The Sun's Shadow

Chapter Fourteen

Indignant shouts mingled with pleas carried throughout the castle and nestled into the thick quiet where Ele sat eating breakfast. Those cries were familiar to her... The sound of a desperate mother attempting to reason with her child. The voices- that of the Queen's and her son- got closer until the cause of the argument became clear.

"I will not! And if you dare to bring this up to her-"

"You'll what?" Wylda spat. "I can banish her from the castle grounds, the entire Kingdom if need be for you to learn a lesson! You need to feed and if you're so set on her, then it shall be. Charles can numb her if you care for any pain it may cause-"

The doors swung open, needing only the gentlest of pushes since they hadn't been fully shut, and there they spotted her. Feeling numb to their topic of conversation, Ele carried on as if they hadn't entered the room and mechanically brought spoon to mouth repeatedly until the bowl of porridge and mixed fruits emptied.

From behind, she could hear one set of footsteps head for the kitchen while the other lingered. Soon they tiptoed to her and placed firm hands on the crest of the chair she sat in. She shivered when he slowly slid his hands around the curved stiles and allowed his fingers to brush the bare backs of her arms.

He leaned in, using his hold on the chair to slide it out a few inches so that he leaned over her.

"Finished with your breakfast?"

He sounded all too much like his father. Strong and noble, having been born into it and knowing nothing else. Fragments of the conversation she overheard last night upon sneaking into the castle came back to her, having nearly forgotten it after her head hit the lush pillows they provided.

Pieces connected between what she heard between the King and Queen to the argument the Prince just had with his mother. The words; 'feeding', 'faenix', 'darkness', 'curse' arose from deep within her consciousness.

"Ele? Are you done or...?" Kaanan took a seat beside the girl zoning out and held her eyes to get her attention. "You look like a demon visited you in your sleep last night. And I don't mean that as a joke, what happened?"

Clearly she arrived at the castle physically safe, but what about mentally? Kaanan scrutinized every crinkle in her forehead as she vanished into thought. To remind her that he could and wanted to listen to what troubled her, he gingerly placed his hand on hers and eased it into the air so she could sign to him.

Talk. His eyes begged.

Before she even had the chance to twitch her fingers, the Queen entered from the kitchen door with two plates in hand. "Kaanan, come join your mother for breakfast. It's been too long. Do you remember when we'd sneak back into the kitchen to snatch the remaining bacon? You were so joyful those days before..."

A monster invaded his soul and took refuge in the depths of his being.

"Anyways." Wylda chirped. The plates were laid down in front of her and the chair the Prince sat in. He looked very disinterested in this variety of food. The girl, on the other hand, looked very appetizing. The Queen slammed her hands down on the table. "For gods' sake Kaanan, be the Prince you are and claim her blood! I will not stand to watch you pining for her and not simply taking."

Kaanan ripped away from the table to stalk towards the door. Before placing a hand on the intricate knob, he let out an appalling snarl. "Not everything can be taken in life, mother. No matter what bloodline you're born into, that is not the proper way of thinking."

"You're most certainly right, my son. Except in this circumstance, the girl wishes to help you overcome whatever aversion to blood you may have. Even in your less... Pleasant state she wanted to help." She clasped her hands together and sighed. "All I want is for your health to endure and to see you on the throne when your father is ready to lay down the crown. Is that selfish of a mother to want?"