Egon looked down at her with concern and that was all it took for the dam to break. His arms immediately found their way around her. His embrace was tight and comforting. She let loose all her sadness and anxieties. Through her own sobs, she heard the padding of feet quickly coming down the stairs and turned her head to see who else she was embarrassing herself in front of and was relieved to see that it was only Evander. She broke away from Egon to hug him as well. She could feel his distress at her distress and couldn't stand it.
"Take her upstairs. I'll be up in a moment." Egon said quietly while locking the door.
Evander carefully led her up the stairs with his arm firmly around her shoulder. She continued to cry, but more quietly. Her brother was in danger. Possibly both of her brothers. Her whole kingdom, even. And she was stuck in another country trying to prepare her fated husband for the fight against a power that was only getting stronger by the day.
"Here. Sit," Van said gently, steering her to the chair in the room. She followed his command as he knelt on the floor next to her and held both of her hands in his. It was only moments before Egon appeared in her room, a carafe of water, a bottle of wine, and a few cups in hand. He set the tray on the small side table next to the chair and poured a glass of water for her.
"Drink this. It'll help." She took her hands back from Evander and took the cup. "Drink it slowly."
"Now, what is all this?" Evander asked quietly.
"It's Aurelius. He's in trouble. She said he's with the darkness." She nearly started sobbing again, but took a deep, shaky breath to stem the tide.
"Who said?" Van's confusion was on his face.
"The Oracle," Egon said before she could. "I told you that she was trouble, little queen."
"I know."
"What exactly did she say?" Van asked.
"She said, 'He is with the darkness.'" She mocked the Oracle's deep voice as she spoke. "She said that he's okay right now. I asked if we had time to do all of this and she said that if we leave now, then we'll all die."
"Then you're where you need to be," Egon insisted, pouring her a cup of wine. "Here, it'll help you sleep."
"I'm going to need more than one." She joked.
"You can have as many as you like." Egon squeezed her shoulder. It was nice having them both there. In the past, if she had been so upset, she'd be lucky if Aurelius was allowed to comfort her. She always had to deal with things that upset her on her own. It was nice to not be alone for this.
"I'll take one, too. Can't let our queen drink alone." Evander picked up a cup and Egon filled it before filling a cup of his own.
"No, we can't." He said, holding his cup out for both of them."Bottoms up."
Mina found herself in a situation that she had never even dreamed of. She wasn't quite sure what had possessed her the night before, other than a significant amount of wine, but when it came time for her to be put to bed, she had insisted that they both stay. She didn't want to be alone. So she was pressed flush against a man who wasn't her husband, his hand wrapped around her waist, holding her firmly in place. Her husband was in front of her, holding her hands, with his forehead nearly pressed against hers and his legs tangled up in hers and Egon's. She had never felt so secure and cared for in her life.
"Good morning, little queen." Egon's gruff voice startled her. His warm breath tickled the back of her neck.
"Good morning." She responded quietly. Evander still hadn't stirred, and she didn't want to wake him prematurely.
"Feeling better?" Egon asked, pulling her tighter into his embrace. Her face flushed at what she was sure was the feeling of his member pressed against her back. She had learned a lot about men and sex from the priestesses growing up, but had zero experience. Here was a man with a lot of experience pressing himself into her with her husband in the same bed. She was sure she would die.
"I suppose," she squeaked out. He gently stroked her belly with the thumb of his hand that held her.
"Good." And he pulled his hand away and carefully got up, placing a kiss on her temple. "I have some things to attend to this morning. Training and such. You rest and be ready for this afternoon. I'll have breakfast brought up for you both."
With that, he was gone, and she felt his absence. She curled in closer to Evander to try to make up for the warmth and security that was no longer there. He was receptive despite still being very much asleep. He'd already shown himself to be a cuddler on the ship. They stayed that way until there was a knock at the door.
"I'll get it." He said, still half asleep. She laughed and got up herself to get the door. It was just their breakfast, which was set up on the sideboard across from the bed by the kitchen staff before they bowed out. All the commotion finally fully pulled Van from his slumber. She turned after closing the door to see him sitting up and cleaning the sleep from his eyes.
She wanted to kiss him. She wasn't sure where the desire came from, but something about his adorable demeanor made her want to kiss him. She walked over and sat next to him, facing him, on the bed. He smiled at her and moved some hair out of her face. She leaned in and pressed her lips against his. It was clumsy. She had no idea what she was doing. Then Evander took more of a lead and the kiss turned into something truly wonderful. He put his hand on her cheek and in her hair while he pressed firmly into her. She wrapped her arm around his neck and followed his lead. He was far better at kissing than dancing. But the bond had to ruin it. She could feel it pushing for more. More touching, more closeness, more everything. She wasn't ready for more. So she pulled away.
"Are you okay?" He asked, breathlessly.
"Yeah. I'm just hungry." She lied. "We should eat."
"Okay." It was clear that he knew she was lying, but he said nothing about it. There was no chance he didn't feel that pull just as well as she did.