The Crimson King

3

The forces of the winds had declared it. It was written in the leaves of every tree that flourished and perished under the mortal realm. It is a fact that cannot be changed, a beast that cannot be tamed; it is the roar of a warrior at the battlefield and the first cry of a newborn, all at the same time. Our fates were in every single detail that adorned this world we existed in; we will be fouls to think that we are the ones making desicions over our lives

From the moment we come out of our mothers wombs, we crawl over the destiny that the Gods had put above us. We dance with the disgraces that will fall upon ourselves without knowing it, we laugh and cry over things we cannot understand, such as the sudden change of the sea or the death of our loved ones... whatever it was, it was supposed to be before we were even born. In the temple of Orza, we were taught that every single thing that is happening has already happened and forms part of the past, the future and the present. Nothing is new and nothing is ever old. We exist at the same time that we are already dead, everything is tangled together in a beautiful way. Destinies met destinies, lives were born and taken, love blossomed and died and it all happened in a dance so sacret that only Orza herself could understand, her steps never wrongful or neglected

These were the truths that govern over every Desternian alive, these were the most simple things for us. We knew of this even before we knew how to write our names in the sand. And the Royal ones were the living proof of it, every single King or Queen that my Kingdom had had served their destiny fully. We share the blood of Orza, we follow her steps towards peace, whe cannot amend the vision and the paths our Clarions show to us the day of coronation. No matter how hard we try, our destinies always come true

Mine wasn't shown to me, I was never to be crowned Queen Lynor Maldivhre of Desternia so the Clarions never showed me anything. I remember asking my father what his visions told him when he got crowned. He told me that day, with uncertainty in his eyes, that what was shown to him could never leave his mouth, it was tradition he told me. Now I recognized that it has been something he had been afraid to tell me, and I wonder if it had to do with what happened to Desternia, to us as a family and to our people who trusted us with their safety

The wood of the door cried ever so slightly as someone knocked on it. I was sitting already, earlier I had asked Astrid to help me reach the chairs that were in front of the window. I didn't needed to check who it was since I already knew he will come

My wounds didn't allow me to get up and bow as I should have done since he is the King, so I simply lowered my head at him from my sit. He looks as regal as every King should be, but something was different about him, the power he radiates was something to admire. He was stepping tall and proud, his head up and back straight. His arms were behind his back, his grey eyes fixed on me like if he has seen some kind of vision. He was absorbing every detail of my face, acknowledging the things that have changed since the last time he has seen me. I took the opportunity to do the same with him

It has been several years since Theobar and I have encountered. His face was now more manly, and the spark in his eyes was long gone. I didn't noticed that when I saw him yesterday, I was too full of emotions to pay attention

He's no longer the boyish prince I once knew, he has lived his own disgraces and learned from them in his own ways. He has formed his character, his personality and his own mind all over again from all I knew, he could have his own desires upon Desternia. Other than the friendship he had with my father, he has no other reason to help me. From my point of view, the risk of having me here and protecting me is too great to do it all just for a dead King

If my uncle came to hear that I was alive and on the neighboring Kingdom, he will instantly try to bargain for me, and if he doesn't get me then who knows what he will do. As i said, the risk is too great

But still, here we are. With his eyes still contemplating me, still as enchanting as ever

"How are your wounds? I heard the physician came here in the morning" i nodded, forcing myself to stop staring at him

"I am well, he told me that i'll be 'as good as new' by the end of the month"

"That's good to hear, when my Knights brought you here you were..." the words died in his mouth, as if the they hurted him. He was facing the window now, lost in his toughts. The warm light of dusk gently caressing his skin, making him look like a golden statue, one that pushed you to adore it like a God. My eyes drank his image, for it made me think of better days. Past days

I tought about the times he used to come to Desternia, he was alaways busy and tired. His father was a very old man, people used to say that King Magnussen had problems conceiving a child. It took him many wives and many death fetuses to get to have Theobar, I remember that one of my servants told me that Mirenna was so joyfull for the birth of the heir that for thirty days and thirty nights the land celebrated. King Magnussen offered enough feast to feed the whole of Mirenna twice.

Since King Magnussen knew that he wouldn't live enough to see Theobar turn into a man, he brought him to every place he could think of that would teach him the ways of diplomacy, that's why every time there was a conflict to resolve the young prince was there beside his father. It made him the King he is now

We stayed like that, silence dancing between our bodys as he stared at the sunset and I stared at him, begging with my eyes for some answers.

"Your Majesty..." I began, trying to find the words in my knotted tongue

"I am so sorry " he blurted out, like that sentence was choking him. His eyes catching mine

What could he possibly be sorry about?

"I don't understand " my whisper became one with the sound of the wind outside. I tried to find some answers in the depths of his eyes, but they only held sorrow and tiredness

Theobars apology hang in the hair, stretching the space between us. There were some unsaid words in his apology, like a confession too great to make out loud. He stared at me, and I saw something flicker in his eyes, like if he saw the pain inside me and felt it in his own skin, as if he knew how it felt to have the things you loved the most being ripped from you. His expression  softened and became more gentle, it lost the hardness of a King and acquired the tenderness of a kind spirit

"Im sorry for the loss of your family. I'm sorry for the pain you've endured and the things you saw that night" His soft voice had no intention to cut so deep into my soul, to pierce me to the point of tears. The memories of that night whipped me like a furious wave, the weight of the betrayal, the bloodshed and the remains of my beloved Kingdom...

"It was not your fault, there's no need for you to feel sorry, Your Majesty" I lowered my gaze, trying to scape from the things his regard makes me feel

"But it was, Lynor" the urgency and regret in his voice caught my attention again. He seemed so... remorseful" i should've done more, sent more soldiers. I should have...

"But why?" The question slipped from my lips, raw and unfiltered. "Why would you risk you're people to help me?"

Theobar's gaze held mine unwaveringly, his voice tinged with guilt. "Because I was informed about the attack beforehand"

I'm sorry for taking so long, I got really sick and wasn't able to write. Hope you liked the chapter, the next one is a long one with lots of explanations, I swear!😋