King Who Fell From Grace

Chapter 4: Born & Lost

POV: Cecilia

"No... Cecil," he started, "W-why?" He asked, tears streaming down his face as his eyes were full of dismay.

"They... they wouldn't let me kill myself *cough" I coughed up blood as I pushed myself deeper into his blade.

"I'm sorry, Grey." I said as I got closer to hug my best friend. My blood dripping on top of him, warm and thick. Until it wasn't. My eyes started to shut close and I muttered my last words.

"I love you, Grey. *Cough* Take care of Nico for me," I spoke until the blood completely filled my lungs.

I turned my head slightly, seeing Nico's face full of rage and agony. To him it must be seeing his best friend killing his fiancé. But he had changed. They both had. In the final moments I saw them, Nico had turned into the bad guy he made Lady Vera out to be, and Grey had broken completely after our last encounter.

I knew they both wouldn't end up in their best character.

I closed me eyes completely and felt my body become cold and drift into darkness.

I tried thinking of anything while in this abyss, but I was basically unable to make memories.

My life were the only memories that I could recall, nothing about this eternal darkness really stuck to me.

My eyes started to drift open as a bright light of white flashed my eyes. I closed my eyes to shield myself from this flash bang.

"Hello dear, welcome to the world... Tessia Eralith." I heard from a feminine voice. Tessia... Eralith? That's not my name. But before I knew it, my consciousness started to fade. My emotions, my memories... everything was fading...

POV: Reynolds Leywin

My son...

At the age of 3...

I had lost my son when he hadn't even reached the age of 4, all because we couldn't be more... competent.

I wanted to blame Jasmine, but I knew that she already felt guilty. She and Arthur had become like siblings on our journey, and Arthur was a good kid. If not Jasmine, he would've found someone else to save.

No. It's not Jasmine's fault. And it's not Alice's either.

It's mine.

If I hadn't gotten injured, neither Alice nor Arthur would've come out to help me. It's all because I couldn't be a more competent fighter. I had more experience than Arthur, yet it seemed as though he could've taken all the bandits on himself.

I'm his father! I should be the one to die before him! But... I'm the reason he died.

I wanted to stay where we were. But Alice... oh, how must she feel. She nurtured him. She loved him just as much as I did. She was his mother for God's sake.

I needed to move on, continue to Xyrus. Vincent was already expecting us, and staying here was only going to make us feel worse. If not for Arthur, then for Alice and our 2nd child.

I stood myself up from where I was on the edge of the cliff. I turned to see the Twin Horns all with their heads hung low. I wanted to grieve, but we had to move forward. I walked over to Jasmine, my steps so heavy they were the only audible thing for miles.

"I'm sorry Rey. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I couldn't- I wanted to- I-I didn't mean to-" I cut her off with a firm hug. She was caught off guard but almost instantly returned the hug. She was much smaller than me, but she gripped me firmly.

She started crying and muttering the same words: 'I'm sorry'. I held onto her as she cried onto my chest. Jasmine was family. I couldn't be mad at her. She cared for Arthur, I know she would never put his life in danger.

A few more moments passed as she cried, and then she calmed down. She was exhausted of crying already.

"Let's move. We still need to get to Xyrus. Vincent is waiting for us. Once we reach Xyrus, we'll have a moment to grieve." I said, loud enough for the rest to hear.

I limped over to Alice, her body was so fragile in this moment, as if even the wind would take her away. Her hair was in her face, but I could tell her eyes were red from crying. I lifted her body towards the carriage and laid her inside. I sat there with her for a moment.

"Rey... I... I don't want to go. I want to go back home." Her voice cracked.

I didn't want her to go back, our home would become a haunting memory of what we lost today.

"What about our second child, honey? We need to finish what we started for their sake, along with Arthur's..." I had to be strong for her. Of course I wanted to break down and weep, but for their sake...

We all got our things sorted out and continued on our journey. Xyrus was still a 2-day trek from here, we could possibly make it in 1-day if we made haste, but something told me that this'll become a 3-day journey.

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*2 Days Later*
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We set up camp for the night, we were only a few hours away from Xyrus, we could even see the floating city from here. But I thought it was best to rest. We were all tired, I felt hollow, and God knows how Jasmine and Alice felt.

Helen and Angela stayed with Jasmine to comfort her in their tent. Durden and Adam stayed seated around a fire they made, and I made myself towards the tent me and my wife shared.

I opened the flap, and there was my beautiful wife. Even with her eyes red and puffy, even with dried tears on her cheeks, even with her hair a tangled mess. She was still the woman I vowed to share the rest of my life with.

"Hey honey, how're you feeling?" I asked as I stepped into the tent and took my boots off.

I reached for the hair locks in front of her face and moved them to the side of her head.

"Mm" her voice was softer than I remembered. She hadn't spoken much in the last couple hours.

I sat laid down next to her and pulled her body onto mine. I wanted to share my warmth with her. Physically, she felt warm, but on the inside she felt frozen.

"Dear, do you remember the time Arthur first started walking, when he was a few months old?" I asked, her body twitched slightly. I knew it wasn't best to bring anything relating to him up, but it was good that she had a reaction to anything.

"We waited for him when he first stood up. He stood for what seemed like hours, but we were patient with him. Then, he took his first steps. He had crawled before to get to the study room, but the first time he walked, he went straight into your arms." I said as I recalled the memory. I smiled melancholically at the thought of Arthur walking into Alice's arms while we cheered him on. His bright smiled bringing light into any room he walked in.

Alice finally turned to me. Her lips quivered and her eyes wanted to draw more tears, but she was far too dehydrated.

"Just as we were patient with him, I'm sure he'll be patient with us. He'll greet us with that bright smile of his when we walk over to him. But for now, we're standing in a place where he'll have to wait."

She launched her face into my chest as she began to heave breaths. I wasn't great with my words, I wasn't the smartest, but I knew the responsibility of having a family.

I stayed like this, holding her for about an hour. She had calmed down and fallen asleep a while ago, but I stayed awake stroking her hair and rubbing her back.

I finally let out the tears I was holding in. As quietly as possible, I sobbed. A father lost his child, and as his responsibility, it is his job that his family does not fall apart like broken glass. If one falls, then the rest will follow like dominos, and that is where the father fails.

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