❛ i do not take your allegiance for granted, laslow. ❜ softly spoken as he gazes upon an empty white throne, brow furrowed, features unreadable. the coronation is over, the festivities now a splendorous thing of the past. a king he has been crowned; a king he must now become. his conviction does not waver, — not for a second, not for all that he has promised his people, and those beyond the kingdom’s borders — but for a moment, he finds himself in wistful reminiscence. gaze drifts then, head cants to look over at his retainer, staunch at his right side, as ever. ❛ i know what i ask of you. the burden you carry, as my retainer. i know that it need not be said, and yet ... ... — all the same, i wish to thank you. ❜ | @armthrift , starter call .