Halo: Heroes Awakening

6. Bunny Farm

Halo

Halo's heart was beating like a manic drum. His brother looked majestic. He couldn't still the emotions that burned in his chest when laying his eyes on the new King.

"Hello, brother," he said timidly. He rose from the ground slowly, waiting for Vaea's reaction.

He just stared at Halo blankly, his face flat. Halo was so caught up in admiring his brother he didn't seem to notice the girl kneeled down infront of him.

Her hands were in shackals behind her back, so she was definitely not his companion. Even though with her long sage hair and amber eyes she was insanely pretty.

"What did a girl like her do to be pinned down like that?" Halo asked, laughing nervously to break the ice.

"She's a terrorist," Augus answered, causing the girl to turn and glare.

"Don't exaggerate, Gus. I'm a minor thief and arsonist at best," she corrected.

"That's based on what you've done this week!" Augus snapped. "And I warned you to stop calling me that!"

The King was deathly quiet, just softly breathing and staring. It made Halo nervous. He was processing it. Halo knew his brother wouldn't forgive what he did so easily.

"You think you can just come back like everything is fine?" Vaea said, making the temperature in the room drop.

Halo frowned. "Of course not, your majesty."

"Are you here to usurp me?" Vaea asked angrily, tightening his hand around his sword. Halo lifted his hands in surrender.

"No, of course not, your majesty. I'm just here to fix what I broke."

"You can't fix anything," the King hissed. "All you're good for is running away."

Even though they had an audience of about three people, Halo felt like they were very much alone.

"I know I left you. I'm sorry, your majesty. Please allow me to make it up to you as your brother," Halo begged, kneeling down again.

"You didn't just leave," the King stepped forward, his features twisted with rage and pain. "You abandoned me. You left when I needed you the most. Father was killed and instead of staying with me you ran away. You didn't just let me mourn my father. You let me mourn my brother as well. I didn't even know if you were ever coming back."

The words sent a pang through Halo's chest. He was always consumed with guilt. There wasn't a day that went by when he wasn't.

"There's not a day that goes by where I don't regret what I did," he said softly. "I'm sorry for not being there for you. I was a coward. I really want to fix things, your majesty. Please give me a chance."

The King stood unyielding, his eyes hardened. He turned to Augus and gestured to the terrorist. "Take her to the dungeons and prepare her for execution tomorrow. She's outlived her chances." He ordered, making Halo's face drop.

"You're going to kill her?" He asked in disbelief. "But the death penalty is against our constitution."

Vaea gave him a dark look. "Yeah, well I've made some amendments."

Halo chuckled nervously. He hoped Vaea was joking. He had always had a twisted sense of humor. But now he couldn't tell if the King was being earnest or not. The girl was bewildered as she was dragged out of the room, as if she couldn't believe what she just heard.

Then, it was just them and Finn.

"Where were you anyway?" Vaea demanded.

"I became a sailor and traveled for the past three years. This is Finn, he was my shipmate," Halo gestured to Finn, who was dead silent. He still had to explain and apologize for all he dragged him into.