Alphonse's cape and mood dragged a lot closer to the floor as he made his way through the castle’s upper hallways. His eyes were a dim brown, with rather evident eye bags under them, and he carried a mug of coffee with some handmade starry designs on it, from which he took a small sip every few steps. When he passed by the master bedroom, a sweet salute stopped him.
"Hey there my royal sweetheart..." He turned to look. It was Marielle, who sat on the bed invitingly, facing the other way. She playfully swayed a leg in the air as she turned to wink at Alphonse with a sly smile. “There’s a wild Yoshi here that needs some taming… Want to try?” She said with a flirty tone, wings flapping excitedly.
Alphonse stayed in the doorway for a few seconds, somewhat interested. However, he soon rolled his tired eyes and sighed. "Not now dear..." He barely replied and moved along to his personal office. Marielle was somewhat taken aback by the response, and quickly got off the bed, following him.
In the office Alphonse sat in front of his desk, groaning at the sight of the many papers flooding it, each with tons of requests, projects, and a plethora of other inner workings of Yostershire. He rubbed his forehead and took another sip of the coffee. Perhaps he expected that it would make his eyebags and tired mood disappear. The sunset sky shimmered through the windows, illuminating a part of him and his desk with an orange tint, while shading the rest of the room in soft, dusky darkness.
Marielle soon entered the office. She was already familiar with the sight, and quickly stared at Alphonse. Indeed, his eyes now had a slight blue hue to them, instead of the usual brown. She briefly nodded her head and walked up to him. "Awh... Alphy... Have you been working all day again?"
"I know I told you I would not... But there are far too many urgent projects lately." Alphonse replied, taking one more sip of the coffee before making some space on the desk to place the mug. "The Diamond Metro is asking to revise some of their stations, Yoshistotle College is asking for some campus renovations, and..." He was about to go on a tangent of all the pending projects before Marielle wrapped her arms around him. She carefully removed his crown from his head so that she could rest her head on his softly.
"There, there... I know it's tough... I have been dealing with a lot too, given the current state of security. Am I glad I work on that... You'd run yourself into the ground fretting about it!" Marielle replied, hugging Alphonse.
He let out a rather small chuckle. "Haha... You do know I still have to watch over those matters... Especially concerning Skylar and his antics." He lightly caressed her arms as Marielle listened patiently. Alphonse could feel his heart a little at ease as Marielle embraced him.
"Yes... But you have me, no? And all the department secretaries that you can easily delegate some of all this work to. I don't think the chiefs of transportation and education would mind taking up those tasks for you… And I’m the chief of security, dear. That shifty Shy Guy won’t cause trouble on my watch." Marielle, always looking to make the job of running a kingdom easier, tried her best to optimize who worked on what at all departments.
"You are not wrong... But as the king, I still have the ultimate task of overseeing everything! To blindly pass it down feels so irresponsible..." Alphonse replied, trying to adjust himself on the chair, and instead wincing in pain, and leaning further down on it. "Argh... My back...."
Shocked, Marielle tightened her hug. "Irresponsible is what you are being towards yourself, honey!" She tried to calm him down by massaging him on the shoulders. "I know you are utterly dedicated to making sure this kingdom is at its best…" Then she paused, letting go and spinning the chair to face her, lightly startling Alphonse. She grabbed his hands carefully, and looked at him right in the eyes. Unlike him and Marie, Marielle didn’t have any eye color changes, but Alphonse could nonetheless see the concern emanating from them. Her expression turned to a slight frown.
"... But that dedication cannot come at the cost of your own wellbeing."
Those words hit Alphonse a little harder than the others. Even he had to admit he was stretching himself thin today. From waking up early to take Marie to school, to visiting the offices of the departments that needed most assistance all around the city, to endlessly toiling away in that very office, reading, signing and writing papers. He remembered finishing his work late in the night, only to wake up a few hours later. It was all catching up to him as he felt tired with the sun only beginning to set. His thoughts vanished as he noticed Marielle’s frowning stare.
"Alright… You got me, dearie. I have gotten carried away. " He sighed, and slightly looked away from his wife. “I have been sleeping less than 6 hours for the past few days…” When Marielle looked at him like that, there was no hiding anything. Marielle softly gasped in surprise.
"Oh my stars! Are you listening to yourself, Alphy?!” She slightly tightened her grip. “You know we've been here before… And it breaks my heart to see my royal sweetheart run himself to the ground like this." Marielle planted a soft smooch on his nose. This wasn't the first time Alphonse worked so endlessly to the point of exhaustion. Many were the nights that Alphonse stayed up working around the clock, only to crash on the bed for a few hours and begin the cycle anew. Marielle always talked him out of it, but Alphonse never took long to return to his old ways.
"I am so sorry… The least I want to do is make you feel sad." A small tear ran from his eyes. "I'd love to have some downtime… but I am rather exhausted today." He said, feeling bad for brushing his wife off like that earlier.
Marielle smiled softly, and helped him stand up from his chair. "Don't apologize, Alphy. I understand. I just… hope that you try and take it a little easier, hm? The kingdom can’t be well if its ruler isn’t." She carefully swept the tear off his cheek with a finger. "I suggest you close off the office early, and come relax with me. And don’t worry about Marie, she’s out with friends tonight. I know you worry about her 24/7, but she’ll be fine.” She said, getting a light laugh out of Alphonse. He was well aware of how overprotective he could be sometimes.
Alphonse turned back to pick up his crown, and took one final look at his messy desk, overflowing with papers. He also peeked at the star shaped clock on the wall. It was only 6:30 pm, a far cry from his usual ending time of 8 or 9:00 pm sharp. He briefly closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. "Right… I will do as such. I do need some rest today more than any other day… I don't want to screw up these incoming requests."
Marielle hugged him from behind, softly wrapping her arms around his body. Alphonse could feel her warmth, calming down the rising exasperation from merely thinking of all the work left to do. Marielle, being somewhat taller, lowered her head to rest by his shoulder.
"Thank you… It's all I could ever ask for in these times." She kissed him again, this time a quick smooch on the lips. Alphonse, feeling calmer, finally beamed a soft but very genuine smile, making Marielle feel extremely relieved.
The couple slowly made their way out of the office. As Marielle closed it shut for the day, pulling the curtains on the windows and locking the door, Alphonse thought of her. He prided himself on being a steadfast ruler, never skipping a beat for his land and his citizens. Yet he knew that if he didn't have Marielle he probably would be in a worse spot in all respects. Between taking care of his daughter and overseeing the kingdom he had a sizable amount of work on his plate at any given time. Even he needed someone to hold him down and remind him to take things easier. His eyes slowly shifted to the usual brown as his mood already felt a bit cleared up. His smile also perked up a bit more. "Oh, Marielle Alastero… What would I do without you." He whispered to himself as his wife approached him again. She held his hand with a big smile.
You're already looking so much better. Let's go to the lobby, eh? You make yourself comfy on the couch while I prepare your favorite dish. You really need it today." Marielle said, lovingly tapping his nose with hers.
"Sounds wonderful, sweetie." Alphonse felt his body become less heavy and his eyes less tired as he and Marielle made their way downstairs, for a much needed respite from his neverending responsibilities.
