Eleanor pressed her lips together slightly. She considered it, but after a brief moment of thought, she shook her head. "No. I can manage… him. If he asks… simply tell him I quite like the view from my window, and I don't want to leave it." The excuse was lame, but Eleanor knew the king, and she doubted she'd even ask in the first place. All he wanted from her was to show up at the right time.
Thomas nodded again. “Alright. If you are sure.” he agreed, hesitantly, before heading towards her door. “I’ll be back soon.” Honestly, he wasn't sure why he felt the need to tell her that since he would obviously he would return.
Eleanor nodded slowly. "Yes… thank you." She smiled at him before looking back out her window. The setting sun caused little flyaways of her rich brown hair to glow golden, and her deep green dress lit up with newfound energy.
Thomas paused for a moment at the breathtaking sight before making himself leave her room. He shook his head slightly and headed towards the dining hall, already rehearsing what he was going to say.
Eleanor sighed quietly at the sight of the sun, and she thought about her people, a long while away in the distance. They seemed so far, and after talking with Thomas, she was eager to get back to them. She wanted to show them off and – she couldn't lie – show Thomas off as well.
King Marcellus was already in the dining hall, eating alone except for the seven soldiers standing guard – one posted at each door, and the main door had two.
Thomas silently took a deep breath and walked into the dining hall, bowing to the King as he did. Though he hesitated to speak first. Normally, the King had to give permission… But Thomas wasn't quite sure if that rule still applied now that he was the Queen's personal guard.
Marcellus looked up at the sound of another entering the hall. He saw a guard – thinking he recognized the man from earlier – and anticipated his wife following behind him. She wasn't.
His eyes narrowed slightly. "You're my wife's new guardsman, aren't you?" he asked, looking Thomas over with a scrutinizing gaze.
“Yes, my King.” Thomas answered as he’d been trained to. “The Queen has sent me with a message.”
Marcellus huffed at Thomas's words. "She isn't coming, right? Fine. Just tell her that I still expect her to be at my room later, got it?"
“Yes, my King. She was hoping to have dinner in her room tonight. But I will give her your message.” Thomas agreed as a good soldier should.
Marcellus waved his hand haphazardly. "Yes, alright." He went back to eating and not really paying attention to Thomas anymore.
Thomas took that as his dismissal and stood up. Normally, guards weren't the ones who brought food anywhere but he figured since he was following his Queen’s request it would be allowed. He carefully picked up the plate and silverware that had been set for her, which had already been served with food, and walked out of the dining hall.
Eleanor was waiting in her window, just where Thomas had left her before. She'd taken her hair out of its rather stiff updo, and now it hung down past her shoulder bladed and at waist-length. Without it up, she looked much younger and significantly more beautiful.
Thomas was honestly relieved that the King let him walk away with the meal but stayed silent all through the walk back to Eleanor’s room. With a gentle knock, he opened the door and entered. “Well, that was actually a little terrifying.” he admitted softly.
"Come in," Eleanor called, assuming it was Thomas. She was right. The woman rose to her feet hastily at his remark. "What do you mean, are you alright?" she asked worriedly. As she paced across the room to meet him halfway, her mahogany-colored hair billowed out behind her.
“You don't have to worry about me. I’m fine, really.” Thomas assured. “I just never had to… talk with the king before. I wasn't sure if I was going to say the right thing.” he explained gently.
Eleanor nodded slowly. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable," she murmured, slipping the plate from his hands and subconsciously brushing their fingers together as she did so. "But thank you. If I'm being honest, I can't bear to see him anymore than I have to."
Thomas shook his head, feeling his face warm at her touch. “No, it wasn't you.” he assured softly. “It’s just… I’m still new to this job and have only been in the same room as him three or four times. And I never really spoke to him before.” he explained. “But after what you told me about him… I don't blame you for not wanting to be near him.” he nodded in understanding.
Eleanor nodded. "Ah, yes. I understand. When I was new to the castle… well, I still am. I meant my first week here, it took me a few days to get accustomed to seeing him all the time." She looked down at the meal, suddenly feeling less hungry by the second. "Are you hungry at all? Would you like some?"
Thomas smiled softly, grateful for her sympathy. “Thank you… Eleanor.” He looked at the fancy meal when she offered. “Are you sure? You… You're going to need your energy for… later.” he trailed off, having planned to bring up the King’s reminder for after she ate.
The queen weakly smiled and nodded. "Don't worry about me, I'll be… fine." She sat on the edge of her lush bed, setting the plate down and motioning for him to join her. "Feel free to take whatever you like. I'm not sure what you're given to eat… I'm very unsure about a lot of things here."
Thomas nodded and sat down beside her, still giving her enough room. “Well, nothing as extravagant as this.” he admitted with a chuckle. “Of course, I can't complain. They serve pretty good food to us downstairs.”
"I didn't think so," Eleanor remarked, selecting a golden fork and lifting a small piece of meat to her lips. "But I'm glad to hear that. I don't think you're complaining at all. The food I had before coming here was… next to nothing…" She blinked quickly and looked down at the plate. A sudden feeling of guilt sunk in her stomach as she thought of a few skeletons-for-people that lived where she'd come from.
Thomas raised a brow as he watched her eat. It didn't surprise him too much that life had been hard before the King chose to marry her. “If I hadn't been the son of a farmer… I can understand how hard it would be.”
Eleanor lifted her gaze to him before dropping it quickly. She picked up another little square with her fork and ate it silently. She ran through countless things to say, but eventually, she whispered, "I can't believe he picked me to marry."