SHATTERED REALM: FORGOTTEN ECHOES
Chapter 85: I Needed a Father, Not A King

Chapter 85: I Needed a Father, Not A King

"Aramith...You forget your place," Henndar said coldly to him.

But the boy was still brimming with courage and defiance.

You’re the prince, the voice slithered in his mind, poisoning his thoughts and decisions.. Yes, I know who I am, he agreed quietly in his mind.

"No," he said quietly, heart pounding. "I’m realizing it."

He glanced back at Lynnor, who was held in a difficult position. One good shot and her neck could even split easily.

"Aramith. This is a warning. Step. Aside." henndar’s eyes glinted with cold indifference. He wasn’t seeing a son anymore. This was just a citizen who was disrespecting him before the world. There is no way this incident won’t go public the moment the meeting is over and the people leave the room.

"Father, I know Lynnor. She would not throw her life away so easily. At least let her speak-"

"I am the king! I am the one who banished her. Her punishment was death, but I showed mercy and banished her. You think reading a few books and listening to stories makes you capable of making the right decisions to lead people? You disappoint me, Aramith, and before I even give you your punishment for speaking out of turn, you can never be ruler of this Kingdom. Ever."

"What..?" The words struck like a hammer. He’d heard the same words from so many people, but none of them were people close to him.

"But a ruler cares for his people. Don’t you care?"

"Care for the people? IS that what you think you’re doing? You are in a room filled with leaders from several kingdoms. Ask any of them if ruling is just about caring for the people.

And tell me what you mean by care when you are defending a killer. To justify her acts makes you a killer as well."

"But I did not-"

"Yes, you did. All the blood on her hands drips into yours as you stand there, Aramith. And before all these people, you have shown us you are the same as she is. Thousands of lives she has claimed, and you stand there defending her."

He shivered. A killer like her? How could his father say that?

But that fuelled him with more energy. He wasn’t going to back down just like that.

"I won’t back down."

Henndar turned his back on Aramith.

"I am the ruler of this land, and I will do what needs to be done. If that is your conviction...then you will die with her, a stranger you hardly know."

He raised his hand to signal the arrow to be shot.

The delegates were in shock.

They were the same people who talked about how he allowed the boy to do whatever he liked. Who would have thought he would take such extreme measures? Killing his own son? In broad daylight?

"But you can’t kill your son. What about your wife?" Khaizen got up. He grabbed Henndar’s shoulder, but Henndar hit his hand away. The force threw him a few steps back. "Don’t you dare think you can tell me how to be a ruler when you can only rely on help from me. I am a better ruler than any of you here, and these are the kinds of decisions I take. And she would understand my decision."

SLAP!!

The sound echoed several times in the room before dying.

"Shut up!"

All they saw was a trail of snowflakes, and she was there, hand quivering as she trembled before Aramith. In her eyes, Aramith could see pain and the feeling of being betrayed.

"Kesha..."

"Are you out of your mind?!" She shouted at Aramith with tears streaming down her face.

Aramith was at a loss for words.

"You’re throwing everything away for someone you barely even know? What about Lia? Mozrael? Your life? What about me? Your mother? I thought you’d be better than this..." she whispered, voice cracked and eyes refusing to meet his.

"But I..."

"Idiot! She’s a criminal!" She hissed, " I don’t know what she did for you to think she’s a good person, but you can’t help her. You’ll only be throwing your life away, and your death would be useless!"

She’s also lying... no one believes you’re right...Do what you must do to save her...to save her from these people...

"I’m doing the right thing."

"You’re not!" She screamed at him. "This is plain stupid and you know it!"

Henndar didn’t expect this at all. To think Kesha had such feelings. But then he saw another person suddenly appearing at the entrance as well.

No...what is she doing here?

After waiting so long, when Aramith didn’t return, Lia suggested that Mozrael go look for him. She declined, saying she felt the need to be with her more than with him, but she persisted.

Lia’s gut feeling didn’t settle well, and she was sure something was going wrong, very wrong. She started feeling it the moment the guards came, and now they or Aramith hadn’t returned.

Mozrael rushed, searching for Aramith, till she arrived at the meeting room. First, the doors were open, then she entered and saw several things that confused her. Lynnor tied up and held.Aramith stood before her with Kesha shouting at him with tears streaming down her face, then Henndar, who stood there doing nothing, and the several delegates who seemed afraid to move save for a select few.

She didn’t understand what was going on, but she didn’t care. Aramith needed help.

She was afraid to enter the room, afraid of overstepping her bounds, but she had to. He needed help.

Henndar signalled, and a fourth cloaked member appeared at the entrance, blocking the way so Mozrael wouldn’t be involved in all this.

"Princess Keshiaa of the Glacial Empire," Henndar called out.

"Please, I can help him change his mind," she pleaded.

"I understand your sentiment, but he has already done enough damage."

Kesha’s eyes darted around as she thought hard, trying to find a solution to all this. She bit her lip, not knowing how to help. She just couldn’t understand why Aramith was suddenly doing this, and in front of all these people, too.

"Don’t try to help me. I chose this on my own," Aramith tried to push her away, but she didn’t hear a word he said.

She turned toward Henndar. "Please, I know it is not my place, but I beg you. Could you give him a lesser punishment?"

Without missing a beat, Henndar replied, "The only lesser punishment I can give him is banishment, but she will still die. But I believe dying is a better punishment than having your position stripped from you, and being forced out of your home."

No.

Kesha turned to Aramith.

"Beg him. He’s King, but still your father. Go down on your knees and beg., He will forgive you. Please."

But Aramith frowned. "I needed a father, not a King," he said quietly.