Hope in the Rain

Zeke paced his room, furious. He wanted nothing more than to find Erick and beat him within an inch of his life. But Talon had asked him to wait in his room and, not wanting to cause any more trouble, he obliged. A knock on his door announced Talon and Zeke quickly opened it.

“Did you see to her getting help?” Talon asked, sitting down in front of the fireplace heavily.

“Yes. I waited for her servant girl to come in. What have you done with Erick?”

“He is in the dungeons,” Talon answered.

“Good,” Zeke growled. “That’s where he deserves to be.”

“He’s an unpleasant man, yes. But you forget: He was my general. I have no one to lead my troops now.”

“What about your son?”

Talon frowned into the fire. “He won’t speak to me.”

“Why is he down in the dungeons?”

Talon sighed and stared up at the ceiling. “There’s a lot of pressure on me as King. And there’s a lot of pressure on Gerard. He got caught up in the wrong crowd. He didn’t know what they were doing but the people were clamoring for an arrest. I told him it wouldn’t be permanent but he refuses to come out.”

“I could talk to him if you want,” Zeke offered.

Looking back, Zeke wasn’t quite sure why he offered to talk to Gerard but, an hour later, he was walking down to the dungeons trying to think of what he’d say. He wasn’t even sure how old Gerard was. When he reached the dungeons, he noticed only two were occupied. One held Erick who Zeke shot a death glare and the other a young man just a few years younger than himself.

“Gerard?” he asked, standing outside the cell with his hands behind his back.

The young man turned to look at him. He had short black hair and golden eyes. He was thin and pale from being in the dungeons. His lips turned down into a frown.

“Who are you?”

“I am King Zeke from the neighboring kingdom. How are you?” he added awkwardly when he didn’t respond.

“My father sent you down here.” It wasn’t a question. “Well, you can leave. I do not want to speak with anyone associated with that traitor.”

Zeke pulled a chair up to the cell door and studied Gerard for a little while. The young man stared challengingly back. Zeke saw a little bit of himself in the boy’s fierce gaze.

“My father died just recently,” he said slowly, choosing his words carefully. “He was a good man but I harbored ill feelings toward him for a long time.”

“Why?”

Zeke could tell that, despite the boy’s cold exterior, he was still innocent and curious.

“When my mother was alive, she made a point of taking care of the orphans in my kingdom. She took them in as wards and made sure they were brought up well. After her passing, my father sent the orphans out to defend for themselves. I think he did it because it reminded him of my mother but I did not care at the time. You see, one of the orphans had become a good friend of mine and I did not get to see her for a long time.

“Now that he is dead, however, I very much regret not getting to spend more time understanding him and why he did some of the things he did. I never got to fully appreciate the sacrifices that he made in the last few years of his life.” Zeke paused and leaned forward. “I know that you are upset with your father. But you do not know how much longer he will be around. Our time on this earth is not guaranteed. You have the opportunity to make amends for whatever happened in the eyes of the people and to help your father in a time of need.

“Think about it.”

He left without another word, nodding at the guard by the door in passing. He hoped that what he said would inspire Gerard to change his mind. All he could do now, though, was hope and pray.

.

Hope wasn’t awake when he went to go see her so he spoke with Kelli to see how she was coming around.

“She is still unable to put any weight on the leg,” Kelli whispered, watching Hope. “She is very, very tired. The attack took a lot out of her and a lot of blood, as well. We are doing what we can to help her regain her strength.” She glanced at the sky. “I have to go take care of other duties. Will you stay here for just an hour or two?”

“I will stay as long as I need to,” he said firmly and took up the chair by Hope. Kelli left and he slipped his hand into hers. “I am so sorry this happened to you,” he whispered. “I wish things were different… I wish I had not forgotten about you. I still do not understand how or why. I was going to talk to King Talon about it but then you got hurt.” He sighed and kissed her cheek. “Rest is what I think you need more than anything, honestly.”

Hope remained asleep for the whole time he was there. He didn’t mind. It gave him time to think and he enjoyed watching her sleep. He decided to pay a visit to Talon after Kelli returned to talk to him about what happened.

He had dozed off when Kelli returned. She touched his shoulder gently and he woke with a start.

“I will let you know if anything changes,” she assured him, walking him to the door. “You look like you need some rest, too, Your Highness.”

He just nodded. “Do you know where the King is?”

“He is in his study.”

“Thank you.”

He walked there briskly, determined to not take no for an answer. He was going to get his answers and he was going to get them now.

“How did it go?” Talon asked after admitting Zeke in.

“It went well. We shall see soon, I believe. Listen, I have some questions for you.”

“Anything, anything.”

Zeke sat down and ran a finger along his lips, trying to form into words exactly what he was wanting to ask. The fire crackled merrily and he glanced out the window, surprised to see it was snowing. He had lost track of time.

“Hope and I were good friends when she lived in the castle,” he began. “Such good friends that I should not have forgotten her. I remember my father mentioning how distasteful orphans were for a royal member to be associating with so I assume he did not approve of our friendship. Could he… That is, is it possible that he altered my memory?”

Talon didn’t answer for a long time. He watched Zeke with a thoughtful expression before saying, “It is possible. Your father had an unhealthy obsession with magic after your mother died. I think he wanted to find a way to bring her back somehow. He might have stumbled across a ‘potion’ or ‘spell’ to make you forget.”

“You do not believe in magic?”

Again, his response was slow. “I do not doubt there is a sort of magic in the world. It mentions a few occasions in the Bible, after all. But the ability to use it… Of that I am uncertain. If he did, I know it is unfair,” he added, staring intently at Zeke. “Do not hold any ill feelings against him, though. I am sure he thought he was doing what was best for you. If you want more answers, you can check my library. I do not know how much you will find there but it is a starting place.”

Zeke nodded and stood, suddenly feeling very weary.

“Thank you. I think I should go sleep now. I will see you in the morning.”

“Sleep well. Try not to dwell.”

Zeke just nodded once again and left, stroking his stubbly chin and making a mental note to shave the next morning. He knelt beside his bed and prayed before climbing in. He prayed that Hope would make a speedy recovery and that he would find the answers to his questions. He prayed for Gerard, that he would come to see the truth, and that justice would meet Erick.

Little did he know that Seth was paying a visit to Erick in the middle of the night and, together, they were beginning a sinister plot.