Elderwood, 2 centuries ago…
The rain never seized for the entire summer in the Elderwood. If not for the occasional blizzard, there were not many rains that invaded the only period when the sun managed to reach the Elderwood at that time of the year.
But this summer, things were different.
The rain poured down on the castle which overlooked a gigantic wood, but not a drop of the rain touched the balcony of my Father's room. A large silver oak grew at the edge of the long balcony. Every drop of water that fell upon those leaves slid down the branches, falling over the parapet down to the foot of the castle.
Ever since the rain began that summer, the edge of the parapet looked as if there was a waterfall flowing down from the silver oak.
The specialty of the silver oak was that it never lets the water descending upon its leaves touch its root. The water always slips off the leaves in a manner which makes the leaves sort of like an umbrealla.
That night, I and Father were the only ones standing atop that balcony.
I stood there with numb hands, blood dripping from my fingertips. My silver cloak, painted in a dark crimson. I had a knife in my grasp with my hood drawn to cover my blood-lusted eyes.
Near the parapet stood Father, his long silver hair draped across the clean white floor. He was staring at the water falling from the silver oak, his fingers gracing the waterfall lightly.
Not a drop of remorse in his eyes. Cold as he can get.
"Father, over the edge of that castle wall… one hundred fathers and sons are dead. Luna is dead. Lori is dead. Fluri is dead. And ninety-seven dead bodies with them. It's a sea of blood outside those castle walls, and you stand here like nothing happened? Enjoying the rain, are you?"
"One hundred? You counted?" He asked.
My grip tightened as my teeth gritted. "All of those people out there who died. I loved every single one of them, Father."
Father did not turn his gaze towards me. He simply stared at the waterfall, grasping the parapet with one hand as his other graced the curtain of water.
"I loved every single one of them too."
"Luna... is dead, Father. She was my lover. If you had not sent her with the knights, she wouldn't have died," I retorted, taking one step forth.
Just as I took the step forward, he released the grip he had on the parapet. A menacing mana began to overflow from his body, and he turned to me with dark eyes, sending chills down my spine.
"And… whose arrow was it that brought down the Meridian King? Yours? It was her arrow that struck the mighty king down to his death. Because she sacrificed herself in that field, thousands within the castle are alive. Now, imagine if she hadn't brought him down? Imagine if this castle was filled with blood. These alleys are covered with dead children. What then, Silver? What'll you do then?"
I kept my head lowered. My teeth still gritted. My anger did not seize merely because of his words. Tears flowed down my eyes.
Furious, the king shifted his head back to the waterfall, clicking his tongue.
My fingers lost control. The knife slipped from my hand and fell to the floor.
Drip! Drip!
Gradually, my tears slipped down from my chin and dropped on the floor. I felt weak. Vulnerable. Pitiful.
Then, my father asked me the question.
"Silver, do you know what it means to be a king?"
The anger coursing through my veins didn't allow me to think of an answer at that moment. I stood there with tears simply dripping down my cheeks.
"Silver, a king is someone who is ready to sacrifice anything for his castle. You alone are not my child, Silver. All those children down in those houses, all of those people are my children. They feed on the crops I own, the houses me and my fathers built. We nurture them, raise them for a future that can brighten our world even more."
Father turned to me, finally.
"A king sees the future. Not the past. We only see a future. Unlike you, Silver. You dwell within the present, putting value on your own interests rather than the interests of these people," he uttered, the voice booming down the hallways.
"What it means to be a king? It's making that decision without blurring the line between your own self-interests and the many lives of the children that you carry. That is what I am doing right now. That is the choice I took for my future, the future of my children. That is the reason why you are unfit to be a king."
I could not resist any longer.
"Damn to hell with your throne, Father. If that is what a king is – I have no interest in a future in this castle. For me, everyone I loved mattered. You are a powerless king. It seems you and I no longer share the same path," I continued, turning around.
"I will find power, Father. Enough power so that no one can ever take a life that is in my hands. One day, Father… I might return. There will be no need for any life to be sacrificed when I do. I will be able to protect the future of my people on my own."
I ripped off the Elderwood metal badge in my silver cloak and threw it into the floor as I walked away.
Father stood there, silent. He didn't say another word. And I never turned back.
///
My heart beats faster as I remember the day I left my Father and his castle.
I'm still pursuing a power that can save every life that matters to me. I still haven't gotten the balls to go back home, and it's been 2 centuries. What is the right answer from those two?
What way would the normal king think?
My head doesn't burn with the questions. The water is too cold for that. It's magical how calm this pond keeps me in such a tense situation.
I decide on my answer.
"It's making that decision without blurring the line between your own self-interests and the many lives of the people that you carry. A king only sees a future… Reya. A king is the future."
After finishing my words, I turn my head back to Reya.
Her eyes are sparkling, gleaming with light. A tear comes to her eye. I feel something soft crawling up my hand. Fingers cross, and the bridge that separates us as two finally connects.
She holds my hand, underneath the clear water of the pond. We stare at each other for a long time.
Not a word escapes my lips, nor hers.
'I know. I'm unfit to be a king. I seek power that can surpass any challenge that I would face. I cannot simply choose what to sacrifice. It's not a choice for me. That's why I stepped outside of that castle. I'm no king, Princess. What I want to be is a God.'