The Burden of Breaking Hearts

Eric

Ethan II was the most terrified he'd ever been in his life. He'd been on the upper levels of the castle-- watching the smoke from a nearby fire drift into the sky-- when some thing came through the darkness, heading straight for him.

It wasn't long before the warning horns sounded and he was whisked inside. Shouts filled the air as guards and staff alike began running through the halls. At the earliest opportunity, one of the many secret passageways were opened and Ethan was ushered through it. He'd never experienced anything like this before; Hathorian had never been under attack during his lifetime.

As they traveled down halls and made a plethora of turns, Ethan quickly lost track of where they were in the castle. Finally, they emerged from the tight corridors and into a room very few knew about, a room that'd been prepared for a situation very similar to what was happening now.

The room was only large enough to contain the four stagecoaches within and their steeds. The dark horses jostled around in anticipation, the coachmen trying their best to keep them under control.

Ethan's father was standing at the back of the stagecoaches with the rest of his family.

"Ethan!" his mother shouted, her voice filled to the brim with relief. Marcus and Angelina were held tight in Rema's arms; she wasn't going to allow any of her children to leave her sight.

"Good," King Ethan said. Gesturing to the carriage on the right, he said, "Once all of you climb in, some of our best men shall be leading you to a safe location until the threat in neutralized."

"You're not coming with us?" Ethan asked his father.

"I'm the King, I can't run away from my responsibilities."

"Then I'm staying too." Ethan stepped forward from his family, trying to conceal how he puffed out his chest. 

"No, you'll go with your mother and your siblings; it's up to you to protect them if anything should ever go wrong."

"But-"

"Silence! You're wasting time." The King hardly ever rose his voice and the shock was enough to make Ethan back down. "I love you all; you'll be hearing from me shortly." Giving his children farewell kisses on the cheek, he made it clear that it was time for them to leave.

The King helped his family into the carriage before giving the signal for the aggregation to move. He was gone before the doors to the outside could even open, walking back through the hidden passageways. 

His destination: the throne room; he had a throne to protect.

Hernon was still at a lost for words. What were you supposed to say after something like this? He understood what Darion was going through, so he also understood that Darion most likely wanted to be left alone at the time; but with the castle under attack and the only person strong enough to defeat it being Darion, Hernon knew them giving up just wasn't an option. The only problem was that he had absolutely no idea how to bring Darion back to reality.

Thankfully, the horns solved that problem for him.

Darion stopped muttering as the alarm was raised, signaling that the castle was actively under attack. The sound was unwelcoming in how familiar it was, but the rhythm was different; it was faster with a shorter amount of time dedicated to each blow of the horn. 

Darion's reaction appeared slow as he lifted his head out from in between his legs. He looked towards the castle, his eyes red and wet. The moment the long shuddering breath escaped through Darion's nostrils, Hernon knew he was planning to do something drastic. Hernon almost didn't notice the wind picking up, but once he did, he was scrambling to his feet. Darion tried to fly off, but Hernon jumped at him, grabbing on to his legs with enough momentum to push him out of the wind, sending them both back to the ground.