Caged Heart

Chapter 17

"Staring is not the most polite thing a person can do," Serenity said, her eyes moving from the hair she was brushing to the doorway of her chambers.

Godric chuckled, "On the contrary, your highness. I am only staring in awe of your beauty, nothing more, nothing less."

"Oh hush," Serenity chuckled and shook her head as she placed her brush down, turning to face the prince, "you're only saying that because you have to."

"That is false."

"Godric, please, you don't have to make a show of this; we both know that we're only getting married because of the alliance—" her sentence was interrupted by Godric's hands on her cheeks; she hadn't noticed him walk closer as her gaze was locked onto the floor, but she certainly noticed now as she stared into his green eyes, feeling the warmth of his hands as he lifted her head to make her look at him.

"Serenity," the use of her first name was a surprise as he had only ever called her "your highness", "this may be our duty, but do know that whenever I compliment you, I sincerely mean it." He paused, smiling and running his thumb along one of the apples of her cheeks. "All I wish is for you to be happy in this marriage; I will do whatever it takes to make sure you keep that smile on your face."

Serenity smiled back and moved one of her hands to his, "Thank you, Godric."

The princess held her hand up to her mouth to suppress a sob at the memory of the prince. She closed her eyes tightly, tears already beginning to spill from them again, and screamed into her eyes, holding her stomach with her other arm and doubling over from the pain she was feeling. It hurt her all over; she could barely move from her bed, and all she had been thinking about was his smile, his laugh, his words—just him. She wept bitterly.

He had kept his promise to her—he had done all he could to keep her happy. Even though they'd had their problems, he continued to make sure she would feel better after; he had even done it after their argument, making sure she knew the true reasons for what he had said. And that memory made her heart hurt more. He hadn't been able to finish telling her the truth; he hadn't been able to tell her what he thought estranging himself from her would be better than. He died trying to protect her—he died loving her; that was something she would never forget.

She was brought out of her reminiscing by footsteps approaching her door. The sound of them was familiar to her, and, as they got closer, she recognized them: Emerson.

The king had a sense of deja-vu wash over him as he stood at Serenity's door, hand outstretched to knock, hesitation in him. He took a breath and gathered his courage, but as soon as he was ready to knock the door swung open to reveal the princess standing there, her eyes full of regret, sadness, and grief. Before he even had time to fully process her appearance, she threw herself into his arms beginning to cry.

He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him. All the words that he had thought of saying to her on his way to her room left his mind in an instant; he could not think of anything to say, and he was not even sure if anything he did say would help. As he listened to her cries, he couldn't help the tears that began to form. Godric may have been an obstacle in the way of his pursuits of Serenity, but that did not mean that he would want him dead; he had become quite fond of the prince of Vithe.

"He's gone," he heard Serenity say, her voice hoarse from all the crying she had done, "He's gone, Emerson. He died in my—in my arms just like..." The princess' voice was shaky as she moved a trembling hand to her mouth.

Emerson never let her go, but he leaned back in order to look at her. He still said nothing as he did, wiping the tears that fell from her brown eyes. He hardly noticed that a few of his own had slipped out of his eyes as he nodded, pulling her back to him, stroking her hair.

"I'm so sorry, princess," he whispered, using the nickname he would usually annoy her with in an endearing way, "He didn't deserve to... neither of them deserved it."

She buried her face in his chest, gripping his shirt as she continued to cry. They stood in the doorway to her bedchambers like this for what felt like hours before Serenity pulled back. Lifting her eyes to Emerson's, she realized that he was crying and lifted her hand to wipe away his tears as he had been doing for her. His face seemed to flush at her actions—either from the fact that he was crying or that he didn't expect her to touch him, let alone wipe away his tears.

Silently, she averted her gaze from him and took a few steps back to allow him to enter her room. He took the hint and walked a few feet forward, keeping the door open as he stood fairly close to the door—he may have been invited in, but he was always one to not intrude in people's personal spaces. He watched as Serenity walked over to her bed and sat down.

"Serenity—"

"Did they find him?" She asked without looking at him, "Did my guards find the person responsible for Godric's death?"

"I'm afraid I do not know. Your father and brother told me about what happened only a few moments ago, the latter all but accusing me of being the hiring hand."

Serenity blinked at his words, meeting his gaze. "You don't seem surprised by that."

"Because it isn't surprising that Caleb would be the one to suggest such a ridiculous thing. But I will not speak about my opinions of him as he is your brother." He paused, looked back at the door, and then walked over to her, kneeling in front of her, "You have to believe that I would never have wished him dead—neither him nor your sister. Both of these deaths, they've—they've hurt you, and the last thing that I ever want to do, Serenity," he placed his hand over hers, "is hurt you."

The view of a king on bended knee and holding her hand would've made her heart beat with excitement and joy once, but with the plea of innocence that was leaving his lips, it made her feel nothing more than the pain radiating throughout her entire body; not even his sweet words could dull it. As he spoke, she was reminded of every memory with Genevieve and Godric—good and bad—and that brought her to the brink of tears once again. But this time she held them back.

With a nod, she overturned her hand and intertwined her fingers with Emerson's, "I know," was all she said; it was all she had strength to say.

Emerson gave her a smile, one of the weakest and most genuine she had ever seen from him, squeezing her hand. He leaned forward and gently kissed her forehead, moving his head downward after so that his forehead was against hers.

As much as Serenity felt heartache, she also felt comfort now that Emerson was with her. Every moment, every touch, every word made her feel safe; his presence made her feel that way. It may not have been enough for her to rid herself of the torment she was feeling, but it was enough to make her forget for a while—as long as he was there in front of her, holding her.

Feeling the king pull his forehead away, still on bended knee, he looked at her and placed his other hand on her cheek. He opened his mouth to start speaking, but could get no words out as a knock on the door had interrupted him. His head snapped to the door, his eyes hardened with a glare and his jaw clenched as it always had when he was interrupted.

"Your majesty," the guard who stood at the door said, "you are needed in the throne room."

"I'll be there moment—"

"It wasn't a request."

The tone of voice the guard had used took both royals by surprise. Serenity looked at Emerson, who was staring blankly at the guard. He let go of the princess' hand and slowly rose to his feet, glancing at Serenity. He gave her the look of stay, but she wasn't about to follow what he would call an order. As Emerson walked out of the room, she followed him, allowing the guard to separate them as he seized the king by his forearm.

"Walk calmly," he said, "this doesn't need to turn ugly."

Already feeling like a prisoner, Emerson said nothing; he did nothing except for walking. His hands were still at his sides and his gaze was trained ahead of him. If he knew this was coming or if he was surprised, he didn't show it. He knew that he was no longer in his kingdom, that what he said here would be considered but his orders would not be followed—even Serenity had the choice of not listening to him, and she normally chose that as she had done now, her footsteps echoing loudly in his ears.