***

It was rare for Loriel to succumb to illness or disease. Even though he was thin and sickly as a child, he grew up to be incredibly strong and almost unaffected by anything physical that touched him.

Loriel was thrown off into a wall by Queen Myrcella's magic before and even though his head started bleeding, he didn't feel the excruciating pain that much.

Anybody else would have died at that brunt attack.

So when Loriel finally found himself in bed, feverish and with the worst headache imaginable.. he knew that this was going to be a long week of pain.

The Prime Minister would take care of the affairs of the kingdom during this time and there was no urgent state of turmoil that required him actually intervening and taking a more active role in the affairs of war and battle.

Loriel stayed in his bed and sighed. "How much longer, Zaff? I just got here, but I'm already restless."

"Your Majesty, this is something that can be resolved by taking enough rest and actually relaxing for once." The royal physician looked at him impatiently and handed him a cup. "Suddenly visiting the mountains and dropping from a high altitude is dangerous."

"I'm alive, aren't I?" Loriel grunted as he drank the medicine.

"Please stay in bed, Your Majesty. It is always a dangerous affair to head up in the mountains surrounding Castilse, whether or not you had dragons, it did not matter."

"Mhmm, I get it. You can leave now so I can actually get some rest," Loriel waved the man to leave him alone.

"I will come here every now and then to inspect your condition, Your Majesty," Zaff informed him. "Even though you landed among rocks and did not seem to have any immediate pain, there might be internal injuries."

"Yes, I feel fine though. Except for this headache and fever."

"Stay in bed, Your Majesty."

Loriel only sighed as the man left his room and he closed his eyes. Once Loriel figured out that Elise actually liked tending to the gardens, he decided to actually bring in some rare flowers that only grew at the peak of the mountains in Castilse.

If Elise wouldn't let go of Brick, then beautiful flowers were something nice to have to make up for the lousy birthday present.

So Loriel set off on an expedition with Renwyck.. and he just didn't expect that while trying to get some flowers, the earth beneath him became loose and he dropped from one peak of the mountain into the next one.

Loriel's entire body ached, but Renwyck managed to collect several varieties of the flowers for him and then have one of the dragons fetch him.

They actually rushed back to his castle, but Loriel asked Renwyck to deliver the flowers by himself so Elise could see and tend to them already.

***

The old wizard came across Elise in the garden with her cat once again. The news of Loriel actually getting into an accident wasn't widely spread to not cause panicking so even Elise didn't hear it yet.

Renywck thought Elise ought to know.

"Your Majesty, pardon me for visiting here by myself," Renwyck said.

Elise looked up and saw the flowers in the basket and only smiled. "There is no need to apologize, it is great to have visitors. Isn't that right, Brick?"historical

Brick glared at Renwyck and only hid behind Elise. Even now the kitten didn't seem to like anyone else except for Elise.

"The king has sent me to bring you these flowers. I believe that the king thinks that they'll be a fine addition to your gardens, Your Majesty."

"Oh, I see." Elise smiled and accepted the basket. "I did not expect that he would think of me.. but um, may I ask why His Majesty didn't bring it himself? Is the king currently busy?"

Renwyck shook his head. "On the contrary, Your Majesty. He asked me to rush these flowers because he couldn't get here by himself due to a minor accident."

"Minor accident?" Elise looked up in alarm.

"These flowers tended to have long roots, so the earth crumbled beneath him when he obtained them for you."

"I should visit the king," Elise's heart pounded in worry. She returned the basket into Renwyck's hands and said, "Please excuse me for a moment. I will go check on him now."

Elise rushed towards the king's residence and left the old wizard by himself.

"Should I plant them now?" Renwyck asked himself aloud and eyed the flower bed. Loriel was going to be grateful to know that Renwyck helped them get together.

***

Even though Loriel was the restless type who didn't like staying in bed, the man actually fell asleep thanks to Zaff's medicine. It put his body into a state of relaxation and he was napping.

But then Loriel felt a warm presence close to him.

Even though Loriel was resting, he felt himself gravitate towards the warmth by his side and, when he felt a hand reach for his head and actually massage it, Loriel sighed in bliss.

Until the king realized that Zaff was supposed to check on him. Ugh.. was it Zaff who was massaging his head? Ew..!

The king of Summeria quickly opened his eyes, and was shocked but also relieved to see the face of Elise looking down at him. "Hey.. It's you."

Elise looked down at Loriel and waved a hand apologetically. "I'm sorry for disturbing your sleep and touching you without permission. I heard from Renwyck about the trouble that you went through in order to get me flowers.."

Loriel winced and reached for his head. "Continue with what you were doing."

"Okay, Your Majesty."

Even though Elise only planned to use some of the spells that she knew in order to rejuvenate the man's condition, she started to massage his head to soothe his pains.

Now that Loriel gave a full confirmation, she quickly went back to work.

"That feels nice," Loriel sighed in both relief and a mixture of guilt.

Despite everything that happened, Elise still rushed to his side when she heard that he got hurt? This woman was amazing...

.

.

**************

From Missrealitybites:

So, this was how Loriel slowly fell in love with his wife. She was just so lovely, kind, and loving. Only a really dumb man couldn't see her worth. ^^

PS: I would like to thank Kelly Goodwin for gifting a dragon to "The Cursed King" several days ago.. I am grateful for your generosity and support. xx