mikrokosmos

28: KING OF EMPYREA, QUEEN OF THE FAES

The three teens stayed inside the Fairy Queen's cot for an hour, listening to her cry as she told them about how Theodore ended up being with the Royals even when he was her son, to begin with.

"I met the Crown Prince two decades ago," Iris started, "He was just at the river miles away from the Castle's borders, looking crestfallen as he stared at the flowing water. He wasn't wearing any signifier that he was a Prince, so I had all the courage to approach him and try to console him of whatever he was devastated about.

Prince Theodore told me about his problem without any hesitation. He said he loved this woman named Leila but she told him she could not reciprocate the feeling. He understood her - even liked how she kindly rejected him, but still, he felt the need to cry it all out. I stayed with him that night, hugging him as he cried.

Since then, we have met at the same spot. He became happier in the next meetings we had. He told me I became his shoulder to lean on. We became closer after several meets and then I fell. I fell for him." Iris smiled sadly.

"Then why did the wedding still happen?" asked Jinx.

"Well, he came back crying to me once again. This time, it was because of that wedding. Both of them did not want to proceed. Leila kept on going out of the Castle to meet her lover just as much as Theodore went out to meet me. Then one thing led to another, he got me pregnant with our little Theo. Two months later, they were on lockdown. Three months, the wedding happened. Four months after that, I gave birth to our son. My parents did not want him, especially since the father ran away from the responsibility. And so they left my son outside King Theodore's balcony." Iris choked, tears already escaping her eyes. "I woke up without my son beside me. They didn't want me to have anything to do with the Castle's Royals anymore" Then the Fairy Queen smiled bitterly. "But when they left me, a year after all of that happened, it just occurred to me that they gave my son away just so I could focus on my responsibility as the next ruler of our realm."

Lyra Jade massaged the fairy's back in an attempt to calm her down. She could not believe that she met Theodore's mother and heard her story even before her own son knew about her existence. What is with this world and their shitty parenting issues? she thought.

Iris looked at her after hearing the girl's thoughts. Shitty?

The young Valentine flinched, a hand on her chest. "I'm sorry. I forgot you can read thoughts." From the side, Jinx and Gus both shook their heads, somehow feeling embarrassed for her.

"You know about our ability too?" Iris asked.

"Theodore has that too," Lyra Jade smiled proudly, "He inherited something from you, Miss Iris." When a small smile tugged at Iris' lips, she continued, letting out her inquiry. "But does the King know about this though? That the baby is yours, not just a random orphan."

"My father made sure the King knew," Iris managed to reply despite her cries, "He would always create chaos in the Capital, taunt him by communicating to him through his mind."

"So that's how Theo knew he's not Queen Leila's son." She turned to the Queen, wide-eyed when she realized something. She kept on eyeing Iris, still internalizing what she connected.

"What is it?!" Jinx asked, tired of hearing cliffhangers.

"King Theodore told his son about you," When the other three couldn't believe it, Lyra Jade nodded enthusiastically. "Theodore - I mean, your son. He just told us about it when we were talking about the prophecy."

"This prophecy," Iris trailed. "Stop trying to decipher it. I am not feeling good about you children figuring it out on your own. Let the Royals handle it."