Her Kingdom

The Kind Boy

Chapter 3 - Anwyn

There was weight in my heart, and sure enough, it was something that I would never do in the past, but now that the rope was around my neck, I could only think about protecting myself, and it was the only thing left that I could do to save myself.

... Even if it pondered deeply on my mind...

The kind guard would never think that I was using him for my own interest since the first day that he was appointed to take care of me, and it wasn't my initial plan.

But the plan came to mind when in the late afternoon, he brought me what was supposed to be my dinner, and once again, offered the water from his canteen to me.

Of course, that wouldn't be my salvation compared to the years of poisons that circulated through my body, yet it was enough to give me hope at the end of the tunnel, something I didn't have in a long time.

And as time went on, I gained the confidence of the young Kaylan even more as, despite all the stories that circulated in the kingdom about me, he seemed to still have the same old admiration from his childhood for me.  

... In some of our few conversations, he told me that it was something that he had kept secret in his training in the royal guard, which was a reward to many youngers after the tournaments...

"Queen, your breakfast is here." As usual, he called me by my real title, and that let me know that he was alone when he walked into the place forgotten by the Aurae.

Even if Kaylan didn't realize it, that word was almost like a secret code between us, and he just called me that when he was sure there was no one else around.

... After all, it was a crime to use such a prestigious word with a traitor of our kind...

Kaylan was a sweet boy, and thinking about what would happen to him if anyone found out about it worried me, despite his romantic interest in me, which I was using for my own greed, I liked to think of him as my own nephew.

And if my timing wasn't as bad as I liked to believe, my older brother's son, Anren, should have the same age as him, and different from my last memory with the little one, he should be a man by now, like this kind boy. 

"What's wrong, my Queen?" Bringing me back to that sad reality, Kaylan's hand wiped the tear that ran down my face without I even realized it, the burden of my decision weighed again on my conscience.

"... Do... Do I need to eat alone again today?" Lying to him with my eyes yet filled with tears, I looked back at him as if it was the reason for them.

"Do-don't cry, my Queen." Desperate, he spoke to me with a look that told me that he really was worried about me. "I can eat with you. We are alone today! There are no others guards outside today as it is still early, and they need to rest for the trip to protect the border as the Naiads attacked us again yesterday."

Confirming all the information I needed, the young Aura tried to comfort me without knowing that he could be in danger if someone found out that he told me those things.

Leaving me there alone for a second, soon he returned to the cell with what should be his breakfast in hands before giving it to me, through the small hole that was intended for the delivery of my meals.

Opening the door of my cage, he didn't bother to close it again since he believed that as in the first few weeks when he met me that I could barely move due to the special material used in steel that held me back in there.

... In addition to all the poisons that nobody knew they were feeding me with...

And as I had said, Kaylan was too innocent and kind for his own good, making me believe that maybe it was the reason why he never made too far in the competitions every time he participated in that.

His terrible disasters on every attempt were his favorite stories that he loved to tell me on days when I couldn't speak, and the fact that he wasn't ashamed to talk about his defeats always made a smile rise on my face despite everything.

Such modesty that he possessed wasn't common in the Eos when it came to combat, especially the ones from Aura-ladus.

We were warriors, always prepared for a battle, and the competitive spirit was something that ran through our veins, which is why our throne was a prize to be earned like everything else in our kingdom.

... So I liked to think it was part of his human bloodline...

Kaylan's grandmother was a human, making his mother a hybrid between the two species and him a quarter mortal.

... And that was probably also what made the poisons work faster on him than on me...

Every time he joined me in my cage, as a gesture of kindness, he liked to share his food with me, and at the same time, he would always finish the rest of the wonderful gourmet food that was served to me to kill his hunger.

So taking me about two weeks on my accounts until the poison made him fall weak and almost unconscious in front of me.

Allowing me on shaky legs, pulling him out before stealing his cloak and keys on my way to my freedom before he stopped my back with unexpected words.

"Be... Be careful... my Queen..." 

I heard him call me for one last time in his tender voice when he grabbed my heel, with a look on his face that told me that he knew what I intended to do, but that he wouldn't prevent me.

And like that, with a big regret in my chest, I escaped the dungeon for the first time in years, having the pleasure to see and feel the rays of the sun again against my skin before a familiar face appeared before me, ready to take me back.