you can walk around freely. Today I bet that you wish to rest. I will send a maid." The king told her and stood up from where he sat, Theseus following suit. 

"About the tour…" Rayla said and stared at Theseus with a shy look. "I want you to take me." She told the general. 

Why did he have to think about it? Why?

He had jinxed it.

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