Lloyd exited the hall after his father left, still furious. Ascertaining his position outside the double doors, he closed his eyes and tilted his head towards the back. As he felt his throat burning, his eyes hurting, and the threat of spilling water again, he sighed in exasperation.
He couldn't believe his father.
How is it possible for him to mention the kingdom to him when his mother just passed away?
How dare he mention anything about a wife when his mother had just died?
Her nonexistence was not even a concern for Benjamin, he never even cared about her existence. She was his concubine and should be properly treated after her death. Lloyd was skeptical that his father would want to have anything to do with her after her demise.
It was on him.
How could this have happened? Why her?
If someone were to be executed, they should have pursued him directly instead of hurting him through his beloved one.
His mother's departure left him feeling alone in this dreadful world. He prayed inwardly that she would find peace. She must. She had always been a good woman.
She hurt no one either physically or verbally and was gentle.
Despite being attacked, she didn't take it personally but instead absorbed everything. Her forgiveness was unparalleled, and she was both the best mother and companion in the world.
He was uncertain about his future now that she was gone.
Who was going to comfort him? Who was going to stop him whenever he was enraged and who was going to make him happy?
His mind trailed to the past, where his young self was sitting on the rock in a peach garden situated at the back of their manor.
Young Lloyd sharpened the sword in his hands, his eyes looking elsewhere while his lips twisted.
He suddenly hurled the sword, which pierced a snake that was slipping under the grass and cut its belly in half.
He sat there, gazing at the animal he had just killed. However, he was not content with the painless death he believed he had given the snake. He should have twisted it until it suffocated before killing it.
Rayna's relief was palpable when she saw her son sitting on the rock after searching for him.
With a kind smile on her lips, she approached him, "Lloyd"
He narrowed his eyes to the side, "Go away, Mother"
Rayna stopped in her tracks, her brown eyes pairing at the boy, she supposed that he had been hurt again and was now venting his anger.
He wanted to be alone, but she wanted to be there for him.
"Why, son?" she inquired, fidgeting with her hands as if nervous.
He was silent for a while before he parted his lips to speak, "I want to be alone" He let her know.
The peach garden was a peaceful area, only observed by the two of them and the servants were not allowed in. He would come here whenever he was annoyed because the sweet smell made him calm sometimes.
Rayna parted her lips to ask, "What did Damien do this time?"
That boy had always been on her son's neck.
Rayna rebuked the boy for his bad behavior, but Damien told her to stop speaking, saying that he wouldn't listen to an ugly woman like her. When the king approached her to perform his duties, she informed him of the conflict between the children, but he waved it dismissively. Her efforts were fruitless, and she could only urge her son to stop hanging out with Damien so that he wouldn't be able to harm him.
Even though Lloyd obeyed her, the other child always found a way to hurt him.
"He called me a loser again, and said when he becomes king, he'll torture the hell out of me and my family"
She sat by his side, her gaze cast to his profile as the boy didn't turn to her. "Is that all?"
"I retorted that he wouldn't make a good king but a tyrant. And then he ordered the servants to beat me, while Roman just watched as usual" He finished his statement.
She scrutinized her son, and saw the marks on his body that she was oblivious to earlier because she had stood behind him, "Did you fight him?"
"I did what I could. I cannot simply stare at him destroying me. Damien needs a taste of what he had done" Lloyd spoke through clenched teeth, he then abruptly turned towards his mother and met her eyes.
"Can we not just go away? Why must we stay here where everyone does not love us? Even father... He-" Lloyd's lungs tightened as he contemplated speaking ill of that man, but he knew his mother would not accept them. Despite her awareness of Benjamin's unfairness and evilness, she was hesitant to hear any negative comments about him from Lloyd.
"Hush now" She shunned him, although in a quiet manner. "Your father has reasons for not involving himself with us" She spoke.
She was delusional, Lloyd thought. How could a man not care about his son and woman? How could he turn a blind eye to everything that was happening to them?
"And I told you, Lloyd, don't show to people that they've hurt you, don't give them the satisfaction. They'll stop when they've gotten bored" She continued.
"Power lies in the hands of those that do not react easily to the whims of others. You just need to overlook everything they do, but if you feel you can't hold it in anymore, I won't stop you from unleashing your inner self. Asher, I'll always want you to be happy and fulfilled" She smiled at him after finishing her words.
Lloyd looked down at his hands, and then bit on his lower lips. Left to him, he wanted to be alone with his mother, he didn't need his brothers, and his father in his life.
Presently...
Lloyd walked down the stairs, heading towards the manor which only he would occupy. Given that he knows his mother, she would be dismayed by his reaction, but he was not at fault. They were and they were going to pay.
"Is it about time you take over?" He heard the commander speaking in a hushed tone. The man walked towards him with his hands in his pocket, and he must have been cognizant of his mother's passing.
Lloyd glanced at him. "Easy there Grayson, someone would think you're plotting treason" He eyed the man before walking away in large strides.
When Lloyd reached the manor, his eyebrows pulled into a tight knot on seeing the maids and his butler.
Well, what were they doing here when the deed had already been done?
Oliver, his butler, had caused disappointment by disappearing from the manor while he was supposed to be protecting his mother.
"Your Highness" He bowed his head once Lloyd neared him.
"What are you doing here?" His anger was evident as he demanded, his eyebrows rising in question.
Oliver didn't raise his head, nor did he respond which infuriated Lloyd. He wanted to hear something, even if it was an excuse but Oliver didn't utter a word.
He snarled at the maids, "Get out. All of you"
"Y--your Highness" One of them who had been serving him since birth wanted to speak up but was silenced by the glass that shattered on the ground.
"I promise to kill anyone who remains on the count of two" He raised his hands in the air, his eyes which had turned red were now blazing at every one of them.
He dropped a finger and he could see the maids scurrying in different directions.
Yes, that was more like it.
All of them exited the manor. Except for one person, Oliver.
Lloyd dropped the second finger, and like wind, he abruptly appeared in Oliver's presence and grabbed him by the neck. "I told you to leave" He gritted his teeth at the young man.
"I---i promised your mot-her that I wou-ld alw-ays be by your side and se-rve you until I die" He choked on his words, feeling the grip around his neck tighten.
Lloyd threw him to the ground, "I don't need a traitor like you. Leave" He ordered and then walked away from him.
Later in the night, where the sky had turned darker and everywhere was quiet. Lloyd was in the garden digging a grave to place his mother. He hoped that the ground would come to accept her, and she would live in peace. She deserved so much after all that she had endured.
He successfully placed her casket in the ground and then concealed it with sand. His tears were unstoppable, as they rained down on the pale woman beneath the ground.
After, he placed a flower on the grave and settled next to her.