sherryvalli - Tumblr blog

[sherryvalli]

I find myself in a kind of funny place this Sunday, having just posted a fic, and sitting on two completed one-shots (fandom fest fills) just about ready to dole out this week. One is a secret. Here are seven sentences of the other.

The eyes are the hardest part, or so Nora says. All the Secret Service agents’ eyes have a kind of strange metallic glint behind them. Often it’s not even noticeable, but if you look too closely, it becomes obvious. Prince Henry’s eyes are flawless, though. Just endless, perfect blue. Really, the only flaw Alex can see in this model is that they made him inhumanly beautiful. No real person has lips like that.

I'm thinking about trying to bang out some more short fandom fest fills before I dive into something more substatial (which should be my RBB fic).

Thanks for the tags today @kiwiana-writes, @suseagull04, and @cricketnationrise. I'm leaving my traditional open tag, and also tagging... eta: wow the tagging is really fucking broken today. I even tried to type y'all's usernames in manually and tumblr just said no to most of them. 😢 eta2: ok, so it's limiting me to 5 tags per paragraph break? Oh, tumblr...

@rmd-writes, @welcometololaland, @celeritas2997, @three-drink-amy, @clottedcreamfudge,

@dumbpeachjuice, @14carrotghoul, @sherryvalli, @bigassbowlingballhead, @magicandarchery,

@violetbaudelaire-quagmire, @iboatedhere, @nontoxic-writes, @hgejfmw-hgejhsf, @nicijones,

@loki-is-my-kink-awakening, @mirilyawrites, @justabigoldnerd, @lizzie-bennetdarcy, @cactusdragon517,

@sparklepocalypse, @oxfordslutphase, @ninzied, @indestructibleheart, @inexplicablymine,

@ships-to-sail, @tintagel-or-cockleshells, @leaves-of-laurelin, @historicallysam, @wordsofhoneydew,

@heysweetheart-writes, @getmehighonmagic, @firenati0n, @mikibwrites, @read-and-write-,

@itsmaybitheway

[sherryvalli]

some sentence sunday 24.4

is this thing still on?

i have a lull at work which means i have time AND brain space for actual words to get written! so pls enjoy this extra bit from my big bang fic that i'm sooooo close to finishing and really excited about. thanks everyone for the tags today and the last month, you're all below the cut bc there are so many people that have tagged me its overwhelming (affectionate).

Nora assumes that there is actual football being played based on the level of noise around her, but she’s fully focused on June and the rest of the cheerleaders for the first half of the game. The part of her brain that’s always on wonders if there’s an equation that could predict what routine June or the cheer coach will call the squad to do next. She knows there are some routines for defense and some for offense, three options for when the team scores, some more general pep and tumbling ones, and a specific routine they use whenever the marching band plays the fight song, plus a halftime routine. There’s bound to be some way to track the statistics of each and build a predictive model that’s relatively accurate, but Nora would need more data, like a lot more. She’d also need, unfortunately, a much more in-depth knowledge of football, which she absolutely refuses to engage in. So while the math likely checks out, Nora isn’t going to be the one to do it. Alex keeps her from dying of boredom for the rest of the game, happy to snark with her about the other team (she’s not dumb enough to talk shit about her own team while smack dab in the middle of the bleachers), make up fake names for all the fancy football plays, and generally treat the marching band like their own personal karaoke machine, belting out the lyrics of everything from Carry On My Wayward Son and All I Do Is Win to Seven Nation Army and Tequila and every song in between. She even gets into the spirit of the whole thing enough to dance like a maniac when the drumline goes ape-shit at the end of the third quarter. She catches the pleased disbelief on June’s face when they make eye contact over fancy flying drumsticks and tumbling cheerleaders and tries not to blush in response. In fact, Nora’s almost won over to the idea of sporting events in general and football in the specific for the atmosphere alone by the time the game ends.  So it’s even more fucking annoying when Evan goes and ruins it.

sincerely, thank you for the tags while i've been drowning in sets and stage effects and scenery strikes and six day/ten hour weeks for the last month i saw them and appreciated! it was a delight seeing all your wip wednesdays and sentence sundays and last lines - definitely helped keep me sane!

@kiwiana-writes @celeritas2997 @cha-melodius @rockyroadkylers @inexplicablymine

@hgejfmw-hgejhsf @cactusdragon517 @violetbaudelaire-quagmire @magicandarchery @leaves-of-laurelin

@itsmaybitheway @indestructibleheart @tailsbeth-writes @porcelainmortal @anincompletelist

@firenati0n @three-drink-amy @adreamareads @wordsofhoneydew @14carrotghoul

@sherryvalli @ships-to-sail @xthelastknownsurvivorx @affectionatelyrs @rmd-writes

@suseagull04 @iboatedhere @onthewaytosomewhere @getmehighonmagic @heysweetheart-writes

@happiness-of-the-pursuit @tintagel-or-cockleshells

and tagging: @sparklepocalypse @dumbpeachjuice @missanniewhimsy @the-lincyclopedia @montrealmadison

@cheesecurdsgravyandfries @everwitch-magiks @anchoredarchangel @smc-27 @clottedcreamfudge

@orchidscript

plus an open tag if anyone needs/want the excuse to post as well

-💜🦗

[sherryvalli]

Seven Sentence Eight Paragraph Sunday

Hello and thank you for the tags @suseagull04 @cha-melodius @welcometololaland @nocoastposts and @cricketnationrise !! 🫶🫶🫶

I haven't written much this week but I made the controversial switch to first person POV for certain sections (aka Henry's book excerpts) of the followup to my Henry and Alex get cheated on fic, which was scary bc now I have to write how I think Henry would BUT also opens the door to fun stuff like this!

“Honey, drop it,” his wife mutters.

Alex frowns. “I know you didn’t mean to start this, babe. But why would you even imply Henry would be tempted to sleep around when you two are about to get married? At a fucking dinner party with near strangers no less.”

My imagination makes a particularly vivid leap – my fingers teasing and slow over the fly of Alex’s snug charcoal trousers as he fights on my behalf. Avoiding plans and sucking cock as I am evidently inclined to do.

“I – no, that’s – “

Tracing along the waistband of his underwear, dipping between scorching tan skin and elastic.

“ – hypocritical to reap the benefits of someone's experiences privately and shame them for it in public – “

Mouthing hungrily at the sharp jut of his hip bone, then following the line of muscle down while my fingers brush coarse hair and the promise of a thick –

“Oh darling, I’ve upset you, haven’t I? You’re tuning this all out.”

Anywayyyyy no pressure tagging @read-and-write- @junebugclaremontdiaz @happiness-of-the-pursuit @dumbpeachjuice @cultofsappho @firenati0n @zwiazdziarka @heysweetheart-writes @inexplicablymine @sherryvalli @xthelastknownsurvivorx ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[sherryvalli]

happy sunday<3

thank you for the tags @cricketnationrise @duchessdepolignaca03 @junebugclaremontdiaz @cha-melodius @suseagull04 !!

some more junora <3

It's hard not to think about that night, especially when June is sitting on the couch with her feet propped up onto Nora’s lap. She’s gently rubbing at the soles of June’s feet with her thumbs, glancing every few minutes from the TV to her face.  Nora can't help but admire June; now changed out of her work clothes and  wearing a white tank top and shorts she stole from Nora. Her wavy hair is pinned back with a butterfly claw clip she only ever wears in the comfort of their home. June bites her lip in concentration as she focuses on her writing. Nora doesn’t realize she’s stopped rubbing June’s feet until she looks up at her with a playful glare. “Don’t stop, my feet are killing me.” June groans. “Flats are terrible for your feet, how many times do I have to tell you that?” Nora clips back, letting a smile spread across her lips when June rolls her eyes in response. “Or do you just need an excuse for me to take care of you?” Nora lets the last part slip, not necessarily regretting it but still remaining cautious of the reaction it pulls out of June. But to her surprise, there is none. June goes back to typing away on her laptop and nudges her foot back into Nora’s hand.

tags are always open<3

@bitbybitwrites @sparklepocalypse @bigassbowlingballhead @nocoastposts @anincompletelist @anchoredarchangel @rmd-writes @heysweetheart-writes @violetbaudelaire-quagmire @tinyarmedtrex @agostobuwan @piratefalls @itsmaybitheway @read-and-write- @captainjunglegym @cactusdragon517 @firenati0n @firstprincexo @priincebutt @o0anapher0o @onthewaytosomewhere @getmehighonmagic @eusuntgratie @rockyroadkylers @happiness-of-the-pursuit @magicandarchery @songliili @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @adreamareads @affectionatelyrs @sherryvalli @ships-to-sail @oxfordslutphase @alasse9 @leojfitz @inexplicablymine

[sherryvalli]

thanks for the tags @liminalmemories21 @bonheur-cafe @three-drink-amy @cha-melodius

@lemonlyman-dotcom @sugdenlovesdingle @orchidscript @suseagull04 @im-overstimulated-and-im-sad

@strandnreyes @kiwiana-writes and @sznofthesticks - can't wait to read your snippets!

i'm back on my eurotrip bs (aim is to make it to 100k this week!) and i tried to actually make this 7 sentences:

“I’ll try my best not to kiss you.” “I think we might be asked to leave.” Alex shrugs. “If we didn’t burn in the Vatican, sweetheart, we’re not going to burn here.” “That was before I got you off in the shower,” Henry murmurs, watching Alex’s head snap towards him at a speed that might make someone suggest he undergo an exorcism. “I’ve really ruined you now.” “Confessional sex is definitely off the cards then.”

open tag for anyone who would like to participate and some rwrb-centric tags below since it's been a while since i've roped in the firstprince baddies.

@inexplicablymine @affectionatelyrs @cricketnationrise @dumbpeachjuice @indomitable-love

@clottedcreamfudge @everwitch-magiks @happiness-of-the-pursuit @indestructibleheart @firenati0n

@celeritas2997 @rmd-writes @agame-writes @anincompletelist @magicandarchery

@myheartalivewrites @sherryvalli @ships-to-sail @tintagel-or-cockleshells @leaves-of-laurelin

@14carrotghoul @iboatedhere @nontoxic-writes @historicallysam @mikibwrites

@wordsofhoneydew @lightningboltreader @athousandrooms @read-and-write-

[sherryvalli]

thanks for the tag @nancygillianmvp. gonna do the same as you and actually post on wednesday in my timezone. it's eurotrip time, everyone! sorry lone star don't hate me, love you x

“Can we go back to last night and un-drink all those shots?” Alex asks weakly. “That would be—”

Henry’s stomach churns. “Don’t talk about alcohol, please.”

“I thought I could talk to you about anything.”

Henry rolls his eyes and pinches Alex’s thigh. “You’re a menace.”

“I think I feel better already,” Alex quips, swatting Henry’s hand away. “Annoying you is medicinal, or something.”

“So glad that I—”

He doesn’t quite get to finish the sentence as Alex turns, pushes him back onto the bed and straddles his hips in one smooth movement. His knees are pressed into the mattress – right on the edge – as Henry’s legs hang off the end and Henry would be worried about Alex’s ability to stay on the bed except that he finds his thoughts decimated as soon as Alex leans down and kisses him.

The kiss is rough, urgent like Alex is begging for Henry to swipe his uncertainties away with the press of his tongue, and Henry tries not to think too much about how this might be a distraction technique. If it is, he’s definitely a willing participant, but that doesn’t mean he’s not concerned. 

“You know what would really help alleviate the stress?” Alex pants after raking his teeth over Henry’s bottom lip. “Sucking your dick.”

“Truly?” Henry manages to say, as soon as he gets an opportunity to open his mouth for anything other than kissing. Alex, apparently on a mission, lunges for the buttons on Henry’s pants and unbalances himself on the thin bit of mattress, toppling sideways off the bed with a thud.

tags below and OPEN TAG

@rmd-writes @celeritas2997 @kiwiana-writes @cha-melodius @inexplicablymine

@orchidscript @nontoxic-writes @anincompletelist @read-and-write- @happiness-of-the-pursuit

@sunshinestrand @clottedcreamfudge @leaves-of-laurelin @indestructibleheart @three-drink-amy

@lilythesilly @theghostofashton @vineofroses @sanjuwrites @im-overstimulated-and-im-sad

@strandnreyes @carlos-in-glasses @heartstringsduet @agame-writes @alrightbuckaroo

@liminalmemories21 @lemonlyman-dotcom @14carrotghoul @sznofthesticks @suseagull04

@sail-not-drift @sugdenlovesdingle @affectionatelyrs @dumbpeachjuice @magicandarchery

@freneticfloetry @myheartalivewrites @sherryvalli @tintagel-or-cockleshells @firenati0n

@carlos-tk

[sherryvalli]

Thanks @onthewaytosomewhere for the early tag!!

Some Divergent AU Alex thoughts about Dauntless...

He heard thundering behind him, and turned to see a crowd of black behind the sea of Abnegation grey.

“Out of the way!” one of the people in front shouted, and Alex, along with the rest of the Abnegation citizens, moved to the side.

They thundered past, and Alex stared. They were so… wild. Free. There were other things he didn't know about the faction, he was sure, but they would likely be a good match for his internal chaos.

Lots of no pressure tags for @anchoredarchangel @anincompletelist @celaestis1 @celeritas2997 @daisymae-12 @everwitch-magiks @firenati0n @gayrootvegetable @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @happiness-of-the-pursuit @heysweetheart-writes @inexplicablymine @iboatedhere @kiwiana-writes @leaves-of-laurelin @myheartalivewrites @ninzied @theprinceandagcd @tintagel-or-cockleshells @smc-27 @sherryvalli @violetbaudelaire-quagmire @wordsofhoneydew @zwiazdziarka @read-and-write- @14carrotghoul and open tag for anyone who wants it!

[sherryvalli]

WIP Wednesday

Thanks for the tags, @onthewaytosomewhere and @welcometololaland and @littlemisskittentoes! Once again it's time to share works in progress and I'm sitting here having just posted something wondering why I don't have more unpublished words to share. Such is life, etc etc. SO, why not write and share a little something for my @aroyallybigbangrwrb fic that I'm co-writing with @ships-to-sail?

His mom sighs, fingers twitching slightly as she reaches for one of the papers. “The only consolation is that somehow, the UK has come out of this looking even worse than we do.” Alex reaches out, plucking it out of her grasp. The headline is ridiculous—“Let America Eat Cake! Declares Prince Henry”—and the text of the article is surprisingly scathing. Even the US media usually fawns over Henry, apparently forgetting that this country fought an entire fucking war in order to not give a shit about the royals anymore.  “Okay, so…” Alex tosses the paper onto the coffee table before standing up. “It’s all Henry’s fault. Which I already told you, so. We good here?” “Sit your ass down,” Zahra tells him, and Alex is back on the couch before he quite realises it’s happened. “No, we are not good here. You’re on damage control.”

Tagging @agame-writes @anincompletelist @celeritas2997 @cha-melodius @clottedcreamfudge

@cricketnationrise @dumbpeachjuice @everwitch-magiks @firenati0n @getmehighonmagic

@happiness-of-the-pursuit @heysweetheart-writes @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @indestructibleheart @indomitable-love

@inexplicablymine @jellibuns @junebugclaremontdiaz @leaves-of-laurelin @lizzie-bennetdarcy

@magicandarchery @matherines @myheartalivewrites @ninzied @nocoastposts

@nontoxic-writes @notspecialbabe @orchidscript @piratefalls @read-and-write-

@rmd-writes @sherryvalli @ships-to-sail @smc-27 @sparklepocalypse

@stereopticons @tintagel-or-cockleshells @whimsymanaged and, as always, anyone who wants to play! (If you take the open tag please tag me so I can see!!)

[sherryvalli]

Well well well, it's Wednesday again. I'm posting this fic tomorrow so have another teaser before I do so. Thanks to @kiwiana-writes, @onthewaytosomewhere, @dumbpeachjuice, @eusuntgratie @welcometololaland

@cricketnationrise and @three-drink-amy for the tags! (wow this five tags per paragraph thing is dumb)

“You came back,” Henry says, his voice soft with something like wonder. “Of course I did,” Alex replies. “We didn’t finish our conversation.” Henry ducks his head, blond hair falling alluringly over his forehead as his cheeks turn pink. The way their bodies mimic human physiology is astounding sometimes. “I suppose we didn’t. Would you care to walk with me in the gardens? It’s a lovely day.” “Can we do that?” “Ironically, you’re allowed so long as you have one of us with you, and I’m allowed so long as I’m with a guest,” Henry explains. “Plus, you’re a foreign dignitary. No one will bother us.” “Sure you wanna be seen with me? My sister would say I’m the furthest thing from dignified,” Alex says, grinning probably a little too broadly. Henry’s smile slants mischievous as he steps close enough for Alex to get a noseful of linen and fresh grass again. “Maybe I like that about you.”

Tags below, but also an open tag for anyone who'd like, tag me!

@clottedcreamfudge, @rmd-writes, @celeritas2997, @14carrotghoul, @sherryvalli

@bigassbowlingballhead, @getmehighonmagic, @magicandarchery, @violetbaudelaire-quagmire, @hgejfmw-hgejhsf

@iboatedhere, @nontoxic-writes, @liminalmemories21, @tintagel-or-cockleshells, @leaves-of-laurelin

@firenati0n, @wordsofhoneydew, @sparklepocalypse, @indestructibleheart, @inexplicablymine

@oxfordslutphase, @ninzied, @cactusdragon517, @itsmaybitheway, @adreamareads

@loki-is-my-kink-awakening, @nicijones, @justabigoldnerd, @bighandsforabigheart, @wolfpup026

@natendo-art, @mirilyawrites, @orchidscript, @nocoastposts

[sherryvalli]

WiP Wednesday 04/17

Hello lovely lovely people of Tumblr, I’ve been awful at being on here so my sincerest apologies 🤍 Life and work has been hectic but I’m slowly making my way through my notifications!!!

Thank you @suseagull04 @junebugclaremontdiaz @emmalostinwonderland @cha-melodius @cricketnationrise @porcelainmortal @wordsofhoneydew @porcelainmortal @theprinceandagcd @duchessdepolignaca03 and @happiness-of-the-pursuit for the Several Sentence Sunday tags, I unfortunately was battling in the jaws of capitalism (was at work) all day so I shall use them today!! And thank you @onthewaytosomewhere @msmarvelouswinchester and again to Sara for WiP Wednesday tags! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH Y’ALL ARE GEMS 💎💍

Today’s snippet is from a WiP I have for @thebrownstone servers Eras Tour Event. Since this fic is inspired by a song in Speak Now, you guys’ll read the whole thing on 22nd of April 🤍

He’s the one who let ‘sweetheart’s and ‘babe’s and ‘I love you’s in the morning get to his head; he’s the one who foolishly thought they might have meant something more to Alex, just the way they did to him; he’s the one who fell in love with the sun personified knowing he himself is nothing but darkness.

Big strong arms wrap themselves around Henry, tears continuing to stream down his face and everything feels right in a way it shouldn’t. Because Alex doesn’t love him the way he wants, the way he yearns, the way he needs.

Those arms shouldn’t be around him, shouldn’t hold him like he matters because then he’ll believe it. He’ll believe and misinterpret all the friendly gestures the way he’s been doing all these months…

Because Alex doesn’t mean it like that when he holds Henry in a tight embrace, when ‘sweetheart’ spills from his lips like they never belonged to anyone else, when he looks at Henry with that shine in his eyes that makes him weak in the knees. He means them all in a friendly way.

Alex is just affectionate, loving, he is just gregarious. And Henry? Henry is weak, and in love, willing to live off of love crumbs and slowly die like a parched man drinking sea water than accept the reality.

As always an open tag to anyone who wants to take part and please tag me if you do, I wanna see what y’all been cooking 🤍 and some no-pressure attached tags below the cut

@agame-writes @affectionatelyrs @absolute-audacity @anchoredarchangel @anincompletelist @bitbybitwrites @cheesecurdsgravyandfries @clottedcreamfudge @daisymae-12 @dumbpeachjuice @everwitch-magiks @firenati0n @gayrootvegetable @getmehighonmagic @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @inexplicablymine @kiwiana-writes @littlemisskittentoes @lizzie-bennetdarcy @magicandarchery @ninzied @nocoastposts @orchidscript @priincebutt @read-and-write- @rmd-writes @sherryvalli @sunnysideprince @zwartmagazine

[sherryvalli]

wip last line wednesday!

am literally in the library rn with the intention of finishing my assignments, instead i am writing up a Storm

i posted two fics over the weekend - a 5+1 about henry's cooking failures and a merlin au - in case any of you happened to miss it BUT rn i only have chapter 14 of ahr to finish before i can finally update and i'm currently about 4.8k words in! we cheer!!

combining wip wednesday with last line tag because i kept wanting to do it and forgetting - this is a tweet from a thread breaking down and analysing the timeline of the waterloo emails lol:

A mass of fools and knaves emails - 8/10/20 As mentioned, these were written after Alex had gotten fired from his mother’s campaign. This was also two weeks after the DNC, where Henry was seen at the Beekman hotel with Alex on July 22nd. [Two photos. The first is a screenshot of an email from Alex: “Well, since I got the boot from the campaign, there is literally nothing for me to do but watch cable news (diligently chipping away at my brain cells by the day) and sort through all my old shit from college.” The second is a screenshot from the leaked security footage of the elevator at the Beekman Hotel, showing Henry’s arm around Alex’s waist.]

thank you @welcometololaland @suseagull04 @kiwiana-writes @cha-melodius @rmd-writes + @itsmaybitheway for the tags!!!

tagging @14carrotghoul @celeritas2997 @inexplicablymine @read-and-write- @happiness-of-the-pursuit

@clottedcreamfudge @firenati0n @tintagel-or-cockleshells @affectionatelyrs @wordsofhoneydew + an open tag as always!! tag me besties <3

[sherryvalli]

I know your probably so sick of people asking about ahr, and I'm not trying to rush you or anything but do you know when the next chapter may be outtttttt <3

very much not sick of them, so you're good!!! <3

AH i don't want to make any promises but i just realised that i seem to be following a Trend of posting every time taylor drops something so i've been trying to finish the next few chapters before ttpd on friday....? maybe.....??? LMAO AGAIN NO PROMISES but definitely keep an eye out (especially on my twitter!)

[sherryvalli]

Ughhhhh I can't wait for ch 12 I need it so badlyyyyy your so talented I love this fic

🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹 thank you so muchhgsjash

hopefully you won't be waiting for too long!!!!!!! these next few chapters are SO close to finishing and i think you'll really like them :D

just for funsies, a line without context:

THE CROWN SEASON 12 ABOUT TO BE CRAZYYYY

[sherryvalli]

humbly asking for any ahr updates at your easiest convenience 🙏🙏

you got it anon!!!!!! as of right now: i just finished writing chapter 13 (!!!) and am about halfway through writing chapter 14. chapters 12-13-14 are veeeery closely linked so the plan is to post all three of them very close together, ykwim? ANYWAYS if all goes to plan i'll be able to finish ch14 within the next few days, do the coding, and then..... 👀👀👀

for fun, here's where i'm at word count wise (without coding): chapter 12: 5731 words chapter 13: 7289 words chapter 14: 1411 words

[sherryvalli]

Love how tumblr has its own folk stories. Yeah the God of Arepo we’ve all heard the story and we all still cry about it. Yeah that one about the woman locked up for centuries finally getting free. That one about the witch who would marry anyone who could get her house key from her cat and it’s revealed she IS the cat after the narrator befriends the cat.

[sherryvalli]

*squints suspiciously at the last paragraph I wrote* are you. coherent?

[sherryvalli]

birthday fics!

i finished two birthday fics for two of my closest friends in this fandom and they're finally ready for your perusal!!!!

These 21 Recipes Look Impressive, But Are Really Easy

T | 11.7k words | 6 chapters

Five times Henry is a disaster in the kitchen and one time he isn't.

“It’s pink,” Oscar says flatly.  “It’s…” Henry busies his bottom lip between his teeth, “...undercooked.” “Honey, it’s raw,” Ellen tells him gently. Henry digs the palms of his hands in his eyes and groans.  “It’s kinda impressive, actually,” Nora comments, materialising with a glass of wine. “I didn’t think anything could top the Great Paella Incident of 2018 but you’ve got me beat. Thanks, Henry.”

oh my, we really were timeless

E | 5.2k words | oneshot - for @fuckingyrs <3

A Merlin AU, slightly Young Royals-ified. (You'll get it once you read it.)

A knight came up to him, looking as though he wanted to comfort him but also coax him away from the motionless figure on the ground. Henry looked disoriented, his head nodding jerkily, and to an outsider, he probably looked nothing but shocked and anguished at the sight of his dead brother. But Alex loved this man, knew him better than he knew anyone, better than he knew himself some days. Even from the other side of the room, he noticed things nobody else would have - the pinched look in his eyes, the hollowness of his cheek from where he was biting the inside of it, and the deathly grip he had on his signet ring, his knuckles now turning a ghostly white. Alex knew what he was thinking of before Henry finally looked up and they locked eyes. Philip had died. Which meant that now, Henry was next in line to be the king of Camelot.