Chapter 104: So Much Wrong
At the same time, a study someplace else was unusually quiet.
Several candles burned along the walls, their flames flickering gently against the darkness.
A large wooden desk stood near the center of the room, covered in documents, letters and reports that had seemingly been left untouched for hours.
Behind it sat a single, middle-aged man.
His body was slumped in his chair, his head tilted down to the ground.
The stern expression that used to be on his face was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, he looked... hollow.
Defeated, even.
Knock! Knock!
Two soft knocks echoed through the silent room.
Arthur didn’t look up.
Hell, he didn’t even move one bit!
Knock! Knock!
The same knocks rang out once more.
’’Father?’’ a quiet voice rang out from the other side.
Still, there was no response.
The person outside waited for a moment longer before the door slowly creaked open.
A small head peeked through the opening uneasily.
’’Father?’’ he repeated quietly.
Dennis carefully pushed open the door further.
Arthur’s head finally began rising.
’’Dennis...’’
The young boy hesitated at the entrance for a moment.
He’d seen his father in all kinds of states before.
Even his earliest memory had been one where Arthur returned exhausted and covered in blood after a battle.
But... he’d never seen him like this.
’’Can I come in?’’ Dennis asked quietly.
Arthur remained silent for a moment.
Though small and weak, he managed to force a smile on his face before nodding.
’’Of course,’’ he replied. ’’Come sit.’’
Dennis stepped inside and quietly closed the door behind him.
In silence, he began making his way towards the desk before sitting down in the chair opposite his father.
For a moment, his gaze flickered across all the scattered documents.
It curiously paused on some fallen flower petals.
But Arthur had already noticed his gaze.
’’Don’t worry about those,’’ he said quietly. ’’What did you want to talk about?’’
Dennis snapped out of his curiosity.
He immediately looked up, hesitation clear on his face.
’’I...’’
The words seemed to get stuck in his throat.
Arthur waited patiently, his smile softening slightly.
’’I... I...’’ Dennis stuttered.
His gaze slowly lowered to his hands.
Then he swallowed as hard as he could, getting rid of the tightness in his throat.
’’It’s about Mother...’’
The soft smile on Arthur’s face hardened instantly.
’’Your mother?’’ he repeated painfully slowly.
Dennis nodded once.
’’There’s s-something I never told you,’’ he forced out. ’’S-She did something to my brother... Roderic.’’
For a moment, silence fell inside the room.
Arthur’s expression shifted, fear and pain briefly flashing across his face.
’’Did something?’’ he repeated, his voice barely a whisper.
Dennis nodded slowly.
He swallowed hard once more while clenching his fists so tightly they began turning white.
’’Before he left on his journey... I overheard Mother talking.’’
Arthur bit down on the inside of his cheek.
Even so, the forced, reassuring smile never left his face.
’’She was watching his carriage leave,’’ Dennis continued. ’’She said she’d prepared a surprise for him along the way.’’
Complete silence fell inside the room for a moment.
Dennis glanced up uneasily, only to find Arthur still staring at him with a reassuring smile.
’’She said it wouldn’t be like the mercenaries from before,’’ he continued, less hesitant than before. ’’That this time... Brother Roderic wouldn’t be able to hide behind his knights.’’
Dennis paused for a moment, swallowing hard.
’’Then she said it’d be because they weren’t all on his side.’’
Crack!
Something inside Arthur completely shattered.
For a split second, a wave of immense pain and regret ran through his eyes.
Everything he’d heard earlier...
Everything he’d desperately tried to deny over and over again...
It was all confirmed.
But then, just as quickly as they had appeared, the emotions disappeared from his eyes.
Dennis never noticed a thing.
His gaze had already fallen back to his hands, his fingers nervously twisting together.
Arthur sucked in a quiet breath.
’’I see...’’ he muttered. ’’And... how did that make you feel?’’
Dennis slowly raised his head.
His mouth opened, but no answer came out.
For several seconds, he simply sat there.
’’I...’’ he finally started. ’’I was angry.’’
His fists tightened again.
’’Really angry... and afraid.’’
His voice had grown much quieter now.
But with Arthur’s reassuring smile there, Dennis forced himself to continue.
’’Mother always told me Brother Roderic was useless,’’ he said. ’’That he was embarrassing our family and that I shouldn’t become like him.’’
His brows furrowed as a flicker of anger flashed across his face.
’’So I believed her.’’
He paused for a moment.
His gaze snapped up, finally meeting Arthur’s eyes.
’’But Brother isn’t like that,’’ he continued, his voice growing louder. ’’The people sing praises about him. He’s helped the family. He’s helped me! And now...!’’
Dennis fell silent.
For several seconds, he seemed to struggle with whatever he wanted to say.
’’She’s still my mother,’’ he finally uttered. ’’But I don’t think I like her anymore.’’
Arthur stared at his son with wide eyes.
Something in his expression began to soften almost immediately.
He slowly rose from his chair and walked around the desk.
Dennis’s eyes widened in shock as Arthur knelt down on one knee beside him.
A large hand came down onto his shoulder.
’’Thank you for telling me, my son,’’ Arthur said. ’’This must have been a very difficult thing to do.’’
Dennis nodded weakly, tears appearing in the corners of his eyes.
’’Did I do the right thing?’’ he sniffled.
Arthur’s hand tightened slightly around his shoulder.
’’You did,’’ he replied warmly. ’’You absolutely did.’’
A few small tears began streaming down Dennis’s face.
Even so, he looked relieved, like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
’’Go back for now,’’ Arthur continued. ’’Your father will take care of the mess he’s created.’’
Dennis nodded, still wiping the tears away.
He jumped off his chair and began walking towards the door.
But barely two steps later, he suddenly stopped.
Before Arthur could react, the boy turned around and wrapped both arms around him.
Arthur froze completely.
Then his expression softened once more.
He gently placed a hand on the back of Dennis’s head.
Neither said anything.
A few seconds later, Dennis pulled away.
’’Goodnight, Father.’’
’’Goodnight, Dennis.’’
Dennis gave him one last look before stepping through the doorway.
Click!
The door closed behind him.
Arthur remained kneeling for a few moments, staring at the empty doorway.
He listened as Dennis’s footsteps gradually disappeared down the hallway.
Only once he could no longer hear them did he let out a deep sigh.
’’You’ve grown up, huh...’’ he mumbled. ’’In the blink of an eye.’’
He slowly pushed himself back onto his feet.
His gaze wandered toward the scattered documents covering his desk.
Somehow, they didn’t seem quite as suffocating anymore.
He sat down in his chair and simply stared at the flower petals on his desk.
Then a tired smile appeared on his face.
’’You’ve all grown up...’’ he muttered. ’’Oh, Helena... why did you have to leave me so soon?’’
Even after all these years, thinking about her still hurt.
Perhaps that was where everything had started to go wrong.
He had been broken after her death.
Far more than he’d ever allowed anyone to see.
Then Baron Deres appeared, promising a new marriage to his sister and an alliance that would last for generations.
But all Arthur had ever seen... was a way for him to escape from grief.
A chance that’d finally allow him to move forward again.
’I was a fool,’ he thought, clenching his fists. ’I shouldn’t have let them push me around in my moment of weakness.’
That one decision had turned into years of misery.
Being forced to look away from his own children dozens, if not hundreds, of times.
Years of allowing problems to grow because dealing with them brought trouble.
Arthur rubbed both hands across his face.
’How in God’s name did I let things get this far?’
His territory was a complete mess. His marriage had become a disaster. Almost all of his children hated him.
And now another war loomed on the horizon, which would lead to hundreds, if not thousands, of deaths.
Arthur’s hands slowly dropped from his face.
’My own twelve-year-old son has shown more courage than I have in thirteen years,’ he thought. ’How utterly ridiculous and pathetic!’
But there was so much wrong now.
Arthur closed his eyes for a moment.
’’How am I going to fix this mess?’’