Everything's Fair in Love and War - An Amourshipping story

Chapter 20 - The afternoon speckles

It was like watching something slowly tumble of a cliff. It's right there, slowly rocking and then....

THE WRITER NEVER UPDATES! SHE THINKS IT BETTER TO KEEP SCROLLING ON PINTEREST WHILE HER READERS ARE STUCK ON A CLIFFHANGER! I HATE IT WHEN THIS HAPPENS!!

I'm sorry. I'm really sorry

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The castle watched Alec and his soldiers riding off. The castle watched Paul and Gary get thrown into jail. They watched. They only watched.

A tarp of sadness was flung onto the white palace, leaving it completely hopeless. The guards were too scared to say anything; the sinister smirk, the triumphant cheer of evil; it was impossible to smile when you the darkness that would follow. Or rather, the darkness that had just begun.

Jessie and James had been thrown into the dungeons as well. The file which had been in their custody had been taken away.

Ash stared at the ceiling. The constant nagging in his head asking him to give up was slowly winning. There were guards outside his room; guarding and overseeing every single one of his movements. Alec's face kept flashing in his head over and over again and it only said one thing "Why do you even try?"

He sat up, shaking his head and received a spear pointed at him. The door was swung open and standing there, were his own guards. They were once on his side; on his kingdom's side. But the luxury of money and an amazing stash of wealth lured them onto the wrong side.

Ash threw them a look and proceeded to his bathroom, the only place where he got some privacy.

The cold tiles felt strangely welcoming. So did the tub. A flick on the faucet, the rush of the white water hitting the tub, the idle mirror and the soaps. All of them invited him.

The ventilator only stared on coldly. It asked him to leave. Ignoring its orders, but still staring at it intently, he sank into the tub.

It was missing something. He knew exactly what it was.

"Ash! Come here quick! It's happening!"

The afternoon was Alec's favourite time of the day. No, it wasn't the hot Sun and its welcoming rays nor was it the castle's lunch. It was the 'sparkly dust' floating around his bedroom window that captivated him the most.

The 'it' here was the very same thing.

Hearing his name being called, the four-year old came running into the room, where Alec was standing, leaning against the window. He grinned and pointed at the small speckles floating around innocently.

"Wow~" Ash cooed, slowly taking steps towards Alec and the speckles.

He didn't touch them, neither did Alec. They were scared that they would stop moving and sparkling if they were touched. So they stayed put.

The boys owed all the magic to the pretty curtains. Throw them open and if the Sun was shining brightly, the pretty dust would appear. And when the time was right, Alec would open them up and then call Ash.

They would do it every single day.

There were days when it was raining or snowing. Or days when the clouds hid the Sun. A momentary bout of silence was all it took for the boys to find something else to play with. However, whatever game they played would be stopped if the Sun came back up. The speckles were always first.

Two years later, on one particular day Alec had to spend the afternoon in his father's office. Even though the afternoon Sun was shining outside, the room and its thick curtains, which were shut, made the room extremely dark. There was a tiny candle holder on the desk's farther edge, giving the room an eerie glow.

When Alec left the room, he walked past Ash, who was jumping on his toes waiting to the little speckles again. When he asked Alec for it, he received a cold stare.

"It's pointless to do things like that, Ash" he said, making Ash take a step back. "We're big kids now."

That didn't make any sense to the six-year old. His expression changed from slightly shocked to a toothy grin. "You're joking" he smiled "We're not big kids"

Even though Alec didn't reply to that, Ash waited ever so patiently for his name to be called. The Sun was already at its peak in the sky and he was sure that those little speckles would appear and it confused him greatly.

'Alec wasn't serious. Was he?' he asked himself and slowly walked to his brother's room. Instead of seeing a well-lit room, he saw Alec being led away by his father and the soldiers. They took him downstairs and didn't return till nightfall.

Two days ago was the last day. The last day he would ever see a genuine smile on Alec. The rigorous routine of training and practicing reduced the amount time they even saw each other.

Two days ago was the last day, they ever saw the speckles for the curtains were never opened again.

The speckles.

That's what the ventilator was missing. The sky outside was anything but sunny and it felt like the skies were reflecting the feelings of the castle.

Sinking in, Ash held his breath as he dunked his head in. It shouldn't have been this way. It could've been different.

Little did he know that he wasn't the only one that felt that way. Many miles away on a horse, which was leading the other animals down the path to lavender town, sat Alec.

His mind was very scattered and instead of rejoicing on how close they were to a glorious future, it was going back into the past. However the moment he heard the screams of fear from the townsfolk and the sign, which was engraved in stone, his glazed eyes went back to the red ones with no emotion.

It was time. And there was no way he would let anything come in his way now.

Ash didn't want to go away from the bathroom. It wasn't because of the privacy; it was because of how peaceful it was. He knew that all it would take was one peep at his room to bring back unpleasant memories, which he wanted to avoid very badly.

He was idly staring at the mirror hung on the wall, when something behind it made him sit up. The familiar yellow paper and the slight thickness.

It was the file.

A/N--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another cliffhanger!

Sorry, it's just...I love me some cliffhangers. 

;)