Halo: Heroes Awakening

7. Family Dinner

Halo

That evening Halo journaled in his room, when suddenly a knock came to his door.

"Come hither!" Halo called despondently, not bothering to turn around in his seat. It was most likely a servant bringing his food, since Vaea had not accepted his dinner proposal.

"Your highness, the King requests your presence at supper at this moment," the servant said, making Halo nearly jump out of his seat.

He spun around, tossing his fountain pen aside. His eyes didn't dare hide their excitement. He had already washed up and replaced his sailor uniform with his royal attire. A clover green shawl with loose gold robes underneath accompanied by  brown beads around his neck.

He dressed up in case Vaea changed his mind. He knew he didn't have hope for nothing.

Halo made his way down to the dining hall, seeing Vaea seated alone at the end of a long mahogany table with a pale gold table cloth. He was surrounded by large platters of food, eating in dead silence. One could barely hear him chew.

"You requested me, your majesty?" Halo asked nervously, hope bubbling in his chest. He didn't want to be forward and sit down, assuming Vaea would want that would be rude.

Vaea lifted his head, gesturing to the chairs. "I thought you wanted us to have supper?"

Halo smiled gratefully and hurriedly sat down, saying a prayer to the Goddesses immediately. His brother had reached out first, meaning there was hope. A chance for things to go back to the way they were before.

"I invited your friend as well. I couldn't remember his name, but I let the servants give him new clothes. What you wore before was hideous," Vaea said neutrally, shuffling his crayfish with a fork.

"Thank you for this. I promise I won't let you down," Halo said. "I'll do whatever your majesty asks of me."

Vaea gave a small smile. Halo wondered if it was genuine. "Shouldn't that be expected of a prince to his King?"

Halo chuckled awkwardly. "Yes you're right. But I mean as a brother as well. Royally, I am your servant, but family wise, I am here as your friend."

Vaea stared, the emotion in his dark eyes unreadable. "What made you come back?"

Halo swallowed hard, then looked down at his plate.

"My voyage was ending and... I knew I had to return home and fix things. I've been away long enough."

Vaea hummed thoughtfully, not saying anything. It made Halo nervous. Had he answered correctly? He had answered honestly, but that wasn't always the same thing.

"I'm happy the Elders finally let you become King," Halo said, trying to derail the subject. His eyes were worried. "Will my return be a problem for you?"

Vaea smiled. "Do you mean to ask if the Elders will force you to become King? If they do will you run away again?"

Halo gulped hard and fell silent. He knew in his heart that if he answered, his brother would hate him. But no answer was an answer enough.

Vaea let out a humorless laugh. "Your return won't be a problem for me. The Elders accepted my rule. They realized I was capable after all."

Halo smiled sadly. "I'm proud of you."

His father had given Vaea a hard time as a child. In fact, he had given them both Hell. Trying to force one son to fit into a mould while discarding the other, denouncing his ability to fit the same mould.

"If father could see me now," Vaea chuckled lowly. "He must be twisting in his grave."

Finn strolled in at that moment, wearing a light brown shawl and dark brown trousers. His ginger hair was tied up into a ponytail with loose strands hanging on the sides of his face.

"Uh, sorry, your majesties? Am I late?" Finn asked, looking around the table.

"Not at all. Sit down," Vaea answered with a smile. Finn nodded awkwardly and slumped down next to Halo, who offered him a kind smile.

"You look handsome!" Halo told him.

Finn smiled. "This is definitely new for me. I never dined with royalty before."

"Where are you from?" Vaea questioned him. "Your skin is so pale. You look like you have never seen the sun in your life."

"Up North. It's really rainy where I'm from," Finn said, vague as always.

"So you and my dear brother were shipmates?" Vaea smiled, making Halo uneasy. He was never friendly with any of Halo's friends as a child. That trait never improved as they got older.

"Yes. We were on a ship called the Big Mirth," Finn nodded. "We sailed nearly half the world."

"We actually fought pirates right before docking at Kahele!" Halo said excitedly. "Finn's a great fighter. He saved my life when I was nearly thrown overboard."

"Saving your life isn't hard, you're not really good at defending yourself," Vaea commented with a snort. Halo's face slightly dimmed with the remark.

"So you can fight, huh? You should try to join our Royal Guard. We could always use more people."

Finn smiled, though Halo knew it wasn't a real one. His smile barely reached his eyes. "I'll think about it. I'm still figuring things out here. Halo has promised to take me to the beach tomorrow."

Halo turned to him, remembering that they were meant to leave. Finn's eyes were pointed and told him to play along.

"Ah yes. I'm taking him to Sandy Bay. Then we'll go get Kahele's finest cuisine."

"Well, I hope you enjoy it. I have lots of work to do," Vaea said. Halo suddenly remembered the girl with green hair.

"What did the girl do?" He asked. "The one that was here?"

Vaea's face soured at the mention of her. "Oh, that Sai wench. She's a pest. She burned down The Regal House and has robbed and stolen from me multiple times. She wants me to step down as King, can you imagine that?"

Halo frowned. So she was a rebel. "Why would she rebel against you?" He had always thought his brother would make a fine King. He was always the better leader between them.

"She doesn't like that I don't have a pure white head, like the rest of the Feiglings," Vaea rolled his eyes. "Don't pay them any mind. They're merely a headache."

Halo nodded, but something bothered him. "Were you serious about killing her?"

Vaea stared at his brother flatly. "How else do you cure a headache?"

"Wouldn't the Elders object against that?"

Vaea bit on his lip. "She's a political extremist. They would permit it. She has slandered me to my face."

Halo's frown deepened. "Can't you just throw her in prison instead? Killing her seems a bit harsh. What if she can change after this."

"I have jailed her multiple times," Vaea snapped, hit fist hitting the table, making it rattle. Halo flinched and shrunk in his seat, and the piece of fish in Finn's mouth plopped out and back into his plate.

"Besides, I am the King here and not you," Vaea said with scorn. "Don't comment on my choices when you are the one that ran with your tail between your legs."

Halo nodded, feeling burns of regret. Vaea was right. Halo had no right speak on his rule when he never wanted the throne to begin with. But he couldn't agree with the death penalty. It was too final for her crimes.

"I understand, your majesty," he answered quietly, getting back to his food as the table fell in silence.