Satin Rose and the Witch Hunters

51. Cut From the Same Cloth

Satin

Now that I was here, I felt silly to have ever thought of leaving because of a single bad impression. He looked regal in his attire. It suited him. A suit pink with long flowing sleeves and coat tails that wouldn't have looked out of place from the wardrobe of a neighboring lord. He had just put his crown on the bench and stood up when I revealed myself to him. His jaw dropped. I could see it in his eyes, disbelief, confusion, fear. A bad taste filled my mouth and moment running away wasn't a silly idea anymore.

Then he hugged. Rushing forward I flinched at the sudden movement before feeling the warm embrace.

"I'm sorry. I should have been there for you, waited before leaving, not have left at all!" He said with a shaky voice.

A small fit of laughter burst out of me. I didn't know I had so much worry in me. "It's ok Dad," I said cutting him off.

He put his hands on my shoulders to hold me at length and look at me, tears were starting in his eyes before he brushed them away.

"Where have you been? What have been doing?" Then his eyes grew in shock, "Has your cloak been burned?"

"Er," The dangers that I had been in felt dreamlike. My mind had been focus on other things and I quickly brushed my cloak behind me. The hem was more singed than I cared to admit. "What have you been doing?" I asked.

"Me?" A dry laugh came from him as he smiled at me again. "I got married to someone I only knew for an hour. I left my house without even fetching my only son. And have been looking for you in the most roundabout way possible."

"Well," I said walking over nonchalantly to the bench to inspect his crown. "I joined the Dark Wloran. Met up with the wizards and got in after the initiation. Uh, I learned to turn into a bird and back into a boy."

"Magic? You're a member!" Realization hit him and his smile grew even wider as he put his hands on his head. "You were the Raven."

"Yeah. Met a spider. Theres been a giant spider in my room this whole time. Stayed with some starlings for a while. Kidnapped by a Hunter. And chased by a cat that breathes fire. It's been exciting."

"Sounds like a fantastic adventure," He sat down again, looking down at the ground between his feet. "I should have been there."

Sitting next to him, I asked, "How's... being king?"

"I'm not king. Never was. And the Queen. She looks like your mom."

"Really?" Dad never talked about mom. When I at him now, it was the first time I noticed that his eyes weren't really looking at the ground, but something faraway.

"Neither royalty nor prestigious," He took a deep breath. "The palace hasn't been that great." Turning to me, he raised an eyebrow. "I have a Hunters Commanding officer look for you. Though you've proven to be more elusive than first thought and now that you're here. Theres so many more possibilities."

"I came to say goodbye," I blurted out.

He was shocked, the standing up again, "Goodbye?"

My eyes couldn't meet him and instead I looked up at the castles spires that towered over us, "There's something wrong with me. A sort of paralysis that's hard to describe. We thought it was because of me using magic, but that's not the case and the wizards say that it doesn't look like anything they've seen before."

Dad was in disbelief, pacing in front of the bench, "We have doctors here in the palace, medicine, even a wizard of our very own. There must be someone who knows."

"There is. A Sage, Deep in the mountains. We leave by noon, sneaking out of the city."

He stopped pacing to look me in the eye. A part of me knew that he was never agree. It must have sounded insane. "The Hunters won't stop," Dad said. "They're already amassing for something disastrous."

"All the more reason to get going early," I stood and finally returned a tiny smiled. "A little mischief is always good for the heart."

An idea sparked in him and jumped with a grin, "Come stay in the palace, just for a few days."

"Dad..."

"I have a plan, but I need your help. You were always going to go on an adventure on your own and you sound like you've already done that. There's nothing I can do to stop you, I wouldn't even dream of it. To help an old man out and keep you a little safer on that journey, will you stay?"

He looked at me. Hope, determination, pride. What did I see in his eyes? How could I say no to that.