Duty

Chapter 94 Pretenders

"What do you mean 'he wants to see his son'?" Vara asked while unrolling the scroll.

The letter was short. It informed them the king was visiting Vertalis to go over the proceedings, so Lucius needed to be present. The prince was to ride to Vertalis with the messenger bearing the letter.

Vara lowered the scroll and looked at Iason incredulously. "Is he serious?!"

"I'm afraid so," Iason said grimly.

Vara looked at Lucius and opened her mouth, but Lucius spoke before she could. "Do I have to go?"

Iason kneeled down to the boy's level. "He is your father, prince Lucius. He may be going through a hard time now, but you still owe him your respect. This could be a good thing. Perhaps he is ready now to take care of you again. You shouldn't grow up a stranger to him."

"Iason is right," Vara said gently, "it was the promise we made. You need to at least try. Make an effort to reconnect wit him. You can show him how much you have progressed in your lessons."

Lucius looked down. He loved his father. But right now, he wasn't sure if he wanted to live with his father. It had been so long.

Vara now kneeled down too. "You know Iason and I love you. That will never change. But you are still a prince, heir to the throne. At some point, you will have to return to Auros and live there. As will your father. He is making an effort. You should do the same. Boncini will always be here. You can always come back. But your place is with your father." She would have gone with him to Vertalis if she could, but in light of the situation it wouldn't be the wisest idea. Once the king had returned to Auros, she would speak with Cyrus in person. Now was not the time for that.

She waited for Lucius to give a reluctant nod before rising to her feet again. She looked at Iason. "It's late already. We can't send them out now. Let them at least wait until morning. Lucius hasn't even eaten yet."

Iason smiled sadly. "I have already arranged for the guestroom to be prepared." He didn't this development any more that she did, but in the end Lucius was not their son.

He caressed her cheek. "Go eat something." He kissed her forehead. "We'll talk later," he said softly.

Vara nodded and turned to Lucius. "Go get cleaned up. I'll ask Chloe to serve dinner in the dining room." She watched the boy go and bit her lip. She wasn't sure how to feel about this. In the time Lucius had been living with her and Iason she had gotten attached to the boy. It would be hard to let him go, but she had always known this moment would come. And he should live with his father.

Iason stood next to her and rubbed her arm comforting. "What's on your mind?" he asked quietly.

Vara shook her head sadly. "I'm just worried. About the both of them." She sighed and looked at Iason guiltily. "And how much I don't want to let him go. I know he is not our son, but I've grown attached to him. I don't want to see him get hurt."

"I feel the same," Iason admitted, "but Cyrus is his father. We need to give him that chance. It's what's best for Lucius too." The longer the two were separated, the more difficult it would become. They needed to encourage the boy now or there would only be resentment later.

Iason locked his arms around his wife and held her closely. "Everything will turn out right. You'll see."

...

Cyrus sighed and ran a hand through his hair. What a mess his life had become. He wasn't very proud of himself. He was a man grown. He should be able to handle himself better than this.

Guilt had been eating away at him ever since Ariane had died. Guilt for not being there for her, for not loving her enough, and now, for not taking care of their son.