Winterfall

Théoden's oversized bed frame spread before us. As it was the heart of his bed chambers. The bed features a robust, carved wooden frame with intricate detailing that complements the room's rustic elegance. The headboard is tall and ornate, possibly adorned with leather or fabric upholstery, adding a touch of luxury. The bedding is plush, with a high-quality mattress and an array of soft, neutral-toned pillows, creating an inviting and opulent focal point.

It was no wonder why we both fell asleep upon it this evening despite how poorly it could end for us if we got caught. His bed was so luxurious and comfortable to the point a complete grouch would fall asleep on it in an instant.

Théoden stretched as our shared dream unfolded, “you wanted a bed in our next dream right?” Théoden said as a grin fell on his face.

I felt my face flush as he remembered my silly request for a bed the next time we had a dream. I didn’t know however, that the bed would be his and it would be in his room. “I’m happy you remembered.” I said with a tease and rolled over and kissed his lips firmly.

Our kissing intensified as time lapsed on his glorious bed. However, he pulled back before things went too far. “Mi Amor, as much as I would love sex right now, considering our predicament in reality perhaps, sex isn’t the best idea.” Théoden said as he reminded me that we fell asleep next to each other in his bed chambers.

“Damn it…” I muttered he was right. Even though I would love to jump his groin right about now I knew if we woke up from a sex dream it would be hard to keep our hands off of each other.

“So instead of sex, let's talk about life.” Théoden said as he sat up in bed and motioned for me to join him. I scooted myself up next to him and rested against his cool frame as he wrapped his arm around me.

“What’s on your mind?” I asked him as I nuzzled my body against his.

“Children, I know we have talked about it briefly but I want your honest opinion.”

I looked up at him with a raised eyebrow, we had this discussion before. I know he has teased me with being with a child, and we had discussed the amount of children we had wanted so I had no idea what else was left to discuss.

“What about children?” I asked him.

“You are one hundred percent sure you are not… “

To be fair, I wasn’t one hundred percent sure. I however, knew I never felt any different and I knew he worried about it now as I did with everything going on in the kingdom.

“How can I be… “

“That’s what I thought. I haven’t found anything through the bond as I have been searching on occasion.”

That was news to me. I knew he mentioned utilizing the bond to see if I was but for him to actively be doing it was, well kind of surprising.

“That’s good…” I said.

“Let’s just hope the bond can detect that sort of thing and I haven't missed it.” Théoden said, giving the side of my head a gentle kiss. “I didn’t mean to worry you when I mentioned children again, I just wanted you to know that I had been searching.”

“Thanks for checking…” I mumbled as I couldn’t help but have mixed feelings. I was relieved that I wasn’t pregnant but I was a bit bothered that he didn’t mention this to me right away. Then again, it does have a lot going on so I slightly understood.

“I get that Maria, I should have but I don’t need to stress you out too. I stress myself out enough for the both of us.”

I smiled, “You got that right Captain.” I said, giving him a light elbow to the side.

“Next topic of discussion. How are things with you and Marcel?”

“I think you know that as well as I do…” I muttered. “I am displeased with him but for some reason he is trying to be a charming man?”

“That I am confused with too,” Théoden said. “Perhaps there is more to that than we know.”

“Let’s hope not. If I have to go on another “romantic” date with Marcel I may gag.”

Théoden chuckled, “A date with the devil wasn’t pleasant. I know from my peeks through our shared vision.”

“Let alone your fight.” I said as I brought the attention to him. “What was that about? He nearly killed you there!”

“That fight was for knowledge.”

“And what did you gain from it besides almost giving me a heart attack?” I grumbled.

“I was able to obtain some of his strengths and weaknesses. Not all of them but a few. He is immune to his own poison. Not to mention the souls he consumes aid in his abilities, granting him certain attributes he may not have all the time.”

“Interesting, so we can try to make him weaker if we can cut his supplies of souls?”

“Perhaps, but he is a devil and a devil knows how to get more.” Théoden pointed out.

“And yet I thought we had something…” I muttered in defeat.

“We still do. His mind manipulation, that is all his own. He has impressive strength and dexterity so we can try to avoid using spells that deal with those attributes.”

“Got it.” I said, “I guess I can let you off the hook this once for almost dying on me.” I gave him a gentle but firm kiss on his lips.

“For what it is worth, I am sorry for causing you to panic like that. That wasn’t my intention and it wasn’t like I couldn’t handle his blow. I knew I had the strength and will to defend against it.”

“When am I going to be able to have enough strength to withstand something like that? That was a critical hit after all!” I explained as I thought back to how much force Marcel had used against Théoden during their fight.

“In time you will. Perhaps we can try to utilize the bond to maximize how much you are able to deflect. Maybe we can try to manipulate my shield and force it through the bond, giving you a barrier of protect‒” Théoden trailed off mid thought as he pondered the possibility of sharing his shield with me by using the bond.

“That’s an inter‒”

I tried to speak but he cut me off. “Yeah, an interesting idea,” he muttered. “We shall try it tomorrow morning when we do combat training.”

My eyes went wide with fear, “WHAT!” I explained.

Théoden smiled at me, “Everything is a matter of trial and error. I’ll go easy on you I promise, I just want to see if this trick will work.”

I sighed in defeat, “Alright…”

“I promise you Maria, I will go as easy as I can tomorrow but if this is something we can utilize we might as well try it. There isn’t any harm in trying it.”

“Well, there could be harm in me.” I mumbled.

“There is always that possibility.” Théoden chuckled and kissed me once more. “Let’s enjoy the rest of the dream before I have to teleport you to your own room in a few hours.” Théoden said as he pulled me into him.

All that fell between us now was brief small talk in regards to tomorrow's training and how things may go with the Council. Before we knew it, our eyes opened as our time to wake up fell upon us.