Released

Persephone was winded as Lucian’s lips caressed hers. She let out a long sigh through her nose, running her hand from his chest to behind his neck. This was more than just a quick kiss on the lips. It was more than the little ones they did to put on a show. They were alone, no one could see them, and his hold on her was tight.

He buried his hand in her hair as he pulled her so close their bodies were touching. When they both had to break for air, she kept her eyes closed.

“What are you thinking?” he whispered, his forehead touching hers as he ran his thumb across her lips.

“I don’t know,” she whispered back. “I mean… this isn’t exactly how I planned things.”

He chuckled. “Things rarely go as you plan them.” The wind was picking up and she shivered. “Let’s go inside. There are still a lot of things that Uther and I need to go over for the treaty.”

They held hands again as they walked inside.

“I am so happy for you, Lucian,” she said sincerely. “And very proud.”

“Thank you,” he said. “I still can’t believe it. I was sure he’d want to leave after he heard what Jerkin did.”

Persephone wrinkled her nose. “Let’s not talk about Jerkin, please.”

“Of course.”

They got to the foyer where a surprise waited for them. It was Ongar and he was standing with an old man. The man’s back was hunched over and he had a cane made of petrified wood. His hair was wispy and white but he looked happy. He was grinning at the foyer, revealing a few missing teeth. Persephone ran to Ongar and hugged him while Lucian walked over.

“Well,” the old man said in a raspy voice. “You’ve grown up to be quite the strapping young fellow.”

Lucian blinked then his eyes went wide. “Oh! You’re Kale! Wow. I’m so sorry. I didn’t even recognize you!”

Kale Earheart chuckled. “Yes, old age will do terrible things to you.”

“Thank you for coming.”

“I gotta say, when I saw Ongar at my door, I thought he was going to threaten to send ol’ Percy at me for something.”

Lucian looked at her, confused. “What?”

Kale laughed and looked at Persephone, too. “He doesn’t know?”

“Not yet,” she mumbled.

“Ah, I know we have more important matters at hand. Take me to her, young king.”

“Can I come?” Persephone asked.

“Yes, of course,” Lucian said and she hugged Ongar one more time. Lucian shook his hand. “Thank you for your help.”

“Of course, your highness. I’m just glad we found him in time.”

“I’m not that old yet,” Kale called from halfway up the stairs and everyone laughed.

Persephone was nervous as they walked up the stairs. She wasn’t sure how Kale knew about her but she was pretty well known among the poorer folk. Could he have fallen on hard times after the king tossed him out?

Lucian knocked on the door to the room Uther and Elisabeth were staying in. Uther opened it.

“I’m sorry, Lucian,” he sighed. “We’re going to have to reschedule. Elisabeth is- What’s going on?”

He had just noticed everyone and Kale walked forward. He smiled.

“My name is Kale Earheart,” he said. “I hear you have a sick young woman.”

Uther’s jaw dropped as he immediately stepped to the side. Kale limped in and over to Elisabeth who was propped up in a chair by the fire. Kale groaned as he sat down across from her.

“I must say, I didn’t expect you to be so young,” he said to Elisabeth, squinting at her. “How old are you, my dear?”

“Forty-three,” she answered after a yawn. “Please excuse me.”

“It’s all part of the disease,” he said with a sympathetic pat on her hand.

Everyone watched in silence as he moved the chair so he could do a more thorough examination. He started with her hands and she whimpered when he would put pressure in certain places. His brow was furrowed in concentration as he kept investigating different parts of her body. He was respectful and told Uther where to put pressure on her hips.

“That’s what I was afraid of,” Kale said after nearly half an hour of examination. Persephone stepped closer to Lucian, suddenly nervous. He put his arm around her. “My dear, you have an affliction of the joints.”

“What does that mean?” she whispered as Frederick and Uther stood at her sides, holding a hand each.

“Over time, your joints will start to change shape,” he explained. “Your body, at the same time, is… attacking itself. There was a young woman here who had the same affliction.” He sighed. “She died when the illness consumed her.”

Elisabeth started to cry. “You mean I’m going to die?”

“No,” he said quickly and Persephone felt like someone had taken a heavy coat off of her shoulders. “No, with proper care and treatment, then you will live a long life. It will be difficult, though, and the medication isn’t as pleasant as we’d like it to be.”

Elisabeth sniffled. “So what do we do next?”

“First you stop those tears, missy,” he said and she laughed. “I think your husband would agree that you’re too pretty for tears!”

“I definitely agree,” Uther said and kissed Elisabeth’s cheek.

“I have two young men that I’ve been teaching over the years,” he said. “After I lost poor Lillian, I promised that I would do all I could to make sure it never happened again. If you’ll accept it, I’d like to send at least one of them back with you. You can meet them tomorrow. I’ll write down all that you need to do and they’ll keep an eye on you.”

Elisabeth stared then threw her arms around the old man, hugging him and weeping. He let out a watery chuckle and patted her back.

=

Dinner that night was better than usual. Even though Kale said she had a long road ahead of her, Elisabeth was enthusiastic and said she’d rather have a long road than a short one. At that, Uther had scolded her but she admitted she felt like she was going to die soon.

While they danced, though, Persephone remembered tomorrow ended her week in the palace. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it. After that morning’s breakfast, she realized she had come to care greatly for the king. She wondered if the feeling was mutual.

He did kiss you, you know.

That didn’t necessarily mean anything, though. He was ecstatic from his success. Her mother would always kiss her face when she was excited about something.

“You’re quiet,” Lucian observed as they walked back to her room.

“Just thinking,” she said.

“Oh? About what?”

“Tomorrow,” she answered and they stopped when they reached her room.

“Why?”

She looked at him. “I leave tomorrow, Lucian,” she whispered and he stared at her.

“Has it been a week already?” he asked and she nodded sadly. “Oh.”

They avoided each other’s eyes and she felt a lump form in her throat.

“I should go to sleep,” she whispered. “I- Well, I need to pack in the morning.”

“I suppose,” he mumbled and she felt tears jump to her eyes.

What did she expect? Him to beg her to stay? For him to sweep her into his arms and proclaim his undying love for her? She had fulfilled her purpose.

“Perhaps, in the morning, we can have another breakfast,” he whispered.

“Maybe,” she said but knew she couldn’t. She cleared her throat, opening the door. “Good night, Lucian.”

“Good night, Persephone,” he muttered and she let the tears fall as soon as the door was shut.

She waited until she heard his footsteps disappear to cry openly. She sat at the writing desk, covering her face. That’s when she realized she didn’t want to leave. She wanted to stay with Lucian. She loved him. She felt cold suddenly but assumed it was her grief.

“Aw, poor Persephone,” a voice said and she froze. “So sad. So many tears. What a heartbreaking sight.” She tried to scream but Jerkin clamped his hand over her mouth and yanked her to her feet by her hair. “You know, I don’t know why it took me so long to figure it out. It wasn’t until the night before last that I recognized you.”

She tried to get to her daggers strapped to her legs but it was impossible to reach them with his hold on her. Her right hand was twisted behind her back and tears fell again. She was completely helpless.

“I imagined you were that servant I took, you know,” he purred into her ear and she gulped audibly. “After Lucian saved your worthless life all those years ago, I knew I’d have to wait. So, I killed his wretch of a father and bided my time.” Her eyes snapped open. He killed the king!? “Now that we have King Uther on our side again, though, I don’t have to wait any longer.”

She whimpered and he suddenly pushed her out of his arms.

“Pack,” he spat. “Pack and never come back. If I see your face anywhere near these grounds, I won’t hesitate in kill you.”

“What are you going to do?” she whispered.

“What’s the matter? Do you love Lucian?” he taunted and she swallowed the lump in her throat. He laughed quietly. “You’re a fool. He doesn’t want you. All he needed was a woman to pose as his mistress.” He grabbed her again and forced her into the chair at the writing desk. “Write this down as I say or I will kill you right now.”

“But-.”

He landed a blow on the side of her head and she grunted.

“Write,” he snapped. “Start with, ‘My dearest Lucian’. He may as well know how you feel now that you’re leaving him forever.”

Persephone let out a small sob as she started to write.