The Heart of Everything

Betrayed. I was betrayed. The king had been waiting for me, and I had walked right into the trap.

I was dying to catch my breath. Oh why didn’t I ever learn? Max was not to be trusted, the death of his family had dealt too large of impact to him. Revenge was his sole living purpose, all else mattered not. I’d lost all my trust though I’d surely tried to turn it around.

Arms slipped around my waist, holding me close to the commander, giving me the warmth I had lost so long ago. Despite the betrayal he had just showed me, I didn’t want to get to of his embrace. I laid still in his arms, not once I struggled. My body gave into the soothing comfort it familiarized, not wanting to abandon it again. All my agony faded away when he held me in his embrace. I hated how he could affect me.

‘Your majesty,’ Max snarled, a growl was at the back of his throat.

Relief fell upon me, shrouding me in joy. What I had expected the most did not befall on me. I was fortunate, for this time I had Max with me. He did not betray me, I wasn’t betrayed. I was so grateful that the corners of my lips curled upward gently.

‘Ah, dear Max,’ the king cooed. ‘Have you received the letter yet?’

The air grew tense, colder, dropping a few degrees. His hand tightened on my waist unconsciously, luckily it was not hard enough to hurt.

‘You know about the letter?’

‘Have a seat,’ the king gestured the chairs which materialized with the table in front of him, evading Max’s question. The table itself was seven meters long, two meters width, made of oak and carved with flowers and plants that were widely seen in his kingdom. One similarly fashioned chair was placed at the opposite end of the table, another by its side within an arm’s length.

Max gave me a warning look before nodding his head in the furniture’s direction. Be careful, he warned me, not that I wouldn’t be. How interesting things had turned out to be. We were just looking to assassinate the king, and here, our target was inviting us with a warm welcome and asked us to take a seat. Now, I wondered where the tea and crumpet was.

‘What do you know about the letter?’ Max broke the silence rudely, almost jumped from his seat.

‘Basically next to nothing,’ the king said.

‘What?’ Max echoed in disbelief.

‘Please, boy, I do not any x-ray visions, which I’m sure you should know,’ the king
laughed. ‘And you should be able to tell no one has opened the letter beforehand. I can only guess.’

‘Then what do you think it’s written inside?’ he narrowed his eyes into glaring slits. I watched as the king continued to laugh, paying no attention to Max’s burning temper.

‘I don’t know. Do tell me, Max.’

‘It says that you’re the one behind my family’s death, sire. Your own brother, brother in blood, stated clearly that you are the one who’s behind all of this, not Sophie!’ Max roared. ‘Can you explain what’s going on?’

‘It is the truth.’

Max slumped on his chair, his eyes widened in incredulity. I saw it in his eyes, somewhere in his heart he hoped it was not the truth, that I was the real murderer, not his high and mighty king. It stung to know.

‘Why?’ The commander breathed out slowly.

‘He was going to start a rebel. I had to secure my throne, Max.’

‘But he’s you brother.’

‘That does not make any difference. A rebel is a rebel, and they must be executed like any other. This has been your duty since forever, boy. You should have memorized it by heart. Be reasonable.’

‘Reasonable? He’s your brother! Not just any other. Even if he was indeed a rebel, you shouldn’t kill his family like that. We should have investigated first. What if they were framed? What if---’

‘You see, that’s the other reason why I killed them,’ the king leaned forward, his brows pressed against each other. ‘You were becoming soft, Max, and it had weighted you down, thanks to Princess Sophia here,’ he spat my name. I held my head high, ignoring his insulting tone. I refused to be bothered by someone like him.

‘So you framed her…’ Max linked the clues together, placing the puzzle pieces. ‘And turned me against her, so I can be your perfect servant.’

‘Like you used to,’ he agreed. ‘Too bad you weren’t able to return to when you first served me. You had become weak, and eventually, a nuisance. You have to go.’

I was only one step away from turning around. Now that the truth had been revealed, I had secured Max by my side. It was either him, or us. This would be my final attempt on ending the suffering. I’d tried too many times but nothing was real, they faded away. I wanted to believe this was for real, and saved myself from my fear.

Don’t tear me down.

I held Max’s trembling hand. He was all I needed, for everything, and for my, no, our goal. The king would fall in our hands. We might have different reasons, but we’d had to kill the king all the same. We could actually had a happily ever after like in fairytales. The bad guy died and the main characters lived their lives in joy.

‘You…will….pay….’Max choked out the words.

He slammed his fist on the wooden table, breaking it in half. The king sat, unfazed by Max’s performance. Pieces of wooden flew in his way but a force field blocked them.

I thought about the better place where Max and I belonged, believing in the fantasy. My belief was what was left of me, driving me to finish the chains of suffering for both the werewolves and my people.

The belief made my heart a better place.