[Author's Note: Sorry for the late release (school + work + project + lack of motivation), and the lack of words. I thought it ended really nicely where it did and left it as that. I think the next chapter will be the final flashback but who knows? I am also trying to have my chapters go through a round of review from a peer before releasing to improve the overall quality which may effect the day of release (may be Saturday instead of Friday). Hope you all enjoy this chapter!]
Two riders galloped across the plains. One of them stared at the tall grass that seemed to be hailing him. His eyes were unfocused though — he gazed beyond the physical movement of the grass, staring into the shadow landscape of his memories.
A tear fell from his cheek to land on the neck of his mount.
The tickling sensation of the fleeing moisture broke Thayde free from his memories. He fixed his posture and quickly drew a hand across his eyes to chase the remaining liquid from his face. Despite being long ago he still felt remorse. He hated that he had been so naive to think everything would be fine, that by doing good to others, only good would be returned. Although his parents were right and just in many things, they were in the wrong on this point.
They did their best to convince him otherwise, and for a while he actually believed them, but it only took a few years, and a couple of incidents for this innocent belief to be falsified.
Once again Thayde found himself falling into what had been.
———————1 week after the incident———————
After Thayde had collapsed from the overload on his body, mind, and heart, he woke up in his room. It took about a minute for him to remember what had happened, and another couple of seconds for him to dress. The poor maid assigned to him was quite startled to see the prince burst from his bedchamber. His clothes were ruffled. 'No, no, that will not do.' She thought, 'cannot let the prince look like a ruffian'
"Leysha! What happened? Where is Ebony?" Upon seeing Leysha the prince scrambled over to her, unaware of her thoughts.
The way he scampered towards her yelling, along with his disheveled apparel, only completed the look. "Look at yourself milord! Quite a vagabond! This will not do, not do at all!" Too taken with her charge's appearance Leysha stopped the princeling and started to straighten his color, and smooth his shirt before taking him back into his room. "My goodness! You aren't even wearing shoes, milord! You might catch a cold walking around like that!"
Thayde held his breath, determined to not start raving. He knew Leysha was not ignoring him…at least not entirely. In fact the way she was calmly going about her duties and carefully taking care of him was soothing. He felt bad that he had yelled at her.
Letting out a slow breath he released some of the tension he was feeling. "Leysha, where is Ebony? Is she alright?" a little bit of anxiety came through as Thayde rushed the last sentence despite his best efforts. He almost didn't want to hear the answer, fearing that what little hope he had left would be snuffed out.
The maid, content with his now more regal appearance, turned to look him in the eye. She could remember how, not too long ago, he would hardly make a sound as he suffered her attention before heading to his numerous studies. It hurt her to know that such a caring young boy was treated so poorly.
Thankfully he started to change after Light's Dawning. All thanks to a certain rambunctious pup. With almost a shine as radiant as his parents, Thayde would attend his studies and play with his new companion.
"Ebony is alive, milord, she is resting." Leysha's smile tensed a little. Her charge, this young prince, seemed unable to escape the misery that hounded him. It bothered her. She very much wanted to hide him away and shield him from despair.
Thayde noticed the way she stared at him. 'Is she sad, maybe hurt?' His heart thudded an extra time as a flash of cold ran through him. No, he knew what that was. She was looking at him with pity.
"But…" he prompted.
"Well, it would be best for you to see, milord." Leysha quickly looked away, realizing that she had given it away, "and, while we are at it we should let the king and queen know that you have woken up."
She curtsied, "please follow me, milord," and walked out into the hallway. She sent another maid off to notify the king and queen before she led Thayde to a nearby door. "Ebony is resting right now," Leysha said before quietly opening the door.
Inside was a small room. At the other end there was a bed, a small one meant for toddlers, on which a mountain of sheets and blankets. There lay his loyal friend. Thayde rushed over to her bedside, unable to contain the urge to make sure she is all right.
As he inspected, he could see the small motions of her side as she breathed in and out. The rhythm was constant and deep as the slumber she was in. That alone reassured Thayde that all was well. Then he saw her leg, or what remained of it. A small nub was all that remained to mark the absence of an appendage.
"Wha-, Where is her leg?" Turning to Leysha, who had slowly entered after he burst into the room, he stuttered as he voiced his query. Once again he received that look. Sadness covered the pain reflected in the eyes. Pain that she saw in him.
"It had been crushed completely, milord, not a bone went unscathed." The sadness thickened to counter the increased pain reflected in her eyes. "We could do nothing, it needed to be severed to prevent the spread of disease, milord."
Thayde absorbed that statement for a couple of seconds. He felt anger and sadness, of course, but he understood that nothing could have been done by then.
"Oh. I see." he quietly murmured, the sentence drawn out and emotion missing. If he let himself feel right now he would be overwhelmed. He could feel it still: a burning sensation that bubbled in his chest.
Nothing could have been done then, but earlier it would have been possible. If he had only stayed with Ebony. If he had been there he could have chased off the hound. If he was stronger, he could have finished it permanently. The damned hound was still out there, and he was sure that something similar would happen again. Animals don't change after all.
"Where is it?" The flat tone rang out followed by a stunned silence.
"Milord? I don't understand—, you mean the leg?"
"No. The hound. Where is it?" The emotionless voice had an edge to it now. Shivers ran down Leysha as it dragged through her hearing.
"I know not, milord, no one saw it but you." She paused, "May I ask why, milord?" Her heart was sinking to her stomach as it bled. She could not discern what he was feeling or thinking, but she knew it lacked hope. This scared her. Everyone she knew had hope, especially the royal family. Even Thayde with his previous experiences had hope.
Something was changing in the boy.
"I am going to solve the problem." An equally sharp response, although somewhat cryptic. What did he mean by solve?
"Milord?"
"I am going to keep this from happening again, I am going to kill it." Silence. Only silence was left in the room after the bold declaration. Kill. Such a seemingly small word contained a presence so ominous it pervaded and choked everything.
Leysha didn't know what, or if, she could say anything.
"And what would that accomplish?" A voice resounded through the room, filling the silence with warmth. The quiet but powerful voice of Queen Alysa overpowered the atmosphere. The spell was broken.
Although she looked calm, as Thayde turned to study his mother's face, he could see her eyes. They were opened a bit more than usual. His father stood at her side. A small flare of the nostrils and his shorter than normal breaths revealed his feelings as well. They were shocked.
"What do you mean, mother? It would stop that vile hound from ever attacking another creature again! It should die!" The edge shifted, growing into a blunt force, and the volume. He was angry, and he couldn't hold it any longer. Why were they so shocked at his declaration? It made sense!
"Thayde" His mother called, his father's voice echoing alongside hers.
"It is all the darn dog's fault! If it wasn't alive, hadn't been born,…then…then Ebony would not have lost her leg! The hound doesn't deserve to live!" He screamed, it wasn't fair. The hound had no right to do the things it had done. It had crossed a line that should not have been crossed. The problem should be fixed, a swift execution delivered.
Thayde would happily be the executioner.
"Thayde, my son! Ebony is all right! She is still alive!" His mother comforted as she kneeled down to bury his head in her shoulder. She slowly started to stroke his head seeking to soothe his anger.
"She has hope, son. She still has hope, and so we should still hope." His father picked up as he walked over. "Although yes, it is despicable that such a thing has happened, we should still hope that the hound will learn the error of his ways. You sent it off scampering anyway, didn't you? Who knows? He may decide to repent"
'Impossible' Thayde stilled as for the first time ever, he did not feel the support of his parents. They were so caught up on the fact that he was seeking to kill and was angry — something that had never occurred before — that they missed the small and simple hope that he did have. To prevent the same from happening again. To get rid of the curse of violence that existed in the castle.
"Ok," That was all he said as he hugged his mother back.
"We know it hurts, but this is when we need hope the most." his mother murmured.
"Where does light shine the brightest?" His father questioned.
"In the dark." Thayde responded.
Only problem was, his light was flickering. Beset by a tempest. He did not know when or how, but he felt that at any moment the fragile flame would sputter out; leaving him alone with the cold darkness.
A small rustle, and then a whine, came from the bed nearby. Ebony was awake and in pain. The prince, hearing the call of his pitiful pup, stood and started to rub her ears. While this didn't exactly get rid of her pain, it was soothing. The smell of her brother further calmed her. She didn't know why, but something in his smell was sharp. He had made a decision, a big one, she just couldn't figure out what it was.
"Don't worry," her brother said in a whisper only she could hear, "this won't happen again. I won't let it"