The Exiled King | ✔

Chapter 22 - A King's Burden

Zaiela came to meet her brother in his suite of rooms, Leyon trailing along with her. The long sleeve of her cerulean dress rustled as she pushed open the doors before the guards could and ushered herself in.

"By the gods, Rian, when will you get married?" She cried, storming into his chambers in a huff.

Seeing him seated at his desk, she marched over and glared at him.

Adrian raised his head and chuckled humourlessly and said, "It's nice to see you too, sister..."

Before he could continue, Zaiela resumed her fiery tirade.

"I've had enough of acting as a queen... this is the fifth time this week that Ferdinand has lectured me about my job. Gods, at this rate he ought to be the queen instead of me!" Zaiela complained, "I swear, all this stress is giving me white hair! Look!"

She twisted her braid over her shoulder and held it up close for his inspection.

Amid her dark curls were no white hairs to be seen, but Adrian did check it an extra time before looking up and saying, "I see no white hairs... yet."

Zaiela tossed her braid back and sank into a nearby armchair and said, "Well, good! I'm too young to have white hair!"

Her words were sharp but they lacked the furious edge that they had previously had.

Leyon quietly took a seat beside Zaiela, a smirk tugging at his lips.

Adrian sighed and smiled slightly, though it didn't quite reach his eyes, "So... have you just come to complain?"

Zaiela hesitated. She had mostly come to complain and perhaps lighten the mood a little with some friendly banter, but something about Adrian was different. He was more quiet and serious. Zaiela couldn't remember the last time he'd truly smiled... one that reached his eyes, not the polite smiles they'd all learnt when they were young.

"Are you alright, Adrian?" She finally asked.

A hint of surprise crossed his face as he replied, "Why do you ask?"

This time, it was Leyon who answered. He leaned forward, perching his elbows on his thighs and gazed at Adrian with uncharacteristic seriousness.

"You've been acting strangely recently, brother."

When Adrian frowned, Leyon continued, "We know, Rian! We've known you our whole lives! When you suddenly start acting strange, of course we're going to notice!"

Zaiela spoke up, building on Leyon's words, "We're here for you... so will you not tell us what's going on? I'm sure that three minds sharing the burden will make it easier on everyone."

Adrian's face twisted, and for a moment there was a crack in his careful mask—one that showed the weary man beneath the facade of the king. But he stayed silent, his face the picture of conflict.

Zaiela stood up and walked up to him and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder, offering him silent reassurance.

"You can tell us, brother," Leyon encouraged, "We can't help you if we don't know what's going on."

Adrian sighed and leaned his elbows on his desk, covering his face with his hands.

"Where do I even begin?" He muttered, his voice muffled.

"They say Garyth is a hero... a martyr who wanted to save Dargon, but then why did our parents die?! Why did Eli die?! He- He used illusions for hundreds of years to trick everyone into hating him, so why couldn't he do the same with our family?!" Adrian cried, his voice quavering as all of his pent up emotions rushed out in one garbled mess.

Zaiela had a lot of questions, but she drew Adrian into a hug and stayed quiet, knowing that there was a time and place for questions later. Leyon got up and stood stiffly and a little awkwardly at his brother's side, fidgeting in place.

"There must have been a reason we couldn't have known," Zaiela said soothingly.

Adrian let out a strangled groan and whispered, "And if that isn't enough, Pelos himself came to tell us that we're all going to die!"

His voice rose to a shout at the end and he ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

We're... going to die...?

Zaiela was stunned, but Leyon jumped and cried, "What?! When? How? Are you sure it was really Pelos?! Maybe it was some trick from Garyth or someone?!"

Adrian shook his head and said, "It was him. There was no doubt... none. We're all going to die and there's nothing we can do! There's nothing even a god can do!"

She'd been convinced that whatever secret Adrian harboured, they would be able to solve with their three minds combined, but never in her wildest dreams would she have expected it to be this. Zaiela was at a loss for what to do, other than to comfort her brother as best she could.

When it came to the soul-crushing realization of imminent demise, perhaps ignorance was bliss...

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The salty sea breeze swept through Lasair's hair as he held the railing of the ship and enjoyed the wind and occasional specks of water that flew up and landed on his face. They'd been lucky to find a ship and a captain willing to brave the previously frozen ocean so soon after the ice had disappeared, but money made a lot of things possible.

Kylian stood at the bow of the ship, one hand holding the side and riding out the bumps as the ship cut through large waves with an easy grace. His long black hair was tied back and fluttered against the strong winds, as did his long tunic.

As the silvery sands of the coast of Silvardor approached, Lasair realized he'd forgotten to mention something to Kylian.

He made his way over to Kylian and yelled over the crashing waves and loud wind, "Oi! Kylian! Aren't you forgetting something?!"

Kylian turned to him and yelled back, "What?!"

"Your knife! You stuck it in the ice!" Lasair bellowed, then repeated his words when Kylian repeated his loud, one-word question.

Then the second time, Kylian nodded and shrugged and yelled, "Eh, it wasn't mine anyway!"

Lasair let out a peal of laughter.

They approached Silvardor and landed on elven soil, finding no traces of the ice that had previously existed. The verdant forests were brimming with life and it was pleasantly warm.

The two grabbed their things and cautiously made their way into the forest.

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What would you do if you were told that the world was ending soon and there was nothing anyone could do to save it?