Gold, Fire & Ash

Chapter V: Family Matters

V

Family Matters:

“There is no such thing as accident; it is fate misnamed.”

- Napoleon Bonaparte

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          When Quinn was three years old he fell out of a tree and broke his arm. At the time his father had been visiting the other domains so his mother nursed him back to health. By the time his father returned his arm was already fully healed so his mother didn’t bother telling him about it.

          When he was five his father got him a tutor to teach him how to use the sword. Quinn wanted his father to teach him but at that age, he started to realize that being a king was a lot of work, and so he didn’t put up a fuss because he knew his father wouldn’t have the time to teach him. A few weeks into training he got slashed in the back by a boy he was sparring with. His spine was almost ruptured. His mother rushed to his side to take care of him and many days later when he finally saw his father, instead of getting a hug or even a pat on the head to show some form of care he was told how much of a weakling he was for letting an underling defeat him. He had been crushed, but he refused to cry. That was the last time his father came to see him while he was bedridden.

          If it wasn’t for his mother, Queen Riene, he wouldn’t have made it through all the times he got sick or hurt from training. But then, when he was seven, something happened that changed his life forever.

          On the night of his mother’s twenty-eighth birthday, she had declined to have a party and wanted to celebrate with just her husband and son. It was night time and they were standing in the courtyard of the palace, his mother and father swaying side to side as they danced while he watched. This was a rare occasion for all of them to be together so he was happy.

          It was getting late and his nursemaid had come to fetch him for bed. He waved his parent's goodnight and headed inside. The king and queen hadn’t stopped dancing and as he twirled her around she laughed and fell back into his arms. But as she did so there was an imperceptible whoosh and the queen’s body jolted. Her eyes widened and the king’s smile froze. Her body went limp in his arms as a line of blood seeped out the corner of her mouth.

          Quinn, who had stopped at the top of the stairs to watch them dance one last time, saw when the arrow struck his mother’s back. Seeing his mother fall he turned to rush back down the stairs, he wanted to go to her. But the sound of his father’s voice telling the nursemaid to take him inside cut him short. Strong arms wrapped around him and no matter how much he struggled they wouldn’t let him go. He started screaming and hollering, begging for them to let him go, his mother was bleeding and he needed to go and help.

          The king hollered for a physician as the soldiers rushed forward surrounding their king and queen. That was the last Quinn saw of his mother as they knocked him unconscious.

          Quinn was confined to his room for almost a month as they went through the investigation. The nursemaids or the guards refused to tell him anything about his mother or his father. He was a smart boy for his age, he was even designated the title genius by the scholars of the court, so when he saw how tight-lipped everyone was being he decided he would find out what he wanted for himself.

          So after a week of planning Quinn snuck out of his room one evening. He knew the palace like the back of his hand so finding his father’s study was as easy as saying his name.