A hundred years had passed, and it proved one thing for Arius: he was cursed.
Like the kings before him, he too had inherited the malediction of Stygia's kings. Having to work his way to get the title that was rightfully his from the start, he wished it didn't come along with the curse of not being able to die.
Though immortality had perks, witnessing ten generations of the Brassen family made it apparent for Arius that he might be doomed to live by himself one day, when the loyal lineage of butlers would come to an end. He wondered if it'll be sooner or later before the last Brassen would repeat the same words the previous ones did, "Farewell".
If it ever came to that point, he still felt grateful. For all the things they taught and showed him, one of them was that it was nice to share your life with someone. The love and admiration of the family with each other, the way his then butlers would look at their wives with so much affection, the way their children brought joy with just their presence… they were all something he never considered or imagined for himself until he witnessed the Brassen families' lives.
In the first place, he decided to do things differently from the way his father dealt with everything. Aside from the matters of ruling a nation, he also told himself never to subject anyone to the same situation his mother went through.
As clear as day, he could still recall the despair in his mother's miseries, following the events of his father's death. All he knew was a life on the run even before his innocent days ended. Despite all that, his mother was always a blanket of love and hope. She made sure she faced her son with a smile on her face even when she was shielding him from anything that would take away his childhood and fighting hard even with her life for his safety.
Though there was no denying the reality of the struggle to live for another day, he couldn't disregard the genuine happiness she showed at moments whenever she reminisced her other half.
He concluded that love would have to be powerful. Why else would people see a life worth living even when they've gone through so much? Even the people under his rule demonstrated such compelling acts in its name.
Countless court cases he reviewed told tales of people making acts of love in their own way that would sometimes put them in a difficult situation. Among all of the acts, more others were far too grave, showing how far one could go for such an emotion.
In a logical way, he could understand it. But the experiences he witnessed were too personal for the people involved that it was hard to comprehend the concept of love in his own perspective. It was an ocean he had heard stories about yet never had the chance to encounter, let alone conquer. And one would never feel the depth of an ocean without experiencing its water.
So even when time and the influence of the people around him had made him change his mind about his stand about such a complex feeling, he felt he would never come to completely understand it.
He held that belief until one day…
A woman appeared before him to bring about the kind of destruction he'd want.
Three weeks ago, Arius was brought to the town of *Pugna in the *Stough district, located in the southern part of the nation. Plans for renovation to help the community were already underway, but there was still a lot to discuss. That was why Xerxes found a way to fit the sudden visit into his already tight schedule. The only relief he could find from the trip was that he could walk the ground that wasn't part of the palace for once.
He slipped away from Xerxes' sight as soon as the meeting with the town mayor was done. Changed to only a dark t-shirt and jeans, he jumped out of the window of the suite they prepared to receive him. There was nothing wrong with how simple the room looked. He just wanted to breathe air without needing to keep up appearances or to decide on important matters that would affect everyone's future.
That was when he encountered the small figure who had been in tears. He intended to help the kid out when he found the little one hunched over and hugging his knees on one of the park benches around the town square fountain. It made him smile that the kid regarded him only as one of the nosy adults his parents had warned him about. He would've praised them for teaching their kid not to be too trusting if only they were present to comfort the lonely child at the moment.
Without Xerxes to depend on, Arius thought for a long time about how to reunite the child with his family without needing to use his connection. Nobody knew the face of King Arius, an advantage he was always thankful for, but at this time, it would mean he would have to rely on his limited resources to find a solution. Not the first time he'd been through such a situation, yet it had become even more difficult with his mind starting to shut down, caused by the physical and mental exhaustion from his recent workload, that and the kid becoming even more despondent over time.
He knew the feeling well, a child losing sight of his parents and having no certainty if they'll still appear. The strong sympathy had inclined him to force himself to try and sort out his thought process. When his worn-out mind couldn't brew anything helpful, a person in an outdated fashion—because really, who wears a Victorian dress in this time and age?—joined them at the bench.
That was the moment when everything in Arius' world came to a standstill.
There was nothing special with the lady who approached him when he was squatting low beside the lost child. Her pair of hazel eyes had no business being so beautiful as she asked the kid questions significant to finding the parents. The curly strands of her dark red hair shouldn't have to complement the gentle features of her face as she comforted the little guy. And there was no way such a simple curve of her lips would make a breath-taking scene in spite of the crying child in the background.
He'd like to attribute it to his exhaustion, with the way he processed everything like he was in some kind of a fever dream. As logical as he could get, he treated the brief daze as nothing but a way of his mind telling him he needed rest.
"Have you tried to contact them?" It took a hot minute before Arius realized she was addressing him.
Recovering from the daze, he blurted out the response, "No."
Contact them? It dawned on him that she must've successfully acquired information from the kid he failed to get, considering the response he only got was a lot of crying and sobbing.
She nodded, her hair in a high ponytail bouncing, following the bobbing of her head. Her brows got pulled together in concentration before she spoke again.
The words didn't register to him. All Arius could hear was how her voice sounded pleasant despite a hint of aggravation and frustration in them. His focus was zooming only at her figure, blurring out the bleak neutral colors of the town in the background. It was a bit disconcerting, but the experience was new to him that he let himself be carried away by the effect of her voice.
The next thing he knew, a pair of adults was already making their way in their direction. He blinked several times at the scene of the family's reunion with a confused look.
What happened? He had no idea.
The couple thanked him and the woman beside him profusely as they hugged their child in tears. Arius was brought back to his memories of his mother for a moment before giving them a relieved smile.
When they asked for the names of the adults who stayed with their child to properly show their gratitude, Arius went rigid.
It slipped out of his mind that he was nothing but an escapee at the moment. He also forgot he had planned to go incognito to avoid having to answer questions that would force him to lie on the spot.
"I'm Zinnia," the woman by him said.
"Oh, were you from House Ruby?" The mother asked.
It was the beautiful stranger's turn to freeze in her place. A smirk formed on Arius' lips. It seemed he wasn't the only one who ran away.
"Uh… no. Well, uhm…" She started fumbling with words, the panic became apparent in her face.
"She's with me. We came from out of the town." He grinned wide, masking the amusement he got from seeing her clumsy discomposure.
"I see. I apologize. The ladies from that shelter dressed the same way, so I've mistaken you for them." The mother said before thanking them for the last time and finally leaving, unaware that Arius never answered their inquiry regarding the names.
Arius stood with the red-haired lady as they watched the family walk to a distance. His eyes couldn't help but take a glance at his current companion, curiosity invigorating his tired thoughts. The silence lingering between them enticed him to bridge the invisible gap.
"So… did you run away or something?"
Caught red-handed, her whole body went stiff beside him for the second time. He stifled a laugh that earned a rightful glare from her.
"What do you care?" She spat.
Turning on her heels to walk away from him, he wasn't able to stop his hand from catching hers. She halted on her tracks to give him a surprised look, staring back and forth between his face and his hand that hadn't let go.
"I--…" He couldn't find the words to say. He wasn't even sure why he stopped her from leaving. She could be on her way for all he cared, but the thought of her disappearing had the feeling of dread sprouting in his chest.
"Mister, if you don't let go of me, I can't promise that you wouldn't get hurt," a serious threat oozed from her tone along with the daggers she threw his way with the gorgeous upturned shape of her eyes.
In a span of a few seconds, she transformed into a kind of danger that Arius would never not take seriously. But instead of eliciting a cautious reaction from him, something inside him admired it more.
He did let go of her hand which was followed by an apology, going by the gentleman's code.
"What do you want?" She maintained the aggressive tone as if she expected him to do wrong by her at any moment.
Arius defensively held his hands up, "I'm not here to harm you or anything like that. I just…" The unrestrained animosity she had been showing became a tall wall to overcome. What did people do to her to make her act like someone's out to get her?
He cleared his throat, mostly to gather his thoughts. With her guarded stance, he knew he had to tread carefully if he wanted to get through to her.
Wait. Why was he doing this again?
Regardless, there's an issue at hand that he must address. He needed to find a way to spend more time with her. Otherwise, it felt like he'll never get another chance.
"I need someone to tour me around," not a complete lie, but boy he knew he could do better than that.
"You're really not from around here, are you?" Her brow stayed high without being lenient to the idea that he could be just a lost tourist.
"No. I didn't lie about being from outside the town."
"But you lied about me being with you," her eyes squinted at him with suspicion.
"Would you have preferred that I let her pry further?"
She didn't respond. Instead, she threw another question, "What's your purpose in this town? Tourists usually don't go here. There's nothing to see here."
"You're right," he stopped himself from telling her their plans that will change that, "but something in this town caught my attention." Another smile grew in the shape of his lips.
Her raised brow finally relaxed only to change into a confused form. Eventually, the tension in her shoulders started to dissipate. The wall was still high as ever, but it didn't look too daunting anymore.
"Fine. I'll show you around. But no funny business, okay?" One finger points at him with a threat.
"No funny business. I promise," palm open, Arius lifted his hand as a gesture of promise. "But, can I at least get you coffee?" His grin became cheeky, watching and anticipating her every reaction.
She nods approvingly, "Okay. A cup of coffee and a hundred-worth of paper bills as the fee for my service." Unapologetic and leaving no room for discussion, she started walking in the direction where a café could be seen ahead.
An amused snort came out of Arius. He stared at the back of the woman who was becoming more and more interesting. He couldn't wipe off the wide grin on his face.
He thought a slow dive would be the best course of action when it came to something deep and uncharted such as love. But it would seem his journey would be more akin to snowballing down a hill.
Usually, he would take the time to explore the wonders underneath the sea of unknown. But with the way this woman named Zinnia was making him feel—a burst of newborn emotions he never thought would exist within him—, he was pulled by an undertow that had already carried him to the deeper parts before he knew it. And it seemed like there's no going back to the surface at this point.