Kirika nuzzled him back and gave a soft smile. “I want you to like it too. It is your home too. Our home. That means you should like it.” She kissed the tip of his nose. 

She blushed at his words and laughed. “You are a hopeless romantic Bryar.” She shook her head at him as she laughed more and watched where he kissed her. She took hold of his hair a bit sternly but playfully as she dragged him back up to her lips and smiled. “I think that I could do that if only to tease you a bit more.” She cupped his face softly and kissed him once more. It was slower now compared to when she threw him.

She pulled herself away from him and got curious enough to look through the dressers. She had found it full of things from Angela for the courts. “Hmm.. she got us clothes.” She threw him a new pair but stopped at a skimpy little lace dress. Her face flared red as she stuttered. “THERE IS NOTHING TO THIS.” Despite being naked in her own home she was suddenly very attentive and held the lace to her as she tilted her head at Bryar. She calmed down enough to put it on and found it fit her rather well. A little too well. It was black much like the shade of her hair and it made her tilt her head. She wasn’t nearly as confident as her sister and it bothered her as she looked at herself in the mirror.

“Why me?” She looked back at Bryar. “Besides the fact, you got stuck with me.” She said it as a joke but her eyes were saying something different. She was attractive but she wasn’t stunning not in the way her sister was or her aunts for that matter. At least she didn’t think she was. 

“I will always like it, as long as you are in it with me,” he said, nuzzling his bearded face against the naked skin of her stomach.  “So that is nothing that you need to worry about.”  He groaned as she pulled him back up to her, but went along with it as well, returning her kiss with much passion.  “You think that you need to try to tease me, but your mere presence is torture in itself… absolutely exquisite torture,” he said, with a glint in his eye.

He remained on the bed, splayed out on top of the linens, as Kirika moved to look for clothes.  It seemed that Angela had filled the dresser with them, and Kirika tossed him something.  He was feeling rather lazy and did not immediately move to put them on, but kept his eyes on Kirika and watched her with hungry eyes.  He could not stifle the loud bout of laughter that escaped his lips when she pulled out the skimpy negligee that Angela had snuck into the clothing - he found himself suspecting that would not be the only piece of clothing Kirika would be surprised to find.  “I find it rather alluring,” he said, his eyebrows raising and he sat up as she put the material-lacking outfit on.

He found himself crouched on the end of the bed in a rather animalistic way when he caught sight of her in it, watching her as she looked at herself.  He could sense the trepidation that she felt, but he rose from the mattress, the clothing that Kirika had tossed to him laying unused on the bed near where he had been laying.  “Why you?” he asked, snaking his arms around her and pressing his body into her own from behind.

“It has nothing to do with being stuck with you, Kirika,” he said, leaning down to allow his lips to brush her ear.  “I fell in love with you the moment I saw you.  I could not act on such a whim, because I was tasked to protect you - but something inside of me knew that I cared about you and would do anything to love you from the first moment I laid eyes on you,” he added, kissing the nape of her neck.

Kirika snuggled herself close to him as he held her. Her blue eyes watched him in the mirror, she watched both of them. She smiled at his answer and reacted with a giggled as he kissed her ear. “I am glad that you did fall in love. I’m glad to have someone like you by my side.” She had been innocent at first with everything so she wouldn’t have noticed the way he had looked at her in the beginning. Now she could see it in his every move and the way he looked at her helped. 

“You’re still tasked to protect me but… being this close helps.” She turned her head and pressed her lips to his cheek. She leaned away from the kiss simply because it tickled her. A laugh left her lips as she returned the kiss to him. “Have you ever thought of what you would have done if you didn’t take the job and end up with me?” It was a curious question the both of them had.

Looking back into the mirror she took his hands and gripped them tightly. “You know the road to being queen in Arri is not easy.” That much must have shown. “It’s not getting to the position and managing the people that’s the hardest. It is the trial before you can claim your throne. Each queen goes through one and it is one child that is destined for the throne. That is what the spirits say. Most people pass their kingdom on to their first born but not here in Arri.”

There was a troubled look on her face. “The Trial of Darkness… That’s what I had to endure. I took it as soon as they would let me and they barely let me when I was ten. They were troubled with if it would ruin who I was. I remember the screams the most. The darkness and the visions that accompanied it. I’m not shocked the Black Court is one of assassins. You could say I had an inkling for what it was. Those who fail the trial die. It’s not everyone tries to attempt it. To pass it you must survive the darkness in your heart. I found something out.” The darkness around them flickered the candles and it snaked its way around them. “That the darkness loves me.” She took a breath and the darkness receded. “It is not an evil thing. Nor does it want to be seen as that. At least that’s how I feel.”

She spun in his arms and put her chest to his. “I took my trial and while the screams were bad and I fought my mother… I beat it. I was told later that my mother was almost killed by her trial. That she could barely deal with the type of person she was. I have no regrets for who I am and that is why I can deal with it.”

She cupped his face and gently kissed it. “I can do so much more with you by my side now.”

“The likelihood of me turning down that ‘job’-” he paused, having felt rather silly referring to his time with Kirika as a job - “was rather low,” he continued.  “It was offered by a royal court, and I was most certainly in need of money.  I did not know what the job was, only who was offering it… and hell if I’m not glad I took it,” he said, and there was a finality to his words, as though he wanted it to be clear that he did not want to speak on the matter anymore.  Even though it was not something he was thinking, he was fearful that if he said the wrong thing, Kirika would take it as him not wanting to be there, or having regretted it.

He squeezed her hands when she took his into her own, and listened to her.  “It does not matter how difficult it it,” he said.  “I’ll never leave your side through it all.”  He paused, however, when she spoke of the trial, and his eyes widened a bit at what happened next as she continued on, watching the darkness snake throughout the room.  Initially, it disturbed him, but when he realized that Kirika was nearly fond of it and not afraid of it, he backed down from his trepidation and relaxed.

“I am not surprised that you passed your trial,” he said to Kirika, holding her close to him as she pressed her chest against his own.  “You are not your mother - you are strong… and yes, you have me,” he said, with a chuckle, returning her kiss but pulling back from her slightly.  “I love you, you know,” he said softly, kissing the top of her head.  “But we are slacking.  We need to get to work,” he said, implying that they needed to get moving on cleaning the manor.

Kirika gave him a smile as he said his piece. He didn’t want to talk to her like she was a job and she was thankful for that. She understood the circumstances of their meeting and marriage. It wasn’t arranged in the typical sense but it might have well been. She was glad that he was hers. He was stronger and more confident in most of his decisions than she was.

The queen was glad that her husband would not leave her. She noticed the look in his eyes as the darkness began to shift around them. “It’s not bad Bryar. Darkness is just like any other element. People misunderstand it because evil uses it but it is truly neutral. It can be evil or good.” She held out her hand and let the darkness swirl around her hand. “When I took my trial… it was my biggest supporter. It awoke the fascination it had for me. Just like all the queens. If you look at them you can notice their element. Angela is earth. Lily has her light aura. Cathrine has a wind aura. Toya is fire through and through.” She laughed a bit.

She snuggled into his chest and smiled up at him. “I know my love. I struggle sometimes but I know that you will help keep me on the right track. No matter the struggles we have to go through.” She held his hands and kissed them. He kissed the top of her head and she blushed. “And I love you.”

She pulled out a little robe that went with what she was wearing and put it on her. She tied it tight and put her hands on her hit. “I am ready!” She took his hands and led him out of their new room and out into the destroyed parts of the manor. The stonework had once been beautiful. It looked closer to dark stone than to something like basalt. They made their way into what appeared to be a two-story library. It was absolutely empty as if secrets had been kept there. “I can sense Angela when it comes to this. There must have been something she didn’t want anyone to see when she killed my mother.” There were whispers in the dark. She could hear it.

“The last person in here… was Angela.” All the books were gone. Most likely magical research on things that physically sent a shiver down Kirika’s spine. “We should start by taking down all the pictures on the walls, the curtains, anddd dusting!” Looking over to a huge window she came her way over to see it lead out to a high balcony. She pushed open the door and sea salt breezes swept in. She could see the ocean from the balcony. The more she looked she realized there was a small boathouse down below. They were near the shipyard.

Bryar found himself pleased with the fact that Kirika seemed to understand his thought process.  She certainly was not a job - not in his eyes - and he never wanted her to feel that way.  He had never imagined that he would get married so quickly to someone he had just met, but now he could not imagine a life without Kirika by his side.  It seemed that she needed that support that he could offer her, and there was nothing that would tear him away from being by her side.

He nodded, more in reassurance for himself than anything, as Kirika explained the darkness that surrounded them.  He was well aware of the fact that darkness was an element, but seeing it be manipulated in such a way when the source of the manipulation was nowhere to be found was a bit disconcerting.  He watched, not saying anything, as the darkness swirled around her hands.  Of course, he found himself worrying about her - but she did not seem concerned, and as her explanation went on further he began to relax.  He moved towards her, wrapping an arm around her waist as she let the darkness move about her, and soon it was swirling about him as well.  “And you are darkness,” he said, quietly.  It all made sense now - why she would need protection.

“And I love you as well,” he said softly, nuzzling his bearded face against her hair.  He could have stayed like that forever, had they not other issues to attend to in the manor.  He chuckled softly as she pulled on the robe.  “I think it looks better without it,” he growled, but fought the urge to pounce her and tear it off of her.  He pulled his trousers on, remaining shirtless, and followed her out of the room as he led her deeper into their new home.  He appreciated the detail of the stonework, though it needed some tender loving care before it would be restored to its original splendor.  He was beginning to have ideas about what the two could do to make it more appealing and more like a home.

He frowned a bit as Kirika spoke of Angela killing her mother, but resolved himself into knowing that it had to be done, Angela would not have done it had there not been a reason.  He was glad when her mind shifted gears again.  He stepped towards her as she pushed open the door and drew in a deep breath of the salty sea air.  “We will make this place our home, my love,” he said, stepping out onto the balcony.  “I’ve never lived near the sea before,” he added, and there was a boyish wonder to his words.  

Kirika smiled up at Bryar. “That I am.” The five queens stood as pillars of different elements. Not all elements were represented but divided among the queens. Their houses stood for balance and many still had a hard time believing in gods despite Angela’s status. She needed protection because the darkness was innocent, at least this time. It had an innocent vessel.

She chuckled as he commented on her robe. She spun around it and let the fabric flow in the gentle breeze she made. Their new home was large and the most interesting room for her was the library. They looked down at their balcony and her eyes followed the dark marble stairs down to the ocean. It was their own little cove. She stepped out onto the well-crafted balcony and went straight up to the rails so she could see the crashing ocean.

“Me neither despite being so close to the sea. I was always in the castle.” The manor was blocking her view or she would have taken the time to recognize just how much the castle of the empress was really the heart of all of Arri. “We could get a nice boat and have it docked here…” She mused as she went over and put her head on his shoulder. She held his arm gently to the swell of her breasts and smiled up at him. “All of this will be home.”

–

They spent a good lot of the first week they had getting the lower floors clean. Bryar showed Kirika how to mend and rework stone. All the while they stripped the red décor and switched it to a more pleasant blue, just like Angela had done for their bedroom. The mahogany was restored and all the while Kirika felt eyes on her.

It didn’t bother her as she thought it was just her wayward sister who had been quite active in Arri lately. However, that changed when foot prints of dust appeared all over the clean floors that Kirika had painstakingly cleaned. “Who are you?” She knew that her voice would alert Bryar.

“Friend,” the word was so awkward and so weird. The person was behind her as she swung around and slipped on the freshly washed floors. The being that stood over her had ocean like eyes. Long black hair that was oddly dust covered. Matter of fact everything about this woman was odd. Her robes were gold with a blue accent if you could look under the coat of dust that had appeared. 

Kirika’s chest was raising and lowering quickly as she had been frightened by the sudden appearance. “Eldora? Right?”

Eldora stared at her for a moment before padding her way around the room and looking at all the paintings that Kirika had gotten to put up. It brightened the house up, Eldora thought. “Nice change,” the woman offered little to no answers for Kirika. Rather that alone was all that was needed to confirm it. "Bright… warm… Nice." Eldora put her finger to the windows and felt the sun hit the glass. It was hot and anyone else would have jumped back but not Eldora. She just stood there and felt the stinging pain. "Nice bear," Eldora said as she laid eyes on Bryar. Her arm reached out as if to pet him and she stopped. A twitch came to her face a bit and she was off looking at a nice statue that they had ordered for the enterance.

"She's… odd." Kirika managed to say.