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A Prince's Sorrow ch.02
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Chapter Two
If looks could truly kill, Artemis would have surely been laid to rest, for the icy stare he received from his wife was more than lethal. With haste, Palm scurried over to her side to glare up at his father, his expression an almost perfect reflection of Avalon’s.
Over the past weeks, Palm and Arjuna had pleaded with their father to release Alder from his classes. Artemis had refused them both their request, telling them that it was Alder’s responsibility to bear. Sometimes a leader has to endure hardships he would otherwise like to excuse himself from. Alder was no longer allowed the luxury to dismiss the burdens he was expected to bear. He was the crowned prince and needed to start acting like one. Palm had heard his father’s words, but only cared that his brother was being taken away from him…and he wanted him back.
“Mommy said Alder is finished, Papa.” Palm declared. “You can’t make him do more class right now.” he added, throwing his body protectively over Alder’s, a desperate attempt to hide him from their father.
Artemis sighed. He knew he wasn’t among the list of favorites in the family at the moment. In fact, he was certain he was at the very bottom or perhaps not even listed at all. But, it was something that he had to do to ensure his son’s success in the future. They didn’t understand that now, but in time, he prayed that they would.
“Majesty?” he heard Sarek call, softly.
Turning his attention away from his family and over to the tutor, he spoke. “How is Alder performing thus far?”
“He is doing quite well.” Sarek admitted. “He has a great capacity for memory retention and his confidence makes speaking natural and easy for him. The only area that needs work is his composure. He has so much energy that, at times, it is difficult for him to suppress it and he gets rather…fidgety.”
“Well, he is a seven year old boy.” Avalon supplied, dryly, her full attention upon the kittens that scurried around her. “Such a thing is to be expected, after all.”
“Of course, Highness.” Sarek agreed. “I did not mean it as a slight against him.”
“Nor could one be expected to receive it as such.” she replied, restoring her dagger-like glare at her regal husband.
An angry female was always a difficult thing to navigate. However, when that angry female held the strength of the crown, she was not just difficult, she was frightening. Sensing a storm brewing in his empress’ words, Sarek bowed gallantly at the royal family before making a hasty, yet elegant retreat. Artemis stepped into the room and gently shut the door behind him. Once he was certain that Sarek was out of earshot, the temper he kept tightly contained began to slip free of it bounds.
“Avalon,” he began, carefully, “hasn’t this gone on long enough?”
“It will be enough when my son—“
“OUR son.” he amended.
“MY son,” she maintained, “is able to stop being forced to know and articulate every tradition in this country’s history and simply allowed to be a child.”
The binds securing his temper slipped ever more. “Avalon, Alder is not just a kitten. He is the crowned prince and will someday be emperor. His upbringing is not something we can take lightly.”
“How dare you…” she hissed. “You think me wanting to see my children happy and healthy is taking their livelihood lightly?”
“That is not what I said.”
“It is what you implied!”
A low irritated growl slipped from his throat. “Do not presume to tell me what I think, wife. I can speak for myself.”
“And I can think for myself!” she retorted, sharply. “So don’t presume, husband, to tell me how I should regard this situation.”
“You’re being irrational.”
“I am being a mother!”
“Then you would do well to do what is best for him!” he growled.
“And what might that be, Artemis?” she asked, her own temper seething. “Since you clearly have all the answers, please, tell me what is best for OUR son?”
His hold on his temper all but gone, Artemis took a powerful step closer to his fiery empress, then another and another until he came to stand towering above her as she sat on the floor with the children. “Enough, Avalon.” he hissed. “I have been more than lenient with you over the past few days, but you are rapidly exhausting my patience. Alder’s future is heavier than you can possibly imagine. The training he receives now will be invaluable to him in the future. One day he will not only lead the people of Calico, but he will also be a living representation of them. He cannot be allowed to be any less than exemplary.”
Avalon’s wide green eyes searched her husband’s for any trace of feeling. How could he be so unrelentingly cold? How could he could he stand to put such a tremendous burden on one so young? How could he care so little for his son’s happiness? Did he care about the child or was Alder merely a pawn in the royal scheme of things.
“I…I cannot believe what I am hearing.” she whispered. “How could you? …how could you care so little about our child…his happiness? How can you be so mechanical?”
He sighed, once more. “It is because I have to be. It is what he needs to go forward. I cannot fail him in this. There is far too much being carried upon him to be otherwise.”
“Yes…far too much to be carried by one so young.” she whispered. “I fear my child will be will be crushed under the pressure of it all.”
“He will be stronger because of it.” he assured her. “Just as a diamond can only form under the most extreme of pressures, so to must a crowned prince be molded and shaped into something grander than what he is. Something bigger than himself. It is for the good of the people that he makes this journey.”
“At what cost, Artemis? We barely see him at all anymore. He spends virtually no time with the family and every waking hour he is hidden away with Sarek. When we are finally permitted to spend ANY time with him, he is completely worn out. What kind of life is that for him?”
Artemis sighed. “It is the life he is destined to live.”
“Have you forgotten” she continued “how he used to spend hours playing with his brothers? How they would laugh and talk and share secrets that bonded them together as siblings? When was the last time you saw Alder smile? When was the last time you heard him laugh? When was the last time he confided in you about his dreams? When was the last time he even had one?”
Silence was his only answer.
“He is not happy, Artemis. Our son is not happy. Is the cost of our kitten being able to be a kitten, to enjoy his life, to be part of a family…to have a measure of joy…are all of those thing the price that must be paid for weight of the crown? …because if it is, then the price is far too high.”
“Avalon…” Artemis began, quietly.
“You said that he is to be a living representation of Calico. But, that isn’t true. The truth that you refuse to acknowledge is that he is no less than a sacrifice for its people.”
Artemis opened his mouth to reply, but found there was nothing he could say to counter her statement. It was true, Alder was a sacrifice…for the people. His son would grow and be the voice of his citizens, doing whatever it was they needed him to do and being whatever it was they needed him to be. That was the fate of anyone foolish enough to bear the title, “crowned prince”. It was an inevitable conclusion.
“The royal family,” Avalon continued, “is so consumed with custom, history, etiquette and tradition that I fear you are sometimes blind to what is directly before you. You cannot see it because fate always stands firmly in the way, not allowing you to see anything but what it wills you to.”
“Avalon…” he called, softly.
“Fate…” she mused. “...had I but known that a child that I bore unto the royal family would be a slave to it…” she choked, an errant tear escaping her eye to trickle down her cheek. “…I would have never agreed to become your wife.”
Her last words lacerating his heart like a sword upon flesh, Avalon climbed to her feet. With Alder having fallen soundly asleep in her arms she raced for the door, threw it open and dashed into the hallway. Palm hurried behind her, his desire to be wherever his grieving mother was.
Lost in his thoughts, Artemis stood shattered and broken. He knew that Avalon, his beloved Avalon, spoke in anger and that sometimes words spoken in that way did not always mean what they conveyed. Still, his heart hurt. How was it that he was the emperor, the one who held the highest and most powerful title in the land, how was it that as mighty as he was, he could not avoid the unavoidable? He was the ruler of a great nation. And yet, he was also a father to a trio of kittens he loved more than he valued his own life. Was it fate’s cruel design that in order to fulfill the demands of one role, he could not fulfill the needs of the other? Was the crown heavier than the obligation of fatherhood? Was it truly best for him to sacrifice his child to the hands of fate for the good of the people? And if it wasn’t, could he really dismantle the traditions of the royals for his son’s sake?
Wearily, he allowed gravity to pull him down to the ground where he sat miserably contemplating the sum of all things. Avalon would never understand the predicament they were in, not the way he saw it. He supposed it took the blood of the royals to really understand how things worked within their realm of procedures. But, Avalon’s blood was that of the common people, not the royals. Her outlook on things was vastly different from his. She saw things in the present and for what they were. He saw things in the future and for what they could be. She would never see things as he saw them. She would never understand.
But then…wasn’t that the reason why he was betrothed to her in the first place?
“Eh?” he gasped as he felt a small pair of hands upon his knees.
Looking up from his silent reverie, he watched as Arjuna, his faithful and compassionate son, struggled to climb upon his father’s lap. Once situated, the child stood on Artemis’ thighs and awkwardly wound his arms around his father’s neck, hugging him fondly.
“I love you, Father.” he whispered, hugging him more tightly than before.
Tears burned the back of his eyes, but Artemis refused to shed them. Instead, he wrapped his strong arms around his second born child and hugged him fiercely. “I love you too, my son.” he croaked, his voice more raspy than he intended. “Even if I do not always say it with words, never forget that everything I do...I do it for you.”
Chapter Two
If looks could truly kill, Artemis would have surely been laid to rest, for the icy stare he received from his wife was more than lethal. With haste, Palm scurried over to her side to glare up at his father, his expression an almost perfect reflection of Avalon’s.
Over the past weeks, Palm and Arjuna had pleaded with their father to release Alder from his classes. Artemis had refused them both their request, telling them that it was Alder’s responsibility to bear. Sometimes a leader has to endure hardships he would otherwise like to excuse himself from. Alder was no longer allowed the luxury to dismiss the burdens he was expected to bear. He was the crowned prince and needed to start acting like one. Palm had heard his father’s words, but only cared that his brother was being taken away from him…and he wanted him back.
“Mommy said Alder is finished, Papa.” Palm declared. “You can’t make him do more class right now.” he added, throwing his body protectively over Alder’s, a desperate attempt to hide him from their father.
Artemis sighed. He knew he wasn’t among the list of favorites in the family at the moment. In fact, he was certain he was at the very bottom or perhaps not even listed at all. But, it was something that he had to do to ensure his son’s success in the future. They didn’t understand that now, but in time, he prayed that they would.
“Majesty?” he heard Sarek call, softly.
Turning his attention away from his family and over to the tutor, he spoke. “How is Alder performing thus far?”
“He is doing quite well.” Sarek admitted. “He has a great capacity for memory retention and his confidence makes speaking natural and easy for him. The only area that needs work is his composure. He has so much energy that, at times, it is difficult for him to suppress it and he gets rather…fidgety.”
“Well, he is a seven year old boy.” Avalon supplied, dryly, her full attention upon the kittens that scurried around her. “Such a thing is to be expected, after all.”
“Of course, Highness.” Sarek agreed. “I did not mean it as a slight against him.”
“Nor could one be expected to receive it as such.” she replied, restoring her dagger-like glare at her regal husband.
An angry female was always a difficult thing to navigate. However, when that angry female held the strength of the crown, she was not just difficult, she was frightening. Sensing a storm brewing in his empress’ words, Sarek bowed gallantly at the royal family before making a hasty, yet elegant retreat. Artemis stepped into the room and gently shut the door behind him. Once he was certain that Sarek was out of earshot, the temper he kept tightly contained began to slip free of it bounds.
“Avalon,” he began, carefully, “hasn’t this gone on long enough?”
“It will be enough when my son—“
“OUR son.” he amended.
“MY son,” she maintained, “is able to stop being forced to know and articulate every tradition in this country’s history and simply allowed to be a child.”
The binds securing his temper slipped ever more. “Avalon, Alder is not just a kitten. He is the crowned prince and will someday be emperor. His upbringing is not something we can take lightly.”
“How dare you…” she hissed. “You think me wanting to see my children happy and healthy is taking their livelihood lightly?”
“That is not what I said.”
“It is what you implied!”
A low irritated growl slipped from his throat. “Do not presume to tell me what I think, wife. I can speak for myself.”
“And I can think for myself!” she retorted, sharply. “So don’t presume, husband, to tell me how I should regard this situation.”
“You’re being irrational.”
“I am being a mother!”
“Then you would do well to do what is best for him!” he growled.
“And what might that be, Artemis?” she asked, her own temper seething. “Since you clearly have all the answers, please, tell me what is best for OUR son?”
His hold on his temper all but gone, Artemis took a powerful step closer to his fiery empress, then another and another until he came to stand towering above her as she sat on the floor with the children. “Enough, Avalon.” he hissed. “I have been more than lenient with you over the past few days, but you are rapidly exhausting my patience. Alder’s future is heavier than you can possibly imagine. The training he receives now will be invaluable to him in the future. One day he will not only lead the people of Calico, but he will also be a living representation of them. He cannot be allowed to be any less than exemplary.”
Avalon’s wide green eyes searched her husband’s for any trace of feeling. How could he be so unrelentingly cold? How could he could he stand to put such a tremendous burden on one so young? How could he care so little for his son’s happiness? Did he care about the child or was Alder merely a pawn in the royal scheme of things.
“I…I cannot believe what I am hearing.” she whispered. “How could you? …how could you care so little about our child…his happiness? How can you be so mechanical?”
He sighed, once more. “It is because I have to be. It is what he needs to go forward. I cannot fail him in this. There is far too much being carried upon him to be otherwise.”
“Yes…far too much to be carried by one so young.” she whispered. “I fear my child will be will be crushed under the pressure of it all.”
“He will be stronger because of it.” he assured her. “Just as a diamond can only form under the most extreme of pressures, so to must a crowned prince be molded and shaped into something grander than what he is. Something bigger than himself. It is for the good of the people that he makes this journey.”
“At what cost, Artemis? We barely see him at all anymore. He spends virtually no time with the family and every waking hour he is hidden away with Sarek. When we are finally permitted to spend ANY time with him, he is completely worn out. What kind of life is that for him?”
Artemis sighed. “It is the life he is destined to live.”
“Have you forgotten” she continued “how he used to spend hours playing with his brothers? How they would laugh and talk and share secrets that bonded them together as siblings? When was the last time you saw Alder smile? When was the last time you heard him laugh? When was the last time he confided in you about his dreams? When was the last time he even had one?”
Silence was his only answer.
“He is not happy, Artemis. Our son is not happy. Is the cost of our kitten being able to be a kitten, to enjoy his life, to be part of a family…to have a measure of joy…are all of those thing the price that must be paid for weight of the crown? …because if it is, then the price is far too high.”
“Avalon…” Artemis began, quietly.
“You said that he is to be a living representation of Calico. But, that isn’t true. The truth that you refuse to acknowledge is that he is no less than a sacrifice for its people.”
Artemis opened his mouth to reply, but found there was nothing he could say to counter her statement. It was true, Alder was a sacrifice…for the people. His son would grow and be the voice of his citizens, doing whatever it was they needed him to do and being whatever it was they needed him to be. That was the fate of anyone foolish enough to bear the title, “crowned prince”. It was an inevitable conclusion.
“The royal family,” Avalon continued, “is so consumed with custom, history, etiquette and tradition that I fear you are sometimes blind to what is directly before you. You cannot see it because fate always stands firmly in the way, not allowing you to see anything but what it wills you to.”
“Avalon…” he called, softly.
“Fate…” she mused. “...had I but known that a child that I bore unto the royal family would be a slave to it…” she choked, an errant tear escaping her eye to trickle down her cheek. “…I would have never agreed to become your wife.”
Her last words lacerating his heart like a sword upon flesh, Avalon climbed to her feet. With Alder having fallen soundly asleep in her arms she raced for the door, threw it open and dashed into the hallway. Palm hurried behind her, his desire to be wherever his grieving mother was.
Lost in his thoughts, Artemis stood shattered and broken. He knew that Avalon, his beloved Avalon, spoke in anger and that sometimes words spoken in that way did not always mean what they conveyed. Still, his heart hurt. How was it that he was the emperor, the one who held the highest and most powerful title in the land, how was it that as mighty as he was, he could not avoid the unavoidable? He was the ruler of a great nation. And yet, he was also a father to a trio of kittens he loved more than he valued his own life. Was it fate’s cruel design that in order to fulfill the demands of one role, he could not fulfill the needs of the other? Was the crown heavier than the obligation of fatherhood? Was it truly best for him to sacrifice his child to the hands of fate for the good of the people? And if it wasn’t, could he really dismantle the traditions of the royals for his son’s sake?
Wearily, he allowed gravity to pull him down to the ground where he sat miserably contemplating the sum of all things. Avalon would never understand the predicament they were in, not the way he saw it. He supposed it took the blood of the royals to really understand how things worked within their realm of procedures. But, Avalon’s blood was that of the common people, not the royals. Her outlook on things was vastly different from his. She saw things in the present and for what they were. He saw things in the future and for what they could be. She would never see things as he saw them. She would never understand.
But then…wasn’t that the reason why he was betrothed to her in the first place?
“Eh?” he gasped as he felt a small pair of hands upon his knees.
Looking up from his silent reverie, he watched as Arjuna, his faithful and compassionate son, struggled to climb upon his father’s lap. Once situated, the child stood on Artemis’ thighs and awkwardly wound his arms around his father’s neck, hugging him fondly.
“I love you, Father.” he whispered, hugging him more tightly than before.
Tears burned the back of his eyes, but Artemis refused to shed them. Instead, he wrapped his strong arms around his second born child and hugged him fiercely. “I love you too, my son.” he croaked, his voice more raspy than he intended. “Even if I do not always say it with words, never forget that everything I do...I do it for you.”
Category Story / All
Species Housecat
Size 120 x 84px
File Size 68.2 kB
It really is. As a commoner, family has always been the most important thing to her. This notion of putting the people before your own children is alien to her. But, when you are a part of the royal family, you have to put yourself aside and think of the people as your family.
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