Redemption

Chapter Six

Niko was silent as they rode at a steady but calm pace along the trail. He avoided the main roads and followed Isa as she lead him along the old, abandoned Aesin trails. It would both save them time and avoid most other travelers. They couldn't tell who was an alley and who was an enemy in this world and Niko's upbringing, the hatred that Haldr expressed about the world, still left its mark upon his gentle son. Niko couldn't help but become lost in thought as they rode, guiding the horse on instinct, his mind drifting to the nights he had heard his father crying quietly as he held onto his wife's bracelet, the only thing he had been able to find left of her when he had gone back. Niko remembered when his father had left for a fortnight, telling him not to follow and should he not return that Isa would take care of him. When he came back with the bracelet Niko recognized, Haldr was a broken man. He'd buried the dead left behind in Kaandar, including that of his wife, his brother, and many, many others.

Niko was jostled away from his memories as Isa penetrated his mind, [It does not do well to dwell on the past. What is done, is done. We must move on as nature does or the wounds will never heal.]

Alistair couldn't help but watch Niko, the shadowed look in his gaze and the pain in his eyes and couldn't help but feel that the burden of that guilt was his to bear. Alistair was the sole reason the genocide occurred, he was a simple pawn and he understood the logical guilt was minimal... but the sheer magnitude of what happened was too much to disregard. Nearly a third of the population of the continent had been slaughtered because of a lie, a trick. Alistair swallowed and looked away, down at the ground as it passed. Where had his bravado gone? The calm, cocky, self-assured prince that he had always disregarded the suffering of the masses... Alistair realized he'd never once been invested in the state of the kingdom, never once set food outside of Vitria. And he was supposed to be king? He laughed softly and shook his head in disgust.

"What?" Niko asked softly, looking over at Alistair.

The prince lifted his head, "It nothing; I was just thinking of how blind to the world I've been. I never thought about the genocide, really. I... I had no idea what the world was like outside of Vitria."

Niko nodded softly, "How different a life you've lead. Every day since the genocide I have relived it every single day until my father died. I still have nightmares to this day."

"Nightmares? About... my father?" Alistair asked gently.

Niko clenched his jaw. He kept overlooking the fact that the man sitting next to him was the son of the monster who murdered his mother and stabbed that cursed blade through his chest. Niko rubbed the scar gently as it ached; looking over at Alistair. He looked away again and gently nudged his horse faster, "I wish not to speak of it."

Alistair cursed softly and urged his mount to follow, keeping up with the Aesin. He didn't know what he could do to make Niko see that he was an ally. He knew that he had an uphill struggle, but he just wanted to make this work. Isa looked down on them, hearing the conversation through Niko's ears and her heart ached. Niko could not get past his own pain. Those nightmares that plagued him combined with the hatred left behind by Haldr made a potent mix.

[You cannot avoid him for the entire journey. You must learn about each other, become strong allies or this venture is all in vain. Do you wish to throw away my gift to you so foully? They will come for you, and they will kill you. You are strong, Niko, but they are many.] Isa chided him from above and Niko clenched his teeth together more, responding in their silent way.

[He is the son of the monster that killed my mother, that nearly killed me!] Niko argued angrily.

[Not once before you met this prince did you hate the man who wounded you. You had a much more accepting view of the world, you understood that hatred could cripple a man and so you refused to let it into your heart. But since you have spent the last few years alone, your father gone from this world, you have become more and more like he was: consumed with hatred fueled by loneliness. And now, you have a companion, one that fate herself has thrown to you and you refuse to speak with him? You refuse to sate the ache in your chest? For once, my dear, sweet boy, I do not understand you.] Isa said softly and fell silent.