Hollow Kingdom

"Ten years."

"Yes."

"Ten long years."

"Yeah, I know."

Alec kept his eyes on his plate as he rolled a piece of potato around with his fork. He could feel his father's eyes on him, sitting across from him at the dinner table, but he continued to keep his responses short. Erwin was happily curled up in a little nest of blankets Tobias had set aside for him. Belle sat next to Tobias, and Lily sat beside Alec. She hadn't said a word, either. Then again, she hadn't just reunited with her father after a lonely decade. Alec had nothing much to say, lifting his gaze only to look around at the treetop home. It was nice, and much larger on the inside than it looked. It was perfect for one or two people to live in, and Tobias had certainly made himself at home. Alec's eyes landed on a coat hanging on a hook, and frowned when he realized he recognized it. It was the same coat he was wearing when he was taken away. Alec had a sudden flashback of holding back a screaming Belle, much like the execution of Daniel, while armed guards bound Tobias's hands behind his back and forced him into the back of a cart.

"Belle had a lot to tell me," Tobias said, making Alec's attention snap back to him. "What about you, Alec? I'm sure something has happened in your life since I last saw you."

"Not really," he mumbled.

Belle and Lily both stared at him in disbelief and a bit of annoyance, but neither one said anything. Alec was different, ever since he'd been let out of that net. It was difficult to challenge him on this subject.

"Nothing?" Tobias pressed, unfazed. "Wife? Children?"

"No, none of that," Alec said. "Not until after this revolution ends. I wouldn't dare bring children into a world like this, let alone drag them into my revolutionary ways."

Now, Tobias understood completely. He stroked his beard pensively, which was something Alec wasn't used to. His mother despised facial hair of any sort, and he always held an image of his father with a clean-shaven face and short, well-groomed hair. The beard and long hair tied back with a leather strap would have given her a heart attack. It was most of the reason Alec groomed himself almost obsessively.

"So, Miss Lily," Tobias said, with a lighter tone in his voice as he changed the subject, "You've been very quiet. Are you a friend of Belle?"

"No," Belle said, in a flat tone.

"I'm just a friend," Lily said, with a polite smile. "I've recently been acquainted with your children. Well, re-acquainted. Alec and I met once as children."

Alec glanced at her, but felt his father's eyes burning holes into him and looked away again.

"So you're a friend of Alec's?" Tobias concluded. "I see."

Lily and Alec both turned a bit red, but once again, were quiet.

"Well, imagine you'd like to know what I've been up to," Tobias sighed. "Well, after I was banished, I spent a year moving from place to place, looking for somewhere that would appreciate the art. After all, whatever magic could destroy, it could also create. Tenfold. I stumbled across this village by accident. I imagine there are many hidden villages like it, for those hiding from the queen's authority to avoid execution, but I could appreciate this one. See, they focus on the soul here, and being completely at peace with yourself. Only when you have full control over your own energy can you control the energies around you."

"And you're completely at peace with yourself?" Alec asked accusingly.

"No," Tobias sighed. Unlike Lily and Belle, Alec's bad attitude didn't get to him. He wasn't afraid of giving a straight answer to his son. "I've always been tormented by having abandoned my children. I've been getting by only with the knowledge that they understand that it wasn't by choice."

Alec stood suddenly, rattling the table. Tobias did the same, and though he wasn't as tall as Alec, radiated enough authority to match his son in intimidation.

"Breaking the law was a choice," Alec snapped.

"You sit back down, Alec," Tobias ordered, pointing to Belle when she opened her mouth to say something. "Not a word out of you, Isabelle."

"She deserves a say in the subject," Alec told him, glaring at him.

"She's- You're- Alec!" Tobias scowled frustratedly. "All these years of meditation and soul purification, and it takes just an hour of sitting down with my son to ruin that peace!"

"Then maybe you should've let him die!" Alec yelled, kicking his chair out of his way and making Lily jump lightly as he stormed outside.

He walked out onto one of the bridges connecting the tree houses together, gripping the wooden railing so tightly his knuckles turned white. He stood there for a little while, steadying his breathing, until Lily came and stood beside him.

"You and your father look very alike when you're fuming mad," she said.

"Not in the mood," he grumbled.

"What's this really about, Alec?" she sighed. "It has nothing to do with him being banished, because you know that he couldn't come back, even if he wanted to. What, do you blame him for shaping you into a revolutionary? Because I doubt that's the case."

Alec didn't like the way she talked to him like she was scolding a child, but he couldn't deny that he was starting to feel like one.

"I'm just bitter."

"About what?"

"Everything."

"That bitter taste won't leave your mouth unless you sort things out with him," Lily pointed out. "Now, Belle is in there, helping your father calm down. For now, I suggest you stay out of his way. Come on."

Lily brushed past him, heels audibly clicking against the wooden bridge. Alec watched her, then hesitantly began to follow her down the wooden spiral stairs that wrapped around the tree, to the ground below. It was a completely different world down there. It seemed that the people worked with the way nature grew, rather than tearing it apart and building on top of it. Alec and Lily walked along the naturally worn out path, both surprised to find that everyone who past by them would give them a friendly nod and greeting, despite being strangers. Alec could understand why someone would be content here.

"What's that?" Lily asked, pointing to a more shadowy area, where the path sloped down a hill.

"One way to find out," Alec shrugged.

He walked down the hill, helping Lily climb down the rocks when it got steep. They found themselves in sort of a rocky ditch, with a small opening in the rocks, like a cave. Alec ducked through the small opening into the pitch black cave, and felt Lily grab his hand so she wouldn't lose him.

"Well, we're in a dark cave," she said, voice echoing. "What now, genius?"

Suddenly, small lights rose from the ground in rainbow colors, dimly lighting the cave. They were like fireflies, but they were just tiny specks of multicolored light, seemingly coming from no source. The small lights attached to small crystalline fixtures, which lit up in different colors and illuminated the cave, which was much larger than it looked. The lights were reflected in a crystal-clear pool of water.

"It's beautiful," Lily said breathlessly, looking up at the glittering crystals above. "I've never seen anything like it."

Alec stepped towards the water, peering down into it. It was so clear, he could see that the cave continued beneath the water.

"Can you swim?" he asked.

"Of course I can," Lily said. "We'd go to the lake every chance we could to get clean, since baths weren't available."

"It looks like there's more to this cave," Alec said. "It could be even better than this."

"Alec, we're not dressed for a swim," Lily said, rolling her eyes. "I certainly can't swim in a skirt like this."

"Take it off, then."

Lily was about to protest, but snapped her mouth shut when she saw that Alec had already removed his shirt and kicked his shoes off, removing his belt and giving her a slight nod of encouragement. Lily pursed her lips and shook her head.

"You're impossible," she sighed.

"It'll be fun," he teased. "It could be magical. You'll regret missing it."

"Fine. Don't look."

Lily made Alec turn around as she stripped down to her undergarments, as if he hadn't already seen everything. Suddenly, he felt a hard shove and a splash of water in his face when Lily pushed him into the pool of water, laughing when he came up and gasped for air.

"I just wanted to see if the water was cold," she laughed.

"It's colder than I thought," Alec informed her, lifting himself up on a rock high enough to grab Lily's arm, then yanking her hard into the water.

She came up with wide eyes, pushing wet locks of red hair out of her face. "Oh my goodness, I thought you were joking. This is absolutely freezing!"

"Swim a little, you'll warm up," Alec said, swimming towards the end of the cave.

"Lead the way, Captain."