The palace gates never felt so intimidating at that moment. Atheline glanced briefly at Zelpher who looked just as conflicted.

’Well I’m not the only one’

He had noticed it the moment he neared the gates, he could see the tension on the guards.

He was late, by thirty minutes.

It had taken him more than the planned five minutes to choose the gift and another to get past the ever-increasing crowd.

Zelpher exhaled softly.

"I told you, your highness" he harshly whispered through his teeth," now you’ve also gotten me in trouble. "

Atheline didn’t respond, his gaze had already lifted.

Lilith was there.

She was standing on top of the black stone steps, just beyond the palace doors. The faint glow from the glowing vines caught her hair, making it shimmer.

She was dressed in a red dress that hugged her body, covered with a white fox fur coat that dragged behind her.

It was clear to Atheline that she had been standing there waiting for him. How long, he wasn’t sure himself but the realization landed heavier than any reprimand.

His steps increased as he walked forward.

Her eyes found his before he reached the stairs. They had this unnatural stillness that hid the burning emotions behind them as though she was ready to destroy something.

’She isn’t pleased, isn’t she’

"You’re late."

Her voice was firm but dangerously soft, as though lulling him into a false sense of comfort.

He stopped a few steps below her. Close enough to feel the chill of her presence but not close enough to touch.

"Thirty minutes," she continued, tilting her head slightly," do you know how many things can happen to you in thirty minutes outside the palace?"

She seemed so calm and that was the problem.

"I lost track of time," he said honestly," the market was ... more than expected. Everything you built was intriguing."

Her gaze didn’t soften. It found Zelpher who had been standing a few steps away, wishing he could just disappear.

"Zelpher..."

He bowed in response.

"Yes, my queen. "

She crossed her arms.

"It seems your sense of time has started to dwindle," she quietly said," you will receive your due... "

"I delayed him," Atheline said, cutting her off.

He didn’t want to make an enemy out of the man or just be unfriendly, he seemed to be trustworthy enough.

Her attention shifted back to him.

"What?"

"He did tell me it was time but something caught my eye and I couldn’t resist."

Zelpher’s gaze widened but that was the only reaction he had.

Lilith raised an eyebrow, her foot lightly tapping on the floor.

"Then tell me, what was so important that you lost track and went over your time limit. "

Silence stretched for a moment, then, he slowly reached into his sleeve.

"I bought you something. "

That caught her attention and he noticed it immediately. It wasn’t much, just the slightest flicker in her eyes.

He stepped up the remaining stairs and held it out.

A dagger.

It was a simple, sleek, and well-balanced dagger made from dark metal subtly veined with a purple hue. The handle was wrapped in something soft but durable, perfectly shaped for grip.

Just from its design and color, it seemed to have been made for her. It was beautiful in its own way.

"I saw it and thought of you."

She didn’t take it immediately. Instead, she studied his face, his posture as though searching for something.

A lie, perhaps. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Then her gaze dropped to the dagger and she finally reached out.

Her fingers softly brushed his when she took it. She traced the blade slightly, examining how the light caught its edges. Testing its weight with a flick of her finger.

"It’s well made," she said.

That was praise coming from her but her expression shifted again as she lowered it.

"You’re still late," she repeated as though trying to remind herself not to be swept up by his charm.

But even with that, her displeasure couldn’t be easily erased.

"I am," Atheline conceded.

She stepped closer until there was no distance between them.

"You made me wait," she said quietly.

The words were simple to understand, but something deeper coiled beneath them. Possession, expectations, and something dangerously close to vulnerability but twisted into control.

She didn’t like the thought of him being away from her and now he had gone against the limit she had placed on him.

"I didn’t think you would have..." she continued, leaving the sentence unfinished.

That was the truth she wasn’t saying outright.

Atheline held her gaze for a moment.

"I’m back," he softly said.

There was no need for useless excuses. For a moment, it looked like she might say something or do something worse.

Instead, she exhaled softly through her nose and turned away.

"Come inside."

That was it. Her reaction was milder than he had imagined and he was happy about that.

As she walked away, she didn’t hand the dagger to a servant or back to him.

He caught up to her, her scent hitting him like a morning breeze.

The tension dissolved slowly the deeper they walked.

By the time they reached the inner chambers, calm had taken over.

They ended up in one of the quieter rooms, open to a small dark courtyard where dark blossoms bloomed.

She sat first, reclining against the cushioned seat, one leg crossed over the other.

The dagger rested in her hands, turning idly between her fingers as if she had already grown used to its presence.

"You went in disguise," she said.

Atheline smiled.

"I did."

"Was it amusing?"

He leaned back across from her, letting himself relax for the first time since returning.

"Yes."

That earned him a small, almost invisible smile.

"Tell me."

So he did.

He spoke about the market, all the noise, the people he had met, the bargaining, the way people argued over things that didn’t matter on the grand scale of the world.

The food stalls. The strange trinkets he has never seen. About how good and strange it felt to not be looked at twice.

Just normal stuff. Anything that would come to mind.

She quietly listened to all his ramblings.

Her quiet irritation didn’t vanish entirely, but it softened, reshaping into something calmer and peaceful.

At some point, she had stopped spinning the dagger and just held it.

"We’ll go together next time," she said.

He blinked.

"That would defeat the purpose of a disguise."

"I didn’t say I wouldn’t wear one."

Her lips curved faintly at the thought.

’If I go out with him, then his whole concentration would be on me alone’

"I want to see it."

She didn’t mean the markets, but the world, which he was happy to see that had been outside her control.

Atheline was quiet for a moment.

"Alright."

Her eyes flickered with satisfaction. A comfortable quiet settled over them after that.