Trust In Love

Trust in Love
By Misha

Disclaimer- Not mine. I’m just borrowing them for a little while and will return them when I am finished.

Author’s Notes- I have a soft spot for Zenobia and I ship Zenobia and Tevan hard. I think her crush on him is adorable and I think he could bring out the best in her. I’ve been wanting to write a story for them for a while and they finally co-operated.

Pairing- Zenobia/Tevan, mentions of Kenna/Diavolos

Rating- PG

Summary- After her brother falls in love with Queen Kenna, Zenobia wonders if she can bring herself to follow his example and open herself up to the possibility of love and happily ever after.

Words- 2021

“So you’re really marrying her?” Zenobia asked her older brother curiously.

It had been a week since the marriage was announced and Zenobia had still have expected her brother to back out. After all, this was Diavolos, if he’d had a meaningful relationship, she’d never heard about it and then suddenly, in a matter of weeks, he was getting married and to Kenna Rys of all people.

“Yes, I am, do you have a problem with that?” Diavolos asked, sounding annoyed.

Zenobia thought about it. Did she? She wasn’t a huge fan of Kenna’s and knew the feeling was mutual, but she didn’t hate the other woman either, and anything that kept Diavolos occupied worked for her. After all, someone would have to run Lykos while he was gone and surely she was the best candidate.

“You know what, I don’t want to know,” Diavolos said after a moment. “I just want to be happy for once in my life.”

“Brother dear, we’re Nevrakises, we don’t get to be happy.” Zenobia reminded him bitterly.

“Maybe that has changed.” He suggested quietly. “Father is dead, so is Marco. We can rewrite the family legacy, forge our own destiny.”

“Do you really believe that is possible?” Zenobia asked, wondering if big, bad Diavolos could possibly be so naïve.

“I do,” Diavolos told her. “Kenna… She makes me realize that I can be the man I want to be, not the one father wanted me to be. You have that same opportunity. Maybe it’s time to actually talk to Tevan instead of running off every time he speaks to you?”

“I can still strangle you.” Zenobia pointed out with a glare.

Diavolos just grinned. “Give it a thought.” He sobered. “Things are different, Zen, for all of us.” He took a deep breath. “Now, if you excuse me, I have a wedding to get ready for.”

With that, he walked away. Zenobia watched him go, wondering if just maybe he was right. He certainly looked happy. Which was definitely a new development and she envied him that. She just had no idea how to go about trying to find it for herself.

After leaving Diavolos, Zenobia chose to mingle. She managed to find Kenna in the crowd and they cleared the air before Adder decided to interrupt. Still, in the end, Zenobia got what she wanted. She would run Lykos, the fun parts, while Kenna and Diavolos were busy, leaving all the boring stuff to Adder.

Then it was time for the vows and there was actually something very touching about them, about how happy Diavolos was, though she’d never say it out loud.

After, it was time to celebrate.

While the castle was still under repair, that didn’t the people from celebrating, they just improvised and took the party outside. Zenobia would never admit it, but there was something almost charming about Stormholt. And while she still thought a fight or two would liven things up, it was still an adequate party.

“Zenobia, looking lovely as always.”

Zenobia blinked as Tevan appeared next to her. For a moment, she was speechless and then she forced herself to calm her nerves. “Hello, Tevan.”

He looked a little surprised but just smiled wider. “I see you are empty-handed, may I get you a drink?”

“I would like that.” Zenobia agreed. He nodded and disappeared, giving her a chance to catch her breath. That hadn’t been too hard.

Just treat him like any other suitor. She told herself, but the problem was he had never been ‘just another suitor’. Her feelings for him had been more complicated and complex, but maybe Diavolos was right. Maybe things really were different now.

“You must have to get back to Fydoria soon?” Zenobia said lightly once he returned with her drink.

“Tomorrow,” Tevan confirmed, “will you be returning to Lykos?”

“I will,” Zenobia told him. “I’m going to be Diavolos’s proxy while he is busy at Stormholt. He and Kenna want to make this their base of operations.”

“Kenna loves her drafty castle,” Tevan said fondly.

“And Diavolos doesn’t have any real attachment to Lykos,” Zenobia said with a shrug, “besides, he’ll go wherever Kenna is.”

“When you find that one person it’s hard to be apart from them,” Tevan said wistfully.

“Are you speaking from experience?” Zenobia asked. She’d heard rumors that he had an affection for Kenna and she wondered if they were true. It wouldn’t surprise her, it seemed everyone found the brunette queen irresistible.

“No,” Tevan told her, “not in any lasting way. It would be nice though.”

“Yes,” Zenobia agreed, though really she wasn’t sure. Her experience with romance had been more bitter than sweet.

The conversation turned from love to Fydorian wine, with Zenobia remarking that it was generally too sweet for her. Tevan laughed at that before asking her to dance. Zenobia kept expecting him to move on, but he stayed at her side for most o the evening, dancing and indulging in casual conversation. It was nice and Zenobia could feel her heart beating faster in her chest but it never moved into anything more than friendliness and eventually, they parted.

The next day, Tevan returned to Fydoria and Zenobia to Lykos, wondering if she should have said or done more. To her surprise, a few weeks later, a messenger arrived with a bottle of Fydorian wine and a note from Tevan. This one reminded me of you.

She drank the wine that night, noting it’s strong flavor and almost spicy undertones and laughed. She sent a note back, thanking him. Later, she saw the most remarkable purple cape at a shop and impulsively sent it to him.

He wrote back thanking her effusively. Then, a short time later, another messenger arrived, this time delivering one of those funny Fydorian communication orbs. After that Tevan and Zenobia said messages back and forth on a weekly basis, nothing overly intimate, just observations about their daily lives or the occasional funny story.

During that time Zenobia had plenty of suitors, but her mind always turned back to Tevan. She had been fascinated by him for years, but even now that they had built a friendship of sorts, she still couldn’t imagine it being more.

Besides, there wasn’t really any opportunity, they corresponded regularly, but they hadn’t seen each other in person since Kenna’s wedding and their paths didn’t cross again until a year after the victory against Azura when Kenna had a baby boy.

Zenobia traveled to Stormholt for the naming celebration and to meet her nephew. She wasn’t normally that fond of babies, but Leon was truly adorable and there was just something so sweet and innocent about him.

“He’s beautiful,” she told her brother and sister-by-marriage sincerely, as she snuggled the baby.

“We think so,” Kenna said fondly, gazing at her son.

After a moment Zenobia handed the baby back to Kenna and took in the image before her and how utterly besotted her brother looked with his wife and son. She never thought she’d see the day when Diavolos looked so happy.

Tevan was amongst the guests at Leon’s naming ceremony and it was the first time Zenobia had seen him in person since the wedding.

“Zenobia,” he said, greeting her warmly. She fought the urge to blush or look away and instead greeted him as calmly as she could.

“May I have the pleasure of your company at dinner?” He asked, holding out a hand. She nodded and let him lead her to a table.

Like always, Tevan was a charming and attentive dinner companion. The conversation flowed easily and then after dinner, he asked her to dance and then, later he asked if she wanted to take a walk.

“So how does it feel to be an aunt?” He asked with a smile.

“Better than I thought,” Zenobia answered honestly, “I’ve never liked babies, but Leon is special and it’s nice to see Diavolos so happy.”

“What about you?” Tevan asked lightly. “Do you see yourself having children?”

“I don’t know,” Zenobia said honestly, “I haven’t given it much thought. What about you?”

“I find myself thinking about it more lately,” Tevan told her, “I think surviving the war, rebuilding the kingdoms, it’s made me think about the future.”

“I’ve always been afraid to think about the future,” Zenobia admitted, “or to want anything because I knew my father would find a way to take it from me.”

Tevan was quiet for a moment. “What do you mean?”

“I was in love once,” Zenobia told him quietly, “I was seventeen and his name was Alexei. He worked in the stables.” Tevan looked surprised, she didn’t blame him, it was very out of character for her, but she had been different then. “I told myself I didn’t have feelings for a servant, that it was just infatuation,” Zenobia continued, “but I found myself making excuses to be at the stables. There was something calming about him. He was so steady and he had this wonderful smile. Even when I was a total brat, he was still so sweet. Before I knew it, I was in love with him.”

She took a deep breath before finishing the story. “I knew Father would never allow it, but I was young and naïve and I thought we could run away together. But before we could, Marco saw us together and he told Father. Alexei was executed that very night. Father made me watch.” She could still remember every horrifying moment.

“Oh Zenobia,” Tevan said, his voice full of sympathy. He reached over and took her hand in his. “That must have been awful.”

“It was,” Zenobia told him, haunted by the memory, “I knew then that I would never be able to have anything of my own, not while he lived. He would control all of our lives. So the next time I developed feelings for someone, I got scared. I didn’t want anyone to know, afraid of what Father would do or say, so instead I got flustered and could barely be in the same room with him.”

Tevan was quiet and she could see surprise dawning on his face. “Zenobia?”

She felt humiliation wash over him, sure he was going to let her down gently and wondering why she had opened her mouth.

“I didn’t give you much thought when we first met or in the years that followed,” Tevan said after a moment, filling the silence, “maybe because we never spoke for more than a moment, but this last year my thoughts have turned to you more and more. I found myself thinking of you at random moments, looking forward to our communications. I found myself comparing every suitor to you and finding them lacking. I came here hoping to see you.”

Oh.

Zenobia couldn’t form words, once again finding herself completely flustered by Tevan. He didn’t seem to mind, he just smiled and pulled her closer.

“May I?” He asked, peering down into her eyes.

She nodded wordlessly. He covered her lips with his, his kiss gentle but firm at the same time. Zenobia ran her hands through his dark hair as she kissed him back, pressing her body into his. When they finally parted, they were both flushed and panting.

“Wow,” Zenobia said before she could stop herself.

“My thoughts, exactly,” Tevan told her warmly, resting his forehead against her. “I’ve been waiting a long time to do that.”

“Not as long as I have,” Zenobia reminded him, but she was smiling. “I think we should do it again.”

“Anything for you,” Tevan assured her and then kissed her again, long and slow, a promise of things to come.

Zenobia let herself relax into his embrace, happier than she could ever remember being. She thought of what Diavolos had told her the day he married Kenna, how he finally had the chance to be his own man and to find happiness and so did she.

She had been hesitant then, but as she stood there in Tevan’s arms, she finally let herself believe that he was right. That this was just the beginning.

• End