Chapter 13: Tea
"Come in."
Ralph didn't need to be told twice. The second he heard Orion's voice, he pushed down on the door handle and waltzed straight into the study. Orion sat behind the desk, Elowyn in his lap, her arms around his neck.
He immediately made a face, watching as the woman shamelessly giggled, hiding a laugh behind her hand, all while Orion gazed at her with honey in his eyes. The scene was so cloyingly sweet that Ralph had to clear his throat to garner the two's attention.
"Why are you here?" Orion asked snappishly when he finally registered Ralph's presence, as though he wasn't the one who gave Ralph permission to enter. "If it's nothing life-threatening, can't it wait until tomorrow?"
Ralph narrowed his eyes― Orion had never treated him with such rudeness in all the years that he had known him, and never had he ever declined a potential meeting report. His impeccable sense of duty was what made him such a good general who was respected by his men.
"Oh you'll find that it's certainly very life-threatening," Ralph said, his mouth twitching with irritation. "Can I speak to you alone, Orion? Man to man?"
Orion frowned, and he peered down at the woman sitting in his lap. Elowyn stared up at him with sad dewy eyes, her lips pressed into a delicate pout as she made a move to leave. "I'll leave the both of you alone then since I'm only your concubine. Far be it from me to interfere with stately affairs."
"Don't be ridiculous," Orion cleared his throat and gripped her hands tightly, pulling Elowyn back down on his lap. He then shot Ralph a furious glare.
"Whatever you want to say in front of me, can be said in front of Elowyn. Treat her like you would treat an extension of me."