Duty

Chapter 48 Beginnings

Stone after stone skitted across the lake and ended in a satisfying splash, causing the water to ripple into small circles that quickly expanded. It did nothing to ease the pain and his throws turned more intense with every rock he picked up until they no longer skitted across the surface but merely plunged.

Tears were blurring his vision, but he refused to let them fall.

Princes didn't cry.

A few feet behind him, a lone guard stood silently, not interfering, but still dutiful keeping watch. He envied the man his stoic expression. He wished he could feel nothing. Gritting his teeth, he turned to look out over the lake.

Silent footsteps approached and the edge of a skirt appeared in his vision, small bare feet stopped next to him, just a hairbreadth away from his own.

Cyrus turned angrily to tell whoever had disturbed him to leave him alone when he looked into a pair of dark brown eyes that held a calm yet serious expression.

He knew those eyes.

For a moment he was confused as to why the girl was here, but then he realized this must be the village where she had mentioned she lived.

They looked at each other silently a moment. When she spoke, her voice was calm. "My momma died too."

He didn't question how she knew. The village wasn't that far form Auros and her father worked in the palace. He managed to keep his own voice steady, though he sounded a little hoarse. "When did she die?"

"Harvest time," she answered, "poppa said it was her lungs. Was it your momma's lungs too?"

Harvest time. That wasn't even that long ago. The weather had been particularly bad this year. Many of the servants too had fallen ill. At that time he had only been annoyed he had to get his own breakfast. Was that why her father had brought her with him to the palace that day? Because her mother was ill?

"She had a bad cough," the girl continued, "poppa said it hurt her lungs. Did your momma hurt too?"

His mother had died giving birth to his stillborn sister. The tears he had managed to suppress earlier now forced their way out, along with heavy sobs that shook his entire body.

The girl watched him silently for a while before kneeling to pick something up.

He looked at the rock she offered him and took it without hesitation, flinging it across the lake. It skitted across the surface a few times before sinking to the bottom.

The girl watched it in awe and picked up another rock. She drew her arm back and threw the stone, but it didn't even reach the water. Her undignified huff made him smile despite of his grief. "Not like that," he said and he showed her.

She picked up another rock and stood closer to the edge of the lake. A serious expression was on her face and she bit her tongue in concentration when she threw the rock, but instead of skitting across the surface, it splashed loudly into the water, splattering water all over her dress and feet.

The look on her face was priceless and made him laugh, but his laugh turned into a gasp when the girl pushed him into the lake. Small as she was, he hadn't expected the assault so he lost his balance and fell straight into the water.

Cyrus rose from the water, dripping wet, only to look into a pair of mischievous eyes. Huffing, he wrung out his tunic and glared at her. She merely grinned.