Chapter 55

Orion and I hoovered over the man on the floor and lifted him up.

His body was limp.

"Someone! Help the king!" Orion yelled.

Two servants rushed in and whisked him away in a matter of moments.

"Your majesty! Can you hear us? Your majesty?" They said as they dragged him away.

We were left alone in his chambers.

"I will go with them. Perhaps I can be useful." Galen said before following them. Orion and I were left in the king's quarters, unsure of what to do.

"What happened?" I asked Orion for his thoughts.

"I'm not sure. It seems that his health is unwell. He is old."

"Did we do this to him?"

"It wasn't us, Zander. He would have found out soon, regardless if we were the ones to tell him."

Darlington was a peaceful kingdom. I didn't want it to be corrupted. I couldn't imagine anyone in Darlington would support us after they thought we killed their king.

Orion studied me, seeing me lost in my worrisome thoughts. When I was drowning in them, he pulled me up for air.

He touched my shoulder. I turned to face him.

I don't know what had come over me. Perhaps it was the crave of comfort I longed for. Perhaps it was because I had feelings for Orion I could no longer overcome. I pushed my head onto his chest in an embrace.

"Sorry. I don't know why-." I tried to dart back.

He put his arms around me and pulled me in. His chest was so warm. It felt like a fire on a cold, winter night. I didn't want to leave his arms, and for once, I wasn't scared of being there.

The door opened without warning. I retreated from Orion.

"You are being summoned." A servant said.

We followed them down the stairs and to the other wing of the castle.

The door opened. Galen and another man I did not recognize stood over the king. He was in a bed.

"I'm alright I said!" The king said to the other man.

"Hello, I'm the palace doctor." The man greeted.

"Is be alright?" I asked the doctor.

"I said I'm fine! And that means I'm fine. Doctor, please give us a moment."

The doctor bowed and followed his king's orders.

He was laying on his back in the bed. Color was returning to his face.

"Sir I'm-"

The door bursted open.

"I came as soon as I heard! My gods, you look worse than I imagined! What did these damned fools do to you?"

A young man rushed to the side of the king. He was close to my age. His hair was dark, he had olive colored skin. He as wearing Darlington armor.

"Oh, Timothy! They didn't do a damn thing to me. I'm fine. I just had a little chest pain is all."

The man named Timothy thrned his focus on us. A vein was popping out of his forehead.

"You! You hurt him! You tried to kill him!"

"Enough with these wild accusations, Timothy! They did nothing of the sort!"

"Why don't you see? You were fine until these strangers got here!"

"Enough! I would like to speak to these people alone! Go now. I'll see you at dinner."

"But sir."

"I won't say it again."

Timothy sighed before heading towards the door. He didn't look at us on his way out.

"Now. Tell me, what is going on?"

I told the king about the war we were fighting. I told him how we were recruiting allies and how we went to Dewsbury, but no one was there. No bodies, no signs of life. It was like everuone packed up and left. I told him how Dewsbury was Vendov's next target.

He was quiet. Sullen.

"I see. Seems like you've had a long journey. We shall head down to dinner, you three need nourishment."

He seemed to have no interest in talking about the war, or Dewsbury. I was hoping he would be more willing to after dinner.

We were fed the freshest food I had ever consumed. The bread tasted like it was fresh from the oven, the vegetables fresh from the garden. Timothy ate at the grand dinner table with us, but remained quiet.

"We have pie brought here from the bakery a bit out of town. I've been asking the baker to come cook for the castle for years, but she prefers living out there. Can't say I blame her, seems rather peaceful." The king babbled.

We got up to end dinner. Our plates were cleared.

"Your majesty, I was wondering if I could speak with you."

"Of course. Perhaps we could go for a night stroll. Timothy, would you show these two to their rooms?"

"You don't want me to come with you? What if he hurts you?"

"Nonsense. Please. Do as I say."

Timothy returned his head low. Orion and Galen followed.

We parted ways, the king and I went through the kitchen doors to go outside. It was dark, the air was chilly. The candles in the castle window lit up the grounds, just enough to make things visible.

"I wanted to apologize," he said, looking at the tall king.

"I'm sorry for delivering terrible news immediately on our visit.

"Don't apologize, young man. The Dewsbury king leaving was not your doing," He said, his eyes sunk to his shoes. He did not hide his hurt.

"The king of Dewsbury meant a lot to you. Didn't he?"

He let out a depressed sigh and his pace slowed as we approached a wooden bench.

"Sit with me, please." He sat down. I joined him. The light from the castle candles made his face visible.

"We. We were good friends. We've known each other since we were very young. Both of our wives passed. Neither of us bore any children. I always thought we were similar. I never thought he would abandon me." His voice became weak.

"Sir. I must say you really cared about him. Were you perhaps more than friends?"

His stiff neck twisted toward me.

"You cannot tell a soul."

"I won't. I know what it's like."

"What it's like?" He questioned.

"I know what it's like to love another man, another king. I also know what it's like for that other king to abandon you. To hurt you."

Our situations were similar, there was no denying that. Mine and Samuel's love did not span decades though, only days.

"You do? What happened?"

"That's a long, complicated story."

"Tell me about it. Perhaps it'll make me feel better."

Upon his request, I told him about Samuel. How we disliked each other, then I fell deeply in love. How he protected me, and how I began to trust him. But it was all fake. It was all for show.

"That sounds much worse. I'm sorry. You don't deserve that. Neither did your parents, or your kingdom."

"That doesn't mean it's alright for the Dewsbury king to abandon you. It sounds like you cared about him for a long time."

"My entire life. And he just left. I would have followed him to the ends of the earth.. Now what do I do? I have nothing."

"You don't have nothing. You have your people, you have us."

"I don't know what will happen to Darlington when I pass. I never had any children. My advisors warned me about instability in the kingdom after I pass. They fear a civil war. I raised Darlington to be peaceful, I pray to gods it'll never come to that."

"And Timothy? Is he a. Friend?"

"Tim is like a son to me. He's a royal guard. Both of his parents were guards, but they died saving a family in a nearby fire. The staff and I raised Tim. He would be worthy of the throne, but I do not know if the people would accept him. Or if the weight of the crown would be too much for him to bear."

"Sounds like you have a lot on your mind. I am sorry to burden you with more troubling news, but Vendov is coming. They will go to Dewsbury and find nothing, then they will come to Darlington. The Vendov king is ruthless."

"I know, I met him many years ago. He was never a kind man. I vowed for us to be different here. We don't want any part of the war."

"No one does, but there aren't a lot of options. Vendov will come, and when he does, he will force you to be his ally, or burn Darlington."

His eyes widened in fear. His breathing sped up.

"Sir, I'm not trying to alarm you. It's just the truth. I'm sorry."

He deepened his breaths in an attempt to slow his rapid breath down.

"Let me think about it, King Zander. I will give you an answer by tomorrow. Is that alright?"

"Yes, sir."

He put his hands on his knees and pushed off the bench.

"Word of advice, young man. Don't let love get away from you. Don't wait until my age to make something happen."

He looked at me and turned his head towards the castle. In the window above him was Orion. He was in his sleep clothes, sitting in a chair with a book in his hands.The candles in the room gave him an enchanting glow, but it wasn't like he needed candles to do that. His eyes traveled across the pages, unaware that we were watching him.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. Goodnight, Zander."

"Goodnight, sir."

He left me alone in the darkness with a decision to make.

My heart had been broken, and burned. The ashes were crushed into oblivion.

Then, there was Carlo.

Then, there was Orion.

I spent my whole life told I wasn't allowed to have feelings. I had to marry who my parents wanted, I had to be a king. My entire existence was dedicated to Lafayette. I didn't do what they wanted. I didn't love Mavis in the way they wanted. I didn't rule Lafayette; I let it crumble before my very eyes. All because my heart told me to trust Samuel, to love Samuel.

My heart caused nothing but confusion, and every time I tried to shut it down, my feelings would only grow stronger.

Orion was strong and brave. Carlo was soft and sweet. I didn't want to bring Carlo into the corrupted life I had. He didn't deserve that. He deserved someone to peacefully watch stars with. Not that Orion didn't deserve that either, but he seemed focused on the mission at hand.

I decided to go to my own room and leave Orion to his reading. Perhaps he wouldn't want to be disturbed, I thought.

The bed was comfortable, I fell asleep fast.

I was waken with a gentle nudge.

"Zander." A familiar voice spoke.

My eyes flickered open. It was Orion. He was already  dressed for the day. A wave of embarrassment flooded me as I wiped the morning crud out of my eyes.

"Orion! What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Sorry to scare you! I just brought you breakfast." He held up a wooden tray with a hearty breakfast spread

"Oh. That's nice of you." I said, rubbing my eyes.

"Sorry, I should have let you sleep."

"No! This is great!" I sat up in the bed and accepted the wooden tray.

"Have you eaten?"

"Not yet."

"You can't bring me breakfast and not have any yourself! Take some!"

"It's alright, Zander. I-"

"Take some. There's so much here." I extended the tray. He took two pieces of toasted bread with butter, as well as a crisp apple.

"Thank you." He said, biting into the apple.

He sat at the foot of the bed near me. I began to eat as well.

"What did you and the king talk about last night?"

The memories of talking about love flooded my brain.

"Um. War. He said he'll let me know his decision by this morning."

"Strange, you think he would be up by now?"

"He wasn't feeling well yesterday, perhaps he's getting some necessary rest." I said.

"You're probably right. Zander. I wanted to talk to you about something this morning."

"What is it?" I said, swallowing a forkful of egg.

"You see.." His voice trailed off, his eyes dropped down to his sister's dagger at his side.

Suddenly, we heard commotion in the hallway. Loud, fast footsteps, and indistinguishable shouting.

Orion and I looked at each other before setting the tray aside and pushing open the door.

"Hurry! It's the king! He's dead!"