"The truth about what? If it is about Borit, I was led to believe that things are well in hand…" Silver furrowed his brow.
"Borit has been taken care of. He tried to hide in the infirmary. We believe he had a nurse's help, though whether she knew of his crimes is yet to be determined. Both the commander and nurse are in custody. You do not have to worry. Borit will never be a problem again." Rhodri placed his fist on his chest in a solemn vow.
Silver had believed it when Hanna told him that Borit was finished, but hearing it from the king himself, who had been Borit's greatest ally, comforted him greatly.
"Thank you," the Guardian did not feel the words were enough, but they were truly all he had.
Rhodri's neutral expression faltered. "I should be the one thanking you. You saved my life even when I distrusted you…"
"You still don't trust me fully, do you, Your Majesty?" Silver could feel the man was ill at ease.
"I brought you here for the truth. I will feel better when I have it." Rhodri answered, folding his hands on the desk. "My daughter is convinced you are her brother."
"Because I am. Her parents took me in and treated me as their own. I remember when Haven was born. When Borit murdered our entire village, I raised her in Rynnlee."
"You raised her until you abandoned her, you mean." Rhodri's voice was filled with an indescribable emotion.
Silver's eyes flashed. "I did not nor would I ever think of abandoning a helpless child! The day I lost sweet Haven was one of my darkest days."
"Tell me how you lost her," the king's command brooked no argument, and Silver saw no reason to hide the event.
"I had fled from Rynnlee after Borit threatened my sister and myself. We slept on the edge of Vayle and headed in for the day. While eating a small meal with Haven on the side of the street, I overheard a rumor about a nobleman giving out coins and candy out of his own goodwill.
"We were in dire straights. A little money would go a long way to helping us start over. And I wouldn't even have to steal it…"
Silver paused. His thinking had made so much sense at the time. Even now, it didn't sound like the worst idea, except that he knew how the story ended.
"Haven went, happy to be able to help improve our situation. But then she got to talking to the nobleman longer than any of the other children. I got a sinking feeling. I tried to cross the road but an accident occurred in front of me. When I looked toward my sister again, she was gone."
"You must have felt some relief, no longer having to care for a little one all by yourself," Rhodri said a little too hopefully.
The Guardian shook his head. "Would you be relieved if you lost the princess? I was frantic. I searched for years trying to find her. That first week I must have asked every person in the whole city if they had seen my sister. But there is no going against the Fates. Haven was gone."
"Except she wasn't. She was with me. I was the nobleman that day." Rhodri wasn't sure how the admission would be taken by Silver, but the man nodded.
"The face of the man all those years ago is etched in my memory. You are older, my king, but I recognize you." When the Guardian had spotted the Rhodri in his room, Silver had confirmed what he had suspected, that Rose had left with the king himself that day.
"You knew and still you saved my life?" Rhodri rubbed his forehead.
"You gave my sister the life I clearly couldn't. Why wouldn't I do everything possible to preserve that?" Silver was surprised that his answer only seemed to cause the king more pain.
"You aren't making this easy you know," Rhodri admitted. He closed his eyes, refusing to look at the man across from him. "I had hoped this meeting would go differently."
Silver furrowed his brow. "I don't understand."
"I was hoping your story wouldn't match. That I could somehow prove you were mistaken and she wasn't your sister. Or even if you were...maybe I could justify myself by getting you to admit you were better off without Rose. Yet, you have thwarted my selfishness at every turn. I have only one thing to say after hearing your words." Rhodri's voice cracked. Tears filled his eyes.
The king stood suddenly, and Silver reflexively rose as well, unsure of what was happening.
Turning his back on the desk, Rhodri took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," the king said, his head lowered.
Silver's jaw dropped slightly.
Of all the scenarios that had been playing in his head while he returned with the messenger, this was not one of them. The Guardian wondered if the king was even still talking to him.
'Do I say something?'
Silver needed to tread lightly. Thankfully, no response was necessary as the king continued.
"I knew that little girl had someone to care for her. She told me that much. But she wouldn't tell me who and we couldn't find you. I--I didn't want to find you. I was so lonely, and Ros—your sister—" he corrected himself, "was the exact image of a woman I once hoped to marry. It was like the Fates had sent her."
Silver smiled beneath his hood. 'Well, one of them did,' the Guardian thought, but he remained silent.
"I--I should have tried harder to return her." Rhodri contended. His face turned to look at the hooded figure, and Silver could see the lines of worry creasing his face. The king's eyes, usually so strong and firm, had allowed runnels of tears to run down the man's face. "I would understand if you hated me."
"Do not trouble yourself too much, Your Majesty. Even if you had sought me more diligently, it is unlikely we would have crossed paths. The Maker knew better than I what my sister needed. I told Haven not to say she knew me. If anything, it is my fault." Silver did not know why he wished to comfort the king.
He had spent years being angry with the man who abducted his sister, but now that he had heard the king's confession, Silver could finally let the matter rest. His soul was at peace.
Laying the issue aside, Silver felt something else tickle the back of his mind. "Did you say Haven looked like the woman you were going to marry?"
The king smiled bitterly and nodded. "Her hair's a little lighter. But yes. I loved a woman dearly, yet I knew she did not return my affection. I thought I could woo her. She consented to be engaged and everything was prepared for the wedding. I fooled myself into thinking it was all going to work out.
"On the day of the event, I found her crying before the ceremony. She told me she loved another. She was willing to give up everything for him, but she did not want to hurt me. I was faced with the choice to either have my way and condemn the woman I claimed to love or set her free. The worst part? The man she fell for was a farmer! What kind of a king loses a girl to a farmer?" he scoffed before continuing in a somber tone.
"I released her, of course. How could I not? The last time I saw Alexis, she was wrapped in a crimson cloak, leaving the world of nobility behind on the arm of a man who would be forced to work the land all his days."
"Alexis?" Silver breathed the name.
His eyes flashed as he saw his adoptive mother and father in his mind's eye. 'Could it be?'