Phil sits behind his desk, hands folded on the glossy wooden surface. Henry stands in front of him, poised and serious. The very air is tense, and Phil resists the urge to pull at the collar of his shirt.

"I have made a decision regarding King Daniel of Tenebris. Under no circumstances will I execute him, nor cause him any more harm. As well, I will be changing our current laws to ones that are more humane and with the times," he states. "The laws we currently have in place are outdated and violent, and that is not the kind of kingdom that I want to run."

Henry exhales and nods, his jaw clenched. "I respect your decision, sire. However, I believe that this position is no longer for me. I will be unable to help you make these decisions and changes if I myself do not endorse them. Therefore, I hereby resign from the position of advisor and wish to find a different job in the castle."

"I approve of your decision and will place you in a different position. Do you have any recommendations for the position of royal advisor?"

"Yes. There is a young man named Chris who has been my pupil for several years now. He is closer to your age and very open-minded, and I think he would fit well as your advisor."

Phil nods and stands, shaking Henry's hand. "Send him in and we will talk. Thank you for all your service, and best of luck in what you end up doing."

"Thank you, your majesty."

Phil lets go and Henry bows before turning on his heel and exiting the room. The king returns to his chair and settles down, glancing at the pages of laws in front of him. He should work, but he can't think. He taps his pen on his desk, mind elsewhere. He was sick of fighting with Henry, but he's worried about working with a brand new advisor that doesn't have any experience with being a king's advisor. What if something happens? What if an army of Tenebrisians shows up at some point and Chris has no idea what to do?

A knock on the door brings him back to reality. A rather tall brunet man with amber-brown eyes steps into the room, bowing for the king. A light blue tunic hangs off his shoulders, the same kind that every other advisor in training wears.

"Chris, I presume?" Phil asks.

"Yes, your majesty. I was told you wished to speak with me," he replies.

"Indeed. I want to talk to you about becoming my advisor."

Chris' eyes light up. "That would be an honour, sire."

"Excellent." Phil stands from his chair and shakes his hand, and Chris shakes back with a grin on his face. "I look forward to working with you. Now, sit down and we will discuss some of the changes that I would like to make."

Chris takes a seat and Phil returns to his chair, sliding the pages of laws towards his brand new advisor.

~

Dan makes his way down to the stable, feeling better today than he did yesterday. His back doesn't hurt as badly, which makes walking less of a hassle. He's still not ready to face his scars, but there's no rush. He'll look at them eventually.

A staircase, built into the side of the hill that Phil's castle sits atop, leads Dan down to the stables. The small wooden building constantly teems with life, servants and animals milling about. Several horses graze from bins of hay, stamping their hooves in the snow. Their coats are thick and fluffy, protecting them against the chilly winter air, and Dan can't help but grin. The horses in Divum are significantly more fluffy than horses in Tenebris and Dan loves it.

He reaches the stables and is greeted by a husky with big blue eyes and a wagging tail.  Without a moment of hesitation, he kneels down and buries his fingers in her fur.

"Hello, girl! Aren't you beautiful?" he coos, earning an excited bark.

One of the stable-boys passes and chuckles. "That's Wolf. She's got more personality than most."

"Wolf?" Dan asks. The dog perks up and the king grins. "That's a good name!"

The stableboy continues with his chores and Dan straightens up, heading inside with Wolf on his heels. It's significantly warmer inside, and the king finds himself relaxing more and more as he strokes the noses of a few different horses. He's always loved horses, and being alone in a quiet, warm stable makes it that much better.

The door of the stable opens, letting in a rush of cold air, and Dan almost gets irritated before he sees who it is. Phil steps in, light blue cloak bringing out the colour of his eyes and snow dusting his shoulders, and a smile finds its way easily onto Dan's face. Phil scratches Wolf behind the ears before looking back to Dan, a grin pulling at his lips.

"I thought you were working," the king of Tenebris says, reaching out his hand.

Phil takes it and pulls Dan close, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. "My new advisor, Chris, and I got some work done. I just needed a break."

"New advisor? What happened to the old one?"

"Long story. Want to go on a ride while I tell you the whole tale?"

"That sounds lovely, but first I want a better kiss."

Phil laughs and cups Dan's face in his hands, kissing him more firmly this time. "You're adorable, you know that? It was nearly impossibly to resist you."

Dan's face turns red and he looks away. "I have no response to that."

"That's okay."

Dan looks back at him and kisses his forehead before stepping away and grabbing a saddle. Phil grabs his own saddle and blanket and opens the door to one of the stalls, letting his horse out and starting to gear it up. Once their horses are both saddled and ready to go, they lead them outside and mount. Dan needs a bit of help getting up because of his back, but then they're off.

"Where do you want to go?" Phil asks.

"The bench at the end of the world," Dan replies. When Phil gives him a quizzical look, he laughs. "You know that bench overlooking the mountains and the valley? I decided to call it the bench at the end of the world."

"When did you decide that?"

"About ten seconds ago."

Phil laughs, his eyes twinkling. "Alright, we'll go to the bench at the end of the world."

They urge their horses forward and head off. The air is still and cold, and as they approach their spot snowflakes start falling gently from the grey, overcast sky. The white contrasts highly with Phil's raven black hair, and Dan finds himself distracted by the way the king looks when his hair is sprinkled with snow and his cheeks are rosy from the cold atmosphere. Phil doesn't seem to notice, and that's fine by Dan.

They reach the bench at the end of the world and dismount, tying their horses to a tree trunk and settling down together. The mountains are faint thanks to the snow, but it's still as breathtaking as always. Dan inhales the cold mountain air, already feeling refreshed, and then Phil's arms are around him and he feels even better. He tucks himself against Phil's chest and looks out over the valley, his muscles relaxing and his heart rate slowing.

"So, what happened with your advisor?" Dan asks, his voice soft.

"He quit. I kind of saw it coming because I've been doing a lot that aggravated him, but I was still a bit unprepared. I'll be fine though. Henry recommended a new advisor named Chris, and from what I've seen from him already, he'll be a good fit," Phil replies.

"What did you do that aggravated him?"

Phil chuckles a bit. "I kept you alive. When Henry told me to hate you, I couldn't."

Dan looks up at him with wide eyes and the king of Divum smiles faintly, leaning down in order to catch Dan's lips in a kiss. The king of Tenebris kisses back, his fingers trailing beneath the hem of Phil's shirt and over the leaf mark on his hipbone. Phil's grip tightens around his arms and his hands trail down, his thumbs pressing into his thighs.

They break apart for air and Phil leans in, kissing Dan's neck and down his arm. He reaches the raven wing insignia on his wrist and presses his lips to it, making Dan blush and cuddle up to Phil again. The king of Divum's chest is warm, so Dan tucks his face against it and pulls Phil's cloak around them both.

They sit like that for a long time, snow falling gently around them.