The Tears of a Prince

"You can't make her do it father, there is no way." That was what Kai had told his father when Aleron had asked him to let him deal with things, he was planning to be the one to talk to his wife, even though Cecilia had no idea he had returned. 

"Believe me Kai, I know my wife very well. She will do it. All I want you to do though is just for tonight to stay in your room. Do not do anything that would anger her and I promise you, tomorrow you will be free." Aleron had told him.

"Why are you doing this?" 

"You are my son, what do you mean why? This is my apology, for not being there and for letting your mother alone deal with things she hated. I will fix this, this time you don't have to worry about it." his father told him with a kind smile, his palm resting on his shoulder. 

Kai felt his eyes water, small teardrops escaping from his eyes while his father, who had appeared so abruptly, like a storm had managed to calm the war inside him even for a little bit. Family, yes, this was how it was supposed to feel, a warm embrace, a reassuring smile and the parents who did everything to take their children's burden away. The young prince looked at his father, his blue eyes identical to his but with the glow of a hopeful father. 

"Thank you. Thank you." he said, his voice cracking. 

"Don't thank me, simply forgive me. This was long overdue, I hurried here as fast as I could. I will help you, I promise. Sorry if this seemed too sudden, but I didn't want anyone to know that I was here before I met you. Now go, go to your room and rest, tomorrow you will be freed." he told him again and Kai nodded, still teary eyes as he left his father alone. 

Aleron remained there for a while longer. He took a deep breath and scratched the back of his head, thinking how he should convince Cecilia.  The king hadn't seen his wife for two hundred years and they hadn't parted with the best of terms. It was going to be an eventful night, he reminded himself as he disappeared. 

Cecilia had a habit, every night when she would feel troubled she would sneak into the kitchen, pour herself a glass of wine and sit on the wooden aisle, staring at her half empty glass with green eyes. Aleron had a hunch it was going to be one of those nights for her, a starless night when she would wish to disappear into the night, hidden from the burdens of her crown and he was right. 

From the half opened door of the kitchen he could see her. Standing there the king looked at the wife he had left alone for two centuries. He had loved her, when he was young he had fallen madly in love with her, with the dread in her eyes and the doom in her voice. A woman who had lost everything and the only thing she had left to risk was her life. Aleron was a light hearted free spirited man, just like Kai, a young prince living in a bubble which abruptly burst the moment this woman appeared before him. He didn't even realize when he had been captured by her. 

Cecilia didn't notice him, not until he opened the door and appeared in front of her, the light from the corridor showing his figure. The beautiful woman raised her head, blinking a few times until he realized who was standing right there, just a few meters away from her. 

A tall man, with golden locks falling light to his shoulders, dressed in all black, blue eyes, the color of the vast seas she hadn't seen in years and a charming smile on his face. Her gem-like eyes widened, she bit her lip and gripped  her glass with her pale fingers and red nails before she raised her arm and threw it at him. The king dodged, the glass landing on the wall, painting it a washed out red and shattering. 

"You bastard!" She screamed as the man walked inside. 

The queen stood up, her chair falling back, the sound of the wood colliding with the ground echoing. She flashed before him, grabbing him from his black shirt and throwing him to the wall, her eyes a burning fire as she stared at him, frozen by her own anger. 

"Hello Cecilia, long time no see." he greeted her, pinned to the wall.

"Where the hell have you been? Hello? Hello? Is that all you have to tell me? Hello?" she screamed at her face.  "You didn't write, you didn't say where you were going, you…you simply disappeared and you appear now to greet me?" she asked. 

"I am not here to fight with you. I know that leaving you for so long was not right but I had to. There was something I needed to do." 

"What? What could be so important that you would leave me? Are you really trying to lie in my face? I knew how angry you were. You chose to leave me. You chose to not have any contact with me. Did you find someone else? A nice and pure girl like those you always liked? Tell me!" 

"I did not leave you, I simply left."

"What was the thing you needed to do? Tell me and I will think if I kill you or not you sly bastard." she told him, her husband laughing with the way she spoke. It was too far off from the image she showed to other people. The angered expression, the loud tone, the burst of emotion. This was a side of her for the rare few, Aleron almost felt honored by it.

"I had to go to help our son. I found a way to break his blood oath."

"What?" Cecilia asked. "You…you really…" 

"I couldn't allow you to be the bad guy. I had to fix this somehow." The king told her, making his wife let go of him and take a step back, her eyes shining in the dark like that of a cat's.. "It's time to fix your mistake, Cecilia."