𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐁𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐅𝐑𝐔𝐈𝐓

𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖚𝖓𝖎𝖔𝖓

"My favourite couple," The king grinned. As I bowed, Violet walked straight passed him, curtsying to her father, my father and... Mother?

"Mother?" I called.

"Silus?" They stared in confusion.

"No curtsy ?" His majesty turned to Violet.

"Unfortunately no," she gave a tight lipped smile.

"Well I'm sure you'll be happy for the news I'm about to tell you, since I'll be revealing almost everything." he clapped his hands. "Well I guess to two of you at least."

"Two?" You could almost see her eye twitch. "So that means four people in this room know? And I'm guessing by Duke Luneth's face, we're the two."

"Yes," the king nodded awkwardly.

"Who else knew before me? The knights, the maids? The mice?"

"Violet," he father called her softly, only to receive the most lethal glare I've seen her give.

"I might as well get straight to the point. My wife is alive," he announced. "She's slowly recovering until she can properly present herself in public."

"But-"

"Yes she died giving her energy away, but my wife was simply underestimated," he smiled proudly. "She's simply regaining her energy as she fell into a deep slumber."

"Then this marriage was-"

"Was a cover," he nodded at father. "It also helped with the heir problem."

"That's why you were so encouraging," Violet nodded as the picture came together. "But there's one thing I don't understand? What made me any less trustworthy to know?"

"Because if I told you, you wouldn't have fully committed and asked for an long engagement," he answered. "Which is why I waited for you to marry and-"

"-Pass the five month period of confirmation," Violet finished his sentence.

"You sly bastard," father scowled.

"But mother how're you here? When did you awake?" I asked as the king and father argued.

"I awoke last week," she grinned lovingly.

Violets eyes then sparked and she faced the king. "When did she wake?" She demanded.

Silence.

"When?" Her eyes pierced through him.

"A month ago," he answered.

"You're lying," she smirked. "Fine keep quiet then." Turning over to face mother, she then faced me. "Your mother has a few things to explain to you, because frankly, I don't have the energy to say it out since no one did for me." Bundling up her dress, she stormed out the room slamming the door.

"Are you not gonna go after her?" I asked her father.

"She'll calm down on her own, if I go after her I'll only make it worse." He answered.

I nodded."Mother? What was she talking about?" I turned towards her.

"Arthur, explain," father glared at him. Yet he seemed to already realise the depth of situation, and chose to remain silent.

"I-It was to repay a debt," she fiddled with her fingers, refusing to look any of us in the face.

"What debt?" Father asked. "What did you do?"

"She split the slumber with my wife," he finally broke his silence.

"What."Father's eyes darkened.

"She fell into slumber to quicken my wife is awakening," he explained.

"I knew it wasn't normal! I knew it," he angrily banged his fist on the table. "So when I cried that night, when she hadn't woken up for months, when she hadn't woke up for years and you comforted me Phillip. Did you enjoy it? Did you like seeing me wallow?"

"N-no," he denied.

"You two told me to wait! You called doctors but both knew deep down the reason! And do you know why you couldn't tell me? Because deep down you knew it was wrong," Father yelled.

"Magnus," mother sobbed holding his hand tightly.

"I'm sorry," Violet's father hung his head in shame repeatedly apologising.

"No apology can cover the fact, my wife! Silus's mother was taken when he was only eleven years old!"Tears were welled up in his eyes, tears that I hadn't seen since I was fifteen. Days where he'd be holding her hand with wine in the other drinking his sorrows away.

A wave of sickness fell over me.My throat felt dry and my hands were clammy. Sweat dripped from head as I held my hands up in front of my face only seeing a distorted image.

"Silas!"

I could only hear parts of conversation as the room swung side to side.

"Let's hope your knights are quick,"

Loud ringing muffled the sentences in parts as the room slid to one side.

"Magnus! Silas!"

.

.

.