Zerath froze. Veloria stood before him, trembling with cold fury. He rose immediately, panic twisting in his chest. Over the years, he had always made it a point to visit the Royal Graveyard only after Nefarion and Veloria had finished their visit.
Veloria approached, supported by her sister, Xeraphine. Zerath stared at her, realizing it was no coincidence.
"How dare you show your face here?" Veloria trembled.
She glanced at the tombstone - a sight that always pierced through her heart like a poisoned arrow. But what infuriated her more than anything else was Zerath's presence and the bouquet of white flowers that hadn't been there before.
"Tell me why you're here!" She gasped breathlessly. "You are not allowed to come here and visit my child!"
"Moth-Your Majesty," Zerath forced himself to stay calm. "I was only-"
"You were only what…!" Tears slid down her cheeks, gaze burning with indignation. "I made it very clear to never show your face here. So why are you here? Don't tell me you're actually mourning for him as his younger brother? He's the only child I had, and he has nothing to do with you!"
The words stung him as though he was drowning in a sea of poison. He thought he had grown used to her bitterness over the years, and yet every single cutting word blazed through him like a fresh injury.
"Your Majesty, it's not like that…"
"Then how should I see this?" Her jaw clenched. "You waited for us to leave so you could come here? Have you been fooling me all these years? How dare you sully my child's memory with your presence…" she broke down.
"Sister, please…" Xeraphine held her quivering shoulders, "Hold yourself together."
She shot a seething look at Zerath. "You know how my sister feels, so how could you stoop this low? The only thing she asks of you is to keep your distance from her and her child. You're already recognized as Rudaheim's Crown Prince and enjoy every luxury that should have been her son's. What more could you possibly want?"
Luxury…
A forlorn smile touched his lips.
"The only luxury I wish for is Her Majesty's acceptance."
Veloria balled her fists. "How could you even think you'd have my acceptance? I was always against this adoption! Why should I be forced to accept a child I never wanted?" her vision blurred. "I wanted my child to live and grow up and be happy…Why should I smile when my son's life and future got snatched away from him?"
Zerath's eyes ached. "Your Majesty, I didn't mean to hurt you."
"Get out! Get out of here! He's my son, not your brother!" She screamed, and collapsed onto her knees, sobbing.
Zerath reached for her instinctively, but she slapped his hand away in disgust. "Do not touch me!"
"Please leave, Zerath," Xeraphine said, distraught, "Don't antagonize her more than you already have. Or are you so selfish to keep hurting her as long as it serves your own purpose?"
Zerath stared at his weeping mother vacantly. "I will…leave."
"Take your flowers with you," Veloria breathed unevenly. "He doesn't need your flowers. Don't treat him like he's dead. H-He'll come back to me one day…Yes, one day for certain…" she choked.
Zerath knelt and picked his flowers, a tightening weight suffocating his chest. His coat fluttered as he passed Veloria, the burden of her tears which felt a hundred mountains bludgeoning upon him.
—
"Are you done over there? What kind of a slowpoke are you?"
Silas kicked Fenrik's back, nearly pushing him into the blazing fire.
"Brother Silas! Do you want to burn me to death?" He asked, coughing violently with the smoke he inhaled.
"If you'll be a hindrance to my work, then yes. That arrow is so lackluster. You won't be able to hunt even a rabbit with that," he grimaced.
"Because I'm not a weaponsmith!" He cried. "I want to be your disciple, but you've made me your servant. When will you take me as your disciple?" He sniffled.
"When you prove yourself to be useful."
"I'm the young lord of one of the Great Three. How am I not useful?"
Silas sneered. "Is your wealth and status going to fight for you on the battlefield? The last I checked, you aren't the Blessed, so how exactly are you useful to me?"
"W-Well…"
"If you don't complete forging these hundred arrows by the end of the day, go back to your shiny mansion, or I'll throw you there myself."
"Brother Silas, you're so unfair. Why am I being dumped with all the grunt work while that brat gets to be your disciple!" He pointed at Eurus unreservedly.
Eurus was on the other side of the shop, hammering the metal scraps with tireless commitment. Sweat poured down his forehead, and he gasped for air. But there wasn't a single moment of rest. Hammering and hammering and more hammering - that were his days in a nutshell. At one point, he quietly summoned a bit of his ice magic for some relief. But when a small metal ball landed right on the top of his head, every bit of his future courage got dissolved with it.
He looked up. Silas loomed above him with a lethal smile.
"I can see how Sir Draconis's training is improving your magic control - but dare use your ice in my shop again and you're dead."
Eurus frowned, grudgingly accepting his sweat as his badge of honor.
Silas turned to Fenrik. "You want to switch now?"
Though jealous, Fenrik found his current workload far more appetizing as he watched Eurus's arms close to snapping off his shoulders entirely.
A knock came at the door, and Silas brightened. "A customer!"
But when his gaze met Zerath, he shut the door right in his face without a second thought.
"Sadly, my hopes got murdered."
"How could you shut the door on Brother Zerath like that?" Fenrik gasped. "Don't you have a heart?"
"Right now, my heart is this close to dumping you into that fire altogether."
He heard a knock again and clicked his tongue.
"There's absolutely no reason for the Crown Prince to visit this humble trinkets shop. How about you visit the next shop in line? They sell delicious crab cakes there," he said in a louder voice.
Eurus shot past him at lightning speed and pulled the door open.
"You just wanted to escape the hammering, didn't you?" Silas squinted.
He chose to ignore that allegation and beamed at Zerath, hugging his leg. Zerath looked down at him and smiled, ruffling his head. "You have grown taller now. Your body doesn't look so brawny anymore either. I see you've been working hard."
His nose elongated with pride.
"Brother Zerath!" Fenrik jumped on his back, wrapping his arms around his neck. "Are you here to play with us too~?"
Silas looked surprised. "Oh? I didn't know your current workload felt like playtime to you."
"Ah? N-No, that's not what I meant-"
"Two hundred arrows by the end of the day," Silas said with a sunny smile.
Fenrik turned into stone.
Silas leaned against a beam of pillar and studied Zerath's expression. "The palace doesn't lack beds."
Zerath smiled wearily. "It does lack your sarcasm."
"Don't talk to me and don't complain about the heat."
Zerath freed himself from the stoned Fenrik and patted Eurus on the head. "Continue with your work. Don't mind me."
As he disappeared into the back room, Fenrik scratched his head. "Did he only come here to sleep on your bed? Isn't that…strange?"
Silas squinted. "Not so strange, after all."
—
Zerath laid flat, his back turned to the door, watching Casca's people pass through the busy market streets. Strangely enough, the hustle and bustle felt calming to his ears.
Zerath had always loved the streets. Though the palace was his home now, he had never once forgotten how melodious the streets sounded. Life was certainly harsh back then with its own shares of ups and downs, but during tough times, he still found himself being drawn to his old world. He took the small white petal from inside his robe and held it in his open palm.
"I told you. You'd get caught one day."
Zerath paused for a beat and smiled faintly. "I thought we weren't talking."
"I thought it was important to highlight your needless courage, which I had warned you about - repeatedly."
Silence.
"How did you get caught though? Aren't you careful?"
"She was with Madam Xeraphine."
"Ah. I was wondering when that snake of a woman would show her true colors."
Silas could imagine how exactly that confrontation would have transpired.
"Is it so hard to give up on her acceptance?"
"Is it so hard to accept me?"
"Do you find me swooning all over you?"
Zerath smiled. "I know you like me to the point you want to kill me."
"The point is that the old man adores you like you're his lifeline. Could that not be enough for you?"
"It's a sin to be greedy, isn't it?"
"It's a sin to be chasing after something so fruitless," he yawned lightly and stared at the ceiling.
"The problem was never her acceptance. She's stuck - she wants to be stuck at the same place. You can't save someone from drowning when they've chosen to sink."