Ascension

“Seidon, they found Naeht.” I said.

Rain had asked me to find him. Luckily I didn’t have to go too far as he was already coming down the hall.

“I know, I saw. Where are they?” he said coming to stand beside me.

“They are in the assembly hall downstairs.”

“They are alone?” he said sounding alarmed.

“No Vitali and some other Guards are still there.”

“That means that he is still alone. We have to hurry.” he said increasing his pace.

“Rain isn’t going to kill him. We talked about it.” I said catching up to him.

“He might not kill him, but if I know my boys, he is definitely going to hurt him and badly too.” I immediately saw the need for the urgency behind his pace.

We met up on Diego just exiting the room. “Your Majesty could I speak to you for a minute?” he said.

I could hear the scuffle going on, on the other side of the door. “Could this wait for a few more minutes. I have to go inside.” I said trying to push through the door. The scuffle subsided minimally as Seidon had gone in.

“Please, this is important. There is something you need to know about . . .” he started.

“I am sorry, but it will have to wait a little longer. Nothing is as important as what is going on in there now. I am sorry.”

“I understand. It can wait.” he said opening the door for me to go in. “But here, you should see this.” he said placing a piece of paper in my hand. “Ensure that you read it.” he said earnestly.

“I will,” I said, as I pushed it in my pocket and went into the room. I didn’t look if he had followed me in as my eyes were peeled on all the faces of those in the room. Naeht’s face being the first. There were signs of wounding but they were quickly disappearing due to our fast healing rate. It seemed like Diego had saved me from the worst of the carnage. His arms were tightly held by Vitali and he was on the ground kneeling. He probably couldn’t stand as he seemed weak, with his muscles looking flaccid, just like mine did after I was dosed.

The whole aura of the room was intense. The air had suddenly become thicker and was stifling me. My breathing became measured as I tried to take it all in.

I could see the anger in Thorn’s eyes as they had once again become steel. This time they were shaped into daggers that were aimed directly at Naeht’s heart. Seidon’s face was strained, but it wore more signs of hurt and worry than it did of anger. The faces of the Guards in the room were serious and slightly curious.

“You are finally here. Too bad you got to miss the real face of your beloved husband.” His words were a bit slurred but he still managed to add a mocking edge to them.

“I didn’t miss anything and from what I can see, you didn’t get anything that you didn’t deserve. A small price to pay for high treason.” I said piquantly.

“Treason? A little trip with my sister-in-law is called treason. Why, isn’t this world just going crazy?”

“That was no trip as you put it. That connotes some form of willingness.” I shouted. “You drugged me on multiple occasions, threw me around, locked me up. That doesn’t constitute a trip in my book.”

“I was just helping you out Summer and I know that somewhere deep inside of you, you were hoping that someone would come and rescue you away from him and this place. You should be thanking the gods that that person was me. I don’t see that as treason, but as a favour. Now you are forever in my debt.” I looked at him to see whether or not he was joking, but he was dead serious.

“I don’t owe you a thing. A walk to the gallows maybe, but nothing else.”

“You don’t see it now but you will.” he said leeringly. I somehow detected that there was something more behind those words. It seemed like a threat or probably a drowning man clutching at straws. The straws being his wounded pride.

“I seriously doubt that,” I said dropping my voice. I could see that Thorn was about to hit him again but was being restrained by Seidon.

“I don’t understand son. Why did you do it?” asked Seidon.

“I am not your son.” he spat. “My mother is dead, thanks to giving birth to your spawn, so you can stop pretending like you care. I have officially relieved you of your fatherly duties,” he said with a cynical laugh.

“I have always treated you as a son. You are my son.”

“No, I am not. The only son you have is standing over there.” he said lifting his chin towards Thorn. “I was always the second-class citizen in your house Seidon. All of your efforts were directed towards making your real son’s life perfect. He gets all of this, Summer, everything. I just wanted to know how it felt for once not to be living under the shadow of some child.” he said with a short laugh. “I don’t care what you want to do with me. You can chop me and use me as fish food or burn me into cinders,” he said looking at me. “I still wouldn’t be sorry for what I did. If I had the chance, I’d do it over a thousand times until I finally got it right.”

“That. Is. Enough.” said Rain through his teeth. “We don’t have to listen to this anymore. Someone take this ungrateful bastard out of my face before I do something I really am going to enjoy.” the look in Rain’s eyes were terrifying and I could see his arms shaking from having to restrain himself.

“Rain!” said Seidon in a warning tone.

“Everyone else except Vitali wait outside.” I said to the other two Guards. “You are under an oath of secrecy. Nothing said here should be repeated as there will be dire consequences.” I said replicating Seidon’s tone. The two officers nodded their assent before leaving.

“Did you not hear everything he just said?” asked Thorn seethingly.

“Yes, but they were constructed to get a response out of you, which he succeeded to do.” said Seidon with an inexplicable calm. “I am tired,” he said holding his head down. “I need to get some air or rest. Rain, Aurora I think you two will make the best decision regarding what to do with the. . . prisoner.” he said giving Naeht a final glance before walking out.

“Well brother, what will it be? Sharks or cinders? I would personally prefer cinders as who wouldn’t want to die at the hands of a beauty.” he mocked.

“I know that you have some sort of a death wish brother, and I would be more than elated to grant you that wish. But my wife asked me to reconsider that option.” said Thorn through his teeth. “She may be right, somehow death seems like too easy a way out.” he said suddenly more calmly. “Vitali want you to take him to the holding cells. It has been a long day. Maybe tomorrow he will get his wish. Who knows.” he said turning his back.

I on the other hand watched as he was being dragged out the door. His dark eyes held their derisive glare and never left mine until the door separated us. I walked over to Thorn and stood behind him. I rested my hands on his shoulders.

“That was one of the hardest things I had to do. I wanted to…” he started.

“I know,” I whispered.

“He doesn’t know how lucky he was that you were here.” he said turning around suddenly.

“It has been a long day. You’re tired. How about I meet you upstairs.” I suggested.

“Where are you going?”

“To talk to your dad. This has to be hard on him too.”

“You’re right. I’ll come with you.”

“No, I think I should talk to him alone. I’m neutral ground for the most part. There might be things that he wants to say but will not be able to say to you.”

He inhaled deeply. “I’ll be upstairs.” he said starting for the door.

“Wait, any clue where he might have gone?”

“You should check his room first.” he said stopping.

“In that case, I will walk up with you then.” I said going up to him and I slipped my hand in his and we walked at a measured pace upstairs.

“Tell him I said that I was sorry for reacting the way I did.” he said as he dropped me off at his father’s door.

“I will,” I said giving him a kiss on the cheek. His smile was slight and disappeared as quickly as it was formed. He then continued up the stairs. I tapped quietly on the wooden door which was similarly decorated as the one in the rest of the palace. There wasn’t a response so I turned the knob and let myself in.

“Seidon, are you here?” I said still holding the door knob.

“I am out here Aurora.” the room was empty but the voice was coming from the balcony.

He was sitting on the ledge with both feet hanging over as he looked out towards the lake. He was also smoking a cigarette, something I’d never seen him do. Although admittedly I’d never really spent that much time around him to notice any of his habits as I was always too busy mooning over his son.

“Where is Rain?” he asked as he took in another draw.

“Upstairs in his room,” I said coming to sit beside him. “He said to tell you that he was sorry for the way that he acted.”

“I understand his behaviour. He was angry and had good reason to be. He was betrayed by someone close to him. That made the hurt much more I guess.”

“I know what he feels. I think you do too.”

He nodded. “I’ve been trying for a long time to somehow get, to force those two to act like brothers, but all my efforts were wasted. They were complete opposites of each other. It was like the enmity between them was inborn, as if they were destined to be each others’ enemy. I’ve always wondered why that was. I still haven’t found an answer for it.” he said taking another draw from his cigarette.

“I don’t know either, maybe the answer is like you said, inborn. Some people weren’t meant to get along. Unfortunately for us, it happened to be two persons who we happen to love.”

“Unfortunately,” he repeated.

“I didn’t know you smoked. I didn’t even know that you could get cigars here. It’s a bad habit. If you wanted to end your life rat poison is a much quicker way of doing it.” I said softly, trying to break the silence that had developed between us. I was joking of course, but when he didn’t answer, I’d immediately started to regret saying it. “I’m sorry, that was very insensitive.”

“It is okay daughter. You are right. This is unhealthy. I had quit just after meeting Rain’s mother. As you know, she was pregnant at the time and I knew if I smoked I wouldn’t be able to spend as much time as I wanted with her as it would be bad for her and the baby. But that was a long time ago.” he said taking another draw. “I started again a few weeks ago. Things were just beginning to get complicated.”

“I am sorry about that. I guess Rain and I could have handled things a lot better to take off some of the load of you.”

“Me smoking isn’t anyone’s fault but my own. You are probably right about the rat poison thing too, but I hear lung disease is horrible, probably if lucky enough, it will be the just reward for my failures.”

“You cannot blame yourself for Naeht’s actions. He brought this all on himself. He knew what he was doing, when he did what he did. You had no part in that.”

“My mind is telling me that over and over, but I refuse to believe it. I am his father despite what he says. When I see my sons succeed, I feel like I have succeeded as well. When I see them fail or do something one cannot be proud of, it becomes my shame too.

“Before Rain died, I’d promised her that I would take care of our children and to let no harm befall them. I’d promised to pass on the love that she had for them through my own love. But it seems that I have failed at even that. One son feels cheated and that he has been cheated his whole life, but the truth is that I love them equally.

“I must admit that I did become obsessed with the prophecy, wanting and working assiduously for it to come true, not recognizing that by pushing one towards ascension I was alienating the other. It was my alienation that has caused the problems we are now facing.” he said as he flicked the burnt-out stub out into the darkness. “I just would like to ask a favour of you and Rain.” he said turning to face me for the first time.

“Sure, anything,” I said, willing to do anything to make him feel better.

“Have mercy on him, please. Do anything, but don’t kill him.” He said unleashing the depth of his eyes in mine. It was like I was looking straight into his soul as he pleaded with me. It was amazing what just having a title and a little power can do. Those that are older and probably much wiser than yourself, now look to you for help. The feeling was both overwhelming and scary.

Seidon had become sort of a father figure to me. The one who I’d look to for guidance or for a favour. Now he was the one asking for our help. This felt weird and wrong, as I’d gotten so used to it being the other way around.

“We are not going to kill him. I promise.” I said.

“Thank you,” he said and he turned back to look out at the picturesque view in front of him. “That will definitely make me sleep easier tonight.”

“I should probably go and check on Rain now,” I said getting up from off the ledge. “Are you going to be alright?”

“Yes, thank you for enquiring.” he turned to me with a soft smile. “I am very happy that my son has you at his side.”

“There is no place else I would rather be,” I said holding down my head a little embarrassed. “Goodnight Seidon and no more smoking okay.” I said holding my head back up.

“Goodnight daughter,” he said with the smile remaining.

I braced myself off the ledge and walked off the balcony and out of his room. I walked quickly up the stairs before coming to a sudden stop. I turned around slowly before sinuously sitting on the step. Those moments there with Seidon were intense. I had to come to love him very much and it was hard to see him in that amount of anguish.

The anguish I couldn’t take away, but at least I could probably help. I had promised him that we weren’t going to kill Naeht, but I wasn’t the Grand Lune. My husband had the final say in such matters. I knew that I had already put forward my arguments to Thorn and he said he would think about it, but nothing was set in stone and he might change his mind.

I had made a promise, it was up to me now to ensure that I kept it. I wiped away the few streaks of tears that had brimmed over unto my face and got up. I walked with renewed vigour and purpose towards his chambers.

I heard the piano playing from the outside and I stopped to listen. I wasn’t a fan of classical music so I couldn’t tell if it was one of the famous compositions or something that he had written himself.

At first, the melody was soft, sad, mirroring the present gloom that shadowed us all. The sadness then drifted into darker, more ominous keys. Then, it stopped. Silence remained. I opened my eyes, not quite sure when I’d closed them, but his music always put me into a wandering mood, as it took me places deep within myself. Places I never knew existed.

“Rain,” I called softly as I let myself in. He didn’t answer. I saw the curtains leading outside whipping around. There was no wind here, so someone had passed through them. Like father like son came to mind as the curtains led to the balcony. It wouldn’t have surprised me if I found him sitting with his legs hanging over the ledge.

I leaned against the eves of the opening with the curtains behind me. The icy material was prickling at my skin, but it otherwise wasn’t cold. He wasn’t sitting as I’d imagined, but was standing, leaning on the banisters as his fists were supporting his head.

“That is quite a stance, not that I mind.” I said lightly.

His head turned causing the silky black hair to slide from his back around to his chest. He had cut it at neck length for our wedding but it had grown almost to mid-back since then.

“Isn’t that my line.” He said as his lips curved up in a smile.

“Yeah, but I borrowed it. I was actually waiting for an occasion on which I could use it too.” I said returning his smile. “I see that Diego isn’t at his post.”

“Let him off early.” He then waved for me to come and stand beside him.

“That doesn’t seem like much punishment. In fact, he appears to have more free time than anyone else on the Guard.” I said leaning into the banister.

“That is punishment. For someone who was always on high-risk missions for Ay, doing nothing is like their own kind of hell.”

“Well, you know what they say about idle hands.” That proverb had been beaten into my mind by my primary school teacher.

“In that case Diego’s are safe. The devil I believe has busy using others to do his work.” He replied stiffly. “I don’t want to talk about Diego or the Devil anymore.” He said in a lighter tone as he laced his arm around my waist.

“Okay, what do you want to talk about then?” I knew what I wanted to talk about but he might have other opinions about that. By asking, I was just leaving the door open for all the possibilities.

“How is dad doing? Did you talk?” My plan was working.

“Yes, we did talk. He isn’t doing too well, but he is dealing with it. This isn’t something that he is happy about or will get over quickly. It is tearing him in two actually.” I said as I remembered the broken expression on Seidon’s face while we spoke. “Naeht is his son, so naturally he wouldn’t want to see any harm coming to him.”

“I know,” It sounded like a sombre acceptance as a decision has finally been made. “That’s why I’m not going to kill him.” He tacked on quietly.

I felt instant relief when he said these words. “Seidon will be relieved to hear that.” He only nodded. “How are you?” I knew that he was angry, but no one really asked we just assumed from his body language. But sometimes body language never says it all.

“I am dealing with it.” He said simply. I waited for him to continue but he didn’t. My open door had just closed.

“Oh,” I said wondering if I should try a new door. “I know that you are hurting too Rain, but if you don’t want to talk about it now, I just want you to know that I am always here to listen.” I said turning to face him.

“I know,” he said. His eyes melted into a soft expression as he brushed his finger along my cheeks, turning me gooey in the middle. “I can always count on you, I know that. I haven’t told you this as much as I should, even more so with all that goes on around here, but I love you.” He said as his hands nestled the nape of my neck.

“I love you too.” As simple as the words were they were the truth and would always be the truth for us. That decision was made for us, even before there was even an us. But it would remain as long as there was an us.