"My prince," a gentle, lady-like voice called out. Silas's eyes flew open, his pupils shifting toward the direction of the voice before looking out the window noticing the gentle rays of sunlight refracting as they passed through the glass panes.
"Talia?" he whispered faintly.
She stood before him, draped in her servant's gown, the fabric clinging to her as if she were wrapped in white, see-through curtains. Her figure was clearly outlined beneath the material, but her usual smile was absent, replaced by an expression of puzzlement.
"Your father requests your presence in the throne room," she said, her tone distant.
After delivering her message, Talia turned away, ignoring Silas as she began cleaning the chambers. He watched her for a moment, a sense of awe and unease washing over him.
"So, you're just not going to talk to me?" Silas asked, his voice betraying a flicker of hope.
Talia briefly glanced at him before resuming her duties, her silence speaking louder than words.
"Very well," Silas murmured.
He got up from his bed. Walked briskly over to the windows and threw the curtains open, briefly looking outside. From his window he could oversee the city of ArdenFall and the harbor where the Navy docked and mechanic sailors that scampered along the deck doing repairs and upgrades. He walked away from the window and grabbed his coat and wore it over his broad shoulders that seemed able to carry the weight of a Thousand wars, slumped only by his own thoughts. Without as much as a glance backwards to stare at Talia for even a split second he left the room. The hardened heel of his boots echoed through the empty hallways, the sound dying slowly the farther away he got. Talia sighed heavily as she swept the floors and tidied the room putting everything back in its place. As she walked away, a shiny piece of jewelry caught her eye. She reached for it, it was a ring with diamonds and other precious stones encrusted into the band. It reflected the light that shone on it, reflecting even more beautiful in every stone. She looked around the room frantically making sure no one saw her actions and shoved the ring into her cleavage.
Silas paused at the entrance to the throne room, where the banners of House Ardentis hung on either side. Their sigil, a sun surrounded by a radiant halo, was said by some to symbolize an explosion, with the halo representing the shockwave that would shake the world when the skyfall came. These whispered rumors had become tales for children, ever since the Ardentis displayed their power in the Mechanic Wars over two centuries ago. The world lived in fear of the day they might need to purge their stockpile of atomics—an arsenal capable of plunging Xandria into the stone age many times over. Everyone knew it, and everyone was terrified. Flamel "The Invader" Ardentis had been right about one thing: the words of House Ardentis, "From fear, comes loyalty." Silas pushed the doors open revealing a red carpet that led directly in front of The Sunforged Throne, that Erik mounted proudly. On each side of the carpet guards were standing, holding their swords hilt. Servants walked busily around the room catering to Erik and Silas's sibling. Torrin who was the youngest of the Ardentis children, a rather small child only seven or eight years old, was seated on his father's lap. Erik's mistress sat beside him on a small stool. Her wide based frame hung off the edges of the seat on either side. She waved at Silas warmly, throwing in a smile, though his face never returned the warmness, instead changed to a disgusted expression. He walked down the red carpet, halting before his father and knelt in a formal fashion.
"Your Radiance." He acknowledged his father.
"What about me?" An annoying sound expelled itself from Shara's lips.
His teeth gritted and clenched together in annoyance as he uttered the words to her.
"My Queen."
"Rise prince Silas. Tell me what you have learned, that may or may not lead to our demise." Erik said commandingly.
Torrin has never heard Erik give orders so stern before, it was as if he had lost the fatherly face he always had with him, and donned "High Lord Ardentis."
Silas rose to his feet and stood there in front of the throne. "High Lord," Silas began, his voice tight with restraint. "I've served you loyally for years. Never once have I questioned your command or given you false intelligence. So hear me when I tell you, moves are being made against us, Valen seeks the destruction of our family."
Erik laughed hysterically, his wife also joined the laughing, though she never really understood what was unfolding in front of her.
"Valen would never seek to destroy us. I've allowed him to remain in this family, He IS family." Erik said.
"Valen killed me, I forfeited the honorable invitation the all father bestowed on me to return to this wretched world to protect you. ALL OF YOU!" Silas shot back and turned to the guards as he spoke.
Erik looked at Silas uneasily, his gaze seared into Silas's skin. His composure then quickly shifted back into his stoic manner.
"Valen is no threat to us. He is one of us. He is a good soldier. He is a prince of Ardentis."
The prince's fists clenched tightly at his sides, anger and frustration built up quickly inside him and he was ready to release it. He would release it.
"I will not sit and watch you WALK us into the target of our own army or bombs because you cannot admit your bastard is a traitor. If it was I who turned coat, you would've stopped at nothing to capture me and burn me alive. Guilty or not guilty."
The guards would flinch slightly; it was not normal for Silas to lose his normally calm demeanor, much less be genuinely angry. The king was visibly shocked at his son's anger. He took a deep breath that transformed into a long sigh.
"If only you knew the things our family did to get where we are now. Then you would ask yourself, is it really a crime to let us die out? Wouldn't it be a mercy?"
Silas calmed himself. In a soft voice he said.
"I don't care about the past, none of that matters. Only now matters, Only us. I will find Valen myself. I sentence him to death."
"If you kill Valen, It's high treason for you. Not that it's new to you. You've been killing your own blood for a while."
Torrin could feel the tension rise in the chamber. The air itself seemed to still as Silas, normally so calm and composed, clenched his fists at his sides. His eyes burned with a mixture of defiance and anger, flickering between the stone-faced Erik and the ground beneath him. The grand hall was silent, save for the crackling of the braziers lining the walls, their glow casting long, flickering shadows over the scene.
"Yes, father." Silas said calmly. This was nothing more than a ruse, his mind was already dead set on preventing whatever Valen's plan was. He turned and walked out of the throne room. Torrin looked up at his father who stroked his black hair that also had gray streaks. This was almost a trademark for Ardentis. All except Valen who had a full head of white hair with black streaks that were barely visible.
Erik sighed as he played with Torrin's hand. "You will understand this when you get older, Torrin. Ruling a kingdom is so much harder than taking one." Erik laughed.