The In-Between

Chapter 2 - True Heart

I exited the train at the statehouse stop and climbed the steps that led directly into the building. None of our official buildings were destroyed during the war, a merciful gift. Our statehouse was made of marble and white pillars, the ground floor open to the elements. It was minimal and pristine, adorned with greenery in some of the sparser areas. I climbed the marbled steps to the third-floor stateroom where the members of my council waited for me to strategize about our meeting with the King later this afternoon.

When I entered, the council members all rose from their chairs, waiting for me to take my seat at the head of the table. I looked at the sorry excuses for a council and shook my head at the thought of appointing one of them to be my steward. They would destroy everything I had worked so hard to rebuild.

The councilors took their seats as I sat in my chair, looking out at all of them. To my right, Nobleman Harrison all but bounced with glee at the idea of me leaving. He had taken Nobleman Erickson's place after he had perished with my parents. What a shame, I thought, Erickson would have made a perfect steward. Of course, that's probably why he was an easy target during the war, take all the powerful figures and you're left with...these idiots. Perhaps I would pick whoever sided with me during this meeting, not that anyone ever did. It had been a slow moving 50 years.

While I could make any decisions alone, it was a formality to seek the advice of councilors. I thought back to my father explaining how council proceedings often went.

The day was crisp, fall had come early this year. My father and I took an early evening stroll around the gardens of our estate, decades before the war. I noted his rigid posture and frown. I was quiet as we walked, but he interrupted our silence with a deep sigh.

"One day Adelaide, you will have this whole court to look after." I didn't respond as he paused. "Sometimes, your advisors will not be on your side and that can cause...strife within your court."

My brows knitted in confusion. "But you are the Lord, can't you just tell them all what to do?"

He chucked, but the sound was hard. "Certainly, but you also need to consider their opinions. Some will be far older than you, and thus wiser. It's important to hear them out...even if they're being incompetent fools."

"How do you know when they're being incompetent rather than..." I trailed off.

"Than trying to deceive you, you mean?" My father's blue eyes, as icy as mine, looked down at me; I nodded. "Adelaide, paranoia like that will destroy you. It is important to fill your council with people you trust but also people who will tell you when you're wrong."

"But what if they're all wrong?"

We had stopped walking and he stared at me for a long while. Then something lit in his eyes. "You are not born from Altheia, we do not inherently know when someone will deceive us, but you've got the second-best thing on your side."

"Ares?"

He laughed deeply this time and shook his head. My father tapped my heart with a calloused index finger. "Eros, my love, Eros."

"How will love tell me who to trust?"

"The heart does not lie, Adelaide. The true heart does not lie. You'll know when you can trust someone and what decision to make, when your heart rings true."

I thought of Ollie and our future together. My heart told me to follow him wherever he may lead.

It was my turn to join him in the Vale...the afterlife. That was why I had agreed to this silly meeting with Calden. I knew he hated me for siding against him. He knew it was my father and I who chosen to follow Windguard into battle. It was why he had forbidden me to cross into Iotia. Why our court received no restitution after the war. Our betrayal to him was personal.