Arthur 4 : The return of the prince

Chapter 16

Arthur was inside in his room, his eyes teary looking out the window. His gaze seemed as empty as the room he was in was silent. That was this famous room that during his childhood was only a part of his playground in this country house in which he spent his holidays as a child.

However, the house seemed a little more empty than usual, it seemed that a person was absent, especially on Archibald’s wheelchair. In the living room, an old box stood on the piece of furniture located below the calendar, a box appearing to bear as an inscription "Days without you".

In Arthur’s room, a large book was resting on the desk. Arthur knew him well, it was the book of his grandfather recounting his exploits as well as the history of the minimoys and the painting of his grandfather representing Selenia. Arthur had taken it out of the book to take it for himself, seeming to cling to this one memory of his beloved princess transposed on this old piece of paper, and also seeming to be the only source of comfort he could find in these hard times.

Archibald, that good, wise, resourceful, valiant man, was no more. It has been a week since the funeral and tributes in his honour were made. The sadness was still reflected as much in Arthur’s eyes as the pain was great following this immense loss. He felt emptied, exhausted, as if he had been depressed by all the trials that had been imposed on him for four years. Only Archibald was able to bring him comfort and to give him a smile and hope while waiting for the day when he could see the minimoys and hug Selenia seemed more and more endless and eternal. Now he felt alone. So alone...

Tired of this inaction, he went to the door of his room before opening it and crossing the threshold. He quickly went down the stairs taking care not to look at Archibald’s wheelchair completely empty before heading out of the house. Then a voice came to him:

"Arthur?"

Arthur stopped short before turning his head toward the voice. It came from the living room. Despite all the despair that this voice carried, Arthur recognized it very well. It was his grandmother, who seemed just as depressed as he.

He walked to the drawing room and saw his grandmother, mother, and father. All three looked as dark and sad as his. Even his father, which surprised Arthur. But on reflection, he was not so surprised when he remembered that a strong bond had formed between his father and his grandfather.

Daisy kindly invited Arthur to sit down. When questioned, Arthur nevertheless complied, he took a chair and sat quietly. Once seated, her grandmother took out a letter and put it on the table:

"Your grandfather had planned a last will for you. Nevertheless, he knew he was doomed and time was playing against him. He suspected he wouldn’t have time to tell you what was on his heart, so he wanted to offer you one last thing."

She paused to observe Arthur’s curious and astonished face. But before he answered, his grandmother spoke again.

"There’s something else, my child. Something else you should be happy about."

Arthur’s lips stopped in his stride to speak, to the point of resigning themselves to take the floor to let his curiosity fully express itself in the face of his grandmother, mixing the sorrow due to the loss of her husband but also the rejoicing by seeing that the last will of Archibald can be fulfilled.

"As you probably know, Archi wanted to reconcile your wish to find the minimoys with that of your parents who are kept our family together. That’s why he asked Armand and Rose to accompany you with Darkos. Throughout the week, we got together to agree on the way forward, and finally, I managed to convince your parents to accompany you in the world of the minimoys, even if it requires them to face the unknown."