Ephemeral Affairs [MXM]

The Rise of Death

After the celebration is over for the night and Maeve has put his family to bed, he takes a stroll to find the lingering figure that has watched him since his arrival.

The night is quiet and even the slightest sound of the wind picking up the flower petals can be heard.

With each step Maeve takes, the air becomes thinner and colder.

At last as Maeve stands before a stable, he could tell it's the same pair of eyes that have been observing him closely.

So he calls out, "Master Lexin?"

"So I couldn't hide from you," the one named Jassin gets onto a horse. "Would you like to take a ride with me?"

"No. That wouldn't be appropriate."

Jassin jumps off the horse and goes to kneel before Maeve, "It's good to see you again, my Queen."

"It's good to see you too, Master Lexin, but if you are alive and well, why did you allow me to grieve for you?"

"My Queen," Jassin heaves a deep sigh with widgets on his back. "The Master Lexin you've known most sincerely died at that time. I am simply an ordinary man named Jassin."

Maeve's heart aches in sympathy and he begins to imagine how Jassin must've felt.

Jassin gestures to the nearby bench under the open sky without anything to obscure the view of them.

"Jassin," Maeve tries to say the new name as he sits on the bench and Jassin kneels before him still.

"My Queen, how have you been? Has the King been treating you better?"

Maeve nods with a gleeful smile, "Nillin has been good to me. It is I who has been keeping secrets."

"What kind of secret?"

"Secrets that I cannot tell anyone," Maeve sighs and looks up into the dark void of the heavens. "I want to stay with them longer."

"What makes you think your time is coming?" Jassin also stares into the dark night sky.

"I am sick, Jassin. Very, very sick. Sick enough to know that I don't have much time," Maeve whispers with a knot at his throat.

"Are you not going to tell at most your brothers?"

Maeve shakes his head, "They're going to blame my sickness on my husband, the man whom I love. They will send storms of ice and fire until there's nothing left of this land."

"Will they not listen to you?"

"Jassin..." Maeve looks into the soft morning blue eyes before him. "They did but I know my brothers. Their love is not forgiving. They love wholeheartedly with their honor in place. That is the heart of dragons."

"The heart of elves like what I have inherited from my mother and Mother-in-law is another odd one to say the least... It's a lonely heart. It's a heart that wants to hurt itself to feel alive."

"A mortal heart can sacrifice for the things that nobody will understand for selfish reasons or absolute selfless ones... It seems I have the latter two even when I was raised by the first. What do you think I have, Jassin?" Maeve forms a small weak smile.

Jassin looks away to the flower beds beside the bench, "Don't you get to choose to not be any of those?"

"You're as wise as ever, Jassin. No mortal's intelligence can compare to yours. Will you come back from the dead to help the man I love if I ask?"

A tear falls from Maeve's cheek.

Jassin closes his eyes and grinds his teeth, "I... I—"

The morning blues meet the angry sapphire blues from the balcony in a distance.

Maeve turns to see Nillin already jumping down from the balcony that is on the third story of the palace.

"He's going to kill me," Jassin says after a moment of lost in no thoughts.

The Queen stands up and hides Jassin behind him.

When Nillin gets close, Maeve goes to him, "Let's go back to bed."

"No." Nillin answers and walks around his wife to see an old face. "So you've been here all along, Lexin."

Jassin dares not to meet Nillin's glare and simply lowers his head to meet the ground.

Maeve pulls on Nillin's elbow, "I am tired. Let's go back to bed."

"Why are you with him?" Nillin grabs both of Maeve's shoulders. "Is he the reason you were so eager to leave the party so that you could come here? What really happened between the two of you when I was away in Kalor?"

"I wanted to make sure who he was. I wanted to leave early because I worry about the children and your sleep. Master Lexin and I are simply friends and nothing of what you're thinking."

And yet the rage and jealousy rises, "Why didn't you take me with you to meet him? You know more than anyone that I would want to meet him again if he is still alive."

Jassin gets up, "King Nillin, I cannot simply watch as you hurt your wife. Everything he did, does, and will do are all for your sake. Let go of him."

Nillin turns to face his old friend, "Are you claiming to know him more than I do?"

"No. I do not, Your Majesty." Jassin shakes his head pitifully. "But any random observer can see that you're hurting your wife. I do not know why your wife who was a warrior simply allowed himself to be crumbled at your feet."

"I'm not oppressing Maeve. I love him! You do not know anything!" Nillin grabs Maeve's elbow and takes a step toward their sleeping chamber.

"Just because he loves you does not mean you get to do whatever you want to him," Jassin claws Nillin's hand off Maeve's elbow.

Maeve quickly replies, "I'm okay. Please don't make this into an even bigger problem."

"No. I did not put him on a throne so that he could hurt you. I did it because I thought you would make sure he becomes a great ruler."

"It seems it has been a while since we have had a rough get together," Nillin let go of his grip on Maeve's elbow to snatch Jassin's collar.

Jassin also grabs onto Nillin's collar, "You're not my ruler. I'm glad Asandria breaks off from Aarth."

"Then why don't you go and rule Asandria?" Nillin taunts. "Are you scared that I will start a war against your puny island?"

"If I most certainly sits on Asandria's throne and you start a war against me, you will lose, Nillin. Not once have you ever won fairly against me," Jassin begins addressing Nillin in Lexin's voice.

"I hate you! You always think you're better than me. I am your King!"

"Not my damn King! Just my stupid little brother!" Jassin shouts back.

"Stop it, you two," Maeve goes to break them apart.

"What are you doing Maeve? Don't you see he's looking down on me? Destroying my legitimacy—"

"He is not. You're being delusional," Maeve says while pulling Nillin away from Jassin at the waist.

"You have a smart wife. Why don't you ever ask for his opinion?" Jassin jabs his head out.

"Let me go, Maeve. I'm going to punch that smirk off his ugly face," Nillin tears Maeve's arms apart and jumps to attack Jassin.

It is only after Jassin's smirk has been removed by a punch to the face that Nillin realizes Maeve has fallen unconscious with dead blood sipping through his clothes.

"Maeve!" Nillin rushes back to his wife. "What did I do? How did I hurt you?"