After All

Chapter 11: Confrontation

Zane faded in and out of consciousness as the poison began to wear off. It took him a while for his eyes to adjust, and even longer for him to recognize that he was in his bedroom. He groggily rose to his feet and staggered towards the mirror. He stared at his reflection in an attempt to centre himself. Once he found enough strength and focus to stand steadily on his feet, the first thing he did was pull up his shirt to check for a wound on his abdomen.

"Of course. It's gone." Zane grumbled upon realizing his injuries had disappeared again. He turned towards his bedroom window and steadily approached. He peered down at the land below and sure enough, Artemisia was outside talking to his family. Zane took a deep breath before limping his way to the royal gardens. Artemisia and Zane locked eyes for a moment, not a word spoken by either of them. Artemisia's heart began to race when she realized that Zane was awake. She wanted to run to his side and kiss him out of joy, but when she saw the stern look in his eyes, she froze. Before either had the chance to speak, Emilia spotted Zane in the distance.

"Zander!" Emilia happily shouted, rushing to her brother's side. She pulled him into a tight hug as the other Elanans rushed to see him.

"Hey Emilia. What... what happened?" Zane asked as his sister pulled away from him.

"You were kidnapped by Artemisia's ex-fiancé. Your sister, Omar and Artemisia's cousins rescued you two." Lief explained. He was happy to see his son alive and well, but he kept his joy under wraps so that everyone else would remain calm.

"And Artemisia? She's alright?" Zane asked, trying to see her amidst his surrounding family members.

"I'm fine, Zane," Artemisia confirmed, stepping forth, so Zane could see with his eyes that she was telling the truth.

"So... what's the plan? It's not safe for either of us to leave the castle." Zane commented, turning towards his parents.

"Artemisia has agreed to move in full time until your safety can be assured," Catherina explained, placing a hand on Artemisia's shoulder. Zane wordlessly nodded in response, approving of his mother's decision to let Artemisia stay. He tried to reach out for Artemisia, but his attempt only resulted in him staggering forward into her arms.

"Zander my boy, you don't seem very well," Zacharias commented.

"He just needs more rest. I'll take him up to his room." Artemisia insisted, wrapping an arm around Zane's shoulders before leading him back towards the castle. It didn't take long for Artemisia to get Zane back into his room and lay him down on his bed.

"Comfortable?" Artemisia asked as Zane shifted atop his mattress.

"Yeah. I think so. Would you mind grabbing me a blanket? There's one on the chair." Zane asked, gesturing to his desk chair. Artemisia nodded before going to retrieve the blanket.

"I'm glad you're feeling better. Your parents were really worried about you." She commented as she draped the blanket over Zane.

"Yeah... I was worried about you too." Zane added.

"Zane..." Artemisia trailed off, wondering why he was more concerned about her than himself.

"Artemis. I need answers." Zane firmly stated, glancing up at her with curious eyes. Artemisia sighed, knowing full well that she couldn't hide the truth from him any longer.

"Alright. What do you want to know?" Artemisia asked, sitting at the foot of Zane's bed. Zane opened his mouth to ask the first question that popped into his head, however, he was soon interrupted by Omar running into the room.

"Zane! You are not going to believe this!" Omar exclaimed.

"What is it?" Zane demanded, annoyed that he was interrupted.