The King and I Chapter 13: Sassing the King

After spending time in the bath, you got out and put new clothes on, as well as another sheer face covering. This one sat along the bridge of your nose and hung just below your eyes to cover your nose and mouth with a beautiful jewel line that dotted the hemming under your eyes. 

As the candle light in the bathroom caught the jewels, they sparkled in your eyes and made your gaze that little bit more hypnotic. After assessing your looks in the polished metal that hung on the wall by your bed, you waited on your bedside, for Hinata to call for you.

You didn’t have to wait long before he arrived, and he stood there speechless as you walked gracefully towards him.

You nodded to him as you stopped before him and for a second he forgot what he was there for and what he was supposed to do.

Then he realized he was staring at you and hurriedly stepped back to usher you out of the room.

“W-We will go to the kitchen and get some curd to take to you. I mean, to the King. You to take it to the King,” he fumbled, unable to get your look out of his mind clearly enough to speak.

You smiled politely and followed him back to the kitchen and checked your curds.

They had worked out!

Excited, and buoyed by this, you scooped some out into a gold dish that had been bought from the King’s own private dining collection, and placed a generous dollop of wild honey with the honeycomb still attached, into the top then, with both hands cupping under the bowl you turned back to Hinata and nodded.

“It’s ready,” you said, the excitement evident in your voice- possibly the most emotion you had shown in a long time (since arriving at the palace anyway).

Hinata matched your smile and his excitement rose as he picked up on yours.

“Ok! Let’s go to the King! He can’t refuse to see you if you have curds with you,” he said knowingly.

Off towards the King’s chambers you went, your positivity growing as you reached his doors. 

You waited as Hinata knocked on the door and a grumpy reply replied the upbeat knock.

“Who is it?” the King asked.

“It is I,” Hinata called back with a smile, “and I bring gifts.”

“I have no need for gifts,” King Kagayama replied tensely.

“You’ll like these gifts,” Hinata coaxed, looking at you with a grin.

“Leave,” Kageyama replied.

Hinata’s face fell.

“May I?” you asked softly, placing a hand on Hinata’s arm.

He was about to tell you that you weren’t allowed to speak to the King but then he remembered that you and King Kageyama had spoken before and so he relinquished and nodded.

“You may,” he said softly, taking a step back.

“King,” you said in a loud yet appealing voice, “please allow me to wait on you…”

You bowed your head and listened.

From inside the room the sound of someone approaching could be heard and then the door opened.

Hinata was stunned.

King Kageyama always called for people to enter his chamber. The only time he ever got up from his resting bed was when there was an active war happening and reports were being bought daily by captain Daichi.

The king stood there, looking at you as you stared down at his feet, not daring to move. He still had the power to send you away, should he choose to do so, so you held your breath and hoped for the best.

“Come,” he invited, trying to not sound overly happy.

You stepped inside his room and the door was closed behind you.

You kept your eyes averted from his, but from the corner of your eye you could see he was checking you out.

“No words?” he suddenly asked, “I’m not used to such silence from you.”

Without waiting for a reply he then turned and walked over to his day bed and reclined again.

You waited at the door, unsure if you needed to wait for him to call you forward or if it was expected that you would just follow.

“Why, only now, are you being coy?” he asked, easing one arm up behind his head to support it as he gave you an intimidating look.

“Should I leave without feeding you curd?” you quipped suddenly. 

Now, you heard exactly what you had said, but it sounded like it came from someone else’s mouth! Surely you didn’t have the confidence to say something so sassy to him?

He gave you a lowkey surprised look and you bit your lip to stop the smile from showing and he lay back.

“Come,” he called with his eyes closed and you walked over to him and presented him his bowl.

When nothing happened for a bit, the King opened his eyes to see where you were and let out a small scoff.

“Are you not going to feed me?” he asked with indignation, “you expect me to feed myself?”

A part of you arched at his arrogance and you scrunched your brow slightly.

“Sit up, please,” you said sternly, waiting for him to sit up a little more so you could feed him better.

He obeyed, and you took a scoop of curd and honey onto the golden spoon and reached it out to his mouth, which he opened to receive the creamy goodness.

You made eye contact as he took the spoonful into his mouth and he blushed a little at being so close- which you felt equally flustered over, weirdly enough… since you two had been much closer at the other end of your bodies.

“Good,” he grunted, opening his mouth again to have some more food.

For the next 15 minutes you tended to him, feeding him and dabbing spilt curd off of his lips and sides of his mouth- which he seemed to enjoy immensely.

Not much else was said between the two of you but you felt like you had been given permission to have free speech with him- judging by the way he had teased your silence at the beginning.

And after you had fed him, you stepped back and bowed your head down and waited for instructions. This was the first time you had done this (fed him curd) so you didn’t know what to do after you had finished.

“Butler!” King Kageyama shouted, calling for the staff member to enter, “take this dish.” He pointed to the empty golden dish in your hand.

The butler nodded and took the dish then left immediately.

“Come here,” King Kageyama said lowly to you as he reclined once again and rolled his head to the side to look at you.

<<< The King and I Chapter 12: Fresh Curds for the King

The King and 1 Chapter 14: A Challenger Has Arisen >>>