SOREN
"You look profoundly miserable Your Majesty," Aldric said quietly beside me, his tone mild.
"I'm fine," I snapped, the lie unconvincing even to my own ears.
Aldric didn't believe me, and he made no effort to hide it. "Are you alright? Truly?"
"Are you developing a sentimental streak in your old age, Aldric?" I deflected.
"I'm not that old, Your Majesty," he replied flatly. "And you didn't answer the question."
I said nothing, which was its own answer. Aldric had known me long enough to read the silence. He knew exactly what was eating at the center of me.
"I assume this is about her," he stated. It wasn't a question.
"I need you to look after her," I said, redirecting the conversation to the only thing that mattered. "She'll tell you she's fine. She'll mean it approximately forty percent of the time. Don't listen to her the rest of the time."
