Chapter 200 - 201
Within half a minute or so, focus returned to the man’s striking gaze, which looked like living flames had been conjured within his irises. Disoriented and visibly confused, Ar’Daul looked up at him, stared for several seconds and then spoke up in a weak, disbelieving voice.
"Little Enquin...?"
Tears spilled down Enquin’s face as long-forgotten warmth filled his heart. Old and defeated though he was, Ar’Daul had recognized him almost instantly despite the fact that the last time they’d seen one another he had been a boy in his early teens.
"Ar’Daul," he cried, hugging the man with strength he didn’t know he had. "What happened to you? Where have you been all these years?"
"Years?"
Ar’Daul stared past him at the handful of Drunaeda that had also rushed over to get a look at the person that was giving off such a prominent and commanding aura, one that they were much more sensitive to than the other people in the area. As more focus returned to the great king’s eyes, his face became slick with streams of tears as he glanced around at his surroundings with rising horror. The ovals that hung from everyone’s necks, the streamers, ribbons and banners that decorated rooftops, walls and windowsills, the flowerpetals that littered the street in all areas, all the same holy white that had characterized the uniforms of the human armies all those years ago. The haggard, drooping appearances of what few Drunaeda were in attendance and the glaring absence of any more of their kin.
Something seemed to click in Ar’Daul’s mind, and for the first time in Enquin’s memory he saw the revered and respected man’s shoulders slump and his teeth clench from a myriad of negative emotions. His eyes had grown wet.
"It was Limnin," he said with a shaky voice. "He...was not what he seemed." Glancing at the other Drunaeda and then back at Enquin’s concern-ridden face, his expression fell into one of tragic empathy. "Little Enquin," he whispered, almost entirely supported by Enquin’s embrace. "You’ve done well to persist for so long. I’d expect nothing less...from my boy." After pausing for a moment, he added in a guilt-ridden voice, "It must have been hard."
Enquin nearly broke down, though strained to stop his tears for the sake of his long-lost friend. He needed to take Ar’Daul away from here as quickly as possible. The delegation from Providence Region would be arriving anytime now, which made this the worst place in the world for the forgotten king to be.