Claiming The Remnant

Chapter 31

[ The King ]

"Walk where the truth meets the blooms, trust your feet. In bonds that bind there is no greater bind than love. Bonds that bind cannot be broken without ties. The ties are in THE steps that ended in the red sands and the dragon that broke the gate." Poflorin finished and silence hung in the room like a hawk on the up draft.

"I knew reading was overrated." Zach said dismissing the note. "Makes no sense. Why am I even bringing you these nonsense notes? And what, in the name of the Earth and Sky, is a dragon??"

"Have you not been to a Temple?" Poflorin asked. I knew Zach had not. He had no inclination towards the Gods, old or new. His upbringing had robbed him of faith in most things. "There is one in the castle, I will show you a dragon." He said with utmost gentleness, offering his hand when Zach shook his head.

Zach took the young Healer's hand and they were gone. I had expected it to be only a few minutes but they were gone almost ten.

"Well?" I asked upon their return. Holding each other's hand both were a little flushed and their hair mussed. The joys of youth and young love.

"Interesting but I'm not sold." Zach shrugged and rolled his eyes. "How are we meant to believe that those things are Gods?"

“Once we had no notion of magic and yet here we are! I for one am prepared to believe that it could be true. I must apologise though Zach, the hour is only growing later and we really must get back to the matter at hand.” It was difficult when it came to Zach. I did not like to deny him because he was often unable to converse effectively but Lady Esther was only getting sicker and time was not on our side.

“Soooo…” Poflorin started slowly, clearly gathering his thoughts. “You are the truth, we are the blooms, we should walk the path that we agree between us. Then there are the bonds, the bind and the ties. Bonds are our connections to things I think and that would make binds our reasons for those connections. Ties… ties… from steps that ended in the red desert? The pure Fae left from there so would it be that the Fae can break the binding of bonds??” Poflorin started pacing the room as if the motion itself would help push his thoughts forward.

“Why is this bit different though?” Zach pointed to a part on the note and pushed it towards me. I looked at it ‘THE’.

“It’s to emphasise something.” I told him, trying not to sound as tired as I felt. Scratching my cheek I pondered its potential significance.

“Like the Captain or The King.” Zach only shuffled a little while he spoke, a true testament to the lateness of the hour. “And it says the dragon, but if dragon’s are Gods then why don’t we say the Gods instead of Ye Gods?”

“The.” Poflorin tapped his forehead as if by doing so he could force a thought to occur. “Why are we bothering?” The young and exceedingly tired Healer said suddenly.

“Explain.” I said simply.

“We know where the Remnant is, we could just take it and be done with it.” He huffed rubbing his drawn face.

“RIN!” Zach blurted, shocked. “She… she is still a person! We can’t just leave her to die.”

“A criminal. Don’t forget she calls herself the Blue Shadow and her list of crimes against the Kingdom is longer than you are tall. Everything from murder to petty theft.” Poflorin dropped into the yellow armchair with a sigh.

“And why is that Rin?” Zach spat. His chest heaved with anger.

“Why is what?” Poflorin asked, trying to keep his eyes open.

“Options run pretty thin on the ground for those whose shade is red or blue or green.” He emphasised his own shade. “Under her shift I bet she looks like me or Willis; a full head of bright hair and a matching set of glowing eyes. Do you think her parents were overjoyed when she was born? Do you think she was loved? Do you think that people didn’t view her with disdain and suspicion from the moment she existed?!” Zach shook, angry tears on his face. The outburst had clearly stunned Poflorin. True enough the young Healer had his own struggles here in the castle but they were struggles from a place of privilege not despair. “I am lucky to be here and so is Willis, and the Captain. I could just as easily be in her place.”

Zach looked at the floor, blinking away tears, as Poflorin rose from his seat to come and wrap his arms around him. He was ashamed to be crying, I could see that but there was no shame to be had. There was much truth in his words and all things considered the emotional response was just. Tame even.

“I am sorry, mon moitié.” Poflorin rested his head against Zach’s back. “You are right and I will do everything I can to make her better but I still think we should take the Remnant. It is likely to be what is killing her.”

I was quiet watching the two of them. It seemed they had forgotten I was here anyway. Zach sighed, a sound full of weight and pain.

“I’ll do it.” He said dipping his fingers straight through the desk and pulling a coin out.

“I’m not asking you to.” Poflorin rubbed his back.

“I know, Rin, but it will be easy and she won’t know, won’t feel anything.” Zach finally leant back into Poflorin’s embrace and then without warning slipped into the floor. Poflorin looked at the empty space between his arms.

“I forget that we see the world differently.” Poflorin dropped his arms. “I don’t see the shade between us, just how much I love him.”

“It is not wrong to love regardless of the physical but it is unwise to overlook it. How we appear to others is a truth we live.” I held out my hand, knowing what was coming. Zach returned, immediately handing me a note.

“Benton, again.” Zach told me reclaiming Poflorin’s hand.

"In her truth she spies a lie but still is blind to how she hides. To meet her end will leave you to die, Ye Gods will call her back by which way they do not care. ‘THE’ chosen can be un-chosen; there is many another heir. " I read aloud, sharing the information straight away.

We all looked at each other, puzzled and a little concerned.

“Is Lady Esther asleep?” I looked to the green haired lad. He nodded. “Let’s pay her a visit.” I stood, and Zach took my hand as well pulling us all through the castle and straight into the bed chamber of the slumbering Lady Esther.

"Daddy? Daddy, where are you? Don't leave me!" She cried in her sleep, clearly distressed. Her blankets were tossed about and were more of a companion than a cover. Zach nudged me - quite hard.

I took her hand.

"I'm here, child." She settled a little at my words but kept speaking, a steady indistinguishable mumble.

"What's she saying?" Zach whispered.

"She is saying her own final blessing. It's not clear tonight but that's what it is. Whatever she is facing in her dream she thinks she is about to die." Poflorin explained with great sadness.

"I bet it's because she is blue." Zach grumbled. Likely that was the sad truth of the matter. "You should do something." He said suddenly, his Chrysoprase eyes pinning me with their intense anger.

"Zach, let's try what we came here for and discuss that later." An idea was already forming in my mind of where I could start on the matter. I employed without prejudice of shade but that wasn’t enough. Sure I was leading by example but to what extent. Zach was right when he said that the woman who’s hand I now held had likely only lived her life the only way she could. Like gravity pulls the raindrop to the earth, people's hatred of her shade would have driven her to crime.

Her crimes had not made her rich, nor had they afforded her position or anything else. Her crimes were so she had something to eat, somewhere to sleep and to keep her heart beating in her chest. This matter required some deep thought.

“Ready?” Zach asked Poflorin. The Healer had placed his hands on his charge, magic glowed in his eyes.

“Yes.” At Poflorin’s simple affirmation Zach slowly dipped his hand through her night shirt and into her abdomen. Despite having known that this was going to happen, the occurrence was still a perplexing sight.

“It won’t let me touch it.” He said after removing his hand.

“What do you mean?” Poflorin voiced his confusion and ceased applying his magic.

“It’s like grasping at air.” Zach looked at his perfectly clean hand, that had just been inside the woman's body, turning it in the dim light. “If she is a ‘bond’ and the magic is a ‘bind’... then it can only be broken by a ‘tie’? But if Fae is the answer then what can we do? They are all gone.”

“Hum, ‘the’ tie, ‘THE’ steps, ‘THE’ chosen. The chosen is an ‘Heir’, but to what are the ‘chosen’ heir to?” Poflorin whispered to us both.

“I would suspect it is less about inheritance and more about blood. Ties would then be not to all Fae but a specific Fae, her ancestry. Which is most likely impossible to determine. They were very free and libral with their love and records were not kept.” It seemed that we had reached a dead end, at least for tonight. “Healer Poflorin? Do you need to refill her necklace tonight?” He nodded, a gesture I could see well enough. Those with Fae blood saw better in the dark. “Well I think after that is done we should retire.”

“Yes, My King.” The young Healer moved to a position where he could touch the necklace. One hand on the jewellery, one hand on her bare skin he began. Lost in my own thoughts on the matters of this evening I didn’t notice her eyes flick open, wide and glowing purple as they stared at us but Zach did.

“Rin! Stop.” Zach pulled Poflorin away. The purple eyes stared, unblinking and Poflorin, who’s own eyes were still glowing gold but flickering like dying embers, mumbled weakly while Zach held him up.

“Just a little more, I’m almost done.” Clumsily he tried to reach for Lady Esther once more. Zach took a quick glance at me, a little fear coating his face. It seemed to me that the fear was of me. Zach was well aware of all that I had done for him, all that I continued to do for him and the exceptions I continuously made for him and his sister. Within his unique circumstances he had always been well behaved. There were continuous accusations against him but they were unfounded.

There was no reason for him to fear me but then again he had never done anything other than what I asked. Tired as I might be, I saw what he saw right now. Poflorin restrained in his arms, on the edge of a burn out, prevented from finishing a task that was essentially an order by the King.

I loved Zach. He was very dear to me, and even if that were not so, the action he had taken was sensible, beyond reproach and rooted in love. Had I not been distracted I would have done the same thing.

The purple eyes closed and Lady Esther appeared to sink back to slumber; a peaceful one this time.

“That was the right thing to do.” I told him softly, ignoring the stab in my chest caused by his worried eyes. If Zach truly held fear that I would persecute him or that I would behave in a manner that was rash and unfair then I only had myself to blame. “We should take him to bed.”

Zach held Poflorin in one arm and took my hand with the other. He still seemed to have his doubts but on the sleeping Poflorin’s exhale he whisked us both to the young Healer’s room.

I left Zach to tuck Poflorin under the covers while I woke Asperonin. I desired a word with him over both his behaviour and the negligence he was showing to his son. While the lad’s eyes might not perpetually glow the well of his power was much akin to that of his own Father. This made the proximity to burn out that Poflorin was experiencing shocking, and that his own Father had not noticed how deep the exhaustion had been running angered me. There was some suspicion in my mind that the process had been expedited by whatever power lurked behind those glowing purple eyes but if Asperonin would only show his son more support then there would be a better chance of such situations being circumvented.

After a few choice words with the Head Healer, and watching him check on Poflorin to ensure the lad was not going to spiral into full burn out, Zach took me to my own chambers.

“Zach, a moment before you go?” I spoke before he had a chance to let go of my hand as I knew he would have been gone in an instant.

“My King.” He said nervously, looking every bit the young teen I knew he was.

“Tonight has been a difficult night and I know we are both very tired but I wanted to speak with you briefly and later we can have a more in depth conversation.” I couldn’t resist ruffling his hair; the gesture surprised him a little and he looked at me with tired confusion. “You raised some very valid points. I heard you. I acknowledge them and as King I agree I am not doing enough to alleviate the persecution of certain shades. I promise to do better. Sami? Was that who has the linen? What is their shade?” Zach swallowed, and took a deep breath. I hoped my words did not appear as hollow promises; in my heart the intentions were nothing but truth.

“Red… sh-she pulls it out so no one will know.” Zach looked everywhere but at me. Usually when our ‘game’ found a thief they were dismissed immediately or worse; if required. I wondered how many of those had been in shades of red, blue or green. Poor girl pulling out her own hair, frightened, probably only stealing because she thought it was just a matter of time before her shade was discovered and she was dismissed.

“If you wouldn’t mind, could you please put the linens back tonight and then in the morning could you bring her to me? Before breakfast?” My words while kind and gentle seem to have left Zach biting back some emotion. I was unsure what those emotions were and decided it would simply be best if I explained myself further. “I am not going to punish or dismiss her. I will speak with Sami and give her reassurances that her shade will not be detrimental to her employment at the castle. She will be given another opportunity and another after that if she should need it…”

Like the spark that starts a blaze, something ignited in that moment. Zach threw his arms around me in a tight hug and I hugged him back.

My Kingdom was vast, the people - my subjects, relied on me and in the eyes of some I was failing them. My eyes were always open to this truth but now so was my heart.