Flames

Chapter Thirty-Three

For the first time in his life, Cedric felt as though he had all that he had ever wanted in the world. He had a loving wife who outshined everyone around her, a woman that took care of him and supported him in all that he did. Together, they had a son who could only be described as happy and content with himself that looked more like Amber than himself, giving him another reason to love him even more. On top of it all, his work was almost finished.

A year passed since Riley's first birthday before Cedric could finally see the end of his time in Phaepyr. He saved everything he was given, keeping it stowed away in their bedroom and counting it daily until it was the exact amount. He had seen it in Amber's eyes long before, she was tired of Phaepyr and he could understand why. Phaepyr was nothing like Adessa when it came to the atmosphere and the people. Despite Roman giving her citizenship, Amber still snuck around and disappeared to Adessa for days at a time with their son and he didn't blame her. It was when she would leave that he would set out to do what he had promised her all those years before.

When Amber left, Cedric would take the time away from work and travel out to the fields that they had discussed so long ago. It had taken him hours to find the perfect spot, but he knew it from the moment he laid eyes upon it.

There was a clearing in the woods further into the field just after a hill. It was away from the general path of the soldiers passing through and was surrounded by lush greenery. Trees towered all around the clearing, flowers dancing in the wind nearby. It would be the ideal space to raise a family; to raise his family.

Cedric spent his time cutting down trees away from his clearing, wanting to keep the privacy element of the land intact, and began to build a home. It would be a long project, but he was ready for it. He had promised Amber that he would leave Phaepyr for her and was beginning to long for it himself. Between time and Amber's comments, Cedric was beginning to see that Roman wasn't all that he thought he was.

For so long, he had believed his king to be great and mighty, to be practically indestructible. He had believed that the end of the war was in sight, just within their grasps. He had always felt as though they would win and overpower Luxtene as they had the soldiers and the willpower. Yet, as it came up in discussion between him and Amber, Cedric quickly realized he didn't know what they were fighting for.

It wasn't taught in the Phaepyr schools, nor were there any parents around to tell him why they fought this war. He spent weeks thinking over it, trying to search for any kind of answer but always came up empty-ended. When he was finally exhausted with thinking over it, he decided to ask Roman himself.

"Why do we fight this war, your highness?" He had asked all those months ago, keeping his posture straight and his head bent out of respect for his king. "I don't mean any disrespect, my king, but I truly don't know why we fight this war. What is our reasoning for winning?"

The older man had eyed him, the hint of a glare lingering along the crow's feet on his eyes. He placed his hands into his lap with an eyebrow raised, fingers tapping against each other. "Why do we fight this war, Cedric? Is that what you're asking me? To tell you the reason why we fight?"

"Yes, your majesty."

Roman sighed, thinking back on the reasoning himself. "When our founder Queen Dana was a young adult, she was denied the right to her throne. She saw through her father's old teachings when he passed and knew the times were changing. Her younger brother, however, refused to change anything. Since Conley, her brother, wanted things to remain the same, he was given the throne and made king of their homeland. He and Queen Dana got into an argument and he banished her away from the only home she had ever known. Not only was she forced to deal with being denied her birthright, she was forbidden from stepping foot into her homeland." He cleared his throat, tapping his fingers against each other again. "That is why we fight, Cedric. We fight to claim Luxtene in the name of Queen Dana and restore her legacy. We take the throne, just as her bloodline was always meant to be upon."