The King of Crows

The Saddened Singer

"What..?" Phil's eyes widened as he stared at me, tears pooling down his eyes. Possibly blurring his vision too. "He perished from hunger?"

"Well, that's what anorexia is," I softly explained to him, not wanting the man to break down further at the realisation. "But it can take a long time depending on who's with them and if they know. It eats them from the inside out. It's a horrible condition."

"We gifted him so much food," Phil exclaimed in tears, one of hands beginning to tightly grip his hair. It was heartbreaking to witness for me, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Neither could I, and I was the one who announced it out. It was the only thing I could think of; William was incredibly thin in the painting and, according to Philza, died in his sleep. "How could he have perished from the lack of food?"

"Phil," I softly spoke to the man, walking closer to lower his hand from his blonde hair. His steel blue eyes stared deeply into my own, tears not stopping their own flood down his cheeks. His eyes were quickly becoming red from all the crying he was enduring. "It may have looked like he was eating it, but he could've thrown away the food or threw it back up by force. That's what most anorexics do when they're forced in a situation to eat food. Especially when they don't want to, some do when they want to get better but not that much. They want their bodies to not die from so much food being thrown into their bodies, if they want to get better that is."

"Oh... so- so it was not our fault?" He stuttered out, trying his hardest not to choke on his own tears. I nodded with a reassuring smile.

"It wasn't your fault; it wasn't any of your family's fault," I answered with my smile staying. I was trying so hard not to cry, I didn't want my friend to get any worse than he already was. "You didn't know what was going on; you didn't know what he was going through. You would've never guessed, 'cause it seems you didn't even know that existed."

"I thought I was a horrible king-"

"You're not a horrible king Philza!" I grabbed his shoulders and formed a frown on my lips. How dare he think so badly of himself?! He stared at me wide-eyed, not expecting me to get so defensive. "I can't believe you would even dare think of something like that! Just because you had never heard of anorexia before, doesn't mean you are a horrible king! You aren't and never will be Philza."

He didn't say a single word to me after my rants, just stared at me with a loving smile. His eyes not leaving mine, but they seemed more doe like than before. I lowered my hands to rest on his own. Our hands not leaving one another, staying entwined. It was so calming, which was quite weird given the conversation we were just having a moment ago. But oh well, it was quite nice.

Turning around back at the guitar that was resting on the wall, I let go of Phil's hand to walk towards it. Sweeping my sleeve across the dusty guitar's surface, I sat on the bed to remove most of the dust.

There was too much to remove it all, so I just removed the most important parts. Philza sat down next to me, leaning close to me, his chin resting on my shoulder. His soft breath gently hitting my neck, it was nice to the touch. I gently plucked at the guitar's strings, both of us reminiscing in the raw sound that eerily echoed throughout William's late room. Not knowing how to play the instrument, I just continued to carefully pluck on the strings. Phil carefully took the guitar off of me, playing the instrument with complete ease. The music that came out of the guitar was non-normal, eerie, echoey, and saddening. It matched the atmosphere of the bedroom we were in, William probably would've loved hearing Phil's talent on the guitar. He probably taught the king how to do all this, I wouldn't be surprised.

"You're really good Phil," I smiled as he continued to gently play William's guitar, the strumming not getting worse. A faint blush tinted his cheeks as he heard my compliment, a smile spreading on his own lips as he paused the music. "Aw naw, don't stop!"

Phil burst into laughter, carefully leaning the guitar against the wall again. Letting his back lay against the duvet, I loomed over his body, casting a darker shadow onto his face. As he calmed down, the man let a sigh slip past his smiling lips. "Thank you Y/N, William was actually the one to teach me how to play. I am an amateur compared to that man. Despite... everything he was going through, he had a real talent with that one guitar. I miss him. I miss them all."

"I don't blame you for missing them at all Phil," I reassuringly smiled at him, letting my unleaning hand roam his blonde hair. Strands seeping past my fingers as the soft follicles brushed up against my skin. Phil's face glowed perfectly with the little amount of light from the one window nearby to us, his eyes closed as I continued to stroke his hair. "If I was in your shoes, I would miss them all too. I don't blame you in the slightest."

Phil opened his eyes with a small glare. I removed my hand as he lifted his body to sit up, turning his head to stare at me. "You have my shoes?"

"No- Not that!" I burst into laughter, not knowing how to explain it to him. I wasn't expecting him to say that, I thought he was going to be mad at me for saying all that when he never really asked for it. Nope! Not even close. When I calmed down, I finally was able to continue speaking. "It's metaphorical. A way of speech. I don't actually have your shoes Phil."

"Oh," He gasped out, watching me pull out my phone. I needed to check the time again, now being here for around nine hours I really needed to go home. Putting my phone back in my pocket, I sighed deeply before standing up and turning to face the sitting man. "What is wrong?"

"I need to go home Phil," I explained to him, noticing a frown form on his lips. I hated seeing him like that and I'd only known him for nine hours. "I'm sorry but I can't stay here forever. I have to go now. I'm going to call a Taxi; by the time I get to the entrance, it's going to be there."

"Wait!" Phil threw himself off the bed, standing right in front of me holding my hands so suddenly. I wasn't expecting him to grab my hands, it made me blush in embarrassment. "Can I please walk with you at least before you leave?"

"Of course," I nodded, walking with him to the door. We quietly walked down the long flight of stairs, not wanting it to be even more awkward than it already was. I pulled out my phone and called a Taxi when we were on the stairs. By the time we got to the entrance of the castle it was getting dark, the Taxi was there waiting for me. I turned to look at Phil, almost being tackled by him with a hug. A hug that turned into an embrace. "Goodbye Philza. Maybe I'll come meet you next week, hm?"

"Please, don't leave me Y/N," Phil mumbled into my neck, trying his hardest not to tear up. "I don't want to be all alone and isolated again."

"I said I would meet you next week okay?" I repeated to him, earning a small nod from him. His eyes staring at me as they glazed over with tears threatening to spill down his cheeks. "Good. Goodbye Philza, see you next week!"

And off I went to the Taxi, waving to the upset, cloaked man that was at the entrance. Crows flying to his side and shoulders, sadly cawing for me to come back. But I couldn't. That castle wasn't a home anymore, it was an attraction for all the modern day people. I watched from the Taxi as all of them disappeared from view, a haunting amount of loneliness hit me like a truck when they vanished from view.

I'd only known him for nine hours, yet I felt like he was the closest friend I ever had. I already missed him and the crows, but I couldn't live with them. It would be too dangerous. Maybe if those stupid workers actually fixed up the castle, it would be easier. I just wished that castle wasn't an attraction. But oh well, I was back at my home now with my notepad full of drawings. Now to start work tomorrow...