Beginning of the End

Five

Far too early for his liking the next Morn, Apollo forced himself from his bed so he could join the rest of the Royal family in the informal dining room. He'd slept wonderfully once he'd fallen asleep, but he was still exhausted after his most recent trip down to Earth. Course, that was expected since even magickal Travel was exhausting, and his Emotional state certainly didn't help him.

        As her husband settled in the seat next to her own, Serenity didn't bother so much as greeting him with a smile for once. That didn't go unnoticed by her parents any more than how bloodshot and red-rimmed his eyes were this Morn. It was pretty obvious that he'd been crying at some point the Night previous, but she was honestly terrified to question it.

        "Is something amiss, Apollo?" Kuutar queried for her once the staff who served them cleared out.

        "Naughtcha need to be concerned with, Kuutar," he answered. "Just a lot on my mind."

        "A lot that coincides with these disappearances you've been making every month," the Moon King observed after wiping his mouth.

        Apollo's lips pressed into a thin line as he clenched his teeth, but he didn't confirm his suspicion any more than he denied it.

        "Son, you know we approached you about wedding Serenity so we'd eventually have an heir to our Throne beyond her," he told him, his expression turning stern.

        "Our sex Life–or even a lack thereof–is none of your fuckin' business, Kuu," the Sun King snapped. "Serenity'll come to me when she's damn good and ready to, and not a moment sooner."

        "You can't possibly continue this way," Kuu argued. "Even the commoners're talking about how the Princess and her husband barely seem to tolerate each other."

        "And I don't give a flying fuck what the commoners think!" he exploded, rising so fast that his chair flipped onto its back behind him. "Besides, it's not entirely Serenity's fault there's no Intimacy between us to speak of, and that's all I'm saying on the matter."

        "Get back here!" the Moon King called behind him as he stormed outta the dining room without taking so much as a bite of his breakfast.

        Kuutar heaved a soft sigh as she clamped a hand down over his in a Silent warning to remain in his seat. She wasn't sure if she'd been the only one to see it or not, but there'd been more than just pain in her son-in-law's eyes before he'd stormed out. For that matter, there was more than the bone-deep sadness her daughter'd mentioned, or even the fiery Anger they'd never seen him display in the six months they'd known him.

        Assured that her husband wouldn't follow her and try to make things worse, the Moon Queen excused herself without finishing her own breakfast. Even Serenity remained at the table, rather than trying to give chase and find out what was bothering her husband so. But that was a good thing, 'cuz maybe she'd actually get him to open up, if it was just the two of them.

        Outside in the Palace Garden, Apollo'd settled on a Stone bench so far from the actual Palace, he doubted anyone but his wife knew it was there. That allowed him more than enough privacy for what he'd decided to do as a means of Grounding himself once again. After all, he didn't want anyone knowing about his sons since it wasn't like they'd ever get to meet them without making the Journey down to the Earth. Their existence was no one's business but his own, and he Intended to keep it that way.

        "Maybe you should tell them about us," his second-oldest son, Nephrite, was saying. "Your wife and her parents, I mean–the staff and commoners don't need to know, after all."