Chapter 45: Chapter 45

“Where is Nara?!” Henry looked at his angry brother with an expressionless face, hiding his pain and sorrow to see another member of his family locked and chained in the same cell as the previous one.

First was his father, and now it was his younger and only brother, and Henry wondered how many family members he was going to lose, how many did he have to hurt and possibly kill just for the sake of the damn throne!

“Elsewhere, I am afraid, and I have thought you can ask me what ever you were going to ask her. after all, there is absolutely nothing she can do to you that I can’t, and nothing she can do that I don’t approve!”

“You fucking bastard! What did you do to her? did you lock her up as well? Or maybe you shipped her off to marry somewhere far so she can’t meddle with your affaires!” Nicholas spat in disgust, his eyes shooting daggers at his older brother!

“Maybe!” Henry answered nonchalantly, not flinching at Nicholas’ futile attempts to attack him, nor at the torrent of curses and insults he was throwing at him, he just stood there, like an almighty king watching a chained animal.

“You are even worse than father, Henry! You promised to not be like him but here you are! Walking on his steps!”, seeing his brother’s eyes darkened, Nicholas swallowed his anger, not out of fear but because he knew he managed to irritate him, he knew it was impossible to mind trick or persuade Henry when he was calm, no, it was only when he was irritated that one can get through him, and Nicholas knew that, and knew this might be his only chance.

“Brother! This isn’t you! You are not our father! you care about us, your family, more than anything. I know you are doing what you think is right, but this is not the way! For you will end up alone in the end of the day! You will have nobody by your side! Don’t let things go that far! Brother! You still have a chance to make things right! The Gods would accept your atonement and…”

“Tell me, Brother!” Henry interrupted, calmly, with his voice cold and sharp like ice blades. “Were you a part of it too?”

“P…Part of what? What are you talking about?”

“Well…” Henry looked at his brother with sad eyes, for he had wished, with all his heart, that his brother would deny the accusation, that he would say he was manipulated the whole time and his intentions were never harmful, but they were!

“Not only you were plotting with the holy council to dethrone me for I refused to be their puppet, not only you spread lies to turn the people against me and cause a riot, not only you wanted to send our soldiers to the edges so they can die fighting the demons while our citizens are sent to the borders of the forbidden sea so they can form a human barrier around the center to stall the demons while the Gods, who are supposed to protect us! Who are supposed to be all mighty and absolute, who are supposed to be unapproachable, exterminates us all, and for what? So you, and your priests can ascend to them while you leave the rest of us, the family you were so worried about, and the rest of the human race to die! Do you deny it, brother?!”

“What you are saying is blasphemy! This is the Gods judgment and we must accept it! No matter who is chosen to ascend! I didn’t do it so I can survive for I am not afraid of death! I did it because it is required for the human race’s atonement! I did it because it is the humans’ chance to be purified of their sins and then be brought again, pure as snow!” Henry didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry after what he heard, he knew his brother was brainwashed, he knew his faith and belief were stronger than his common sense but to think he was that lost! It broke Henry’s heart for he had hoped until now that there was still something to save in his little brother! But there was not!

“You have done your best to serve the Gods, Brother! I am sure they would appreciate that when you are in their hands, but now that you are in mine, you will be charged for treason, and you will face the consequences just like any traitor!”

“How dare you call me a traitor, Henry! You are the traitor! You betrayed the Gods! Damn you…” Henry didn’t wait to hear the rest of his brother’s words for he had enough already, and the small hopes he had were now dead, walking out of the cell with his brother’s curses and the rustling of the chains filling his ears, he swallowed his sadness and disappointment, once and for all.

“Your Majesty!”

“What is it?” The normal tone Henry used surprised the general, who was none other than his best friend, for he had expected him to be shattered to see his brother in that state, especially when there were no news about the queen’s whereabouts, he knew how much pressure the young king had on his shoulders and he expected him to at least sound tired, but the king sounded just fine and it worried his best friend, nevertheless, he chose not to address it.

“Another high priest died today!”

“They are still on their hunger strike?” seeing his friend nod, Henry resumed walking as if the dead person was a fly.

“Let them! we had what we wanted from them! We don’t need them anymore!”

He already had all the information he needed, Henry thought as he remembered the night he and his men raided the holy tower after receiving the news that the holy council and all the priests under it were planning to raise havoc and cause a riot among the people in order to take him, the king, off the throne.

Henry didn’t understand why at first, and not until he went to that place and discovered the hidden room in it.

The room was small, dark, without any windows and a single small door, empty of everything but a small rostrum on which was a silver bowl filled to it half with glowing water, with weird symbols written on the edges, Henry had no idea what that thing was but he was adamant on finding out.

He knew that thing was of paramount importance because of the way it was hidden, the room was located in a secret basement with several old locks on it door, and no one but the holy priests knew about it existence, but after capturing them all, including his own brother, and after breaking few fingers, and few necks, he learned what that bowl was.

The recipient of prophecies, the way the Gods connected with the mortals, the priests to be exact for only them knew the weird old language the prophecies were written in.

It wasn’t easy to get the priests to tell him about what the prophecy meant! But with the right amount of pain, he managed to get them to not only speak but also teach him the symbols, and then he was able to read the prophecy on his own, and knew what the Gods had for them! All of them!

Once he was in his private courtyard with, no one around, Henry let out a tired sigh, it was too much to take all at once, the hardest part was to take it all alone, his father was a letdown, his mother was gone, probably to his father for he knew she never stopped loving the man, his sister wasn’t much of a help, and his brother was a traitor! He had to handle everything himself, with no one to share how hard it was with, well, except for her.

Henry smiled when the thought of her passed his mind, making him happy for a second, opening the door to his bedroom, he stopped on his trails for he didn’t know whether she was really there or if this was just his imagination playing tricks on him!

She was standing in the middle of the room, few steps away from the patio doors, wearing a simple white robe, just like the first time he met her, her hair cascaded in big brown waves, undressed and undecorated, her innocent feminine face smiled at him warmly.

Her simplicity was one of the things that he liked the most about her, despite her high status, she didn’t resort to fancy gowns and extravagant jewelries and hair styles like women usually did to showcase their nobility, she didn’t need any of that anyway for she was naturally beautiful and elegant, every single one of her moves showed how strong and confident she was, a confidence only a queen, like herself, can possess.

Smiling back at her, Henry stared at the red eyes that shone in darkness like a pair of precious rubies, and for a second, he was lost in them, not knowing how can a demoness look so beautiful, delicate and innocent! How can she, the ice queen herself, smile so warmly?

“My lady!”

“Your Grace!”