Lysander inspected his son. His brown eyes searching for imperfection. Waiting for all the room to become silent, before addressing the court.
"Today is an important day in our nation's history-
Zeven kept his eyes fixed straight forward.
"-My only son, the rightful heir to this kingdom-"
Suddenly the large doors were thrust open.
Chest heaving, Chris stepped into view. Fire in her eyes and furry in her soul.
"Chris?" Zeven was shocked to see her. Even more so to see her standing upright and healthy. He rushed towards her, stopping just short when he saw the blood stain on her shoulder.
"You are covered in blood." his voice was so soft and sad. He couldn't help himself as he reached out to her.
"It's not mine." She growled at him, brushing his hand away. Her eyes were already locked on something else.
"Ahh Christopher son of Albriech, I didn't expect you to join us. Seeing as you are supposed to be dead."
"Consider yourself the first to be notified of my resurrection." She stood like a true prince, her birthright clear as day. All eyes were drawn to her. She was the only one who could look elsewhere.
"If that's all, can we continue?" he smiled without any joy sending shivers up everyones' spines, "Why don't you join me Zeven-"
"I refuse to take the crown."
"What?"
"I. REFUSE. To take the crown. Give it to someone else." He spoke slower and with more emphasis the second time around, making sure there was no way his words could be misconstrued.
For the briefest of moments, his father looked something other than haughty and disinterested. But it only lasted a moment.
Chris on the other hand was much less subtle with her objection.
"What the hell is wrong with you." She crossed to him in an instant, slamming him back against the stone wall. Her right arm formed a bar over the upper portion of his chest, floating near enough to his throat to be a threat.
He didn't resist her at all. Allowing himself to be pushed back with ease. If anything, he looked comforted at her touch. His eyelids hung heavy, half lidded over his brown eyes. At the moment, they were so dark that she couldn't tell the difference between his iris and pupil. He smiled softly at her, but the window to his soul was wide open for her to look through.
His almost passive attitude only served to piss her off more. "I have worked my ass off my entire life to get the very thing you are now throwing away. Do you have any idea what you are doing?" her words came from behind clenched teeth. She was both angry at him and at herself. It felt like there was a joke that she was not let in on. How could he throw away this chance so easily? Not when there was so much good he could do. Zeven would make an excellent king, she was sure of it. And to never see him on the throne would be a catastrophe.
"How could you give it up?"
"I found something that I want. Something I want for myself, call it selfish, but I want it over the safety and future of all in this kingdom. And for that reason I don't think that I would make a good king."
Chris shook her head as she listened. His reasoning was confusing. From the very beginning all of his actions had been for the sole cause of the safety and well being of his kingdom, but he was now contradicting that very sentiment.
"Make me understand."
"Would you believe that I would give it all up for the chance to be with you?"
Chris knew the answer, but it caught in her throat. Like if she spoke it aloud it would be the end of everything. Even if she couldn't say it, it didn't make it any less true. With every fiber in her body she knew that the answer to his question was yes.
In their intimate moment, Chris and Zeven had been so caught up in their own circle that they forgot about all the onlookers. But his father had not, Lysander raised a hand and everyone began to disperse. Leaving behind a nearly empty throne room.
Suddenly there were only four of them in the room: Zeven, Chris, Brennan, and Lysander.
Soft clapping grew steadily louder as a wicked smile snuck across Lysander's face.
"Ahh, young love is so sweet. And so naive. Believing that together you can take on the whole world." "If I may give you some advice from someone who has seen the trouble such a useless emotion brings… give up."
Zeven placed himself in between Chris and his father's gaze, but Lysander still had a way of reaching her.
"Does it disturb you to know that Zeven here is responsible for the death of your mother? He led us straight to her."
Zeven felt his stomach fall. Like he had been hit square in the chest, he lost his footing and had to take a step backwards. He wanted to say anything, to be able to deny the accusation, but he couldn't. Even he blamed himself for that horrific day. He couldn't bring himself to even look at Chris, so afraid that she would hate him once she knew the truth.
"Zeven was a child. It was not his fault."
He whipped around to face her. Not able to believe what he had just heard.
All his feelings came crashing onto him like a wave, threatening to bring him to his knees. When he looked at her and saw the clarity in her eyes, he found the strength to keep upright.
His feet took a step towards her as his arms demanded to hold her, but his brain stopped him before he could reach her. As much as he needed to hold her, to listen to her say that over and over again until he could believe it, his father was still sitting on the throne only a few feet away.