Relentless Potential (Original Fantasy)

A/N: Thomas' conversation with the Princess continues.

-x-X-x-

Thomas has to admit; he's not used to being blindsided like this. It takes him a moment to gather his wits and pick his jaw up off of the floor. At which point, he answers as diplomatically as he possibly can.

"That… is a very generous offer, Your Grace."

Arching her brow and quirking up the side of her mouth, Anna lets out a soft huff of laughter.

"And yet, you do not seem to be leaping to agree."

Thomas winces. Because she's right about that. In fact, his first instinct was to say 'no'. After all, he already has three women in his life… and in his bed. Agreeing to the Princess' offer… would it not be a betrayal of Camilla, Eloise, and Sevvi?

Only common sense has made him hold his tongue, however. You don't just say 'no' to royalty. Especially not when they're offering to make you royalty as well. Still, Thomas would be lying if he said he wasn't torn on the issue. On the one hand, there was an opportunity to become a King right in front of him. On the other hand, was that something he even wanted?

To her credit, Princess Anna seems to be patiently waiting for him to get his thoughts in order. She watches him quietly, seeming to be almost ambivalent about the issue. Thomas knows better though. That has to be a façade… she wouldn't have offered this if she didn't want it… or more so, needed it to happen.

"… I find myself a little bewildered, Princess. Surely you don't need to settle the issue of your spouse this early, right? You'll have enough to deal with as is, between your coronation and the upcoming war… not to mention all of House Godman's allies and their crimes."

"That, Thomas Marlow, is precisely why I need you by my side."

Thomas blinks at that, not quite understanding. Fortunately, Anna goes on to explain.

"If it wasn't for the impending Dark Elf attack, the Kingdom would have already fallen into civil war, I imagine. Everyone would be fighting to take the throne from me. After all, as far as many of them are concerned, I'm not fit to sit upon it… nor to wear my father's crown."

What? Thomas scowls at that, finding himself growing angry on the Princess' behalf.

"What?! How can they even say that?"

"Quite easily, I'm afraid. And there's a decent argument that they'd be right to."

Anna sighs when Thomas shoots her a bewildered look.

"Look at it from their perspective. I have been bedridden for years, ever since I contracted Rot Lung. Years in which I was not present in the Kingdom's affairs. Years where my training to be my father's replacement lay fallow and many might even argue my mind became addled and weak."

That…

"My father, meanwhile, has allowed the Kingdom to suffer in numerous ways as he strove to keep me alive. He has also rebuffed all attempts to get him to remarry and produce another heir. As far as the nobility is concerned, I am not fit to be Queen and my family has failed to uphold our side of the oaths they all swore to us."

Thomas hated how much sense she was making. Mostly because he knew full well that these were not Anna's arguments. Rather, they were the arguments of her enemies… arguments likely being whispered even now in different parts of the Capital as everyone considered what to do next.

She was probably right too. The only thing likely giving any of them pause… was the Dark Elves. They were coming, there was no denying that… and nobody wanted to be stuck holding the bag when they arrived. Nobody wanted to be faced with the challenge of somehow leading a successful defense against the Dark Elf threat.

"Even with the threat of the Dark Elves looming over us, my position is untenable as things currently stand. It's why the coronation is happening so fast. I need a way to build up my foundation before it sinks into the ground. I need something, or rather someone, who will turn my weaknesses into strengths. I need… you."

When she put it that way… but Anna isn't done yet. She reaches out and takes one of his hands in her own, looking down at it as she plays with his fingers. Thomas doesn't pull his hand back.

"However… I cannot lie and pretend my intentions are entirely practical, Thomas. You are more than just an opportunity to me. Surely you can't be that surprised, right? After everything… what other man am I supposed to fall in love with?"

Thomas' face heats up a bit at that. Fall in love with him?! They'd barely had three conversations with each other!

"You saved my life. Not just by letting Sevvi cure me, but also in the throne room when I was about to be slain right alongside my father. And… more than that, I've spoken with your servant. Eloise has had a lot to say about you. She told me all about your time in Last Hope and the actions you took there."

Anna bites her lower lip as she looks up, making eye contact again.

"Is it any wonder then that I consider you my best option in every way? You would be King, ruling alongside me instead of under me. You would be a stabilizing force for this Kingdom, keeping it from falling apart in the face of my family's unacceptable weakness. And you… you would be the man I could give my heart to."

Suffice to say, a love confession was not what Thomas had expected to wake up to after everything that had happened in the throne room. He's not sure he expected to wake up to anything specific at all, but if there was anything, it definitely wasn't… this.

Still, there's no denying that Anna is beautiful. That's not the problem. There's also no denying that she's wonderfully kind and very clearly intelligent. That's also not the problem. The problem is and remains…

"I fear I've already given my heart to another, Princess."

And then, because if he's going to reject her she deserves to know the truth, Thomas grimaces and corrects himself.

"Or rather… I've given my heart to multiple others."

Anna's face had started to fall at his first admission. It goes entirely blank at the second reveal, however.

"Oh?"

If he's going to piss her off somehow, this will probably be it. And yet… much like Sevvi couldn't bring herself to lie about Graelo back in the throne room, Thomas couldn't bring himself to lie here and now. Even if it did bring everything crashing down around him.

"My… retainers. I am… intimate with them. All three of them. I do not think I could betray them by agreeing to marry you. Admittedly, we have never spoken of what our feelings were for each other… but I do not consider them mere servants, that much is certain. In fact, Eloise was never a servant at all. She only pretended to be one to offer her some modicum of protection from House Godman and my other enemies, so they would not realize how important she is to me."

He's rambling. He knows he's rambling, but he keeps going anyways. And Princess Anna lets him, listening and watching him silently as he speaks. Thomas has no idea what the blonde is thinking, even as he finally comes to a halting stop and grimaces some more, falling silent.

That silence reigns between them for a long moment before Anna slowly nods.

"I see."

He's expecting a blow up of some kind. Or, when she suddenly stands from her chair and pulls her hand from his, he expects her to at least leave the room in silence. That's why he doesn't say anything as she goes for the door.

… But instead of departing entirely, the Princess opens the door… and calls out to his retainers waiting outside.

"Ladies. Please come back in."

Thomas blinks as she steps back in and Camilla, Eloise, and Sevvi all follow. The Princess moves back to the bed and sits back down, even as the other women all move closer, seeming uncertain. To be fair, Thomas is uncertain as well. What is Anna playing at here?

When the Princess speaks, her voice is free of judgment, lilting with amusement and merriment instead. She has a soft, welcoming smile on her face, even as her eyes dart from Camilla to Eloise to Sevvi and back again.

"Thomas has told me of his… unique relationship with all of you. I suppose there were some stories that you couldn't tell me, hm Eloise?"

The brunette goes bright red at that, clutching at her skirt and looking between the Princess and Thomas himself with wide eyes.

"I… I…"

But Anna waves her off.

"Do not fret. I wouldn't expect you to reveal such intimate details to me, truth be told. It would have been rather… crude. Unfortunately, I find I am the one being crude now… but it cannot be helped. I wish to see if the five of us cannot come to an arrangement of sorts."

No… there was no way she was going to…

"I wish to marry Thomas and make him King. Not King Consort to be clear, but outright King. I would take his name and he would take mine. We would be King and Queen Ashwood-Marlow, our Houses joined into a new Royal House that would inherit all that came before it."

Eyes widen. Mouths drop open. Thomas is a little gratified to see that his women are as shocked by this as he is. Or rather… Camilla and Eloise are shocked. Maybe he shouldn't be surprised to see that Sevvi just narrows her eyes thoughtfully and nods along, as though it all makes perfect sense to her.

… It probably did, ugh.

"He, being the good man that he is, has reservations about accepting my offer. Namely, what it will do to you three. He cares about you, that much is obvious. That said, I have no desire to harm any of you, nor do I want to 'steal' him from you. I believe we can come to a proper arrangement here… one that allows the four of us to share Thomas without it becoming an issue."

Thomas chokes on his own spit, unable to hold back any longer.

"E-Excuse me?! You would… be willing to share me?!"

What the hell was this? Admittedly, he'd long acknowledged internally that it was a bit ridiculous how he'd wound up in a strange four-way relationship with three beautiful women. One of whom wasn't even human. But at least things made sense after a fashion.

With Camilla, it had started out part-guilt, part-physical release and spiraled from there. With Eloise, it was part-guilt, part-closet pervert and again, had spiraled from there. And finally, with Sevvi, it was part-guilt and part-praise kink… and had spiraled from there.

Okay, so maybe things didn't make sense, even after a fashion. But still, Anna was a Princess about to be coronated as Queen. She, out of all of them, had less than no reason to abide by sharing her man with other women. Even if she needed his help, surely she would want him to share a bed with only her in exchange for becoming King, right?!

… Wrong. Anna looks at him and smiles at his outburst.

"You already told me your heart belongs to these three, Thomas. That implies it should, hopefully, have room for one more… if there are no objections of course."

She looks to the other women cautiously at that. Thomas finds himself doing the same, wondering what they're thinking of all of this. Of course, he needn't have wondered about Sevvi…

"It makes perfect sense. If you're going to survive my sister, you need to put Master in charge anyways. Making him King is the easiest and fastest way to do so. As far as the more intimate side of things is concerned, he is the most valuable mate you could hope for given your own royal blood. So that makes sense as well."

Thomas valiantly resists the urge to bury his face in his hands at Sevvi's blunt assessment of the situation. Camilla and Eloise, it turns out, are a lot less wordy with their own opinions… but they don't really differ from Sevvi all that much. The red headed knight clears her throat and slowly nods.

"It… seems like the perfect match. I was already happy to serve my lord… I will happily serve my King and his Queen as well. And… if I might still be of close… personal use to my King… then that is fine too."

Eloise nods a bit faster, her eyes darting from Thomas to Anna in a way that makes Thomas want to facepalm even harder.

"A-Agreed. I would also… not mind being of personal use to both the K-King and the Q-Queen… if that is deemed necessary."

Wanton women. He was surrounded by wanton women. At least Anna has the good grace to blush and go a little wide eyed at Eloise's offer, looking as though she's truly seeing the perverted mousy brunette for the first time. And yet, she does not take any issue with Eloise's words. Instead, after a long moment she looks to Thomas, making it clear she's waiting with bated breath for his final decision.

Letting out a sigh, Thomas looks up at the ceiling for a moment, wondering if he might be dreaming. Maybe he's still on the throne room floor and this is all some brink of death hallucination as he's bleeding out. But no, he knows that's not the case. It all feels too damn real and uncomfortable for it to be a daydream.

Finally, he looks back to Anna and nods.

"Alright then. I suppose I have no further objections."

The Princess beams at that, grabbing his hand again and intertwining their fingers together.

"Wonderful. Consider us engaged to be wed then. We'll push the coronation back a couple of days… so that it can be for both of us."

He wants to protest that that all seems fast since she's implying they'll be married either at the coronation or right before it… but no, considering they have Synestra breathing down their necks, it might not be fast enough. Sevvi is right too… him becoming King might be the only way to get the authority he needs to whip the Kingdom's forces into shape before the Dark Elves arrive.

They're all going to need to be a lot stronger and a lot tougher if they don't want to suffer another massacre like what happened in the throne room.

"Ah… that said, there is one other thing, now that that's taken care of."

Blinking, Thomas looks to Anna curiously. She stares back, her gaze growing sharper and more intense by the second.

"What exactly is an Otherworlder, Thomas?"

Ah… right. Well, if they're going to be partners anyways…

Nodding, he gives Anna's hand a squeeze while glancing to Sevvi.

"I'll tell you everything I know. Sevvi can help fill in the blanks that I don't know. And then… then I'll tell you how we're going to use my Gift to make this Kingdom as well-defended and protected as it possibly can be. There's not much time… but I'm pretty good at using what time I have these days."

Anna listens curiously as he begins to explain. And Thomas finds himself slowly coming to terms with this beautiful Princess becoming his wife and Queen.

Still a total mind fuck though.

-x-X-x-

A/N: Poor Thomas, just can't catch a break. Now he's stuck being King! v.v

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