Duty and Destiny

Randi stood at the palace doors to welcome Xander. It had been a while since he had heard any news from home. He was anxious especially since the last thing he had heard was about his father’s illness.

“Prince Randi,” he bowed as he was supposed to before taking his hand.

“What news of my father?” he asked anxiously.

“I’m afraid he is getting worse,” he tried his best to eliminate the pleasure from his voice. “But I bring good news.”

“What is it?”

“Maybe we should join the rest of the family first,” he insisted on using the term family. This was going to be part of his family very soon.

Xander waited until they were all quiet in the family room before he spoke. “King Gabrielle, Queen Leora and Princess Adalia have sent me with good news. Princess Adalia is to be married at the end of the week. And I am her intended husband,” he took pleasure form the gasps of shock echoing through the room.

“I don’t believe it,” it was Novia who cut through the heavy silence. “Adalia was too in love with my brother to marry someone else.”

“Your brother is dead, and life has to move on,” Xander pointed out in a matter-of-fact tone.

“My sister is going to marry? I don’t believe it. The last I heard she wouldn’t leave her room or see anyone,” Randi shook his head in disbelief. He felt like there was something that wasn’t been said. “What did father do to get her to marry you?”

Xander didn’t like the tone in his voice. It was like he was saying that there was an error in that decision. “Your father is dying. Your sister’s erratic and weird behavior has cost her the confidence of the soldiers. No man will go out to fight with a weak hearted pining woman leading them.”

Randi took a step forward out of anger. “Watch it that is my sister you are insulting.”

“It wasn’t an insult your highness, it was an observation,” he bowed hiding his smug grin. “I apologize for offending you. I have to leave now. There are things that need my attention back home.”

No one escorted Xander out as he left the palace.

Lionell was troubled by Gabrielle’s decision. He understood the reason behind it, but something just didn’t sit well with him. “Something isn’t right. Randi we will leave for your home in three days. Maybe then we will find out the whole truth.”

***

Adalia was waiting for Xander at the palace gates. She had heard of his journey to the North, but she had been too late to stop him. “What do you think you are doing?”

“I just went to inform your brother and your extended family of the good news,” he tried to kiss the back of her hand, but she pulled away.

“What good news. Don’t try my patience Xander. Might I remind you that Conan has a much better reputation then yours and he does have sons?” She spat out. “The ceremony coordinator is waiting for you in the ballroom, and you need to pick out fabrics.”

Xander swallowed the insult but promised to pay it back tenfold once they were married.

***

Archer put all his mind into regaining the strength back in his left arm. But no matter how hard he tried he didn’t have enough time to strengthen his left wing. Every time he tried to get it out of the folds of his skin he couldn’t. Only his right wing would spring out, it was still strong but without the left it was useless.

“You shouldn’t push yourself too hard,” Fiona always sat a distance away watching him, half expecting him to reopen his wound or damage his other wing. But each day she watched him she realized that she was developing a fondness towards him. She stood up and went to him.

“Relax,” she hummed as she massaged his left shoulder. “You are too tensed, and you are stressing your arm out.”

Archer relaxed at her touch, but his urgency was still there. “I only have a day left. I need to push myself even harder.”

“But you also need to give yourself time to heal.”

He put his hand over hers to stop her. “I will once I have saved my family and exposed whoever is behind this scheme.”

“You don’t believe its Adalia do you?” She walked around him so that she could face him.

“That’s what my heart tells me. But my head-,” he was fighting this battle within himself that he knew whatever happened he would still loose.

“What does your head say?”

“My head says that everything I felt while I was with her, the love the joy, that it’s all too good to be true,” Archer found it hard to settle this war between what he knew and what he felt.

“How do you feel about this place?” Fiona asked a smile radiating from her lips.

“It’s peaceful. Everything is simpler and I don’t have any responsibility. I have fallen in love with this place, and I could easily call it home,” he looked up in the sky and saw the litter of stars.

“Why don’t you?” she took his hands in hers. “Why don’ you stay? You will be happy here, I could make you happy.”

Archer chose to ignore her last statement. There was no way he could betray Samson after all the help he had given her. He couldn’t hurt Fiona either. She had nursed him back to health when he thought he was dead. “I can’t stay here. I have responsibilities.”

“What responsibilities?”

He didn’t see the need to hide the truth from her anymore. Soon his identity would be known to her and to the whole colony. He decided to tell her before she heard it from somewhere else. “My name is not Arthur. I am Archer Crown Prince of the Northern kingdom, and I have to go home and save my family.”

Fiona’s jaw dropped and froze there.

“Say something,” he put his hand on her elbow, shaking her gently.

“Your highness?” it was a statement, but it sounded more like a question.

“Call me Archer,” he could see her pull away. Their relationship was sinking into the royal and civilian, but he didn’t want that. Fiona had nursed him back to life and he owed her his life.

“I can’t do that,” she took a couple of steps back in retreat. “You are the Crown Prince and lost to me forever.”

Archer was about to go after her, but he saw Samson. He looked like he had been watching everything that had been unfolding between him and Fiona. He walked over to him, ready to go on his crusade alone. Sure, that Samson was angry with even though he hadn’t gotten the chance to talk to his daughter.

“I’m sorry,” Archer apologized before a single word was exchanged between them.

“What happened?”

“I told her who I was,” he sighed. “I told her I was Archer, Crown Prince of the Northern Kingdom.”

“It’s a good thing you did. She needs to know that any fantasies she has for the both of you cannot happen,” Samson marched back into his hut.

“Are we set to leave?” Archer didn’t want to know what he meant by ‘fantasies’. He was still trying to mend his already broken heart. He thought he had been betrayed by the woman he loved, he wasn’t about to go down the same road one more time.

“We move out tonight. Hopefully the dark will cover us. We don’t want anyone to know what we are up to,” Samson began to throw some things together that they would go with on their journey.

Archer sat outside, watching the little colony he had called home for a few weeks. Everything seemed peaceful easy. He was tempted more than once to just stay here, let everyone think he was dead. But he had to protect his family from whatever plan he thought Adalia had.

When the night fell, he used his thumb to block out the moon. He looked at the stars littered around the silver flames. Each and every one of them was like his people and they were waiting for him.

“Archer!” Samson tossed a scabbard his way.

Archer drew out the sword inside and he was stunned to see that it was his. His fingers smoothed down the silver blade, over the engraved symbols and embedded white diamonds. He wrapped his fingers around its tilt, and then flexed it around, slicing into thin air. “I can’t believe you had this all this time.”

“A day after Fiona brought you here. I went to the place where she found you. That was lying in the grass.”

“Thank you,” he replaced the blade back into its sheath and tied it around his waist, vowing that it would never leave his side again.

Archer was preparing to leave. But he hadn’t seen Fiona since that afternoon. He had to see her, apologies for what could not be and thank her for what she did for him. He dropped his bag at the door and walked to the well where he expected to find her with her friends. But he met Lola first. He lifted the little girl in his arms and hugged her.

He then put her down. “Be a good girl.”

“Are you going to come back?”

Archer wasn’t sure what the answer to that was. Of course, he wanted to come back but he didn’t know what was waiting for him at the South or at home. He couldn’t make any promises just in case he died.

“Are you?” Fiona was standing behind her sister wearing the same expression Archer was.

“I can’t promise you that. But I will try,” he looked into her eyes and could see the glint of tears in her eyes.

Fiona pulled Lola back, and with a cold firm voice she said. “You better leave then.”

***

Adalia sat next to her bedroom window staring out at the moon. Her heart was heavy. She couldn’t believe that she would be waking up to a morning where she would have to marry Xander. The thought wasn’t exactly repulsive to her, besides she did agree to marry him months back, but she felt wrong. She had seemed to reach a state of hopelessness and despair. Without Archer she had spun into a panic of loneliness and even debated suicidal thoughts. But she couldn’t be that selfish. She had to think of her people and marrying Xander was a way of showing them that she was dedicated to them.

She heard her door screech open. Adalia turned around to find her mother standing at the door a solemn look on her face. Immediately she thought that her father had grown worse.

“Is father alright?” she jumped up to her feet and marched to the door.

“He’s fine. He can’t seem to keep anything down. But strangely enough all that throwing up seems to be doing him some good,” Leora pulled her towards the bed. “I’m worried about you.”

“Why?” she grinned back despite herself. “I’m fine, excited even. Tomorrow I will be taking my vows.”

“I know you are lying. You don’t want to do this. The only reason you are is because your father asked you to,” Leora felt guilty. She was never forced to marry Gabrielle. She was in love with him and by good grace he was too. They got married without facing any opposition from anyone. Now here was her daughter mourning the death of the man she loved while being pushed into another man’s arms so that she could claim her birth right as Queen.

“You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to,” she was trying to give her an option, to make sure Adalia knew that she could change her mind. It was her way of making her feel like she had a choice and also a way of relieving some of the guilt crushing down on her heart.

“You know I don’t. We are at the brink of war with the rebels. The soldiers don’t think I can lead them without a man by my side. I am going to give them exactly that,” she walked towards a wall and stared at it. Reminding herself that any decision or choices she would want to make would be met by a wall. She was caged in by her duty towards the Southern people. She wasn’t born with choices but duty weighing down on her shoulders.

“Adalia-,”

“Mother please!” she swallowed hard then spun around to face her. “I need my beauty rest. Tomorrow is going to be a long taxing day.”

Leora left the room without uttering another word.

Adalia returned to the window. She looked out and saw what was awaiting her. The death and frailty of the cups that held passion. The droughts of laughter and all the life of woman split into dust. She blew a kiss out to the moon. “I love you, Archer.”

Leora found her daughter sitting next to the window as the first ray of sunlight slithered into her room. She didn’t look like she had had a wink of sleep.

“Do you want to take a nap first?” She took her by the shoulders and led her to the bed.

“Just five minutes, then I have to get married to Archer,” she moaned.

“Xander,” her mother corrected.

“Yes Xander,” Adalia pulled the covers over her head and closed her eyes.