Dax

It was very quiet.

Helios sat in the corner of my chamber, silently lost in his own head while the both of us waited on Jade's return to Madeo.

She left early in the morning to make the quick trip to the border town that connected Madeo and its neighboring land, Apera. It was said that two Magi resided there, one of which was experienced in healing, and as soon as Jade heard the news she left to fetch the travellers. After all, to have a Magi well versed in healing so close by was a rarity.

I stretched slightly, making sure not to over exert the already aching muscles across my body and attempted to relax into the soft mattress.

“When would you say she will return?” Helios asked thoughtfully. “Before dinner perhaps?”

I glanced outside at the midday sun.

“The trip is short. She should return well before then.”

He nodded. “We could invite the travellers to dine with us, if you'd like.”

I continued to stare out the glass doors that led out to the balcony, wistfully thinking of how the wind may have felt against my skin while the scents of wildflowers filled my nose.

“Perhaps.”

We sat in a blissful silence, both entranced with the view of the fields just beyond the garden on the castle grounds. I envisioned myself out there laying in the soft grass pointing out the shapes of clouds along with those I cared for. I imagined picnics and gentle sunburn after days spent swimming in lakes and creating flower crowns. The images felt safe, they felt like home.

Eventually Helios left me to tend to the problems across Madeo that I could not, seeing as he was my advisor. After bringing me what little post had come, he disappeared into the halls of the castle.

I had noticed that he lost his usual self after the attack even after 5 days. He remained more vigilant in his tasks and constantly made rounds to my chamber to check in on me. Guards were even stationed outside of the door and all down the hall that checked on me when Helios could not. And though it warmed my heart that he cared enough to do all that he did, the constant attention slowly became infuriating and I anticipated the arrival of the Magi accompanied by Jade even more.

I sifted through the heavy letters sat in my lap, ignoring many of them that resembled best wishes in recovery and vows of camaraderie if need be. But when my fingers brushed over a decorative invitation, my eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

I took the letter opener from my bedside and carefully broke the seal, opening the delicate invitation.

The words on the inside were written in slanted cursive, seemingly rushed and sloppy, but the message was very, very clear.

King Dax,
It is with my greatest pleasure to invite you to my home in Grohera for an evening celebration following a formal treaty signing between the great lands of Madeo and Grohera. It is to my knowledge that you, as the ruler of Madeo, have been greatly anticipating the possibility of a treaty and if you are willing, I am offering.

With my sincerest hopes you will attend,
Kai.

I held the invitation in my hand with trembling fingers. The contents had shocked me, the invitation as well. But what left me breathless and frozen to the spot was the name at the bottom.

It was not King Bartram's.

Kai had ascended to the throne.

For the remainder of the time that Jade was gone, I sat in my chamber and processed the information I had received. Not only had the power passed from Bartram to Kai, and Grohera was under new rule, but he was offering an opportunity for peace between our lands.

I repressed painful memories that threatened to surface in my mind, hoping that I could make it through the remainder of the day without showing the weaker side of me. No one needed to know of the invitation until I informed Helios and Jade and made a final decision on whether Madeo would be in attendance.

But my rationalizing of the situation calmed me none.

Even the mere thought of seeing Kai again created a pit of anxiety, so the thought of seeing him, 5 years later, terrified me. We were no longer boys, traipsing about in our fantasies. We were kings with loyalties and responsibilities that controlled our lives and decisions.

Perhaps it would be the kind of different that we hoped for, that I begged for.

<>

Jade returned home shortly after I opened the invitation and was immediately escorted to my chamber by Helios with our guests in tow.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, sire.” One of the travellers extended a hand in my direction and I graciously took it. He smiled as he stepped away and took his place next to his companion.

The pair were odd, to say the least. It was obvious that they travelled often, seeing their mismatched clothes from different kingdoms and their dark complexions from the unforgiving sun.

The first one, who had shook my hand, had dark, shaggy hair that grew far past his shoulders and curled out in a wild fashion. His smile was crooked, as if he was always on the verge of saying something humorous and his nose dipped quickly into a point. He looked like an elf my father would make up in his wild stories he would tell me as a child.

The second traveller looked just as playful and mischievous as her counterpart with a neat bob that ended just below her ears and dark eyes that held a sort of light one would see in someone wise beyond their years. Her lips were thin, but when she smiled, her teeth poked from behind them.

Both the travellers wore thin clothes from what appeared to mostly originate from Apera and smelled vaguely of the salt rich sea. I wished to ask them of their travels, but refrained.

“Apologies, I am Haelan, and this is my companion Maven.” The boy introduced. “As soon as your commander explained your situation we knew we needed to assist you.”

“Thank you. Madeo is in your debt.”

A silence settled across the room before Haelan spoke again.

“Commander,” he turned to Jade “Would it be possible to be alone with the king? When healing someone with extensive injuries such as the ones he has, I prefer to work alone. But with the recent attack, I understand if you are uncomfortable with it.”

Jade looked to me for an answer.

“That is fine. Jade, Helios, please escort Maven to the room she will be staying in and check on dinner preparations. I wish for our guests to dine with us tonight.”

They both nodded and quickly left the room with Maven following behind them.

“Your highness, I would like to inform you before we begin that during healing, it is possible for me to gain personal thoughts and feelings, even memories. It is not intentional, I can assure you. But we create a temporary connection and depending on how long it takes, I could receive no thoughts or I could receive hundreds.” He looked at me sheepishly. “Would you like to continue?”

I nodded, almost furiously.

“I cannot remain bedridden any longer or I am sure I will go mad. I have things I must attend to.” I added the final part with a sense of terror after the thoughts of Kai and a treaty resurfaced.

Haelan sat next to my bed in a chair he pulled over and stretched his hand over my torso.

I sucked a breath in through my teeth as blue wisps spread over my body and seeped into my skin. At first, my body was cold, as if he had poured water straight from a lake in mid-winter all over me, but soon fire spread.

I gritted my teeth as the fire turned to immense pain and my mind became a jumbled mess of delusion and intrusion. As my body began to pull itself back into its original form, I could feel Haelan somewhere in the depths of my mind, seemingly rooting around in my thoughts. I attempted to bury the anxiety surrounding Kai and the invitation he had sent, but I felt as if it was so clearly on the forefront of my mind that hiding it was impossible.

The pain rippled across my being and worsened as Haelan focused more and more of his energy into reconstructing what had been broken apart. Every part of me wanted to reach out and tell him to stop, but I knew I had to endure it. I had to let him mend me back into one piece.

All at once, his presence in my mind intensified and I could feel him there, rooting through my thoughts. It was as if he was swimming in the ocean of my life and inspecting each and every drop of water that crossed his path. I found myself feeling vulnerable and scared of what he may find.

His hand began to pull away and the sensations started to fade. His presence in my head recedes back into the depths of the tides.

We sat in a prolonged silence as I stretched out my limbs, testing to see if his quick fix would hold. And much to my surprise the movements came with no pain.

“Thank you.” I smiled at Haelan while sitting up and letting my stiff joints breathe.

He gave a small nod, and looked off to his side as if something had upset him.

“Is everything alright?” I asked tentatively.

He stayed silent, staring at the ground next to him. I didn't want to make assumptions, but it was obvious that he had found something upsetting in the recesses of my mind.

“You are a very lost man, your highness.” He finally whispered.

A breath escaped my lips and I sat up straighter. I wanted to be angry at him for saying such things, but I couldn't. My shoulders dropped and I sank back.

He was right.

I was so very lost.

But what he didn't know was that I was beyond determined to be found.