Chapter 17: Chapter 17

Eren stared at the silver haired girl as she ate her food happily, savoring each bite, she tried to hide her enjoyment out of decency as it wasn't so lady like to eat much but her transparency betrayed her, she was way too obvious and pure for her own good, not that he could blame her considering the kind of life she had, the sight of her face and eyes as she stared at the night sky for the very first time was engraved in his memory for the rest of his life, a pure joy of something everyone else took as normal, like an innocent child looking at a magician's show in a croud of adults, seeing her like that, he felt a strange feeling washing over his heart, he somehow wanted to offer the kid more cotton candy just to be able to see his priceless expression and sparkling eyes, she looked so beautiful and breathtaking in that moment, wearing her innocence and transparence like a halo, she looked truly out of this world, he couldn’t imagine what kind of life the poor thing must have had for her to be deprived of something so subtle and ordinary as the sight of the night sky, or even the sunset…

The sunset, Eren thought to himself, she would love the sight of sunset, especially if he took her to witness it from a green hill, or even the beach, she would definitely love the sight of the beach, he still remembered vividly how amazed he was when he first saw it, the fresh smell of the sea was something that just overwhelmed even the darkest of souls.

Laughing eternally while taking another sip of his glass, Eren wondered what gotten into him, he was probably never going to be able to give her any of those things, he had a task in hand which was more urgent than her sparkling eyes no matter how beautiful and mesmerizing they were, no matter how much they made him want to protect her and keep her away from the bloody game he was playing, she was already a pawn.

Dapping her lips with the napkin, Sara smiled with satisfaction, the dinner was very delicious with different plates that she had never tasted before, looking up to Eren, she noticed that he had barely touched his food except for his red drink which she didn’t know what it was, only that -according to him- it was too strong  for a lady such as herself and she would be better with only water and juice.

“Did you enjoy the dinner, My fair lady?”

“A lot, thank you very much. You barely touched your food though” Sara was actually concerned, she couldn’t help it but think that he might be sick or disturbed out of his appetite, especially with how delicious the food was.

“I am not much of an eater, my fair lady, thank you for your concern. But now we need to talk about some matters, I know it is not the right time, but it is urgent.”

Sara held her breath, aware of the topic they were going to talk about, judging by how serious his expressions were, she knew she wasn't about to hear the happiest news, and her head already started to imagine the worst.

“Is it about Father?"

“Don’t panic, Sara, I need you to remain focused”, seeing her nod, Eren resumed talking.

“First, my fair lady, I need you to understand that the king wasn’t popular among his court, many senates and ministers, generals even, were constantly complaining about him neglecting his duties and throwing them all on his wife and son’s shoulders…”

“That is not true.” Sara interrupted, both her face and voice showcased how offended she felt by those words, she did not appreciate her father’s name to be slandered, “Father was preparing Henry to take over the crown soon enough, he was deliberately letting him take more and more responsibilities so he can look more worthy and competent in the public’s eyes. He wanted him to take the crown as soon as possible so he can retire and live with me.”

Eren wasn’t used to people retorting back at him so rudely, however, he couldn’t bring himself to be angry at the frail looking girl, especially over the matter of her father who happened to be the only family she ever knew. Taking a deep breath, he tamed his dark desire to punish her, before giving her a very pointed look that managed to tame her anger instead.

“I understand, however, this is not about what you know, this is about what the people and the senates think, and what they think is not exactly in the favor of your father, King Edard had his golden days in the beginning of his reign, but that changed drastically in the last years, his drinking became a serious issue, his temper as well, he was hard to approach, and if it wasn’t for Queen Katherina's hard work, the kingdom would have been drowning in chaos by now, his popularity collapsed over the years while the queen’s only grew wider and stronger, and lately, the king had disappeared totally, the queen and crowned prince are blaming it on his health, saying he is too sick to go out or meet anyone, they took control over the kingdom, and because of his majesty’s lack of loyal supporters, no one is opposing their duo, some are questioning, but that is it…”, Eren stopped to let the girl fully absorb what he just told her, she stared at him with terrified eyes while placing a hand on her mouth, a true damsel in distress, he thought to himself.

“What about Father, where is he?”

“I don’t know exactly, my informers said he was last seen in the castle…” shaking his head, Eren then leaned forward, “There is something else, the holy council as well as most of the senates and nobles had proposed to set the king aside for good and name Henry in his place, and it has been approved, the kingdom is preparing for the royal coronation now, and in a week from now, Prince Henry would be the new king of Taghit kingdom.”

“But…Father, what have they done to him?” Sara wasn’t able to believe her ears, that the family she had dreamt to meet all her life were capable of plotting against one of their own, she refused to believe all the accusations about her father but chose not to show it in front of her friend, Eren had been nothing but nice and gentle with her yet the look he had given her earlier reminded her that he was not just her friend but a duke, a noble with an important status that imposed respect, disclaiming him so bluntly wasn’t so respectful, not to mention, not so grateful.

“I don’t think they killed him, not yet at least, leaving aside the queen’s unquestionable love for her husband, if she and her son wanted him dead they would have killed him already, it would have been easier for them to simply announce his death as Henry was next in line anyway, however, they just vaguely hinted that the king was sick, so it is either that he is alive but confined or that they have no hand in his disappearance.”

“I…I must go to the castle.” Sara stood up, panicked, she didn’t even realize she was crying until Eren came to stand next to her wipe her tears gently before he pulled her trembling body toward his…

Sara felt her friend's arms curl around her with his large hands resting on her small back, she was…stunned, her body suddenly froze before it began to relax between his arms, she didn’t know whether it was the gentle way her body was pressed to his, or maybe his voice whispering soothing words in her ear, or maybe even his intoxicating smell that filled her nostrils but she felt better in his embrace, her worries calmed down as she knew from his reassuring words and the delicate way he was holding her that she wasn’t alone in this, that he was going to help her. And therefore, she allowed herself to be embraced so intimately while another thing took the room of the subsided concern, a weird excitement and thrill for being in her friend’s arm, not understanding what was happening to her she pulled back, Eren reassuring smile was still there and it was contagious.

“You can’t just go to the castle, my fair lady, especially now, a girl walking in and saying she is the king’s illegitimate daughter would be the final blow to your father’s popularity, not to mention it might cause some political complications, you know better how people look at the Yoren bloodline…”

“What can I do then?”

“For now, all we can do is wait, my informers are still looking for him, and everyone is busy with the preparations for the coronation’s ceremony, it should be easier for them, so please be patient…”

“Are you invited to the ceremony, Eren”, seeing him nod, she took a deep breath before talking again.

“I want to go with you”.