PeaceMaker

"Physically and mentally strong?" Dominic repeated, laughing at how those words didn't seem to fit him, "I'm nowhere like that."

"What? Desilva's head peeked out from her arm.

"I'm nothing like those words you call me. I'm weak, un-wise and at this point mentally and physically disabled," Dominic sighed, his voice deepening, "sure, I may still be able to laugh, I may still be able to talk and make jokes but it doesn't mean that I'm ok."

Desilva stared at him blankly, unable to understand the words coming out from his mouth.

"Me being like this, me being unable to move, to walk, to fight, is weak. Mental health is great, being able to smile is good, but a smile won't lead my army. A smile won't fight wars," Dominic growled, "no matter how much you say 'you're strong' it's evident that I am not. Your mother looks down on me and I'm sure many others in your village do too. Any outsider who hasn't pledged to be under me or trust me can see my weakness. A king does not rely on mental strength and smiles alone to lead his kingdom, being able to fight is something that is needed too… it's also something I don't have."

Dominic clenched his fists, biting down on his lips, "I'm unfit to be a king."

Desilva stared at Dominic for a second before bursting into laughter.

"What?" Dominic asked, releasing his tight grip on his worn-down fingers, "Am I funny now?"

"N-no...haha.. You're haha… it's the first time I've seen you so serious in a while and over something so… wrong," Desilva laughed.

"What?"

"It sounds like you've completely given up on yourself just because you don't have one of the qualities of a king… yet. Just because you aren't physically strong doesn't mean you just forget about all of the strong points that you have and rule yourself out as unfit to be a king. You have time to grow and people to help you grow yet you sit here and mope over the fact that you haven't been able to move for 48 hours," Desilva chuckled, pulling a flower out of her hair and playing with it, "Sure you aren't the king you'd like to be yet but you can always work your way up to that point. You can't just give up at the sight of a setback, that's something a true king would do, not give up and that's what you've been doing this whole time."

"How?" Dominic asked, biting his lip further, "how have I been doing all that? I've just been laying in bed while my soldiers wait for their 'king' to lead them, meanwhile, I can't even see."

"You've been laying in bed, but I haven't seen you once give in to the pain. In fact.." Desilva turned to Dominic, her eyes softening when she noticed him biting down on his lips and rested her hand on his clenched fist, in an attempt to calm him, "you're actually giving yourself more damage. These fingers have been destroyed from working so much yet you still clench them like it's nothing, you still move the stiff muscles in your face to smile and still talk with your hoarse voice."

She patted his hand before letting go, "you may not be strong physically, but you're still one of the strongest people I know, even without physical strength."

"Then they must not be that strong," Dominic teased.

"Oh please, my mother is on top of that list as the strongest person I know and no matter what, you'll never top her," Desilva huffed.

"Ouch, can't complain there though…" Dominic agreed, "she's tougher than nails."

"Right," Desilva laughed in agreement, "That said, stop being so hard on yourself because there's much more room to grow, and giving up now is just wasting potential."

"You sound so knowledgeable," Dominic chuckled.

"I learned it from my mum!" Desilva beamed proudly.

"She is a really tough person though… she literally dissed my strength and eligibility to be on the field from the moment she spoke to me," Dominic sighed, shivering at his memory.

"Yea..haha…" Desilva anxiously laughed, "she's really rough around the edges and has grown to lose all trust in the people around us that aren't from the village. After our lost war, we sought out help from many people who then came back to receive thrice the amount, knowing we were unable to pay it back.

"Then came the constant attacks on our village. They took advantage of the fact that we owed them something and began to terrorize us. They took out money, food, and sometimes clothes," Desilva shivered slightly, "That was when she started to lose trust in everything and anything. Probably the only reason why she hates you right now."

"Yea.. I can tell as much," Dominic smiled weakly, "it does seem like a bit too much hate for just that alone… I guess she just hates a lot more than others."

"I guess so," Desilva agreed, her eyes skirting to him momentarily. 'I guess he doesn't know,' she thought to herself, "but she is right tho. You're literally in the worst shape you could be in right now and in our village, you would be considered weak."

"Wowww thanks for the confidence boost," Dominic thanked sarcastically, dragging out every word for extra effect.

"I speak facts though. You're going to need a lot of help right now to get you through this," Desilva sighed, putting the flower back in her hair and leaning the chair, "maybe the silver-haired can help you…. And that strong looking lady. They should be able to help you."

She looked up at the ceiling, slowly relaxing into the mood. This was one of the reason's why she wasn't so keen on getting mad at him just because of his lineage, she felt comfortable talking to him. Like she wasn't forced to have an air of grace in front of him like she does with many other people her age in her village because she was one of the grand chief's offspring. It felt nice...to feel normal.

"Oh!" Dominic exclaimed, remembering what he called her for, "actually, about that… that was one of the reasons why I told you to come here."

"I thought you just wanted to talk with me," Desilva teased.

"Well, yea. But I also wanted to ask you to be my escort," Dominic announced.

"Your… WHAT?!" Desilva yelped, sitting up straight in her seat, shaken awake by Dominic's words.