clay's revange

CHAPTER 3.5

after running away from the palace, clay finds himself feeling miserable. Although he did have feelings for celeste, one thing was now clear to him - that girl only wants to marry him only to further expand his suffering, not because of her actually loving him.

after alot of crying, he finally regains his composture, and starts observing the world around him - the injustices that the matriarche had done to its people. Prideful, greedy nobles belittling the working people, bullying and insulting them... this revelation terrified the hell outta clay... he now felt like he needed to get out of this place, this place of torture and injustice, this hell.

he begins packing his bags, opting to run away, and maybe even somehow find the solution to the people's predicament, and to their injustice. Gabriella, however, notices him, and asks him what he's doing. Clay sighs and shares his feelings to his mother and of his plan to run away. Gabriella, naturally, disapproves of this idea, knowing well that he will reach nowhere.

Gabriella locks clay inside his room. She knows he isn't thinking straight yet, and she's very concerned, especially after she found out of her son's plan to run away.

Jonah soon arrives, and the couple discuss abt clay. Jonah, a male who's been catcalled, insulted, harassed, and at times stripped of his dignity, understands his son's situation

"give me a moment to talk to him" Jonah told her

"you have to convince him to change his plans. I'm concerned of our son, Jonah, although he's trained and definitely knowledgeable, he's also naive and sometimes easily-fooled" Gabriella replied

"I understand your concern... But I think we should respect his decision, he's 19 now, after all" Jonah said

gabriella gives him a weird look

"just... give him time to think clearly, then I'll ask him if he's really serious about his plans on leaving"

"we can be charged with treason, Jonah... Clay's marriage to celeste is practically the princess' and of the queen's will. If we let him go, we'll become part of this conspiracy of high treason"

"this is our son, gabriella.... And although i very much highly respect the queen, i regard our son's happiness as something more important to me.".

it's now nighttime, gabriella is fast asleep, but jonah cant bring himself to sleep. He gets out of bed and travels to clay's room, and opens the door.  Clay, who was awake, sitting in the corner looks up at him. He hands him a bag of necessities - food, clothing, and other items useful for long travel

"Go... I can't bear seeing you like this, clay. I may miss you, but if you leaving means you getting a happier life, then so be it"

jonah sighs

"I know that our nation is unjust. The nobles protect our land from foreign danger, yes, but we all know most of them see us as puppets (including queen akaris tbh, she quite literally threatened to cut off a messenger's head in the first chapter of part 1-). To them, most of our people are practically nothing but a number, a statistic, a justification for this land to be called a 'country', a group of workers who produce and develop the economy... I hope to one day see you again, my son. Find a world, a world of peace, equality, freedom... and when you do, please, come back and preach to the people. Tell them the tales of your travels, the worlds you've discovered. Tell them of what our homeland can be"

this speech stuns clay, he's never heard his father talk in such a way... he's always been docile and silent; almost voiceless. The kind of society they live in just doesn't permit males to have an opinion, most especially ones of the lower class.

with these inspiring words, clay embraces his father, an embrace that could be his last, and he leaves, embarking on a journey that would almost be unpredictable.