The Dark Kingdom

Chapter 2

"Mott!?" Alexius rode back to him. "Hey, long time no see," Mott said, dismounting his horse. Alexius dismounted Dawn and embraced Mott in a hug, it had been over four years since she had last seen him. As a matter of fact, the last time she had seen Mott was on Darius's tenth birthday, the day of his passing. "What are you doing here?" She asked. "Well it is your seventeenth birthday and I was finally able to come to Carthya. I wanted to come when I heard the news that you had returned, but I was far away outside of these kingdoms," Mott explained. Mott looked Alexius up and down, "Every day you look more and more like Jaron, you even act like him more from what I've heard!" Alexius and Mott both shared a laugh. "It is really nice to see you and if I do say so myself, you don't look too old yourself," Alexius joked. Mott chuckled softly at her joke.

They both mounted their horses and started to head back towards Drylliad. "So what brings you to look for me?" Alexius asked. "Jaron wanted to look for you himself, but he was held up, so he asked if I could," Mott explained. They both drifted into an awkward silence and enjoyed the beautiful green fields of Carthya's countryside. "So, Imogen tells me that you have a guy friend," Mott joked. "Hehe, he's just a friend. He helped me return to the throne," Alexius cleared, but Mott wasn't buying it. "Jaron told me that when you were injured, he refused to let go of you until they had to pry you from them, even after that he continued to stay by your side." Alexius looked out into the horizon, ignoring Mott. "He's my only friend and one of the only ones who cares for me," Alexius mumbled. 

Changing the subject, Mott said, "So what were you doing out here in the first place?" Alexius shifted in her saddle to be more comfortable. "I was tired of standing still for hours, I want to stretch and get some fresh air," Alexius sighed. Mott nodded in understanding, "Jaron would often do that, you know?" Alexius faced Mott now and she furrowed her brows at him. "Are you just trying to tell me how much I'm like my father? What's the point of that?" Alexius asked. "You are very much like him and I have a whole list of supporting details. I just want you to realize that you're not alone, he understands you," Mott explained. Alexius stared at him and began laughing until Mott looked at her like she was crazy. "I forgot that the last time I saw you I was so afraid of what people thought of me and the crazy things I did! Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore, I could care less what they say!" Now part of what she said was true, Alexius was indeed still scared of what they thought of her, but she cared as much as she used to. 

After a bit of time, they were back at the castle again. She rode Dawn back to the stables and made her way to her room where she would get a bath and change into a light blue dress that went just under her knees, she wasn't a big fan of long dresses. She simply kept her hair down and made her way to go and eat supper with her parents. When she walked in, her parents were both already seated and waiting for her before they began eating. Alexius awkwardly sat down and waited for her meal to be brought to her. Everyone was quiet and it became increasingly awkward in the dining room. "The invitations have been sent out," Jaron broke the silence and made Alexius's heart skip a beat. "Oh, that's good," Alexius said as she poked at the meat that had just been handed to her. "Oh! Silas is returning home from being overseas. He left a year before you returned home," Imogen said excitedly. "Not Silas! He's so annoying!" Alexius cried.