♛ King

[Arche]

a little project for my amusement
i have no idea where's it's going at the moment -
feel free to pm me plot ideas

~updates will be semi-regular

Feel free to post!
I'd love to hear what you think <3

i n d e x
chapter one

world information

character information

[Arche]

indentSunlight filtered through the vine covered window, dragging Fiona from her sleepy daze. She rolled over, finding the bed empty and the normally occupied side cold. She lay there for a few moments longer before kicking off the sheets and leaving the warmth of her bed.

indentYawning, Fiona stretched the sleep from her muscles and looked around the room for something to wear. She grabbed a pair of cotton breeches that were draped over the bed’s footboard. Fiona was pretty sure she had worn them yesterday but they looked clean enough to wear again. Too lazy to go digging through the wardrobe, Fiona grabbed a tunic hanging over a nearby chair and shrugged it on over her undergarments. It was short tunic, styled to reach only a little past one’s waist but it nearly hung to her knees. Not one of hers then, if the pale green color and fur trim was any indicator.

indentFiguring her husband wouldn’t mind, she slung her sword belt over her shoulder and exited the room. The thin carpet was soft on her toes as she walked down the long hallway. She peeked in the library door as she passed, seeing the usual mess of parchment and haphazardly stacked old tomes. That would have to organized soon if they ever wanted to be able to find anything in there again, she mused before heading towards the stairs.

indentShe ran her hand down the polished railing as she descended lightly. Pausing at the bottom to fasten her belt, she headed towards the kitchen in search of breakfast and her husband. She knocked on the doorframe as she passed through it, alerting the familiar figure hunched over a pan of her presence.

indent“Morning,” she said, wandering over to the table in the middle of the kitchen. He nodded a reply, stepping away from the pan as a tongue of flame licked over the side. “Up early this morning?” Fiona asked.

indent“Yeah,” he said, moving the pan off to a side counter and deactivating the heating rune. “Couldn’t fall back to sleep, so I decided to do some work on the stables,” he explained, turning to face her.

indent“Really?” She said, raising an eyebrow. “What did you do?”

indent“Oh, y’know, I propped up the lean-to with another timber,” he started, a cheeky grin speeding across his face, “Moved some other timbers from one side of the yard to another.”

indentFiona smiled, “To where I’ll trip over them?”

indent“Yeah, probably,” Loki said with a nod, trying to school his features into a look of mock-seriousness. Fiona laughed, leaning over to peck him on the cheek.

indent“Fantastic.”

indent“So,” Loki said, picking up a wooden spoon, “I see you’re wearing my tunic.” He turned to the side, stirring something in the pan. Fiona could smell a bit of sweetness from where she was sitting.

indentShe shrugged, “It’s velvety, I like it.” Even though he was only half facing her, Fiona could see a smile spread over Loki’s face.

indent“It looks nice on you,” he said, turning to flash her a sincere smile before turning back to the pan. “It brings out your eyes.” Placing the pan aside once more, Loki reached into a cabinet and pulled out a cloth wrapped loaf of sweetbread.

indent“Good luck getting it back,” she said with a pleased smile, ruffling the dark fur trim around the shoulders. Loki huffed a laugh. “I hope that’s breakfast,” she said as he placed a few slices of sweetbread on two plates and returned the rest of the loaf to the cabinet. He poured the sauce in the pan over the bread slices, it was orange and thick like syrup. Placing the pan down, he placed one plate in front of Fiona and the other in front of an empty chair.

indent“Yep! Sweetbread with a lemon and cherry sauce. Easy breakfast recipe I mooched off the Moonguard cooks,” he said proudly.

indentFiona smiled, “Looks good.”

indentHe pivoted, grabbing a steaming pot of something that Fiona only just noticed. Grabbing two mugs, he poured a rich, dark brown liquid that smelled sinfully delicious. Grabbing two forks on his way past, Loki settled into the empty seat and handed Fiona a steaming mug.

indentShe took a curious sip before narrowing her eyes in bliss, “Mmm, what is this stuff?”

indent“Hazelnut spice cocoa,” Loki said before taking a sip, “With real caffeine.”

indentFiona raised an eyebrow, “That must have been expensive. Can’t you only get stuff like that in Azonia?” Loki shrugged.

indent“I dunno, it was a gift from Neero anyways,” he said, “For helping out with those bandits last week. Riddle dropped it off this morning.”

indentFiona placed her mug on the table and picked up a fork, “What? Riddle stopped by and you didn’t wake me?”

indent“Yeah, you were still asleep and I didn’t want to wake you. Riddle was in a hurry anyway, council business I guess,” he said with a shrug. “She’s also stopping by later in the week, I think she’s staying for a few days.”

indentFiona grinned, “I guess you’re forgiven.” She forked a bit of sweetbread into her mouth and nodded her head. “This is good,” she said, after she swallowed her mouthful.

indent“Glad you think so,” Loki replied happily. “I cooked,” he said, pointing at her with his fork, “So you’re doing the dishes.”

indentFiona groaned, “I knew there would be a catch,” she said overdramatically, eliciting a laugh from Loki. Finishing her breakfast, she leaned back in her chair with her last few sips of fancy cocoa and waited for her husband to finish. “I thought I saw a grove of apple trees a little way from the house,” she mused, “We should go check that out later.”

indentLoki nodded, “Finding wild apples would save us a trip up to Goldenoak. Fresh fruit is overpriced there anyway,” he huffed, standing to place his plate in near the water basin.

indentFiona grunted a laugh, “You’re just used to the Fells’ prices.” Loki half shrugged and nodded, walking over to place her plate near the basin as well.

indent“I’m going to go check over the list of supplies we need,” he said, turning towards the main hall.

indent“The library need organizing,” she said to his retreating figure. He paused and Fiona could see his nose wrinkle.

indent“I'll do it when Riddle gets here,” he grumbled, flashing her a quick smile before ducking around the corner retreating before she could assign him anything else to do.

indentFiona hummed to herself as she wiped down the two plates, dunking them in the shallow basin every now and then. Her thoughts were consumed by the possible apple orchard and her friend’s approaching visit. Placing the damp plates on the counter, she moved onto the mugs. Her thoughts travelled to the eventual trip to Goldenoak they'd have to make, they were running low on flour. Perhaps this time the traders would have the chestnut flour Loki liked, she thought, ignoring a clatter from the other room.