Desires of the Crown

37 - On the Horizon

          Alliar

The cold blistered in through the opened door with a harsh chill. It nipped at my skin and for a moment, I thought my fingers and toes would just fall off. How would I walk, I thought, without toes? It seemed easy enough but for some odd reason I imagined the little stubs at the end of a foot had other uses. Perhaps balance? I most certainly didn't want to find out. I opened my eyes and checked my toes. Wiggling them in the air. Still there.

With a sigh of relief, I turned towards the door. I found the same thing as I did every morning I slept in the Kings chambers. The doors wide open, Jonathan outside, his arms resting against the railing and his eyes on the horizon. He wore a shirt today, perhaps because it was colder than usual and bare skin just wouldn't do.

I watched him for a moment. He was tense, troubled. Not as relaxed as he appeared to be the previous mornings. As the sun rose on the horizon, a red glow lit up his features and cast a red shadow upon the castle. Red. In a blink last night's events came flooding back to me. The blue of my dress, the way the lace fitted against my skin. The dancing, the music. The assassin. And most of all, the way brown eyes flickered red in the light of the torches before the life left them.

I took a deep breath knowing I need to let the memory go. I wondered how long it would take to slip from my mind – if it ever would.

Fed up with the cold, I rolled out of the bed and wrapped the furs around me. I walked towards Jonathan, pausing once with hesitation by the door.

"I often wonder," I spoke softly as I approached him. He jumped ever so slightly startled by my intrusion. "Does the sunrise look different each morning. Or is it simply the same each day?"

He shook his head. "The same mostly."

"So why is it so interesting?"

He took a deep breath and paused a moment as if considering whether to tell me the truth or not. "I'm not watching the sunrise."

"Oh?" I turned my attention outwards. Jagged rocks loomed below us, the rough waves of the morning crashing against them making a foam of white. Beyond that, there was nothing else but the sunrise.

"I'm watching the horizon." He clarified for me. I pressed my lips together. And that was much more entertaining? "When I was young, my father woke me up early one morning. He bought me here, on this porch and pointed out to the horizon. Ships. Blue sails with his sigil, an eagle in mid-flight, littered the horizon line. He had spent his entire reign building the most impressive navy the kingdom could afford." He paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "He was to leave for the war front that day. He told me he'd come back with the fleet and to watch the horizon as the blue sails rolled in like a storm. Said it would be a glorious sight."

I knew I shouldn't have. I knew better, but still, I placed a hand on his shoulder hoping to comfort him. "And he didn't come back." Because my father killed him.

"No, he didn't. It did become a habit though. Each morning, whether I wanted to or not, my eyes would open just before the dawn and I'd watch the sunrise up and kiss the water."

"It's a beautiful sight." I smiled weakly.

The sun was full, hovering just above the water. The day had officially begun. We walked back into the room and Jonathan began poking the logs in the fire so that the new flames would catch. I moved towards the wardrobe hoping to find something warmer to wear until something could be bought to me from my rooms. I shuddered a moment at the thought of going back in there. I wasn't sure I could even close my eyes in that room. Not without picturing him.