King Henry

Chapter 46 - Henry's Speech

***** The Next Morning *****

Eleanor woke up the next morning wrapped up in Henry's arms, laying on his bare chest. The first thought that immediately came to her mind was dread about what was going to happen to him that day. It had kept her awake, tossing and turning most of the night.

Henry however hadn't moved a muscle since he fell asleep the night before. She wondered how he could be so brave and calm about all of this. If it were her and there was an army coming to kill her and steal her throne, she would be running away and hiding. Not him, he was running towards the danger instead of away from it. His throne meant so much to him that he was willing to give up his life for it.

She laid there and looked at him while he was sleeping, studying the square angle of his jawline that was covered lightly in stubble, his strong cheekbones and smooth, slightly tanned skin that had a small scar on one cheek that you wouldn't even notice unless you were up close. His dark brown hair was covering his forehead and part of his thick, dark eyebrows.

She tried to memorize his handsome face because she had a horrible sinking feeling that she might not get to see it again after today. Just thinking about that made tears burn at her eyes and a knot tie up in her stomach. She wasn't even sure how she could survive and go on without him.

As if he could feel her looking at him, he blinked and slowly opened his eyes, looking up at her. When he saw her, a smile appeared on his face and he said, "Good morning beautiful," in his gravelly, just waking up voice.

"Good morning," she smiled back.

"Do you always stare at people while they're sleeping?" he laughed.

She laughed too. "No, only you," she said with her cheeks flushing red, looking down at her hands and fidgeting with the edge of the blanket.

He leaned up and gave her a peck on the lips with a smile. "It's alright. I stare at you too sometimes. I'm just sneaky enough not to get caught."

There was a knock on the door downstairs and they reluctantly got out of bed and got dressed. When they got downstairs and opened the door, they saw Merlin standing there.

"You look like you haven't gotten much sleep," Henry told him.

"That because I haven't," Merlin said with an exhale, walking inside and plopping himself down onto one of the upholstered chairs in front of the fireplace where a fire was still burning. "I didn't see my bed until dawn."

Henry shut the door and sat down on the bench across from him and Eleanor took the seat beside him.

"So what were you doing all night Merlin?" Henry asked.

"I was hunting for the nightshade I needed to make poison so we can enchant our swords and arrows with it. But the most important thing I did was go to London to gather allies."

"Really? I was going to do that first thing this morning so you saved us some time," Henry told him.

"Well I figured it would be easier for me to go since I wouldn't run the risk of being recognized since I can use my magic to impersonate anyone I want to. Plus I can get people to open up and tell me how they really feel if I look like someone they know and trust."

"So how did it go? Did you find anyone that's on my side."

Merlin nodded. "I did, more than I thought I would actually. Lord Buxley is still loyal to you, even though most of his soldiers aren't at the moment. He's agreed to gather all of his men together in the chapel this morning so you can give a speech and hopefully convince them to fight on your side."