Tie It With a Ribbon

“Alena, please calm down!” Zanzibar begged, hurrying after me as Reginald’s home disappeared behind us.

“No! Do you not see? I do not even wish to rule this disgusting place!” I screamed, shaking my head furiously as sobs formed. “They killed him, Zanzibar! They allowed him to be killed simply because he was not purely Aquilan! What right do they have?” I broke down then, falling to my knees as my shoulders shook uncontrollably. “And what right did my own father have to condemn him in such a way?” I laughed then. “But, no, that monster is not my father.”

“Sweetheart, I know this is entirely fucked up,” he whispered, kneeling beside me. “But we have to keep going. We won’t allow this to happen ever again. We won’t fall to their level, and we’ll stop this before it gets any more out of hand.”

“How many times?” I whispered. “How many times have they done this, hoping to wipe them out completely?”

I choked then. That could have been me… If my mother had not kept her second life a secret from even her own daughter… I could have been left to die in the most excruciating way possible. Sure, Cain did not condemn me, but perhaps my mother had begged him to spare me.

“Don’t even think about that!” he shouted, pulling me up with him. “No! That would never have happened!”

He sounded desperate, so I wiped my tears and allowed him to pull me onto his land. At least here they did not commit such horrible, immoral murders!

“Is Alena alright?”

I looked to Cadence then, and Zanzibar all but begged me to leave so they might discuss this. I sighed, departing from his side for the first time in what seemed like forever.

“Oh, my sweet sister!” Camille shouted, embracing me fully. “How is the baby? We are very much excited for such a milestone.” Weston smiled peacefully to me.

“He is well,” I told her carefully, sighing. “I am sorry, I am simply not in a good mood.”

“Has more developed?”

“Unfortunately… I think these secrets lie deeper than we thought, and it makes me worry… An innocent baby cannot wield a dagger to ward off murderers.”

She smiled. “The war is behind us now, so don’t you worry yourself silly over something as trivial as this. I am sure that Zanzibar, Jr. will be quite alright.”

I nodded, choosing to relieve this conversation. “So I see that Weston is never far from your side. Have you already made the announcement?”

She gripped his hand, squealing in delight. “We have! Oh, we certainly have!” She smiled up to him, her smile only broadening. “Now the only single cub left is little Salina, but we believe she will follow in her brother’s footsteps.”

I shook my head. No, she would marry a nice Leonian, so she would not have to face the world as Zanzibar and I were forced to, so her children would not have to fear for their very lives.

“Is something wrong?”

“No,” I mumbled, looking around. Where was he? I suddenly did not feel like talking. “Excuse me, please.”

I searched the marketplace, politely tolerating anyone who stopped me for a quick chat. But where was he? Cadence was gone, and he should have come back to me.

A hand fell on my shoulder, and I whipped around to see Grayson smiling harmlessly.

“I’m sorry, did I startle you, Alena?” he asked, smiling.

“I’ve been on edge lately,” I admitted, looking around.

“I was wondering if you have seen Cadence? I cannot find her. Zanzibar stormed into the palace, and he would not stop for all the scolding in the world.”

“He was upset?” Perfect. That meant even more had happened.

“I should think so!” Grayson shook his head. “But that boy has always been so bullheaded. Well, if you have not seen her, I won’t waste any more of your time.”

He excused himself then, and I started towards Zanzibar’s room, hoping that this was all a grand misunderstanding.

I knocked softly on the wood before pushing it open. Surely enough he was standing by the window, just looking out into the woods. His flute lay untouched on the bed, out of its case as if he had considered playing it but then had decided against it.

“What is happening out there?” he muttered, and I did not know if he was talking to me or himself. “While we waste away in here, trying to pull together these pieces, what is continuing to happen out there?” He sighed loudly, turning his head only slightly to look at me. “Who are we fooling?”

“It would seem that we are fooling everyone,” I told him, closing the door behind him. “Why were you so upset? What did your mother say to you?”

He looked back to the window then, shaking his head. “I don’t agree with her sometimes. She tried to find reason in what your people did; she said that they had to kill them because they could act as undetectable double agents. It was strategy, she was so sure. I think she was just trying to keep from accusing your side of anything that would cause any harsh feelings, but that doesn’t make it okay!” His fists balled as they rested on the window sill, and his head dropped. “It doesn’t make it any less barbaric…”

“I know that,” I mumbled, stepping up to him and just watching him. “But where did Cadence go? Your father is worrying.”

“She’s crying in her room.”

I bit my lip. “Why is she crying?”

“I told her she’s a monster. I suppose I used less pleasant terms, but it’s all the same.” He turned to look at me as I stared after him in shock. “Yeah, I called my mother a bitch, a wench, a no-good slaughterer. She deserved it, too.”

“Don’t you think that’s overreacting? She was trying to make what they did alright, to stop this before the birds caught wind of it.”

“Don’t agree with her,” he snapped, looking back to his window. “You weren’t there.”

“I’m going to read some more,” I told him, sitting on the mattress.

He let out a shallow breath, not moving from his spot even as I got comfortable with my pen and paper.

If I could not hear his breathing, I would have thought that he was just a statue of the man I used to know.