Chapter Nine

"Come with me." Aidan said. He grabbed my arm and pulled me out of my chair so quickly I didn't have any time to react. He dragged me through the castle to the rarely used back hall, out the back door, and into the garden.

"Woah." I say as I look at the garden – the path led into an area surrounded by bushes. He made a right turn into the bush maze and stopped when he got to an area that had a fountain in the middle surrounded by tulips, my favorite flowers, and a bench just to the right to look at it all.

He sat down on the bench and pulled me down to sit down next to him. He pulled me closer to him and just held me for a moment.

"What happened Aidan?" I asked in a soft voice as I rested my forehead on his. His eyes were closed and I could tell he was taking deep breaths to calm himself. "Wh-what did you do?" I could feel tears start to well up in my eyes just imagining all the horrible things that could've transpired. In the absence of communication the mind tended to imagine the worst.

"I…we got our revenge three nights ago." He said in a calm, serious but non-heinous tone. "And nothing more."

"Nothing more…what does that mean?"

"The old man is dead." He said. The words rang in my head. The old man is dead.

"He…he wasn't a kind man."

"What did he do to you?" He asked as he reached out for him, his palm gently caressed my cheek as if to soothe me.

"He took my family from me…" I say as hot tears roll down my cheeks.

"His laugh…his evil, hideous laugh as he told me my entire family was gone, my country was his, and I was only alive as a play thing for his son…that was stuck in my head for the longest time."

I scooted closer to him as I clung to his shirt.

"He's gone." I say. "And no one will miss him."

I wasn't close enough for him. He pulled me closer until I was on his lap and his face was nestled in my chest.

I put my hands around him and rubbed his head to soothe him. I didn't say anything. I didn't do anything else. I waited until he was ready to speak again.

"You should've seen him when he wasn't bedridden…he was pure evil." He said.

"Now what? Now that he's gone?" I ask.

He was quiet at first then he brought his head up to look me in the eyes.

"Now…now we live our lives."

I furrow my brows and search his eyes for more.

"It won't be that simple…even if the King is dead."

"They got our list of demands separate, no way to connect us to the death. No one will miss him or his war as you said. It's in the new King's best interest to say he succumbed to his illness and help us end this war."

"You're hoping he'll be sympathetic to your plight?"

"He suffered his fathers wrath more than anyone. He has more scars than even I do from him, you just cannot see them on his body like mine." He said. He instinctively pulled his neckline up to cover his tattoos, they must be covering his scars.

I held his hand and gave him a gentle smile.

"Your scars don't define you. I've never seen you as broken…just like you never saw me that way."

His eyes opened wide before he smiled. He brought my hand to his lips and he placed a kiss on my palm.

"He always saw violence as senseless and counterproductive. A nation can't prosper when it's under a constant threat of violence or their life being upended. Ending this war, giving our countries a chance to move forward and heal is what's best for both of us." He said.

"It all just depends on how steep your demands were."

"My only demands were that Britania be given back to it's people. His troops will withdraw to Cordona and my people who were forced to Cordona will be given the opportunity to return to their home."

"That sounds…noble. If it were only that simple." I say with a half forced smile.

"It can be if we make it so."

"It can't be the way it was before…"

"No, but we can end the violence."

"I…don't remember what life was like before it."

"It will be that way again. I promise you that. With you here by my side I can do anything. You're the reason I dedicated my life to it."

"Revenge…that was your reason too Aidan."

"No." He said and shook his head. "All these years I've been looking for you. Trying to find you over and over again. If revenge was my motive I could've had my spies strike in the palace at any time. I accumulated men, money, and power – but all I wanted was you. It was all just a means to that end. A means to find you since I couldn't stroll down the capital roads to search for you myself. Without you…revenge would've consumed me like a wildfire that destroys everything in its path. I'd be dead many times over by now if I didn't have you to look forward to." His grip on me got tighter as he spoke and I felt a bulge under me start to poke through.

"Aidan…that's a lot to process." I said meekly.

"I know…" He said then cleared his throat. "I don't expect you to love me right away. I'm happy just having you here. Just holding you like this. I'll earn your love back, no matter how long it takes. We'll build a life together and it will be peaceful."

"It…sounds like a dream."

"I'm glad you think so. It's always been my dream." He finally pulled me in close and kissed me again. I clung to him like my life depended on it, that if I let go I might somehow fall into a deep, dark pit and never claw my way back up.