Chapter 213 - 212

John had left after a while, telling Kai that he needed to rest and think about things. The prince had greeted him, trying not to show how worried he was. He had hoped his words had put some sense into him. When he heard him say that he tried to kill himself he couldn't help but think of himself, how helpless he felt when he let Philip bit him. 

John's pain, he could understand it to some extent, thinking how you could never have the one you wanted, being scared to show your feelings. Indeed it was torture and he never wished that for anyone, not even his worst enemy. He wanted to check up on him later and that's why he rushed to the throne room, wanting this whole conversation he had promised to his father to be over. 

His mother was sitting on her throne like usual. She was supporting her head on her hand, lazily as she looked at a  few guards that were placing some kind of rose garlands on the far end of the room. Her other hand was gone, the end wrapped with white gauze but she didn't even seem to care about it, all of her focus had been directed to shouting at the guards, telling them again and again to rearrange the huge piece of decoration. Kai looked at it for a second, trying to find the flaw in it but the truth was there was nothing wrong, it was placed perfectly straight and that only meant that his mother was agitated.

"More to the right, what don't you understand!" She exclaimed, rubbing her temples as she noticed her son walking in. She squeezed her eyes, making sure she had seen well and Kai smiled awkwardly. "Am I imagining things?" she asked and the prince scoffed. 

"Could you please tell the guards to leave? I would like to talk to you about something." he told her and the queen looked at the guards who stood frozen on top of wooden ladders, looking at each other, not really knowing what they were supposed to do. It was quite a comedic scene, Kai had to admit it.

"Out, move along, I guess you're saved. Leave that thing as it is. I doubt the werewolves have such an eclectic taste in interior decoration to notice if it's a bit crooked." she said, waving her hand and making them hurry outside.

"I think it's fine." Kai said, looking at the garland.

"It's crooked." Cecilia repeated, not even looking at it. You're crooked, Kai thought, trying to keep his frustration in. "What did you want to talk to me about?"Cecilia asked him, looking down at him.

Kai had told himself, right before he had entered this room, that he would keep things civil, that he would actually make an effort and not have her explode right into his face. Not that he cared about how she felt, he had gone past that point a while ago now but he just wanted to make sure that no matter what happened this woman would stay away from Philip. 

"First of all, I would like to thank you for releasing me from my oath."

"Don't thank me." Cecilia said strictly. 

"I want to"

"I said don't. You said first of all, so what is the second thing? I doubt you're here just to say thank you considering you didn't even visit me while I was dying." She told him and Kai tried to smile. He had his hands behind his back, forming fists, clenching them and unclenching them just to let the frustration out, his mother could make you want to hit your head in the wall in less than five minutes. 

"I am sorry about that." He wasn't. "I should have stayed, but as you know our relationship had been a bit rocky, sometimes I don't know how I am supposed to feel especially after everything that happened before I left."

"I never had any intention of making you a target." Cecilia said and Kai swallowed hard, what about the intention of killing my lover? He asked in his head, varelly restraining himself from asking her that out loud. He just nodded, acknowledging her statement. 

"I know, I came here because father visited me."

"I do not wish to hear anything about this man. He is despicable." Cecilia said, raising her chin a bit higher, showing very clearly how proud she was. 

"I just…"

"Do not tell me anything."

"Mother…"

"I said…"

"Will you just listen to me for once!" Kai exclaimed, fed up with her attitude. It was impossible, no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't have a normal conversation with her. Cecilia coughed, her expression changing when her son raised his tone. 

"Fine, say it then, but be quick, even the sound of his name annoys me." She retreated and Kai took a deep breath, satisfied. 

"Thank you.  He is really sad. He feels horrible for what he did to you. He wants to be by your side and help you with everything but he doesn't know how to approach you."

"Of course he doesn't know, all of his life he has been somewhere else, with the latest peak of him missing for two hundred years." The woman said and Kai, well he couldn't blame her for that one, his father was really absent most of their lives. He just wasn't as ill mannered and strict as she was, maybe if he had the same responsibilities to bear he would have been like her. 

"You're not wrong. I get it, you had been all alone all this time, struggling. But he is here now, maybe it is time to start anew. I can see how at peace you feel when he is around, maybe for now you should stop being stubborn, you love him, don't you?"

"I won't talk about my love life with you, Kai. And go tell your father he is an old coward for sending you and not himself."

"I am sure if you talk to him he will hear you out. Just go and have a talk, nothing else."

"I don't want to talk to him."

"Mother, the event is approaching, what will the people say if the king and queen don't look in good terms?" he asked her, pulling out his last card. Cecilia's green eyes widened, black eyelashes fluttering at the realization. She sighed, shaking her head.

"Fine, fine, I will go. Now leave me be" 

"Thank you." Kai said with a wide smile and the queen examined his unreasonable excitement. 

"What did you gain from this?" She asked him.

"My freedom.." The prince answered.