Meanwhile, inside the room, Cessilia had stepped in without a sound. The door closed behind her, a bit too loudly. This place was bigger than she had thought, but it was still pretty bare and dark. There were only two windows on each side. In fact, it didn’t seem like a place to live in at all, more of an office.
A large table was in the middle of the room, dozens of papers spread on it. As she walked closer, Cessilia realized most were maps. They were complex, but not for an Imperial Princess. She could easily decipher the military language and various little crosses and dots on it. It was a very simple version of the Kingdom’s map, cleared up to show the Royal Army’s lines of attacks, and the places still belonging to the enemy, mostly mercenaries, if she aligned this with Naptunie’s previous explanation. Just as she had said, the King was still deeply involved with “cleaning” those areas of the robbers and criminals controlling them...
“I told you to let me rest.”
The deep, grumpy voice came from the opposite side of the room. Cessilia heard the bed creaking before he sat up. Even in the darkness, his white hair was glowing like a halo around him, as it was capturing every bit of light possible. The King sat up, his large hand rubbing his face, still unaware of who had come to see him. He was obviously asleep just a second ago and trying to move his stiff muscles around. Then, his eyes slowly rose from behind that hand, and he finally saw her.
A few seconds of heavy silence ensued, and Ashen stood up. Cessilia was tall, but the King was even taller. Anyone else standing there would have been naturally intimidated by his height and large build, but not the Princess. Fearlessly, Cessilia withstood his glare.
“Free C-Counselor Yassim,” she said.
“So that’s why you’re here?” he scoffed. “This isn’t your business, Cessilia. Leave.”
“You c-can’t k-keep him locked away. T-tell them to free him.”
“This is my Kingdom!” he suddenly roared. “I don’t take orders from you!”
His voice resonated in the room, loud as a storm, but Cessilia didn’t flinch. She didn’t avert her eyes, and instead, her green irises only went colder, like a wave of silent anger growing. However, the infuriated King wasn’t impressed either. He stepped forward out of the shadows and faced her from the other side of the table. Just like before, he was half-naked, his scarred chest going up and down with his heavy breathing.
“I decide who gets imprisoned or not,” he continued. “Did you think I’d obey you right away like a good boy? You thought wrong. I am the King and I am the only one who decides what happens to my subjects.”
“What d-did you imprison C-Counselor Yassim for? B-because he b-brought me here?” she retorted, not backing down.
“That is none of your business, I said.”
“D-didn’t you imprison the C-Counselor b-because of me? Why d-don’t you arrest me t-too, then?”
“Watch it, Cessilia,” he tilted his head. “Don’t push it. This isn’t your family’s Empire, this is my land, my Kingdom. ...Do you even know how many people already protested about your presence?”
“You’re th-the one who allowed me t-to stay, d-didn’t you?” she retorted.
The King silently clenched his fists. His actions had been contradictory from the start, and they both knew it. Cessilia was right, but it only made him even madder that the Princess could hold on to his weakness for her like this. She wasn’t afraid of him, and she was even disturbingly calm while confronting him. He would have rather had her fear him, hate him.
“Enough,” he said, averting his eyes from her.
“Ashen.”
He got goosebumps from hearing his name, from her lips. Again. He was about to glance her way but resisted. He didn’t want to see those large, green eyes and what they could do to him.
“I said enough. Go away.”
“No. Free C-Counselor Yassim.”
“I said I won’t!” he roared. “Why are you so obsessed with that old man? Why do you care what happens to him?! He’s my counselor, I will do what I want with him, and you have no say in my decisions! This isn’t your father’s castle, it’s mine!”
He realized he had said too much one second too late. He stepped back, pissed with himself.
“Is th-this about my d-dad? ...D-do you still resent my f-father?”
“Resent him? Cessilia, do you even realize what he did to me? ...Your father threw me away. He sent me back to my Kingdom, knowing exactly what I risked by coming back here. He refused to help me! Do you remember how young I was? Do you have any idea what I suffered to come back here, to take my throne back? It could have been all over if he had just helped me!”
“...He d-did help you,” muttered Cessilia.
This time, she was the one averting his furious gaze, her green eyes looking down. Her hands were trembling, and it was getting a bit harder to breathe. The golden choker felt too tight around her throat. She stepped back without realizing it, not in fear, but because she was uncomfortable. Ashen’s anger was too hard to watch.
“Helped me?” scoffed Ashen’s ice-cold voice. “Your father barely took pity on me. He did what he had to do not to be a monster, and then he threw me back into this horrid war, without looking back. Do you know what he told me that night? Never to come back into the Empire again. He didn’t care what was going to happen to me, he couldn’t bother with me anymore. He took pity on me as if I was a street dog, and sent me back to hell again. You think your father helped me? He gave me hope, the hope that I was finally going to have a real man I could count on. Someone who would really help me, help my Kingdom. But no. He just took that hope, and then he wrecked it all!”
“D-didn’t you succeed, th-though? You b-became the K-King, Ashen. J-just like you wanted...”
The King slowly shook his head, smirking in disbelief. He took another step forward, his legs almost hitting the table. He wasn’t trying to get closer to her; his hands moved to show the many, many scars on his body.
“Look at these, Cessilia. This is what your father did to me. For each day, each minute, and each second I spent fighting to take my Kingdom back, I got one of these. ...How long do you think it would have taken to end all of this if your father had really helped me? How many of these would I have had if Krai had been with me like he is now with you? Isn’t life easier when you have a dragon to do your bidding? Every time I saw death, I thought about how your father had thrown me out, back into this hellish place again, back into the hands of all of those who wanted me dead. ...And now you want me to be grateful too?”
“My p-parents saved your life,” Cessilia retorted. “They tr-treated you like one of–”
“They treated me like they treat everyone else, Cessilia. Your mom healed me like she had healed dozens of people before me, and hundreds after!”
“D-don’t you d-dare insult my mother,” Cessilia hissed, getting angry this time. “She saved your life!”
She had shouted that last sentence, without a stutter this time. Anger was keeping her from flinching again, and the mere thought of Ashen insulting her mother made her clench her fists and tremble. She could understand his pain, and how hard it was for him, but she couldn’t stand how he was pushing this onto her parents, twisting the narrative.
However, he seemed to realize he had gone too far. He closed his mouth in a sullen expression, slowly shaking his head. For a few seconds, a heavy silence came between them, neither willing to keep this argument going. They didn’t really want to fight each other, but there were just too many feelings bottled up on both sides. Ashen’s anger was so visible, in his shoulders going up and down with his breathing, his tight jaw, and the way he tried not to look her way.
Cessilia took another step back. If it wasn’t for the Counselor, she probably would have already walked away.
“...I don’t resent you,” he suddenly said. “You were young, this wasn’t the life for you. But now, if you... Perhaps, we can start things over. That is my hope, Cessilia. I... I didn’t forget you.”
This time, he didn’t look angry anymore, but instead, he was staring right at her, his eyes filled with hope and expectation. He didn’t expect that this time, the Princess would be the one giving him a cold look.
