Divine Realizations [ Clarion X Milori ]

Chapter 50

Skye nodded and cleared his throat, "You were right to be suspicious of me and my nephew, Ashe."
At this, Milori kept his face impassive but inwardly he felt surprise flood through him.
It all made sense now.
The unnamed adolescent Skye supposedly had guardianship over.
The lack of information on both men's pasts.
The reason theirs were the only files left in the Hinter section.
Their hauntingly familiar green eyes, dark features, and... Milori stuttered inwardly.
The eyes.
The provisions given to Ashe upon Kealy's death... again horror struck Milori for the second time in the span of an hour.
Skye and Ashe were related to Kealy.
Seemingly unaware of the puzzle pieces falling into place for Milori, Skye continued at his silence.
"I am Skyelan, brother of King Kealy of The Hinterlands and my nephew Ashelan, is King Kealy's son, true heir to The Hinterland throne."
Still Milori remained stoic and calm outwardly while inwardly he was furious.
It was clear by now that multiple acts of treason had been committed at this point but Milori was curious.
He knew the who now but he needed to know the why.
And he already had a sneaking suspicion of just why the two Hinters had hidden their identities, come to the winter realm, and gotten close to his family.
They wanted control of the Hinterlands which had fallen into Milori's power with the takeover.
Meanwhile, Skye watched Milori carefully, trying unsuccessfully to gage his reaction.
He was just surprised he was not in chains at this point.
He knew how it looked and knew how it would sound when he finally finished telling The King the whole truth of why they were there and what they had planned to accomplish it.
Wanting to be done with it, he rushed on.
"Put your daughter in my nephews' position for one moment. Imagine something happened to yourself and Queen Clarion. The Realm is in disarray and a new ruler has stepped forward to take control. How would you feel if your daughters' birthright was taken out from under her? That is exactly what happened to Ashe. He is the rightful King but it was taken from him."
However Milori stepped forward at this, a frown marring his face.
"It was not taken from him Skye, but from Kealy. Your King committed treason and began a war against the United Kingdoms of Pixie Hollow. He kidnapped a Queen. Plotted my death. Put thousands in danger. And he lost. If there is anyone to be mad at, to blame for the Hinterland's fall, it is he."
Also frowning now, Skye attempted to speak once more but Milori held up a hand.
"How could I have taken a kingdom from someone I did not know existed? There were not even rumors of a prince in the Hinterlands. You and Ashe hid away for years after that but had you come forward, I would have been willing to help you both. To gather the pieces and rebuild a stronger and better Hinter realm."
As Milori finished saying this, they both stared at eachother, waiting for one another to finally say what needed to be said.
Skye finally broke the silence.
"I fell in love with her you know, truly."
But it was clearly more than Milori was expecting as he scowled and quickly came close to Skye, chest to chest.
"Tread so very carefully right now."
Skye did not cower at this, only nodded.
"It was not apart of my plan clearly, she just has this way of getting under one's skin, I know you know what I speak of."
Milori remained silent, his eyes roving over Skye's face, searching for honesty and waiting for him to continue.
"The plan was simple; to become friends with your wife, find a weakness in your relationship, and drive a wedge."
Milori thought over this and took a step back.
"You wanted to ruin our marriage, break apart the United Kingdoms, then takeover when no one was looking."
Milori said this as a statement, not a question, however Skye nodded his head anyway.
"Both Ashe and I were supposed to remain detached but we both failed. He was supposed to be getting information from Avalon. Possibly using her in the event my mission with Clarion failed. But he became close and good friends with your daughter, a relationship siblings would have. And I well... I fell in love with your wife along the way."
Even though anger seared through Milori's veins, he couldn't help but let a ghost of a smile grace his face.
"Let me guess, yours was not a sibling love though."
Skye shook his head gravelly, shrugging his shoulders.
"She was devoted to you, almost to a sickening point and you blew it."
Milori's head whipped up at this, ready to lash out, but Skye was right.
He had blown it.
Letting his head fall back down, he stared at the ground.
"That's why you did not go through with your revenge then? Clarion?"
Skye nodded, "That and it just got to be too much along the way. My nephew never wanted to do any of this, Ashe is just a confused boy who trusted his uncle, waiting to follow my orders. He was the one who came to me to put a stop to it all. He's already revealed himself and his true nature to your daughter."
Milori let a surprised look pass over his face at this, "He will make a good leader then if he is already deciding to follow his heart. To make the right choice even if the wrong one is easier."
Skye was also surprised Milori would admit such a thing.
It almost sounded as if Milori did not mind the idea of Ashe being a King as well.
Now Milori's face looked pained as he asked, "And did you reveal yourself yet? To Clarion? Have you told her your true intentions and how you feel?"
Skye was truly worried about Milori's reaction to his answer now.
About admitting to the fact that he had boldly told this powerful man's wife that he was in love with her.
To hell with it.
Skye looked into Milori's eyes as he answered, "Yes. She didn't want me."
Air seemed to whoosh out of Milori's lungs at this as the always present question had finally been answered.
This did not mean however Clarion chose him and he knew that, only that she did not want to be with Skye in that way.
"I hate the way you treat her you know. She deserves so much better than what you have dealt her."
Now Milori had truly turned a new leaf.
The old Milori would have already banished this man to the dungeons at the mere mention of his feelings for Clarion, yet here he was still standing.
That was a true testament to Milori's newfound patience.
But his patience was running out.
Milori sneered, "And what do you know of how I treated her? You only know of what she wanted to tell you, not the highs and lows and the true pitfalls of marriage. You obviously have never been married. My patience is running thin Skye, you forget with whom you speak to."
Skye held up both hands in a pacifying gesture, "All I'm saying is what you and I both know."
Milori wiped a hand over his face, "Your right, I know I do not deserve her but neither do you. Maybe I will never deserve her or her forgiveness, but I am trying to."
Skye smiled slightly at that, "Well that's all anyone can ask. I only want what's best for her."