Royal Dilemma (o/o Closed)

(Me either lol. I just keep going and going. Our poor characters need sleep lol)

Eleanor smiled as he agreed, but when she looked back at him, she saw his gaze was on her, not the sunset. Beautiful. He wasn't speaking of the sky. He was talking about her. The queen's cheeks colored pink. Her lips parted slightly, and she let out a quiet sigh as his fingers brushed her hair.

(Same.)

Thomas smiled softly as she looked back at him, though he also blushed when she realized what he meant. She really was beautiful and he was so hopelessly in love with her. It was surprising how fast he realized that. But he meant it and would do anything for her.

Eleanor studied his face and wished she could know what he was thinking. His gaze was so gentle and tender and loving that she was lost in it. No one had ever looked at her this way before. No one had spoken to her before the way that Thomas did. Had she ever truly been loved if this was the standard?

"Are you tired?" she whispered reluctantly as she sun sank lower.

Thomas blinked out of his reverie at her question and shook his head slightly. “Not really… Are you?”

"A bit," Eleanor admitted quietly. "It's been a long day. Greeting foreign monarchs, getting pushed into fountains, strolling through the library…" A half-smile accompanied her words to show she was joking, at least a little bit.

Thomas smiled softly and gave a quiet chuckle as he placed a hand to her cheek. “I understand. If you would like to rest now, we can arrange for you to meet the other guest later.” he suggested, assuming she still wanted to go through with that meeting.

Eleanor leaned into his touch immediately and sighed. "Yes. I'd rather not be tripping over my own ankles or making myself tongue-tied out of fatigue while talking to King Lionel."

(And for reference, it used to be a prime minister, but I changed that lol)

(Right. I remember you mentioning that. I just couldn't remember the guy’s name.)

“Of course.” Thomas nodded. “If you want, you could meet him tomorrow.” he suggested, wondering how dinner tonight would go.

(👍🏻 Lol I had to look back through my universe to find it XD)

"Yes," Eleanor agreed. "I think I should be alright if I save that meeting until after I get some rest tonight. Though I dread dinner."

(lol)

“I’m sure it will be alright.” he soothed. “You already have Queen Irene on your side. If that snake tries anything against you in front of her, then he’ll just make a fool of himself.” Thomas said with a soft smile, remembering how the two Queens were acting together and everything Eleanor told him about their meeting.

Eleanor nodded, her confidence resurfacing yet again. "Yes. I guess I should get changed then. I should very much like to see Sirus make a fool of himself. Though he's so cunning and deceitful, I'm not entirely sure how it would even be done."

Thomas smiled at the sight of her strength returning and lightly kissed her forehead. “I have faith in you. If anyone can make that man eat crow, it would be you and Queen Irene. Besides, I’ll be there the whole time.” he reminded, hoping the knowledge would assure her the way it did when everyone arrived.

Eleanor couldn't resist a quiet giggle at his words. "I hope so," she replied shyly. Irene? Definitely. Her? Eleanor wasn't so sure, but she was determined to find a way thanks to Thomas's faith in her.

"You'd better be," she whispered, pressing a sweet, soft kiss to his lips before drawing away and heading over to her closet to find an appropriate dinner dress.

Thomas smiled as she laughed and gave her one last hug before she could start to get ready. He nodded before returning the kiss. “I will be.” he promised as she pulled away.

Eleanor squeaked with glee as he hugged her again, blushing immediately after at the sound she'd made. "Thank you," she said softly before running her fingers down the silky sleeve of a light blue gown.

Thomas tried not to chuckle at the adorable sound she made and took a step back to let her choose what to wear. “My pleasure, Eleanor.” he smiled.

Eleanor blushed even more as she selected the blue gown. Then, as if thinking better of it, she put it back and picked out a red dress with a gauzy lace over the red fabric of the skirt. "This will do," she murmured, feeling the fabric between her fingertips and heading behind her changing partition.

Even though she moved behind the screen to change, Thomas still turned so that he was facing away from her. He didn't want to be… tempted. Eleanor was still his Queen and regrettably married. Just because they loved each other didn't make their situation easier.

Eleanor reemerged a few moments later. The dress clung to her top half with tight sleeves all the way to her wrists and a V-neckline that dipped a bit lower than she'd originally thought it did. A bit of her cleavage was exposed, but it was too close to dinner to change now. The skirt fell in a lovely way around her legs, and the gossamer film over the skirt shimmered when she moved.

"I'm finished," she spoke quietly.

Thomas sighed softly and straightened up a little as he turned to look at her. Though he felt his breath leave as soon as he saw how she looked in the dress. He couldn't help it as his eyes followed the cut of her neckline, turning a bright shade of red himself before shaking his head and looking back at her face.

Eleanor blushed too, and her eyes widened. "It's too much, isn't it?" she asked worriedly, lifting her hands up to cover her chest. "It is. I should change…" She quickly hurried back over to her closet, even though there was no time for her to change again without being late for dinner.

“No. It's not that… I'm sorry.” he shook his head. “I just wasn't expecting… You look beautiful, Eleanor.” he assured, knowing that they didn't have much time before dinner was supposed to start.

She looked back at him and smiled shyly. "Really?" she murmured, glancing down at herself. "The skirt I like, but I didn't think the neckline would dip so… far down," she admitted, blushing a bit more.

“Really.” he nodded, taking a step towards her. “You always look beautiful to me.” he added sincerely. “If we had the time, I'm sure you could find a way to alter the dress but… It may actually work out this way too.” Thomas said thoughtfully. “If you showed up to dinner in this and pretended that the neckline didn't bother you, you might be able to show that snake that he didn't get to you.”

Eleanor's eyes widened a bit at his words. "You're right," she murmured. "Though Sirus will definitely stare. Marcellus will stare. Lionel too… Everyone will stare." She pressed her lips together and looked up at him. "Are you going to be okay with that?" she asked softly, reaching out to take gently his hand in hers.

Thomas nodded slightly and took her offered hand. “I… If you can handle it, then so can I.” he answered, remembering how her husband had stared at her when they had been waiting for the delegates to arrive. And knowing what he did now, he would not be surprised if Sirus had also stared briefly.

Eleanor nodded firmly. "I can handle it," she stated, not sure who she was trying to convince more: herself or Thomas.

"We should be going then," she reluctantly murmured. "Wouldn't want to be late, now would we?" She looked up at him and held up her hand to slip through his arm when he offered it.

Thomas smiled at her words and nodded. “No… We don't want to be late.” he agreed, predictably offering his arm before walking with her. “Just remember that I'm there for you.” he whispered as the door opened.

Eleanor clung to his arm as she walked. "I know," she whispered back, smiling to herself as they walked. The trip to the dining room never felt so short before.

Thomas smiled softly at her but the expression faded quickly once they were someone could see them. But he would agree that the walk was regrettably short.

Once they arrived, he bowed respectfully to Eleanor and all the guests, though he didn't look at any of them, before taking his post.