He/Heroine And My Villainess

HE/HEROINE AND MY VILLAINESS

(FIRE UNDER THE SCARS) 

"How are your cheeks?" King Phantrel asks, concerned. 

"Is not throbbing pain anymore," Prince Adam replies as he wipes away his tears and calms himself down from so much emotion that he received earlier with a deep sigh. 

"I see," 

"Father," He calls.

"Hum?" 

"I'm sorry for what I have done earlier to your lover," Prince Adam apologies, and King Phantrel nods, accepting it. 

"I accept your apology to me, but that apology is not for me but for the person who you almost harm earlier. You must apologize to him yourself," King Phantrel responds. 

"Yes, I understand, father and I will tomorrow, um, Father," 

"Hm?" 

"Father, may I ask you something serious?" Prince Adam asks for permission.

"Sure, go ahead," King Phantrel permits him. 

"How come you loved that man and not my mother," Prince Adam mentions. He knows his father did not love her mother because he heard his father talking to his mother about it before her mother dies. 

Past

A beautiful and sick woman who's lying in a king-size bed looks at her husband with pale and tired eyes. 

"I know, you only marry me because you feel pity for me," Queen Margeret mentions as she wears a sad smile in front of King Phantrel. 

"How can you say that," King Phantrel respond, wearing a plain expression. 

"I heard you and my older brother talking before our marriage. You both were talking about me and my illness. Because of my incurable illness, no kingdom wants to marry their son to me, even nobles. And because of that, I stay at my older brother's kingdom for years," Queen Margaret mentions as King Phantrel only listens to her as she continues talking. 

"Until my older brother begs you to marry me to you. I know you both are close friends, so you accept his plead and marry me. But I know you don't want to marry me because I heard you have someone you wear searching for years and that someone is your first love, am I right?" Queen Margeret asks. 

"Yes," King Phantrel answer, not denying it. 

"I see. I also know that your first love is a man. You have suffered a lot, my king waiting for a person whom you do not know could be dead already," Queen Margeret mentions, and King Phantrel looks at her with a frown.

"I know he's still alive," King Phantrel's persistent reply as Queen Margeret smile at him.

"I didn't mean to offend you. I only want you to know that some things are unpredictable, but if you are like this so persistent, I know that your first love is still alive and waiting for you," Queen Margeret responds as King Phantrel sigh and looks back at Queen Margeret with a plain expression. Queen Margeret then continues talking while King Phantrel continues listening to her.

"I knew that you never love me back, even if you give yourself to me and you give me a son because I can see it in your eyes. Your eyes still have loneliness and longingness. Every time you are with me, your eyes will look somewhere as if they are searching for something else," Queen Margeret mentions as she looks at her husband, who is now wearing a sad expression while looking down to the floor.

"I'm sorry," King Phantrel apologies, and Queen Margeret giggled.

"Is fine, I understand, and I respect you and that person. I may not know that person, but seeing your stubborn self every time made me think, that person is worth waiting for," Queen Margeret mentions as King Phantrel felt a surprising warmth through Queen Margeret's words. He looks at his wife with a wistful smile.

"I wish you both the best," Queen Margeret added, giving her blessings to her husband and his lover.

"Thank you," King Phantrel thanking her.

"Thank you, too, for giving me a chance to see and know the outside world. Forgiving me a chance to experience what it feels like to be a mother and have a family of my own," Queen Margeret mentions as she continues talking while King Phantrel only keeps listening to her with a gentle smile engraved on his face.

"I did not think that is possible before because everyone thinks I am not capable of having it, but then you showed up and taught me that everything is possible," Queen Margeret continue talking.

"I know everyone sees and thinks what I have now is not perfect. But for me is enough. Because you already give everything that I needed all my life," Queen Margeret mentions as tears skip in her eyes and flow to her cheeks like a flowing river. King Phantrel saw it and use his right hand to wipe his wife's tears away as he felt a guilt emotion coming into him.

"You deserve everything in this world, but I do not deserve such a kind, understanding, loving and warmhearted person like you. I'm sorry for not loving you back all these years. Please forgive me," King Phantrel mentions as he looks at his wife with a daring eye while caressing his wife's right cheek with his right hand. Queen Margeret giggled within her sobs.

"Is fine, I understand. You don't have to apologize. I should be the one apologizing to you because I force myself to you. Even if I knew you can't ever give what I want from you," Queen Margeret responds as tears continue to fall in her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," King Phantrel apologize as tears also go out to his eyes and fall from his cheeks, and Queen Margeret saw it. She deep sigh, smiling, and opens her hands wide for a hug. King Phantrel accepts it and drowns himself close to his wife as she lets her hug him.

"In our next life, let's not meet and cause pain to each other again, you hear me?" Queen Margeret demand as King Phantrel nods while they hug.

"Can you promise me one thing?" Queen Margeret added a request.

"What is it?" King Phantrel asks.

"If ever I die first, can you take good care of our son for me? Make him a King who will never forget by his people, make him stand on his own, and don't let him get lost in his path. Make him learn how to love and let go of someone when he's at his rightful age, understand?" Queen Margeret request with demand as King Phantrel nodded within their hugs. 

"I will. Don't worry," King Phantrel responds, breaking their hug and wipe his tears away when a sudden knock to the door disturbs their emotional moment. 

Knock

"Who is it?" King Phantrel asks as Queen Margeret wipes all her tears away while calming herself down. 

"Your Majesty is Dev. The young master wants to visit the Queen," Butler Dev mentions outside the door. King Phantrel looks towards his wife for a minute as Queen Margeret then smiles at him accepting her son's visitation. 

"Okay, let him in," King Phantrel permits as the door then opens wide, showing their young son, Prince Adam, who has tears in his eyes. 

"Mother!" Prince Adam runs over to his mother in pace while crying as he then jumps up to his mother's bed and hugs her. 

"Aiyooo, why is my little knight crying? Who bullies you Mother and Father will fight them for you," Queen Margeret mentions caressing her son's head. Prince Adam sobs and replies to his mother.

"Mother, my teacher said that you are going to die soon. The teacher is only lying to me, right Mother? You are not sick. You are only resting because you are tired, right?" Prince Adam asks within his mess sobs as he continues hugging his mother. Queen Margeret then frowns as she looks at King Phantrel, signaling him to punish and fire whoever told that thing to her son.

[I will handle it,] King Phantrel mouthed to his wife as he stood up and went outside in silence, leaving his wife and son alone inside the room. 

"Adam... come lay down beside Mother," Queen Margeret proposes to his son, who is still crying in front of her. 

"Okay," Prince Adam responds as he breaks the hug and lies beside his mother. 

"Mother is not going anywhere. Mother is fine. Those people are lying. They only want you to get scared, so no matter what happened, don't believe them. If they tell you lies again, tell your father right away, understand?" Queen Margeret reply making her son worries at ease.

"Okay, I will, but Mother, Father is always busy," Prince Adam mentions as he wipes his tears away.

"Your Father can make time for you if you only ask him," Queen Margeret mentions smiling at her son.

"But, Father does not enjoy being disturbed at his work. I don't want Father to hate me," Prince Adam responds to his mother's words as Queen Margeret only smiles at her son while wiping and cleaning her son's face that is wet from crying using her handkerchief that she gets on her drawer beside her bed.

"I'm sure your father will understand. He loves you very much," Queen Margeret respond.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Mother is always sure,"

"Okay, I love you, Mother," Prince Adam hugs his mother once again and drowns his face close to his mother's chest, feeling his mother's warmth and relaxing scent.

"I love you too, my little knight," Queen Margaret responds as she also hugs her son back, hiding the pain tears she shed for her sons.

'I'm sorry, Mother has to lie to you but know Mother will always love you and will always protect you even if I'm no longer standing and lying beside you,' Queen Margeret thought.

Five months passed, and her illness worsens till she decided to rest in peace and let herself free from pain, leaving the seven-year-old Prince behind with his father. Prince Adam felt torn and suffer mentally. Till he decided to forget all the memories from his past and create new for himself so the pain that will never heal even if years pass will all turn to dust, causing him to put suffering and agony to the people who become part of his past.

Past End. 

"I have loved your mother but as a sister, not a lover," King Phantrel reply and his son only looks at him wearing a plain expression.

"Then why you give yourself to her, why you marry her," Prince Adam asks.

"Because I want her to feel what it's like to have someone who does not degrade her," King Phantrel continues by explaining to his son what happened.

"Your mother has an incurable illness ever since she was still young, so many people look at her as a useless and unusable thing to a society," King Phantrel mentions as Prince Adam looks at him, surprised by what he heard about his mother.

"What?" He felt anger rise upon him because of what other people think of his mother.

"Yes, no kingdom or noble family would want your mother to marry their son to her. So your uncle begs for me to take her into my kingdom, and so I did. But I never knew that she would want more than what I give to her. I didn't know that I also hurt her by helping her," King Phantrel mentions as Prince Adam looks at his father with a sad expression.

To be continued.