Not-so-secrets

Horknath stumbled inside, blushing a bit. "Maybe the window hasn't shrinked, but it is too narrow still", he said, glaring at it as if it was its fault. "Or, maybe I grew larger", he commented looking at himself.

"Mmh is it even possible for you to gain more muscles?" Carleen teased him, as she undid his shirt to caress his torso.

Horknath chuckled. "Who knows", he said, his hands grabbing her hips, playing with the hem of her top to get his fingers underneath it. He caressed her skin. "Maybe you'll be able to tell me if I actually gained them."

"I'll have to undress you fully to make sure, Carleen said, as she began to take his shirt off. But then... She froze when she heard a quick knock on her door, then said door opening. Oh no. Oh no she had forgotten to lock it. She turned her head swiftly with the intent to yell an excuse about needing some privacy at whoever was opening that door, but all words escaped her when she noticed that it was Sakrish standing at the doorway. Damn, was her father fast at opening a door.
Sakrish just stood there, bewildered, as his daughter took an awkward step back from Horknath's arms.

Horknath too had turned around, ears up in alert, but still fairly sure that Carleen could make anyone step back from the door of her bedroom.
Well. Anyone aside from her own father. Father that was standing there, right next to the open door, looking at them with his eyes wide open. He quickly retracted her hands from her waist, taking a step back himself and fretting in closing up his shirt, fighting the burst of shame that went up to his cheeks. Honestly, he was kind of ready to throw himself out of the window right in that moment.

"...What?" Sakrish yelped, breaking the ice, still staring at the both of them.
"Dad, don't freak out, please," Carleen told him carefully. Oddly enough, it only managed to make Sakrish burst.
"You want ME to NOT FREAK OUT?! How long has this been going on!" Sakrish replied, torn between anger, worry, betrayal, and mostly, incomprehension.

Horknath unconsciously moved to half-cover Carleen with his arm. "My Lord", he began carefully, "I..." He looked to Carleen, not really knowing what to say in that moment. "I can assure you I've never been in this room before tonight." He didn't know where that giant lie was coming from, or how he could actually sound convincing, but he tried his best. Hoping that it could maybe calm Sakrish down a bit.

Sakrish indeed seem to calm down a bit, as Carleen quickly nodded. "It's true. I just- I realized this week that I missed him way too much, dad. I love him," she said, stepping closer to Horknath again, for comfort. And she bit her lower lip when her mother herself appeared in the door frame. Sakrish's voice had worried her.

Horknath took Carleen's hand in his own, squeezing it to reassure her. "I love her too, my Lord- my Lady", he said, his voice hopefully firm even with the sudden apparition of Ashanti. He gulped, sincerely scared about their reaction now. One thing for sure, had he been in the North, he would have been dead already.

A faint smile bloomed on Ashanti's lips, who laid a hand on Sakrish's arm to ease him. "Well. He's not a rich North noble, but at least he's a warrior whose skill you appreciate. And I told you our daughter would probably rather go for a fighter, not an intellectual," she said, in a soft voice. In the end, Sakrish sighed, as he looked at the two of them. "So. I guess that in the end you two trained a lot together because that was your only way to spend time together?"

Horknath nodded, still wary even if now Sakrish seemed calmer, and even though Ashanti didn't seem to be angered. "That is it. And- my Lord, my Lady, I swear on my honour, your daughter has no fault in this. I was the one to convince her to let me into her rooms tonight. If you wish to have my head, I will understand", he said quickly. As said, he was all too used to the more barbaric ways of the North.

Carleen snorted. "Honey you're cute, but they both know I'm the one who got you here."
And, seeing them so casual with each other finally softened Sakrish, who just ran a hand over his face. "Horknath. I wish to talk to you right now. Alone, please."

Horknath finally let out a nervous laugh, scratching his head. "Too much?", he said, embarrassed, then standing straight when Sakrish called him. "Yes, my Lord", he said, following him. "Carleen... my Lady", he greeted Ashanti, with a somewhat awkward smile and bow.

Ashanti bowed her head at Horknath when he walked by, and closed the door behind him to talk to her daughter. Sakrish lead Horknath to his own quarters, and poured himself a glass of alcohol. He needed it. "What are your intentions regarding Carleen?"

Horknath got surprised by that sudden question. He was holding himself as still and rigid as a column, a bit far from the other man. "Well, I-" He cleared his throat. "I was intending to... in a fair amount of time... asking you, my Lord, for her hand in marriage", he let out in a single breath, barely having the guts to look at Sakrish right now.

Sakrish gulped down his drink in one go, and turned to Horknath, arching a brow. "What prevents you from asking it to me right now, may I ask?"

Horknath held his gaze, straightening up once again. "Is right now the right moment, my Lord?", he asked. "Would you consider me as an acceptable suitor? If so, then I am here. I am asking you now. Would you do me the honour of conceding me your daughter's hand?"

Sakrish looked at him for a few more seconds, then chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Well, Horknath. Do you promise me then that you won't go away? If so, You may have her hand if she agrees to it. Please make her happy."

Horknath sighed. "I promise. And I will do all I can, to keep her happy." He was actually feeling very relieved now, if he had to be honest. "I didn't think you would have been so accepting of me", he added then.

"Well. You've earned my trust over the past months. And Carleen did say that she loved you... And I know my daughter. You were in her room tonight because she missed you, right?" He smiled softly. "I'll agree to it. But please respect her before your wedding. Don't fool around," he said, pointing an accusing finger at Horknath.

Horknath flushed. Thankfully enough, Sakrish was not aware of the fact that his daughter had been... 'disrespected' more than once. "Of course", he hurried in reassuring him. "I hadn't the slightest intention of disrespecting her. Not even tonight. I was, just there to have a bit of privacy while... we talked about how much we loved each other", he said, awkwardly. He wasn't entirely lying!

Sakrish snorted. "Good. Because otherwise, I'm sure Ashanti would have cut your balls off. And trust me, that would have made me sad. I do want grandkids one day," he teased him.

Horknath gulped. He suddenly found himself hoping really hard that Carleen would have been able to keep their secret. "I've always wanted to have children", he told Sakrish with an uncertain smile. "So I, uhm, really hope I will keep my balls."

Sakrish laughed. "Well. Keep behaving, and you'll be just fine," he told Horknath as he took him back to the door. "...Now let's be clear. You're both adults, I won't prevent you to sleep in the same room tonight if you missed each other that much."

Horknath scratched his head, embarrassed, as he followed Sakrish. "I won't touch her, I swear", he still said. "If you can be so generous as to not count hugging as disrespecting her."