Birthright

Chapter 15 - Truth

Chapter 15

Killian sipped from a golden goblet while peering down at his strategy table. When the guards reached him with Ely in front of them, he waved them dismissively to the back of the room.

Ely walked gracefully over to Killian and curtsied her respectful greeting. As much as it made the bile from her stomach start to travel up her chest, she had to believably play the part.

"You must forgive this treatment for now, my sweet Elyena," Killian offered with a smug tilt of his lips. "All this business with the guards. The time will come when they are no longer necessary. With any luck, it will come sooner than later. I trust your sister is well?"

She stood a fair distance from Killian, speaking calmly, keeping her eyes down at the floor. "She is sleeping, My Lord." Taking a step closer, Ely licked her lips as she dared her next request. "If I may voice another request..." Her voice trailed off as Ely's eyes shyly turned up in search of his which were indeed trained on her. "C-could Vanessa stay with me until her health is better? She is dangerously malnourished and I trust no one to care for her alone."

Killian held his hand up, tilting it to the side in a careless, dismissive expression. Ely ceased her rambling, pressing her lips into a thin line.

"If that is your concern, then I can accommodate until she is in better health," he agreed, offering her a small smirk.

It was almost as if every single of drop of hatred and malice Ely felt for him, no matter how big or small, open or hidden, was palpable to Killian. His darkened eyes gave a strange, mysterious twinkle that was not necessarily malignant in nature. Yet the frightening omniscience that he seemed to have about Ely's disgust of him, made the smirk seem like shades of an ever-growing scheme.

Stepping forward, Killian took long strides toward Ely. "You will soon come to learn, Elyena, that I am not nearly as cruel or malicious as you may think." Now standing before her, he reached out and stroked her cheek with his knuckles. "I have been deemed many things, my dear. I have suffered the slings of many cruel titles: oppressor, dictator, tyrant, monster..."

He had one goblet, holding it out towards her in an offer to drink. Holding eye contact with Killian as he spoke smoothly, she took it politely and sipped. Ely knew it wouldn't be poisoned because he had taken a drink himself. Plus, Killian obviously had no desire to kill her, or else he would have in her earlier display.

No. She had to stay calm.

Ely had to seem compliant for the sake of Vanessa, herself and the people. Furthermore, the display of trust given by taking the offered drink could be a start to Killian letting her in. Every decision and response had to be meticulous. There was much more at stake than her own neck.

"The people...they do not understand ambition or else they fear it. They reject it," Killian continued his speech. "When they see a man not afraid to betray the world, they say he lacks scruples. When the world sees a man with true, substantial power, they rally against him to overthrow his power. When the world sees a man who has the vision to bring change, he is immediately an enemy of the people."

Pausing, Killian carefully watched Ely sip again, never taking her eyes from him. She swallowed her drink, letting silence linger for a moment before she replied.

"Every King has three groups in their Kingdom, My Lord," Ely smiled, nodding thoughtfully. She held the goblet back out to him. "Those that despise his ways, those that love him and then the most dangerous group, the neutral. Your lavish words are of no surprise to me. Even my Uncle had people who felt he ruled too leniently."