Lavender & Ice

39. Searching

"Yes, but then what motivation would we give them for reporting if they see her?" Thala responded.

"Why do we need them to do such a thing?" Joreth asked and all eyes turned to him in surprise.

"To catch her, obviously." Garen huffed.

"She has been glued to my brothers side for the majority of her time here. I know I arrived late to this meeting, but has anyone even asked why she suddenly chose to part from him and hide from any others who have befriended her?"

The room was silent for a long moment before Kietnan sighed heavily, placing his face in his hands. Kahal glanced at his youngest brother, offering him a squeeze on his shoulder.

"Perhaps if we discuss why she suddenly took this drastic turn, then perhaps you might be able to not only find her, but also resolve this entire situation."

"Jareth." Kahal warned.

"What? You all wanted me to be more supportive, here I am, being supportive." He raised his arms as if in surrender.

"He raises one good point." Garen stated, turning to Kietnan. "Well?"

Kietnan rubbed a hand on the back of his head before exhaling and looking at his brother pointedly.

"Kietnan, is there more information we need to know? If so, tell us now." Thala asked.

"She did it for me." He ground his teeth together in frustration.

"For you?" Garen scoffed. "She ran off and left you, hiding in our great hall and causing all of this ruckus for you?"

"I love her." He said firmly while looking at his mother.

Thala gasped and placed her hands on the edge of the table in front of her. "You love her? Her?" But son, she's not Qarthos, she's not one of our people. How can you love her. No, you're simply infatuated with her because she is different. In time-"

"Don't sugar coat it, Thala, it is obscene." Garen said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. "What progress have we made on contacting the Aerulians? Perhaps if we can get her off our planet as soon as possible, we can save my nephew from making a disgrace of us all."

Kietnan stood and slammed his fist on the table, letting out a pained sound. "That is why she ran from me, why she left me." He sucked in a breath.

"Because she is a coward who can't handle others speaking truths?" Garen asked.

"No, I am the coward in that regard. She is the brave one." He spoke quietly.

"Our son is over fifty rotations, he is fully capable of knowing the difference between infatuation and love." Japheth said calmly and Kietnan turned to stare at him through eyes of anguish. "She left because she loves him too." The king guessed and Kietnan closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath through his nose.

"Last evening at dinner." Kahal began, looking at his brother sadly. "She didn't know we were royals. She didn't know Kietnan was a royal. When we left, you explained this to her?" Kietnan simply nodded.

"For fear of sounding like the dolt in the room here, can someone just spell it out for me already?" Othen asked.

"She didn't want to risk hurting Kietnan's standing amongst our people by being affiliated with an alien, so she left to protect him. To protect all of us." Kahal stated. "Is that right, brother?"

Kietnan nodded and took in a shaky breath.

Several long moments of silence followed before Japheth spoke. "Kahal, go meet with the search teams. I'm sure they're waiting by now."