The Bette mansion was no more.
it was deflagrate twelve weeks ago, that night after the fatal outburst of forest burning and countless boys were killed.
Queen Areola had to return to the palace with her husband the king. In a ride cold and tedious.
Areola sullen all through.
The air had become more cold, after all it was the declining and last month of the year.
They were camping through the woods under the lit of the full moon. Bonfire lit up in different places, guards walking about and most times would laugh at silly jokes. Arthur nowhere to be seen.
Areola was still bored when the cold wind pass her exposed hand, she shivered.
" Huh_ it's snowing." She said with her upper lip curl up.
She sneer and dropped her curtains. Ignoring the jovial scream from the background but it seem to irritate her.
She grunt and couldn't get a wink of sleep.
They arrived at the palace after three-days of the journey that could have take them a whole day due.
The maids offloaded the carriages in the crowded palace. Areola was escorted to the room of the late Queen.
As she now the only queen in all of Ais.
It was beautiful but the smell of death lingering made Areola quite displeased. She only invoice her complaint as the maid clothes her with her new attire and ointment.
That was as old and quondam as Ais itself. Areola frown couldn't be hidden.
She tried speaking to Arthur but the latter gave her the cold shoulder. Completely pushing Areola to the edge.
It was evening, under the heavy snow storm_ Lady Yolande wife of King Xavier_ was buried beside her husband.
It was simple and yet beautiful. As King Arthur and everyone beneath him bowed to her. Areola was made to do the cusery to a dead woman.
The ceremony was yet to end and Areola have had enough. With anger in her heart she stomp off rather elegantly.
" Your majestic..."
" Huh..."
" The queen, she's left."
" Huh."
" She seem rather angry."
" Huh."
:...
" Huh."
_________________________
" At summer, the garden always looks beautiful. The flowers would bloom and fountain would spring forth water, the birds would sing and the wind would rattle the leaves of the tree. It was beautiful, wasn't it Arthur?"
The receding footsteps stop. Cold wind blown between them.
" I hate snow." Areola continue but King Arthur said nothing, as he turned to leave but Areola held his sleeves.
" Arthur."
" If you cold go inside."
" Arthur, are you still angry with me? It just that one time Arthur, that one time I lied."
" And your lie killed SOMEONE!" Areola flinch, she let go of his sleeves and hugged herself.
Her lip quiver and tears welm her eyes. She wipe it off really fast.
" I- I didn't mean it... I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I just wanted to have something of me that made me feel worthy by your side. I didn't mean to kill anyone. What wrong did I do."
It was slience before Arthur spoke.
" A lot of wrongs Areola, alot of them." Arthur coldly spoke despite the sight of Areola crying throb his heart.
He stared at the garden. Were the flowers are died and buried and the tree are naked and the water are all frozen.
A grass dried and lifeless was broken down by the wind.
The mole on Areola forehead dim towards a dark grey color, but the couples didn't notice it.
As they lean to the cold of the night. Not daring to cry, not daring to say anything.
Only lean on it.
______________
" Properous! Who did those Cobber think they are? They dare disrespect the emperor and decline his invitation."
The intimating voice of the court official made the messenger sweat heavily.
He trembled but have to repeat what he was send to say. In a polite way of course and not the rude and impolite way his master tend to speak.
Aleast if he doesn't want to lose his head.
" Your majestic, my master is of bad illness that is quite contaminated. My master feared the it could rub off..."
" How dare your master claimed the King of Ais to be of..." The loud council interrupted again but shut up after King Arthur gave him a glare.
King Arthur stared at the messenger and wave his hand forward. A maid hold a box walked towards the messenger and gave him the box.
" The medicine in there are rare and capable enough to heal your master aliment."
The messenger express his deep sincerity and Arthur dismissed him.
" Your majestic?!" But Arthur eyes made the loud council official to shut up.
King Arthur expression was dreadful that he felt cold.
" Were are the others. I thought I called for a general meeting."
The loud council official nodded nervously, he seem to be thinking of the right words for excuses. And that made him appear sheepishly.
When a knight brag into the hall room. He was Gabriel, a son of a fallen noble that Arther adopted and was training.
In few years time, the boy might be a general and all others knight would obey him.
Gabriel knees before Arthur and with a loud voice he cried.
" Your majesty, The warehouses... The warehouse are..."
" Com'on boy, speak up." King Arthur gave him a glare and he immediately shut up.
" The warehouse your majestic... It's, it's all gone. It all burnt down." Gabriel voice was soften at the end and King Arthur didn't like it.
" Which of them, which of them got burnt down. Which of them son?" Arthur asked and Gabriel head droop.
" The king storage. All of them, from the capital city to that of poteen. All gone.... Your majesty, it all gone."
Arthur sank to his chair.
" No."
Ais was in a mess. The food storage had burnt to nothing and the huge water tanks, had fallen down.
Causing a small ride of flood that had destroyed quite number of weak foundation homes.
The price of food had skyrocket and the poor were in danger. The rich were hopeless so they could live just fine.
Like the flame incident; was like a magnet.Mercenaries began to flood into Ais to sell their goods.
Triple the original price. King Arthur had to send money and court council officials to different part of Ais . For distribution of food and water to be made.
But, that was barely helping. Caused this money are emblezes. And kept in private pockets leaving little and nothing done at all.
________________
" Ack... "
The firm strong hands pick up another stone and hit the man repeatedly, enough to cause blood to slash everywhere.
This hitting didn't stop until the man was dead. The stone fell to the ground followed by an individual panting heavily.
" What an heck of a strong old man... Take the child."
It now revealed that the died man was trying to protect his son that was hugging an elderly maid so hard.
The child screamed and struggle as the bad men rip him off nana hug. His nana was crying but she couldn't do anything, his father was died and the bad people were his father men.
They betrayed his father and killed him and was now they were going to take him to someplace really bad.
The teen cried, he was scared, he wanted his big brother. He wanted his big brother to save him.
If Bai hung was here, he would have recognized every body here. From died Mr Shun, to the wiping maid, to the Thugs and Dodo that was knocked unconscious.
But he wasn't here. Beneath a tree was a dark shadow watching everything with it's red crimson dotted pupils.
It disappeared as the carriage drove off.