It was late afternoon when Eret got out of his last meeting and came to collect you from your suite, offering you an arm as he escorted you to the nearest way out into the gardens, telling you about all the different members of his court that he had met with today. You listened, just letting him dump everything out until he was done, and turned to you with a smile.

"Sounds like a long day." You said.

"It was." Eret said, reflections of the falling cherry blossoms dancing in the lenses of his glasses. "But it was made all the more bearable knowing I would have the pleasure of your comany afterword."

Your heart fluttered at that and you patted the arm that was linked with yours. "You flatter me."

"No it's true." Eret said. "Just knowing that I had a walk through the gardens with great company waiting for me was such a comfort."

"You looked like you needed it." You said, glancing over at him. You could still see some of the dark circles under his eyes from under the frame of his glasses, but the bright smile on his face made him look so much more alert than he had been before.

"I did, I did." Eret said, pausing for a moment to watch a pair of songbirds dart by overhead. When they had passed, he turned to you. "Enough about my day though, what sort of adventures did you get yourself into this morning?"

"Nothing too exciting." You said. "I was watching Simon train with Maven for a while, and then I took a wander through the palace, just enjoying the decoration."

"And how is Simon?" Eret asked, leading you to the left at a fork in the path.

You followed without question. "He's well - spends most of his free time at the training grounds nowadays, if he's not trying to make conversation with that advisor of yours." You joked. "I didn't know you and Maven grew up together."

Eret hummed, a nostalgic sort of smile playing at the corner of his mouth. "We did." He said. "She's my best and most fearless friend, and I'm glad that she's been by my side for as long as she has been. Seen me through my darkest days, and told me off for forgetting to brush my teeth."

"That happens often, does it?" You teased.

Eret chuckled. "More than I'm proud of." He said. "But don't tell anyone - they won't respect me as a king anymore."

You made a gesture of sealing your lips, throwing away an imaginary key. Eret just smiled, steps slowing somewhat as you reached a clearing in the garden - the same small bench you and Simon had eaten lunch on one afternoon. Eret cleared all the fallen cherry buds from the stone before sitting down, leaving a space for you beside him. You plopped down onto the seat gratefully, letting go of his arm.

"This is exactly what I needed." Eret sighed happily. "It's such a beautiful day."

You hummed in agreement, eyes drifting up to the blue sky above you. "I don't think there's been a bad day since Simon and I arrived."

"You brought the good weather with you." Eret joked.

You let out a little huff of a laugh at that, placing your hands behind you on the stone back so that you could lean against them.

"I wouldn't be surprised if it was true though." Eret continued. "You're the kind of person that the sun would want to follow around."

You could feel your face heat up at that, and you let out a laugh, brushing off the comment as best you could. "Do you charm all of your guests like this?"

"I do my best." Eret said. His gaze slid to you as he continued. "Not everyone is as receptive as others. And taking strolls through the garden in our spare time is something new - normally, my political guests are more concerned with the politics of it all."

"I'll admit, this has become something of a vacation for me." You said. "There's just something magical about this place - maybe it's all the colors - it just makes you totally forget about the real reason you came here in the first place."

It was true - this place was like a distant fairytale from the palace back home, full of color and cherry blossoms and cheerful kings who wore dresses instead of military gear and leaped from balconies like it was nothing. It was so easy to fall in love with everything - both the beautiful palace and the beautiful king.

"I tend to have that effect on people." Eret said, adjusting the glasses on the bridge of his nose.

You elbow him playfully. "Don't grow an ego on me now, your humility was something I liked about you."

"There are other things as well, surely?" Eret asked. "For someone as virtuous as I am, surely the loss of one of my attributes wont hurt my image too bad."

"Maybe I was wrong in ever thinking you were humble in the first place." You said.

Eret tipped his head back in a laugh, grinning at you. "You're the first politician I've known that can take a joke, Y/N, you should be proud of yourself."

"And you are the first king I've known to make one." You returned, watching as Eret leaned back on his hands, head tipping up to the sky.

He hummed, the corner of his mouth quirking upwards slightly. "Perhaps you and I weren't meant for the world of stuck up royals then." He wondered aloud. "Perhaps you and I should just run away from all this war and ruling nonsense and go strike a life for ourselves in the forest and have our own way in the world."

"You know we can't." You said. You couldn't - he was a king, and you were in King Etienne's court - you both were too important to disappear into the woods.

Oh, but how you would have liked to - especially with him.