ESFJ (male) x ISFP (female)

"F-Forgive me, Your Majesty! Punish me with death!"

"Why on earth would I punish my queen's maid with death for only following her command?" King Vilko grumbles through gritted teeth, climbing his way through the snow that was about two-feet high above the ground. Making sure that his disguise is still intact and that he still is kept warm with the layers of clothing on him, he fights his way (almost stumbling at times) through the snow that was still constantly falling to the ground.

"Her Majesty went out like the usual, Your Majesty."

"The usual? Whatever do you mean?"

"H-Her Majesty would always make time to go out and explore the kingdom at this time of the night."

King Vilko was gobsmacked. "Why does it have to be at this time?"

"...Because she would not get caught."

"This has been occurring for weeks?" He continued, his breath floating like mist under the constant falling snow as he spoke to himself. It was freezing cold and the five layers of clothing are gradually becoming not enough to lessen the growing numbness of King Vilko's skin. His teeth were chattering and he made sure to have his whole head covered except his eyes. It would be a foolish idea to go around the kingdom blind. And, mind you, he still made sure to hide who he really was.

The kingdom adheres to a strict curfew since the winter season could be harsh and poses a great risk for those that still go around late at night. The King appoints some palace guards to stay in different areas stationed around the kingdom to watch over the people and cease those who break curfew. Those who break it are not given punishment, they will simply be given a place to stay until sunrise.

King Vilko is never someone who advocates violence as an answer to problems. He loves his people and, as much as possible, he does not want them to be afraid of him.

Is that a reason why he feels that some nobles and courtmen are taking advantage of him at conferences?

There was a time when his queen witnessed tension at a royal conference between the king and one of the courtmen there. The king relented, the court man felt victorious, and the queen seemed to look disappointed. Vilko could never erase that image from his mind - the way his queen's lips formed into a tight line, how she gingerly curled her fingers to form a fist, and her eyes that threw him a firm look toward his direction. Those eyes not only showed disappointment, but it looked as if she was ready for a fight.

It was his first time to see his queen in such a state because she has always been gentle with the people around her. Maybe not that much of a talkative person, but her aura and way of speaking commanded nothing but obedience.

Though...not the obedience of everyone. People around the palace think that she is behind the missing things in the kitchen. And what if it is true? His doubts are clouding his head more because she was never in her room.

He stops by the end of an icy and snow-covered road and leans against the nearest tree behind him. He sees small houses with all their windows covered and smoke wafting from their chimneys. His people are asleep and here he is, braving the snow to find his queen.

At least on a cold night, silence is his companion. The palace has been feeling a bit claustrophobic, especially with people having their way. For once, he is given the chance to listen to his own thoughts.

He closes his eyes and mutters, "I think resting here for a few moments won't hurt."

The cool breeze gives this constant whistling sound that travels through the air. It is like a song being sung by heavenly ghosts going from one place to another.

It is not eerie at all. Rather, it is calming. And Vilko is enjoying himself.

That is until the breeze brings the echo of someone's snickering to his ears. His eyes fly open in alert as he continues to hear the distant sound of someone snickering gleefully. His eyebrows furrow together and scan the area around him. The problem is that he does not see anyone. He must be on the brink of insanity then.

The snickers reach his ears again and now he's aware that he is definitely hearing them. "This is exciting!" The wind carries over the voice and now he could tell that it could be a woman who has been snickering.

The crease between his eyebrows deepens in confusion. Who is out here in the snow this late?

He does not waste another second and follows the direction where the voice came from. It leads back to the row lined with small houses of his people.

As he walks to the nearest house, he catches sight of a person leaving behind a basket of some sort in front of the door of another house and carefully runs through the snow to leave another similar basket at the next house.

It doesn't seem like that person is stealing the belongings of those who reside in those houses, but it is a bit strange that someone would leave something on their doorstep.

When he watches the person run behind snow-covered bushes across the street, he decides to sneak up on them.

Upon nearing the person, he notices that they are covered with thick layers of clothes from head to toe. The kind of material, though, is not common among their people. No, they are expensive-looking and it seems like what he is wearing.

...Could it be? Vilko is not foolish to think otherwise. It would make sense - he is supposedly out now and who else would obtain that kind of clothing material?

Slowly, he walks to the person with their back facing him. It appears that the person has not noticed him yet even if he is merely three feet away. They are too busy fixing around three empty baskets. He then reaches over to grab the arms of the person, trying to keep them together so that they wouldn't move any further.

The person lets out a shrill scream and struggles to break free from his hold. Yet, when the person gets a glimpse of the person holding onto them, they completely freeze in place.

Vilko also stops moving when he catches sight of the person's eyes.

He knows that pair of eyes too well - whether they look firm or are glaring at him. He definitely knows.

"M-My Queen?" He stammers.

"My King..." she breathes out, leaving her mouth in a misty cloud under the falling snow.

He instantly lets go of her and holds her up by her shoulders. Out of concern, he eyes her from head to toe, making sure that she is not hurt in any area of her body. "Is this what you have been doing for the past nights?" He questions, "Leaving some kind of basket on the doorsteps of our people?"

"How were you made aware of my nightly whereabouts?" She retaliates.

"Lady Nelia informed me."

"I should have known," she murmurs, exhaling deeply. "You should leave, my king."

"And why should I do that?"

She pushes herself away from him and goes back to the baskets lined near her feet. "The nobles and courtmen would be disappointed if they saw you here," she murmurs sarcastically.

"I simply want to know what you have been up to. I wanted to talk with you about what has been happening in the palace," he explains. He eyes the baskets and notes how there is food neatly placed in each. Food that matches those that are missing from the pantry. He blinks and shakes his head before bringing his gaze back to her. "I visited your room and was shocked to find Lady Nelia in your place."

"I find it best that you go back to the palace-"

"I refuse to believe that it was you who has been stealing from the pantry," he cuts her off sternly, confronting her without any hesitation. It hurt him, though, to say it even if he had an inkling of the truth.

Hyacinth pauses in her movements, her hands hovering over the basket she was ready to place in front of another house. She takes a sharp turn to throw a glare at him. "Stealing?" She spits out. "I would not call this stealing."

"You are not even defending yourself!"

"I am simply giving back to our people rather than making the nobles and courtmen happy with their endless greed!" She brings a hand before the baskets. "Lady Nelia and I have been making these baskets, which I would like to add were made out of love, and I have been giving out these baskets with food in them to our people."

Vilko gapes at her. "Once the nobles and courtmen find out about this, they will be furious! Are you not worried?"

"Of course, I am!" She exclaims. Then she purses her lips, trying to calm herself down before continuing in a soft voice that sounds so much like a plea, "Yet Vilko, our people are suffering in the cold winter. How can they keep themselves warm if they do not have enough to eat? You need to see that there is a boundary between fretting over our people and fretting over wanting to be approved of always. You care too much about what the nobles and courtmen dictate. What about the rest?" She whispered toward the end.

Her words cut through his firm exterior. A conscious and guilty expression almost betrays his countenance because her words spoke nothing but the truth.

The hurtful truth.

Nowadays, he has been feeling insecure over how he dealt with the internal and external affairs of the kingdom. He has been aware that he was losing grasp of what is supposed to be his and unconsciously allowing other people to dictate what must be done.

...Has he been too focused on attempting to please everyone that he has lost sense of himself and who he must be in the process?

A loud gasp from Hyacinth breaks Vilko's train of thought and he is suddenly pulled down to the ground by his arm. "Hide, hide, hide!" She yells in a whisper as she pulls the king down with her to hide behind a tall bush covered with fallen snow from the trees.

Vilko regards her with wide eyes, but her focus is not on him. Instead, she is keenly watching what is happening across the street. He follows her line of sight and spots one person at the doorstep of his house. He seemed to have woken up from a deep sleep since he looked tired and yet surprised by the basket of food placed on his doorstep.

Quietly, the king and queen watched the man pick it up and skeptically studies it before looking inside. From where they were secretly watching him, they saw how he lets out a wide gasp of disbelief, and a huge smile formed on his face. He hugs the basket to him and looks up at the sky. "Thank you, thank you!" he cries out of happiness, bringing his hand to his mouth before raising it to the sky repeatedly.

As Vilko watches the man, he feels something very uncommon to him. He has never seen any of his people up close and to hear that man continuously express how grateful he is, he feels something different. The man returns to his house with the basket, but the inexpressible feeling in Vilko has not left.

"Can't you see?" Hyacinth whispers from beside him, "This is not stealing. We are not betraying anyone in the process. We are simply acting as good leaders for our people."

"...I can't believe that you've been doing this all this time," He whispers back.

"And the people in our kitchen only noticed the missing food late."

He turns his head, appraising her with this newfound amazement and pride he has for his queen. "Has it ever occurred to you that you would eventually inform me of your whereabouts?"

"I thought it right to apprise you of what I have been doing."

"Yet what stopped you, my queen?"

She bit a small part of her bottom lip then admits in a soft voice, "I noticed how you were suffering at the hands of greedy people." She peers into his eyes as she says, "I witnessed you slowly losing yourself, Vilko."

Again, the truth is hurtful. "You are a great woman, then, for having noticed that."

Suddenly, her hand flies to hold his. The temperature around them may be cold but her hand radiated a calming and assuring warmth that spread throughout his body. "You are formidable in a great way, my king," Hyacinth begins, "And I have an immense amount of faith in you. It saddens me that you are losing the faith you have in yourself and relying on others more. Do not lose your personal morals over people who think they matter more than those who are truly suffering."

"I will be against important people who can bring our kingdom down."

"And that would be alright because you are a man of integrity." She grasps his hand tightly. "And you have me as your queen," she reassures him, meaning each word she said with every fiber of her being. "Now that you're here, I want this to be an activity that we can do together. Are you willing to join me?"

The look of determination in her eyes instantly changed the way Vilko perceived himself. He may seem like a 'servant' king, a puppet king called by some. But he always has the power to change the course of his life. "Of course, my queen."

----------

His newest announcement stirred an uproar from the nobles and courtmen. King Vilko announced that he was making amendments to the quarterly budget of the kingdom. Instead of giving a portion of the money to the nobles and courtmen, he dictated that it will be utilized to make a community pantry for everyone residing in the kingdom.

The nobles and courtmen were furious, secretly threatening to go against the king's orders.

But King Vilko stayed firm and just. He took his queen's words to heart and he shall stand with it.

The servants in the palace were pleasantly surprised by the sudden change in their king. He seemed more sure of himself and his decisions. Never have they seen him walk with such an air of confidence until now. And the best part of their observation was that their king and queen are speaking to each other more. There would be days that they would see the queen wait for the king's conference to finish before they would walk back together to their shared balcony. Some of the servants who still had chores to do outside in the palace garden would sometimes spot the king and queen standing on their balcony engaged in deep conversation. Sometimes the king would mention something that would cause the queen to laugh out of glee. The servants found the palace to have become more lively ever since the queen started to laugh more.

The king has been quiet on the shared balcony. It is late at night and everyone is sleeping. Well, everyone except his queen who is standing by her door leading to the balcony.

She watches him for a moment, taking in his calm features as he gazes into the starry sky. Winter is now long gone. The trees and greenery in the kingdom are slowly gaining back their color. Things are growing in a new light.

Her gaze softens at her king. And she's been seeing someone in a new light, as well.

Having enough of merely watching, she decides to walk up to him. "Are you feeling ill, my King?" She asks as she nears him.

Vilko laughs softly, turning his head to face Hyacinth who is now beside him. "No," he answers, "Merely thinking." Signs of exhaustion reveal on his face, but when he tilts his head toward her, he throws her a look of pure affection.

"What are your thoughts, then?"

"Frankly, I am not thinking of the conference I had this morning. My thoughts are all about you and how blessed I am to have you as my queen," he replies. "You do not have to share your innermost feelings with me at once, having you standing next to me is enough for me to feel at ease and comfortable."

His words ultimately move her. That is what is great about him. His words hold so much power and she's happy knowing that he's using it to his advantage for the greater good - for their kingdom, their people, and now, her.

She notices his hand placed on top of the balustrade and reaches over to rest her hand on top of the king's. "It is in times like this that I, frankly, am not good with words," she admits in a whisper.

He breaks off into a soft smile. "You do not have to say anything." With his other hand, he takes her hand and raises it to his lip to lightly press a kiss on her knuckles. "I understand."

"...Will you stop there?" She whispers.

"Hm?"

Hyacinth feels her cheeks start to flush and she's sure that it is not because of the chilly air. "Will you stop there?" She repeats, her gaze falling on her hand that is still being held by her king.

Vilko smiles, realization dawning on him. He knows what she wants. He shakes his head and replies, "No." Without any hesitation, he pulls his hand away and snakes an arm around her waist. His other free hand then cups her cheek, caressing her skin before dipping his head to tenderly kiss the lips of his queen.

He feels her hold onto him as she returns the kiss and he smiles into it.

Who knew that his queen would be someone he would not only cherish but confide in?

She is a great woman and he is glad to have her with him throughout this lifelong endeavor.

He pulls away, breathless from their shared kiss. He meets her soft gaze and runs the back of his hand on her cheek. "Would you stay with me for the night?"

She breathes out a laugh. "Must you ask something trivial?" She replies with a smile. "I want that for each night together."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The long-awaited sequel to this imagine :3 I hope you enjoyed this one!

Thank you! ♡