~Théoden's Point of View~

Waking up from a dream like that always made getting out of bed a bit harder. As those dreams always gave me morning wood. She was quick to flash me so dirty images of her, a bit of a tease, really; she knew I did not have the time to finish me off this morning. Damn her. Maria…I growled through the bond as I was a bit irritated, but if I were to be honest, I would not mind what I saw. Damn it…I can't this morning. I told her through the bond, stopping myself before I let it go too far.

Why stop? She spoke teasingly through our shared telepathic bond. Something my draconic form gave us. Something our dragon/rider bond gave us. Sometimes, I wondered if it was a curse, mainly for situations like this. But I debugged that real quick. Just as long as she didn't…Maria, as much as I love to see your breasts, please give a man a minute. I almost scolded her for it. She was such a tease.

How about this, then? She spoke through the bond, giving me flashes from the dream like a tape replay. Ugh…fine. I growled. You make it difficult…I dared to finish that sentence. But she knew where I was going with that because I could hear her angelic laughter through the bond, causing me to roll my eyes.

Yup. As much as I tried to ignore the morning wood, I failed. After I finished this morning, I cleaned myself up and hopped in the shower—or what one can call a shower. Despite being constantly cold, I loved the feel of the warm water across my skin. It eased some of the tension in my muscles, and magic healing can only go so far.

I let the water run over me for about ten minutes before washing off. Stepping out, I grabbed a towel, wrapped it around my waist, and ran one through my hair. Have you gone to breakfast yet? I asked her through the bond, as we normally met for early morning breakfast since it was just usually us two and the chef awake.

Not yet. I'll be heading there soon, she responded. The towel is a nice look on you, she added. I rolled my eyes at her side comment.

I went to my wardrobe and counted my black shirts, as she habitually took my clothing and claimed them as her own. “One, two…five…ten…fifteen…” hmm…I thought to myself, Did you take another shirt? As I was seventeen yesterday, I asked her about the one I was wearing and the rest in the closet. So, one disappeared. I had only started counting because she made me feel a bit crazy as I was sure I was missing shirts, but she denied it until she started wearing them around me. Women, I tell you.

Maybe. She said, It was a simple response, but I knew.

I sighed. I'mIf you keep this up, going to run out of shirts again. One year, she took one almost every other week, and by the end of the year, if I was lucky, I had only one or two shirts left.

I like having something that smells like you. She told me. That was her excuse, and it always made me feel a bit guilty for getting after her and taking my clothes.

It's alright, I said, I'll have to have Caroline make more shirts. Caroline was the castle's tailor who matched Maria and me with our clothes.

Have her make a few extra, and then it won't be as bad when I steal…I mean borrow your shirts. She had a good point. I always put them in the same order. Twenty black shirts. I was already down four, now five. After slipping on my black shirt, I pulled out the drawer to my wardrobe and took out a pair of black pants to go with it. My typical attire, well, what was underneath my leather armor?

After slipping on those over my undergarments, I opened my next wardrobe, where my silver and blue leather armor was hung every night. It may not seem like much for armor, but the armor granted some magical defenses in case my draconic shield barrier was ever destroyed in combat. Parts of the armor were made from scales I had lost over the years, making it more durable than most. As for the rest, it was well-crafted leather imported from Aspen.

After I had my armor on, I grabbed my bag of holding and strapped it to my waist belt. I also grabbed my draconic sword and placed it correctly in its hilt. And I strapped my bow across my back, holding a thing of quivers and putting them on my belt as well. I glanced at myself in the mirror before leaving my room to make sure my hair did not look a mess. I flicked out the magical lights of my room and left. I was locking my oak door behind me.

My room was on the castle grounds' first floor, just a short distance from the castle's entrance in case I needed to act quickly. It was also right next to the kitchen's back door. It was giving me easy access to food. Something I consumed a lot of.

Walking into the kitchen, the smell of crispy bacon and fresh eggs hit my nostrils, making my stomach grumble. As a dragon, I could easily hunt and eat what I kill, but nothing beats freshly cooked bacon. Especially by the sounds of it, it's crispy this time. I'm a bit spoiled regarding food, but that is the perks of protecting the princess. Speaking of princess.." You look beautiful today." I told her as I bent down and kissed her forehead softly. Something I did every morning, as I knew it was something she cherished. Something that I knew made her happy.

She wore a well-fitted lavender-colored dress that showed off her chest and waist all too well. Sometimes, some of her outfits made me a bit uncomfortable with her going out in public as other men would see her, but that was just my damn jealousy talking.

She just smiled softly at me. Damn, she was beautiful. "How long will you be out today?" She asked me. Using words carefully as she knew I did not want the word of my lair creation getting out.

"Probably a good portion of the day. Maybe noon if I am lucky." I went to help the chef with a few chores. "But time will tell."

She nodded in response and grabbed a cookie from the plate on the table. She always loved her sweets, but to me, they taste a bit off. "Are we going to be able to train later today?"

I had yet to put much thought into it. But I also had yet to tell her that creating my Lair would deplete some of my magic. Not all, but some. I'll still be quite strong, but I need to feed the Lair something. "I'll have to see how I feel afterward." She looked a bit sad, but I knew she understood.

She looked down at the table and then back up at me, "I think I'm going to hang out in my room today." I could tell the events of yesterday still bothered her. The way Marcel used his manipulation and control to make him kiss her. Then, to almost kills Quinn with it. Not to mention that she almost killed Quinn in training. I hope his actions did not impede her progress in healing.

"I understand." I allowed my aura to extend from me to her, soothing her both physically and emotionally. "I'll check on you." She smiled a bit in comfort. I could tell yesterday's events were upsetting her, and I don't blame her. She's been through a lot, and that only worsened things.

As we finished talking, Roland plated food for her and me, giving me most of the bacon and eggs. He knew what I was now and didn't mind serving me extra. I ate all of the food he put in front of me. As for Maria, she only picked up her food this morning. She slowly munched on her sweets and barely ate anything else.

She sighed softly, "I'm fine." She said. That was a lie. That was a damn lie. I knew from the bond and just by being with her all this time that she was not okay. But I didn't dare to press the issue, at least not now. "Thank you." She said with a soft smile as she read my thoughts.

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I finished the last few pieces of bacon on my plate and gulped down the freshly made orange juice. "Thanks, Roland," I said as I got up, washed off my dishes, and gently kissed Maria's head. If you need anything—and I mean anything—do not hesitate to ask, I said telepathically. I love you, Maria, I told her.

I'm fine. She instead threw the bond. To which I knew it was another damn lie. I love you too, Theo. I'll be watching today. Which I figured she would have as it would have taken her mind off things. Something I was okay with her doing from time to time.

I nodded and walked out of the kitchen and out of the castle. First thing first. Rounds. Always morning rounds. My rounds consisted of running invisibly through the shadows of the city. It was a way to keep track of any danger that could be lurking. Usually, my guards and I did these in pairs; as I had a list, I would utilize my Elite guard group and do rounds with a different guard each time. During paired rounds, I would give them tips on ways to improve and what they were excelling in.

This time, however, I sent a message to each of them stating I would be doing my rounds alone today. I did not tell them why, and they knew better than to question me. Captain of the Guards privileges, you can say.

Enough on that. With my speed almost double that of a typical humanoid, I can do my rounds in less time than the others. Which is something I am going to need today. As I run through the shadowed streets of Winterfall, I use my draconic senses to pick up any unusual movement, sounds, or anything piques my interest. Anything worth stopping for. Thankfully for me, the first round went by smoothly. I hoped the rest of them would go just as smoothly.

I stopped by my office, nestled in the fourth city ring, and glanced over some of the paperwork that my guards had dropped off in the night. The paperwork was just your typical reports that all the Elite fill out at the end of their shift. Typically, the more detailed the report, the better, as it gave me a visual as to what occurred on that shift in different parts of the ring.

After I filed away, I peeked in on her before I left. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, eyes transfixed as she watched my every move this morning. I felt waves of curiosity through the bond as I picked out of her thoughts that she was curious about how a dragon's Lair was formed.

I knew I could always explain it to her, but sometimes, she should learn by watching rather than me talking. A dragon's Lair consists of various magical components and properties, some of which will be evident right away.

Pulling out of her vision, I glanced around my office before leaving. I planned to start my pass over the South side of the kingdom and work my way to the North, moving from East to West. I had to fly over all of the kingdom, spreading my magic over all of it.

As I have stated before, my magic will be depleted as I have to feed the Lair some magic, but I will still be able to manipulate and cast my spells just the same. I will just be worn for a few days afterward.

I sprinted to South Haven Beach and used the wind to carry me to a rocky outcropping on the shore. This point here was the furthest point South. I turned myself invisible before taking my draconic form, something I would have to repeat as my spell only lasted an hour, and the Lair would take a long time to complete. So, I'd be shifting in and out of my forms often, which wears on the body.

The sound of bones cracking as I shifted never gets old. As much as I enjoyed living my life as an Elf, I enjoyed my truest form the best. The only downside of my draconic form was that I couldn't fully be with Maria in the way I wanted to be. Regardless of the matter, as soon as I was in my draconic form, I lifted myself off the rock ledge and began my first Passover on the south side.

As I flew, I could sense my magic depleting as I focused on forming my new Lair. Little droplets of magic dripped from my body as I flew over. These magic droplets didn't harm anyone who came into contact with them. It didn't affect them. It only affected the area I flew over. I could start to see the changes rather quickly with my sharp, draconic eyes as I could distinguish that a few people began noticing the temperature drop. Which, I figured, would have been the first notable change. Other changes would come later.

As I worked the South side, I moved and started feeling a pull from Maria. How is it going?

Fine. I need to focus. So can we talk later?

Sure.

I knew she was only checking in, but I couldn't afford the distraction, especially since I wanted this done by noon sharp. By this point, I was reaching the middle of the city, and I could feel my invisibility start to slip away. I quickly looked around for an outing away from the city to land and shift back into my elf form.

Thankfully, I was quick to find something, and as I landed, my invisibility dropped. Shifting back into my elf form, I took a moment to breathe. I was half done, and magic seemed at least a fourth depleted. I was already starting to feel exhausted, but I needed this completed.

You don't seem well.

Shit. She was on to me. Lie. I had to lie. I'm fine.

Do you believe that?

Sometimes, the bond is almost a curse…Look, there's things with the Lair formation that I did not tell you about. I did not want you to worry.

And how is that going for you?

Not well.

What have you yet to tell me?

I'll tell you after it is complete. I need to get back to it.

Fine.

The bond went silent as I became invisible again and retook my proper form. I felt exhausted almost doing so, but I needed to complete this. I took off once more, finishing the second half of the kingdom's lair portion.

I could see the protective barrier take shape as it ate more of my magic. I could hear and see more and more people react to the sudden drop in temperature, something they would have to get used to.

As I started my final stretch, I had to find another outcropping, just enough to land, shift into my elf form, and turn invisible again. I was able to find the perfect spot.

It was ten in the afternoon, and I was on track to finish this by noon. I took a moment to breathe before switching back to my proper form again

I am almost done, Maria.

I'm going to need an explanation tonight.

I knew she had figured it out by now, given my magic depletion and the weekend state my body is in right now. I should have told you, but I was worried you would refuse.

Your body is under stress! Of course, I would have refused! She was pissed, and she had every right to be.

I needed to do this. This is to protect you and them. I will heal.

We will talk about this later, Theo.

She was beyond pissed. I just hoped that she would understand. I had to, I had to do this. I shifted back into my draconic form and took off. I used my full speed and movement to get this last bit of the kingdom under my total protection. I didn't want to utilize another spell and another shift. That was almost too risky for my own body. Thankfully for me, as the indivisibility depleted, the last bit of the kingdom was covered by my magic, marking the whole kingdom as my Lair.

I sighed heavily as I put my four feet on the ground and shifted back into my elf form one last time. I felt far worse than I thought I would after creating the Lair. She was going to kill me, well, not literally, but I knew she was pissed.

I returned to my office, watching the citizens' reactions to the subtle environmental changes. "How did it just drop ten degrees?"

"Are you sure it was ten? It feels like thirty!"

This was the typical reaction I saw amongst the crowd. Thankfully, none of them could see the barrier around the kingdom, or I am sure that would be the topic of discussion. The barrier was invisible to the naked eye; only those with true sight may be able to see it if they have very good depth perception.

I welcomed my office's dark interior as I closed the door behind me, locking it. I sat back in my chair and rested against it.

The creation of my Lair was complete. I felt exhausted, like I hadn't slept in a week, but at least I knew the kingdom was safe.

I felt my eyes start to drift shut as my body desired sleep. I forced myself to stay awake as much as possible, but exhaustion took hold.

I don't know how long she let me sleep, but I heard her voice echo in my mind. Theo, it would help if you woke up.

How long was I out?

About an hour. I hated waking you up, but I didn't want anyone walking in on you.

Thank you, Maria.

I forced myself to sit up. My body still ached, my mind exhausted, and my magic depleted. I knew it would take more than a short rest for me to recover; I would need at least a week's worth of sleep to get back to normal.

~Maria Point of View~

I sensed the change in the kingdom almost immediately, just as I had sensed a change in him. He was exhausted, physically, mentally, and magically. Something he failed to mention to me. Yes, I was pissed he put himself in that condition, something I had no idea how long it would take him to recover from.

Watching the formation of his lair was something truly special. I had never experienced anything like that before. The bursts of magic I felt leave his body, his energy depleted as his overall exhaustion I could feel strongly. Despite being mad at him and boy was I, I couldn’t stay mad at him forever. He did this to protect all of us and I loved him for that. I just hoped he knew what he was doing.

I do Maria, trust me. I just need rest and I’ll be good as new, I promise.