Way forward

Wura smiled as she was enjoying the feeling of hearing Liam's steady heartbeat as she rested her head on his chest as they were cuddled up together.

She loved feeling like this with him, as if she was in a daze, she wished that they could stay like this forever, but alas, it was impossible, he would soon have to go back to work he could not leave for too long, and she was sure that Lady Marli would come looking for her soon to ask her permission for some things.

"What are you thinking about darling?" asked Liam as his voice snapped Wura out of her thoughts as she looked up at him and smiled.

"Well nothing, I was just thinking about how wonderful it is to be here alone with you" said Wura as her words made Liam smile.

"And also how I wish we could stay like this forever, but you have to return to work soon, Mero and the others might need your help, and I am sure Lady Marli will need to ask for my opinion in something soon" said Wura.

"Well until then, we can just stay like this" said Liam as he gave her a kiss on the forehead and she smiled.

"I always have time for you, always" said Liam as Wura suddenly frowned, which worried Liam.

"What is wrong Wura?" asked Liam as he noticed her change in demeanour.

"We need to talk Liam" said Wura in a serious tone as she moved a bit away from him and sat up straight and proceeded to hold the sheets against herself as Liam sat up straight as well.

"Alright about what?" asked Liam as her sudden change of tone worried him a bit… correction a lot, she was just smiling happily a moment ago, and now she looked as if she was about to scold someone, it really bothered him, he wanted to know what was on her mind.

"About everything Liam, I mean, about what we are going to do from now on, what is the way forward, are things going to change, what more do I need to be aware of? I just have so many questions on my mind right now, and I do not want any more uncertainty" said Wura as she sighed at the end of her words.

She knew that right now was not the time to bring up such delicate topics, but something told her that they would not have time in the future to talk about them at length, she did not want to be caught unawares by anything that could happen.

"I understand that Wura, and I am going to answer all your questions to the best of my ability but first you need to calm down and ask me your questions slowly my love, you are getting too worked up" said Liam as he caressed her hair and Wura took a deep breath and nodded, she knew she was overreacting, but she wanted to know everything, she did not want to be left in the dark about anything anymore.

"What is the way forward? I know that after the war there are several repairs to be made" said Wura.

"Yes and that is true, Mero and I have been working on repairing all the towns and villages that were burnt down" said Liam.

"But doing that is not easy, I had to take out a large amount from the Kingdom's treasury to purchase all the building materials needed and that includes labour as well" said Liam as he started to explain, at first he did not want her worrying about anything, but she was Queen and she needed to know.

"And because of that the tax rates will double for the Kingdom to be able to regain all the money" said Liam as that made Wura frown.

"That is horrible though Liam, the summer is almost ending, and so is the harvest, how exactly are people supposed to pay double the amount of tax while they were even struggling to afford the normal rate?" asked Wura as even the Duke's themselves often complained about the tax, how much more the people.

"I know Wura, but it has to be done, I assure you that it is not permanent, it will only be for the new season, until the treasury is stabilized once more, I was going to hold a meeting to explain to the Duke families first, and then to the people later, but for now things remain the same" said Liam.

"But there has to be another way, how about asking the East for building resources such as stone and all, they did cause all the damage in the first place" said Wura.

"I cannot do that though, the East are already paying dearly for what they did, they have to pay a huge amount of tribute, they are unable to enter into Wyverdanian borders without clearance from my office first and all their harvest yields will be sent to Wyverdale" said Liam.

"That is already too much suffering for the poor innocent people who had nothing to do with their leader's decision to attack" said Liam as Wura sighed, this really was a tough situation.

"I know it is a difficult position that I am in right now, but whatever I decide is the best for the kingdom" said Liam.

"Alright and after that then what?" asked Wura as she sighed.

"My plan is to have everyone's houses rebuilt before winter comes along, and when that is done, they can all move from the Castle to their own homes" said Liam.

"Not like I do not value their presence here, but I am sure they would like to return to their own homes as well" said Liam as Wura nodded.

"And after that?" asked Wura.

"I plan on reaching an amicable agreement with the East after a while of recompense, maybe after a bit of harsh suffering their leaders would think rightly" said Liam.

"After all, it is better to be an Wyverdanian state than an enemy" said Liam.

"I agree with you Liam, my heart goes out to all the innocent people who still have to suffer for something they were not a part of" said Wura.

"When you have bad leaders the people will suffer" said Liam as Wura sighed.

"And after that Liam, what else do you plan to do?" asked Wura.

"A lot actually, I plan to reform some old rules among other things" said Liam as he could not say anymore, he had not planned that ahead yet.

"And after that?" asked Wura as Liam looked into her eyes.

"I do not know, when that time comes I will see what I will do, but what I do know is that I love you, and you are always a part of my plans" said Liam as he kissed the back of her hand.

"You are my Queen, I want you to be by my side always, I want you to give me your input, I want you to have faith and trust in me, I want you to be the shoulder I lean on, I want you to be my number one confidant because I love you Wura, I love you so much, and I want you to know that, be mine" said Liam as he smiled and Wura felt her heart melting.

Who wouldn't melt after a confession like that? What he had declared was like music to her ears, the pure sincerity and love in his tone and gaze was enough to sway her, of course she wanted to be his Queen, she was his and no one else's.

"I love you too Liam,  and I know you do, I am already yours" said Wura with a smile as she hugged Liam and he hugged her.

"No one will ever be able to take you away from me again" said Liam as Wura smiled, she loved hearing him say sweet things, now this was the Liam she fell deeply in love with without even realizing.

"I am going nowhere, and you are going nowhere either" said Wura as she broke their hug and gave him a kiss.

"I want to grow old with you" said Liam as he smiled and that caused Wura to giggle.

"I also want to see you age and grow grey hairs and get all wrinkly" said Wura as she giggled.

"We will grow old together, and I want to be with you forever" said Liam as he smiled.

"Forever is a long time" said Wura as she smiled.

"I know, I cannot wait to get to learn more about you, to know you more each passing day we spent together till the day we leave the earth" said Liam as on a normal day, Wura would shun talking about death, she was only nineteen, but right now, while she was here with Liam, all she was looking forward to was the future, no matter how far away it was.

"And so do I" said Wura with a smile.