The Blood Of The Rainbow

.:Chapter 29:.

Alex and I were in the middle of loading our supplies and belongings in the small ship at the seaport when a guard came rushing towards us on a horse.

"King Alexander!" he yelled, catching Alex's attention. "Your mother!" His face said everything that needed to be said.

Alex motioned for the guard to get off the horse, and he helped me climb onto the horse's back before easily lifting himself in front of me. I wrapped my arms around Alex's waist, dread clinging to me.

"You have my permission to borrow a horse in order to return to the palace," he instructed the guard before galloping away.

Alex was stiff and didn't show any emotion as we rode to the palace. He basically threw himself off the horse and marched into the castle with powerful and frantic steps.

We quickly entered Arianelle's bedroom. I felt horror kicking in as I saw her face.

Her face was pale and her eyes were sunken in. She seemed to have gone through ten years over the span of just a few days. I could see the death lingering over her.

"Oh, Mother, " Alex whispered, falling to the queen's side.

Arian was at the other side of the bed. I saw that Azuraq was holding Arian's hand, his other hand rubbing Arian's back comfortingly. I noticed that there were tears falling from Arian's cheeks, and a warmth seemed to radiate intensely from his shaking body.

I walked over to Alex's side and put a gentle hand on his back reassuringly.

"My children," Arianelle spoke weakly, knowing she was near her end. Both her sons were holding each of her hands. "As you both know, I am close. I will be reunited with my son, and I need you to know that I am very proud of you both. I love you and trust you will take great care of our kingdom." She took a deep sigh, which racked through her whole body.

"And you two," she said, addressing Azuraq and I. "You take care of my boys now. They deserve it."

I nodded, holding Alex's free hand. "I will, Arianelle. I promise."

"Of course," Azuraq said, his voice uncharacteristically soft.

"Alright then. My sons, please go. It is my time and I will not have you witness it. I love you both so much. I will tell Judas that you miss him when I see him." Arianelle almost sounded happy, to see her eldest son once again.

"Mother, no. I will not let you die alone," Arian begged, but Arianelle shook her head.

"Arian, my love," she whispered, her voice growing weaker with every word she struggled to speak. "You have grown so, so strong over the years. I am sorry for what you have been through, but I'm so proud of who you are now, Arian. You were born for unspeakable, undeniable greatness. You have a destiny to fulfill, but you need to trust yourself."

"Mother," Arian protested. Alex choked back on a sob.

The frail queen looked at me and Azuraq, silently asking for us to take her sons away.

Arian violently shoved Azuraq away when the knight tried to guide him outside the room. "Mother, I'm so sorry I left home," he cried. "I never should've left, I should've stayed with you—"

"Ari," Azuraq said sadly, but his voice was stern. He almost had to drag a resisting Arian away from Arianelle's bedside, as the queen watched them with eyes that were slowly fading.

I reluctantly tugged on Alex's hand. His eyes looked flustered and scared. I gave him an understanding look as tears began falling from his eyes in a steady stream.