The Workmen

Chapter 23

"What do you mean, 'I can't see my sister'?"

Larz knew this would not go over well with Stele. He had been dreading the conversation since he left the jail. Even so, it had to be done. There was no real way to skirt the issue without bold face lies. She should be happy he even told her Keira was still alive.

"Look, I know you miss her, but she isn't safe to be around. Your sister has gotten herself into more trouble than she realizes."

"That doesn't matter. Keira would never do anything to hurt me. You don't know her like I do."

Larz looked into his wife's eyes. Her words gave him an aching pain. He could see... Heck, he could feel how much Stele loved her sister. Keira had left an equal impression for Stele's well-being. All of it, their emotions, their genuine care, made him envious. He longed for someone to show that kind of compassion for him, namely his family. Now, it seemed those imaginary family ties would be lost forever.

"You have to let me see her, Larz. I'll vouch for whatever she has done."

"It's not that simple. Her charges have become too hefty to just disregard."

"You're talking as if she's murdered someone," Stele yelled, forgetting her husband's shame.

Larz turned away from her, astonished that his wife would throw the past in his face.

"You can't see her and that's final."

Stele grabbed his arm as he started to walk away. "Larz, don't go. I wasn't trying to hurt you. I just want to understand what's going on with my sister. Why won't you tell me what she's done to make you so adamant about keeping her away from me?"

Her tender tone and sincerity had a funny way of melting his harsh resolve.

"I'm not doing this to be cruel." He turned to look at Stele once more. "It's not just your safety that has me worried; it's the rest of the kingdom." He paused. "It seems the terrorists have sunken their claws into Keira, deep."

Stele couldn't believe it. "Are you sure? How do you know? You can't just judge her because of who she's around—"

"She's already beginning to talk as they do. Please believe me when I tell you that I had every intention of letting her go. It wasn't until she used one of those traitors' terms that I decided she posed a threat."

He rubbed his tired eyes. Stele's incredulity awaited him when he was finished.

"My sister has only ever tried to help people, even me." The Queen said it as if she had realized her little sister's intentions for the first time. "I love you dearly, but I find it hard to believe she would do anything other than what was best for others."

Stele's words lit a fire in the King's soul that he hoped would never ignite again. His own spouse didn't trust him, didn't put him above all else. The anger was thickening, eating Larz alive. "No," he told himself, "I won't place the blame on Stele. It's all that rotten sister's fault; her fault and all those wretched rebels."

"Honey, are you alright?" Stele touched the King's blank face.

He snapped out of his fury induced coma.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

A chill ran up Stele's spine when he spoke. There was something different behind his tone. She could see the change in his eyes. The air around them suddenly felt heavy. Stele wanted to get away from her husband for a while. Maybe it was the bad news giving her a false perception of him.

Without showing her urgency, the Queen pacified Larz with a few encouraging words and a kiss. It took her no time at all to come up with a feasible excuse to be elsewhere. As far as she could tell he bought her tiny fib. After all, there were a few places she had yet to go in the castle. She just hadn't been truthful about which parts she was going to.