Ellora knew that Vellen once worked for the prince as a guard. She knew that her husband had once had a love that she would never quite be able to match, and she accepted it. Their marriage was comfortable, their house stayed warm, their child was growing to be kind and clever. She in turn had lost her wife to sickness, and knew the loss of true love all too well. Vellen fell into step with Ellora naturally, easily. They loved each other, truly, but accepted that if they had the chance to choose their lost loves once again, they would take that chance far too easily. 

It was a quiet day for Vellen in the bookshop - it had been raining for days, it didn't make a visit downtown inviting. He settled on reading a book on the history of what their land once was - Evira. His heartbeat became all too strong when he noticed there was a passage about Fernsworth - one he wasn't sure if he wanted to read. No matter how beautiful the town once was, it wouldn't outshine how he saw the ruin of it left behind by time. 

He was surprised when he heard the little bell over the door ring - maybe Ellora was there to pay him a visit? 

No. The king and the twins he and his wife had adopted walked into the bookshop. Vellen caught his prince's eyes, that still hadn't lost their little spark. The children made their way to the desk. 

"Mister, where are the books for kids?" 

Vellen blinked out of his stupor. "Your highnesses, welcome. They are all the way over there in the corner," he pointed them in the right direction. "Under the paper dragon." 

"Thank you, mister!" They said in unison, before running off. Vellen chuckled and looked back at the king. At his Tennet. It wasn't the first time they visited each other over the years; it happened once every six months or so, when the seasons became rainy and it was easy to find an excuse to go to the bookshop. Still, Tennet kept his distance, as promised. The king smiled at him, taking a deep breath. 

"Your majesty." 

"Vel." 

"... Ten." 

"Hi." 

"Hi..." 

"How are-" 

That moment, a pair of older women who had to be sisters walked into the bookstore. Immediately, Tennet was surrounded by them and their formalities, bowing down to him, thanking them for everything he brought to their city-state. Eventually, they moved to one of the shelves, pretending to look at books. Tennet had regained every bit of his royal composure, as Vellen made himself busy. 

"As I was saying, I was wondering if you had any books on the history of divine magics?" 

Vellen took a breath and nodded. "Yes, though the tome is rare." 

"Price shouldn't be an issue anymore." 

And it wasn't. Since Tennet married his wife, the combination of the city-state and the kingdom brought great prosperity to both sides. Vellen chuckled and made his way to the shelf, picking up the gilded book. "This one is accurate about the history of magic, but with a fictional plot used to introduce it. And the expensive one..." He reached up to a book that was sealed with a lock. "This one will tell you how the magics were lost." 

"I'll take them both, thank you. Let me go see if the children have chosen something for themselves."

"Thank you, your majesty." 

Vellen watched as Tennet walked away, every bit of him entirely familiar still. It didn't take long for the twins to run up to the desk, each with a book in hand. Vellen's heart was too full to correctly calculate how much the four books cost, and too aware of the two women in the corner, still giggling about the king and his children being in the store with them. The king paid without debate, and made smalltalk about the weather as Vellen packed the books in a bag to keep them safe from the rain. 

"Thank you, you and your bookshop bring great light to the city," Tennet said, just a little less formally than the rest of his discourse. He reached out to take the bag, letting their fingers brush together, letting them linger just a fraction longer than they should. The king feigned needing two hands, making his children laugh and, as he had so often in the past when their affections were still kept a secret, he gently ran his fingers over the inside of Vellen's wrist, away from view, tracing along the outside of the fern the bookeeper had once shown the king, when they were able to spend an all-too-rare afternoon together.

The small gesture, so many years later, still meant everything to them both. 

The prince still had the leather cord tied to his own wrist. 

"Thank you for honoring my shop with your presence." 

The king smiled, standing straight again. "Well, it truly is a special place. You did well with it. I may be inclined to come back someday." His eyes were locked onto Vellen's. The weight of the words they could not say hung in the air, but the hidden affection behind what had been said still comforted them both. 

"It would be a pleasure." 

After making sure that nobody was staring at him, Tennet smiled at Vellen and bowed his head to him, only a little. "Have a wonderful day, then." 

"You as well." 

It never hurt, when Tennet visited him, though watching him walk away never failed to make emotions surface. He exhaled shakily and cleared his throat, welcoming the two women at his desk. 

"He's impressive, isn't he? So kind, and handsome!" One asked. 

"And he chose your shop over all of them in town! What an honor!"

"An honor indeed." 

Every time Tennet visited, it made him feel a little healed. Even if there were people around them, even when they had to keep up appearances, his short visits were nothing less than the warmest of hugs, the safest of embraces. 

The softest touch of his wrist.