Curse - Septiplier

31: A Farewell Toast

Jack's POV

I watched the sun's rays shining through the room, slowly moving down the decorations and the set up for the wedding that would soon be in full swing by the day after tomorrow. I stood still, watching as the orange color began to fade as the village below and the innards of the castle began to retire for the night. I had a feeling that I also needed to retire, and get as much sleep as I could before Mark and I took off. I'd have much rather left sooner and not cut our escape to close to the wedding, as I had a feeling that it would make my father more desperate to find us, but Mark had a point in saying that we couldn't disappear any sooner. Both of us were expected to appear tomorrow for the arrival of the princess, and my father would order the guards to tear the castle apart and the village, stone by stone, until he found us both, me especially.

That is, if the General didn't spill everything he knew to my father first.

"Its beautiful, is it not?" my father's voice startled me, and I turned to face him. It had been a long time since I'd seen a true sober look on his face, a genuine expression other than dazed confusion or anger. He looked peaceful behind his graying whiskers and his large, knitted eyebrows. His face was relaxed, the wrinkles of age resting calmly as he joined me at my side, taking in a large breath of the fading day's air and letting it out in a stressed manner. "Once you marry off, you'll get this view just about every night, my boy." I didn't say anything to him, I didn't see a reason to, and he clapped me on the back. "Ya know, I was real worried about you for a long time, Se-Jack. I was frustrated when you first didn't make up your mind, and the General had me believing some crazy things, but now that you've come around, I'm real proud of you." My father rested his hand on my shoulder, and when I didn't respond or even look at him, he sighed and turned away from me, most likely to rest for the night.

While his words were meant to be of reassurance, there was nothing comforting about them at all. The General had most likely been conspiring against myself and Mark for longer than I wanted to think about, and had my father believing it. I didn't want to know what changed his mind, and I didn't care. None of that mattered while the fate of my future, and Mark's, rested solely on the General's tongue and whether or not he would keep such foul words to himself. With an extra eye on Mark and I's interactions and a written documentation, my father would most likely take their word for it. He believed it before, and I had only lately been pretending to appear truthful and understanding. I had little hope for anything past the General admitting what was really going on. But I knew these thoughts would only plague my mind until my sleeping hours dwindled to nothing, and so I forgot them, passed them away for now and retired to my own room for the night to dream of another reality where I had no problems other than deciding what food to eat.

....

I awoke the next morning, about as early as usual and was dressed when the messenger showed up from my father to awaken me. He had become more and more a nuisance the more often my father sent him to wake me, and I felt satisfaction from seeing his gaping jaw as I strode past him and into the throne room. Today was the day that the princess was coming over with the other King, and I knew that I had to be ready well before they arrived or it would send my father into a panic. While I didn't mind the idea, I knew the repercussions.

I joined my father and the General in the throne room, ignoring my the General completely and giving my father a polite bow. He laughed in good spirits, and although it was difficult to tell, I knew that he was already drunk before they planned to arrive. While I didn't agree with my father's decisions, I only knew them to be true given the varying years I'd spent time with him, and I could see his drunken mannerisms and inability to do very much that required effort. He could usually make a decent speech half drunk, and I was hoping that he had something planned for our visitors at least so that we wouldn't look like complete fools. I gently reminded myself that it didn't matter because I didn't have to make an impression on these people; I wouldn't be here for my own wedding.