The King

chapter 15

"Just... let my curiousness get the hang of me." I lied, hoping that it was convincing enough.

He still kept his face forward, his eyes taking in the setting sun. "Curiosity is what killed the cat." He finally turned to look at me, his jaw set in a strong line. Okay, not convincing enough.

"But satisfaction brought it back". I added, looking directly at him.

He smiled in response, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Zeke..." I started. "I shouldn't have been there. I'm sorry." I let my gaze drop from him, and to his shoes. He was quiet and didn't respond. I bit my lower lip as I waited for an answer. 30 seconds passed before he exhaled loudly. His smile was long gone by now, and I could only imagine what he was thinking.

Finally he spoke, clearing the air of its silence.

"Yeah, you probably shouldn't have." He sighed. "But, at least you met my mate." He smiled sadly.

I frowned, puzzled by what he meant.

"The painting." He added when he saw the crinkles in between my eyebrows. "Pretty hard to miss it." He joked.

My mind went back to when I saw that painting, its beauty engraved and etched into my memory. "She's your mate?" I asked, the image of her and that flowing dress dancing about in my mind.

He cleared his throat. "Was."

Just as soon as it left, the silence reared its ugly head again. He wiped his cheek, and sniffled softly.

"That song I was playing on the violin, she absolutely loathed it." He laughed. "She claimed that it made her angry that such beauty could feel so sad and depressing. She hated that song but, it was her favorite."

I listened to him speak with all my attention, never a moment where I let my mind wonder.

"I don't even know why I was playing it tonight, all I knew was to pick up that violin and start belting." He laughed to himself, before falling silent.

I bit the inside of my cheek, "What do you mean by was, Zeke?" I asked when he got quiet.

He let out a low whistle, and laughed a humorless laugh to himself. "I killed her." He folded his hands and pressed his face against them. His eyes didn't move from mine, as I tried to hide my fear and confusion.

"I told her to stay in the castle, but she wouldn't listen." He rubbed his eyes. "Oh, she was so adamant to fight alongside me. And I-" He choked out. "And I couldn't bear the thought of her ever getting hurt, so I locked her in that room. It was only when I ran back to castle after the attack and not a single noise came from the room did I realize what I had done. I've never moved quicker in my life, I ripped the door down and the irony of that was how my world slowed down as I looked at her." By now tears were flowing down his red cheeks, and he made no effort to wipe them away. "Her mangled body hung from the ceiling... the dress she was wearing was moving with the breeze that accompanied the open window." He let out a shaky breath. "If I hadn't locked her in that room, maybe she would be here siting next to me, watching the sunset."

I sat there shocked. I looked at Zeke's shaking figure, by now he was wretched with sobs and hysteria.

"Zeke..." I whispered softly. He lifted his head out of his hands to face me. I schooched closer until my thighs touched his. I slowly leaned forward and slowly pulled him into a hug. I felt his body underneath me tense and freeze. His chin laid on my shoulder, and he didn't move. After an embarrassing second did I start to pull away when I realized that he probably didn't want this undesired hug.