"Papa?"
The breeze blew harder and grass rustled almost burying the soft whisper of the little boy. His big puppies shone in a beautiful ray of silver but was slowly blurred away by the thin layer of tears yet none of the two adults were aware of the boy's sudden wave of sadness. Rather they were in a deep stare, almost as if they were drowning in each other's gaze.
The flowers swayed around them, bells lightly dinged and the susurration of the tall trees around them made the situation surreal, well, at least the the General. The silver hair man seemed to have known something bout this seeing as he wasn't too concerned bout the kid with silver eyes and hair and the striking spark within him when he saw the General. After all, he knew who was she.
When Ermin stretched his little arms out towards the stranger, Xena's motherly instinct kicked in and pulled him away and stumbled back but her heels knocked against a rock behind her and caused her to fall back, even lost her grip on her son. The man was quick enough to catch her by her waist but Xena had no strength to stand by herself when she saw Ermin floating in the air with strange silvery silhouette embracing his small body before gently landing onto the ground.
"Mama, it's papa!", Ermin whispered shout as he bounced on his butt and wiggled his finger at the stranger as if to wake Xena up. The little boy urgently got up and rushed to his mother but tripped and fell on his knees. Xena pushed the stranger away to catch her son but their foreheads accidentally crashed then both their eyes flashed a blinding light before they strongly repelled away from each other.
The man was able to catch Ermin but Xena crashed into the bush behind her. Her fall didn't match with the pain in her head and also her heart. The strange throbbing pain seemed to be filling up her mind with memories and replacing the abyss of void in her heart with blossoming feelings of wanders yet also sorrows and painful longing that caused her eyes watered.
Among all those storming memories stood a man in burning red cape, golden ruby crown, silver hair and eyes. The man who conquered her kingdom, who captured her, who kept her, who loved her also, the father of her son.
Xena slowly opened her teary eyes, landing them on the glowy ones that she craved so much yet had no idea who bear them. Now that she abyss is filled with the memories she lost, Xena immediately sprung up with wobbly legs and crashed into the embrace of the man. She sob became louder and even got stuck in her dried throat, sniffled harshly against his neck, trembling fingers buried themselves in the soft silver lock of the man as she wept breathlessly.
"Oh my god, Jimin. My love", Xena choked on her trembling words. Her hands shook as they hugged his head, pushing him deeper into her embrace. The hammering headache was no match against her burning heart, she was dwelling in so much euphoria but also grief that she almost collapse from it.
She pulled back and cupped his face to take a better look of him. After 6 years, Jimin still look the same with a more defined jawline, sharper gaze but same old plump lips that she couldn't resist. She pulled him into a deep affectionate yet longing kiss while circling her arms around him, afraid that he would disappear again.
She could feel the hot tear running his cheeks and stained her own cheeks. His arms locked around her waist while forgetting he released a kid from his hold. "Oh my god, you're real", Xena sighed and smiled into the kiss, making Jimin chuckled.
Before Jimin could speak, a squeak sounded beside them, "Eeeee, mama and papa are kissing~", Ermin peeked from between his fingers and giggled behind his palms while playfully stomping on his feet.
Jimin's smiled turned into a gaped mouth, unsure of how to speak with his very own son. He was still processing the return of his lover much less a son of his own. Sure he knew the existence of the power of memories which brought him back from the loop but he didn't expect the vessel to be his own son. Even without Xena confirming it, it's too obvious that Ermin is his son. Who else would have silver hair and eyes?
"He's your son, Jimin", Xena softly spoke into Jimin's ears as she took his hand and cupped Ermin's chubby cheeks. Jimin lifted the little boy up onto his lap and stared deeply into his silver eyes, causing Ermin to blush and shy away. "Hello papa, I'm Ermin and I'm 5 years old", the little boy introduced himself with a little wave.
"I-I remembered you....I saw you a-and mama...together", Ermin explained with his limited words but Jimin understood very well. This child bear the ability to access back in time and stored all the histories of mankind especially his own parents' story. Hence, keeping Jimin in his memories and bringing him back from eternal perish with his birth.
"I know, bubby. Thanks for saving me", Jimin gave Ermin a huge kiss on the forehead, making the boy giggled in shyness. On the other hand, Xena still got a whole of catching to do since she had no idea how all of this works. Well, both of them had a lot to catch up after 6 years of separation.
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"Wait, so you returned the second Ermin was born but takes 5 years to lure him into your garden so you can recover his memories of you because your weakness is...being forgotten?", Xena breathed out in disbelief, partially of how the universe decided to play them like that but also about the fact that Jimin was under her nose this entire time, waiting for Ermin to mature and old enough to recover such massive portion of memories.
Jimin chuckled and lightly shook his head at Xena's way of summarizing it, "well, if you put like that....yeah", he shrugged before blowing a dandelion at a giggling Ermin. He smiled widely at the jumping boy while Xena stared at him with gaze of adoration, still feeling a longing for him even when he's here with her. Guess that what love do to you, it makes you crave for your lover forever even when they're gone and forgotten.
However, Xena felt kinda disappointed Jimin didn't seem to reciprocate this longing and craving. She pouted and looked away, trying to hide her booboo emotions which she always gets whenever he's around. Jimin noticed Xena's sudden silence and saw her picking on the grass that he worked hard to grow out of boredom.
He turned her head towards him by her chin and looked at her with a soft gaze. "What's wrong, baby?", he asked with a gentle voice while stroking her cheeks. Xena gulped, "nothing...it's just....don't you miss me? I don't know but you just seem so nonchalant while my heart is still experiencing tiny strokes every time I look at you".
Xena pulled away from Jimin's finger and looked at her playful son instead with a small frown but it deepened when Jimin started muffling his chuckles against the back of his hand. "There's not much to miss when I see you every single day", he smirked and licked his lips. Her eyes bulged at his confession before hitting his shoulders, "you stalked me?! Excuse me, pervert".
"Not really, I didn't watch you bath because I'm a decent person", he winked and bit his lips before scooting closer towards her. "Knowing you, you probably would if it wasn't for Inferno's protective spell on the palace", Xena rolled her eyes before standing up.
Jimin watched the General rose from the ground in all her glory. Long legs in her tight leather pants, black armor hugging her figure with shoulder plates and a cape draping on one of her shoulders. Xena indeed looked like a General, a warrior of a kingdom. 5 years and still look fine as hell. Guess all of that military training did a great job keeping her in tip-top shape even after giving birth.
Jimin slowly stood and took his time eyeing the General from head to toes, admiring each of her curves until he stopped and stared at her eyes. His arms sneaked around her waist and brought her in and against his body. "Now that you mention it, I miss you like hell too", he breathed out as he tilted his head but was interrupted by a muffled voice.
"Papa, are you going to kiss mama?", both Jimin and Xena turned to look their son only to find his mouth stuffed with dandelion and some puffed out as he spoke.
"Oh my god, Ermin no!"
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That's the END of THE MAD KING yallllll!
I'm so grateful for all of my lovely readers who have been supporting this book and loving it! You guys really give me a reason to write passionately.
Lemme know if I should write one more part of this epilogue or start on LIFELESS HEIR (as requested).
Again, thank you so much and I look forward to seeing you guys in my next story too! LOVE YA
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ɬɧɛ ɱąɖ ƙıŋɠ//℘ʝɱʄʄ
Roman d'amour"𝒂 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒃𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 ɬɧɛ ɱąɖ ƙıŋɠ" A story in which a ruthless vessel is heir to the throne and his power was madness. "𝑴𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆, 𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆𝒄�...
