Mero quickly snapped out of his stupor of confusion and surprise as he rushed over to Wura noticing that she was on the ground and he swiftly helped her up.
"Thank you Mero" said Wura with a smile as she leaned on Mero for support, her right ankle just hurt so much right now.
"My Queen, it is late, very late, what are you doing out here at this time of the night?" asked Mero as he obviously looked displeased to see her here.
"Well I decided to go for a late night walk around the Castle" replied Wura as she dusted herself off as Mero let go of her once he was sure that she was steady on her feet.
"Alone??" asked Mero in disbelief as Wura nodded.
"Yes alone, is there a problem with walking around my own Castle?" asked Wura as she raised an eyebrow at him.
"No my Queen, you are allowed to walk around the Castle, but just not at night time, unaccompanied, it is dangerous to be out alone at this time" said Mero as Wura scoffed.
"So you are telling me that the Castle is now unsafe even though there are several guards on standby at all times?" asked Wura as she frowned.
"Tell me my Queen, did you come across any guards on your walk?" asked Mero as Wura hesitated to answer.
"Well no..." she replied instantly regretting that she had just given Mero a leverage over her.
"You see, that is because even they are sleeping at this time, my Queen you need to be more careful, with what is going on outside the Castle walls, it is hard to deem anywhere truly safe, and that includes the Castle itself" said Mero as Wura turned around and stopped listening to him.
If she had known that she would have been scolded by Mero, she would never have come out here.
Wura scoffed and proceeded to walk to where Mero had been training, there was a random smooth log of wood on the ground, which she sat on, considering that her ankle was sprained, but she did not show it at all, she knew that telling Mero she was injured would only cause him to scold her more.
Mero on the other hand sighed when Wura started to walk away from him, he just took a deep calming breath and picked up the fallen candlestick from the ground and he walked towards her and set it on the floor.
Just great, now Mero had to add one more worrying thing to the list of things bothering him, he needed to remind himself to assign more guards to Wura's room, especially at night, they could not have their ruling Queen walking around at night, who knows what could happen to her if she is not careful.
"My Queen, how did you fall down?" asked Mero as he checked her up and down with his eyes, making sure that she was not hurt, because he could tell that was a nasty fall that she had just taken.
"I was on my way back to my room when I heard noises coming from in here, so I decided to find out what or who was making those noises and it was very dark so I tripped and fell" said Wura as she left out the part that she had secretly been watching him, but not for long though, Mero did not need to know that at all.
"My Queen, you should be more careful, and you should never go into a dark place alone especially at night" said Mero in a stern tone that made Wura almost want to roll her eyes, he was too strict sometimes that it was annoying.
"So much of you to say, what are you even doing out here past midnight in the first place hmm?" asked Wura as she looked at him with a stern look on her face.
Mero just sighed and tried to calm himself down, remembering that she was Queen, and his respect and loyalty was to her.
"My Queen, I was training" replied Mero.
"At night in the dark, what a bizarre time to be training Mero" said Wura as she feigned surprise.
"Yes I was training" replied Mero.
"Why?" asked Wura.
"Because I need to train" replied Mero.
"Why?" asked Wura as his answer did not satisfy her.
"Because as I knight I need to stay fit" said Mero as Wura laughed.
"Oh pure nonsense Mero, you stay fit? you are already fit, tell me the truth, what would make you decide to train alone in the empty, dark, cold training grounds in the middle of the night? because it definitely does not seem like something you would do" said Wura as Mero just remained silent.
"Tell me the truth Mero come on" said Wura as Mero sighed.
"I came to train out here because I needed to clear my head" replied Mero.
"Clear your head?" asked Wura as Mero nodded.
"What for?" asked Wura in confusion.
"I have a lot of things on my mind, and I needed to get them out" replied Mero.
"Are they very serious things?" asked Wura as Mero nodded, which made Wura frown, what could be so serious as to trouble him like this?
"Are they... are they personal things?" asked Wura hesitantly as she felt like she was crossing some boundaries, but to her surprise Mero just nodded.
"Yes my Queen, they are" he replied as he bent down and picked up a random sword from the ground and he put it in its right place.
Wura watched Mero closely, obviously seeing that he looked very sad, she wanted to help him, but she did not know if he needed someone to talk to, or if it should be here.
But she did care for Mero, just like she cared for Nora, and if Nora was feeling down, she would try her best to help her feel better.
"Is it because of your... your father?" asked Wura as Mero immediately turned to look at her in surprise, but why was he surprised? Of course Nora would have told Wura about what transpired during their picnic.
"Nora told you did she not?" asked Mero as he smiled softly.
"She did not have to... I already knew" replied Wura as she hoped that would make Mero feel better.
"Look Mero, I gave you and Nora both a day off so you could relax and be energized, but you came back feeling sad, and I cannot help but feel guilty that because of my actions you suddenly feel bad" said Wura as Mero looked at her.
"It is in no way your fault my Queen, it is in fact nobody's fault but mine, I always get worked up when I speak of my past" said Mero as he shook his head and Wura felt even worse.
"Mero, there is nothing that I can think of to say to make you feel better except for... things happen for a reason, but that does not sound comforting at all now does it?" said Wura to herself.
"Saying that is the same as you believing that Liam's absence right now is for a reason" replied Mero with a hint of mild aggravation which left Wura stunned.
"Well yes, if I admit it... yes his absence is for a reason, as much as I hate to say it" said Wura.
"Mero think of how your life would have been if you had never moved to Wyverdale with your mother?" asked Wura.
"I would have been much happier that is for sure" replied Mero.
"No Mero, do not just answer me like that, really think about it deeply, think about how the course of your life would have changed" said Wura as Mero was silent.
"For one, you might have never met Liam, or Luc or Elihu, or Zechariah or Zuph, you would not all be close as you all are" said Wura as Mero did not seem convinced.
"You would not have become the mighty knight that you are now" said Wura.
"I know for sure that if you had not moved to Wyverdale, I would have never had the pleasure of meeting you... and you would not have met... Nora" said Wura a she smiled.
"If I had not moved to Wyverdale to live with my terrible father, my mother would have still been alive" said Mero, his voice was not loud, but his tone was sharp and it caused Wura to flinch by its intensity. Wura could feel the raw emotion of rage and regret and she herself was starting to regret talking about this.
"With all due respect my Queen, I did not ask you to give me your insights of my life, I would appreciate it if you left it at that and leave me be" said Mero as Wura felt hurt by his words.
"This is why I prefer to keep things to myself, I do not need anyone's pity, and I certainly do not need yours" added Mero in harshness as Wura felt like she was about to cry, she would have never expected Mero of all people to speak to her that harshly.
His words were something that she would expect to come out of Elihu's mouth, but Mero had always been gentle and friendly with her, and she felt really close to him, so for him to now speak to her so harshly, she felt a bit betrayed and sad.
"Oh..." said Wura in a shaky tone as she held back her tears, what was the point of crying when she was the one who caused this to happen with her big mouth?
"I... I completely understand Mero, it was not in my place to give my unasked for opinion, I sincerely apologize for any discomfort I caused you with my words, forgive me, I assure you that it will never happen again" said Wura as she steadied her voice and at the end of her words she looked away.
She could not hide that she felt dejected, it was shown all over her face.
Wura decided that she had spent enough time here, she needed to go before she said something else that she should not have.
Mero looked at Wura, seeing the dispirited look on her face made him feel guilty, he realized that he had been too harsh on her, all she wanted to do was help him feel better, and he had spoken to her so meanly, he felt bad. He knew that she meant him well.
"I should get going now" said Wura as she stood up to take her leave.