The Hidden Lands

Chapter 3- The Cover Story

Kollin

My sister, my twin, had always been headstrong and she never fully considered her decisions, though they always turned out right. When she married the Faellen king she didn't think about how my Terran abilities could affect the next heir, and how it would affect the Faellen lineage. Only after their second child was on the way did she think of what would happen if she was carrying a Terran, a Deltoran Euathale, instead of a Faellen Euathale. A Terran couldn't be an heir to the Faellen throne, but they couldn't remove the King's son or daughter from the line of succession without the child's consent, so the baby with Terran abilities would have to die, and since Terran abilities didn't surface until age five any non-Primordial child would have to die. Willy was allowed to live only because of the strange Terran stipulation to the powers that firstborns could never possess the ability.

So, of course, I helped her escape, I couldn't bear to kill a child and as the head of the guard, I would be expected to carry it out. I watched as my beloved twin flew off on the phoenix and as soon as she was truly gone, I blew my whistle. The next few hours would be pure chaos and torment. I would have no problem playing my part though. Sure, maybe she wasn't actually dead, but my twin was gone forever. The tears were already welling in my eyes when the first wave of guards arrived. I allowed myself to lean into the roll and, leaning over the window, began explaining quickly what I had allegedly seen only moments earlier. I was supposed to be upset so I let out an angry choking sob and caused the earth under the moat to churn, causing large spires of rock to shoot upwards.

The airship landed an hour later, King Rowan was the first off, the ship, vaulting over the railing before they could even lower the gangplank. 

I hated the look on his face, accusing, guilty, agonized. Had it really been just this afternoon when he was practically hanging off the ship's rail straining to say goodbye to his wife and son? His white hair was knotted and sticking up at strange angles, he couldn't stop knotting and unknotting his fingers in it. His unnaturally sky-blue eyes had clouded over. When he saw the scene in the moat, he turned to face me.

"D-did you find her?" he asked, sounding slightly choked, I shook my head.

"It's partly my fault, my abilities got out of hand, I tilled the moat before thinking that we would need to," I cleared my throat, "you know, find her." I concluded lamely.

"Thank you for that, I don't know if I could've borne to see her like that."

And to my surprise he sounded genuine. But then his face crumpled again and he began to tremble. He raked his hand through his thick hair, twisting the fingers around his roots and pulling on them. He didn't speak again until his advisers convinced him to speak at the funeral, but after that he began pretending nothing had happened though anyone with half a brain could see how much effort that took.