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In the six years that Lilia has had Malleus and Silver he never expected for the Queen to find out. Selfishly, he hoped and begged and prayed that she never would. That he’d be able to keep this soft little paradise to himself. That he’d be able to choose when he’d tell Malleus the full truth of his lineage and what it meant. But, of course, fate is never kind to Lilia. It had seen him be raised as a weapon, had taken away his dearest friends and now sought to rip away one of the only two people who could give him stability in the utter chaos of his life.
It had all gone down on what was supposed to be an ordinary day. Silver and Malleus were playing with each other after doing their chores and Lilia was outside tending to the laundry. It had been a day like any other, until it wasn't.
Lilia heard them screaming in pure terror and ran inside expecting to see blood. When he burst into the cottage, all he saw was Silver and Malleus huddled in the corner of the living room, trembling like they had just seen a ghost. Malleus had his face tucked into Silver’s chest. Lilia crossed the room quickly, wishing to get to the children he had recently started to admit that he considered his own - even if it was only to himself. He kneeled in front of them, ‘Silver, Malleus, what happened? I heard you screaming.’
Malleus pulled his head from where he’d tucked it into Silver’s chest and threw himself onto Lilia. Silver followed suit. ‘Lilia, there was this scary fire!’ Malleus yelled hysterically. Lilia could only look down at him in confusion. ‘Scary fire?’
Silver clarified, ‘The lights went out and then this big green fireball appeared. It burned me and shot lightning. Then it disappeared.’
Lilia froze. There was only one person in the world that was capable of such an incredible feat of magic. The Queen of Briar Valley, Maleficia Draconia.
‘Where did this happen?’ Lilia asked softly, still slightly frozen. Silver and Malleus both point to the dining table. Lilia manages to pry Malleus and Silver off of himself and he walks to the table. There, lying in the middle of the kid’s coloring materials, is a simple black envelope with green wax and silver calligraphy. He tentatively picks up the letter and opens it. The contents of the letter are just as he expected them to be.
Vanrouge,
It has recently come to my attention that you are in possession of my heir. Not only has he been hatched, but he has been raised by you for these past few years. To say that I’m disappointed in you, would be an understatement. I am beyond furious that you have withheld my heir from me.
I expect you to return him to me posthaste. Preferably, within the coming day. If not returned to me, I shall come to fetch him myself and it will be a painful experience for you. As I understand it, you are a man of reasonable intelligence and integrity, so you will not disappoint me again.
Signed, Queen Maleficia Draconia.
Lilia’s world comes crashing down. His peaceful life with the boys has come to an end. The Queen wants her heir back. This letter is a painful reminder that neither of these boys belong to Lilia. Malleus belongs to his grandmother. To the Queen. And Silver is only with him since he has no one left. Neither of them are his to claim as his own. Yet again another reminder that Lilia has no place in the world.
‘Lilia.’ Silver’s voice snaps him out of his spiraling. ‘What’s that? What was the fire? What’s going on?’
So many questions and Lilia’s not sure he can answer them without breaking down. Lilia looks at Silver and Malleus, then looks back at the Queen’s letter. He takes a deep breath, ‘Boys, I need you to get ready. We’re going on a little trip.’
‘Really?!’ Malleus exclaimed, completely forgetting about his previous fear. ‘Yay!’ He began jumping around. On the other hand, Silver looked skeptical about this impromptu trip. ‘Why? What did the letter say?’ Lilia silently cursed Silver’s new found perception abilities. He really wished his eldest ward wasn’t so intelligent.
‘Don’t worry about it, Silver. Just go get ready. And help Malleus if he needs it.’ Silver slowly, hesitantly nods and stands up. Heading up to his room, taking an overexcited Malleus with him. This, thankfully, leaves Lilia alone in the living room. Lilia collapses into a chair and places his head in his hands. He knew this day would come, but six years with Malleus isn’t enough. It would never be enough.
Lilia took deep breaths after deep breath, trying to keep himself from crying, from actually losing it. Eventually, he managed to steel himself, if only for a while.
Just as soon as he did that, his wards came down in their travel clothes. ‘Lilia!’ Yelled Malleus, as he skipped down the stairs. Silver was just behind him, the skepticism hadn’t left his face. ‘We’re done! Where are we going?! Is it somewhere fun?!’ Malleus was ecstatic. Silver not so much. Silver at thirteen was old enough - by human standards - to know that something was wrong.
‘Just on the other side of the mountain.’ Lilia said as he stood up. He heads towards the door and grabs their cloaks. He throws his on and hands the rest to the boys, who put theirs on rather quickly. Malleus then put on his hat that hid his still small horns. ‘Silver, we’re teleporting there so be prepared for a bit of an upset stomach.’
‘Lilia,’ Silver pouts. ‘I’m older now, my stomach doesn’t hurt anymore.’
Lilia backed off, ‘Ok, ok. Don’t say you weren’t warned.’ Teenagers, Lilia thinks. They think they know everything. ‘Hands, boys.’ Lilia stretches out his hands, the boys place their hands in his.
[…]
One moment they’re in the Tenebrous Woods, the next they’re outside the gates to Dragonopolis. Silver seemed to have made the trip relatively ok. Aside from the fact he was swaying a bit, maybe from nausea. ‘You ok, Silver?’ Asked Malleus before Lilia could. ‘Yeah. Just a bit dizzy and nauseous. I’ll be fine, I just need a minute.’
Lilia wished to say that they were on borrowed time, that it’s either they go today or tomorrow their entire world would be ripped from under them. Her Majesty was not a woman to be triffled with. When she gave you a time limit on a job she actually expected it to be done the moment she gave the order. Any later and you would be deemed unreliable and worthless to her.
Lilia had that lesson beaten into him over the course of his life. Delaying was a grave sin in the Draconia military. It was tantamount to treason, which Lilia had already been accused off but thankfully never prosecuted for. Lilia didn’t need to give the Queen any more reasons to permanently do away with him. He had to at least live long enough to care for Silver into adulthood.
The world had already proven that he couldn’t leave Silver in the hands of humans. The wretched creatures didn’t know how to properly care for him - truth be told neither did Lilia, but at least he tried to learn and improve. If Lilia was killed, Silver would be left all alone and he wouldn’t be able to survive. His survival skills still needed practice and he only had two years of training, not enough to protect himself from danger.
‘Ok,’ Lilia began abruptly. ‘Breathing time is over. We need to go.’ He pulled his hood up and kneeled in front of his wards to fix them up a bit. Pulling on Malleus’ hat to make sure that his horns don’t show and affixing Silver’s hood to his head with magic so that his very rounded, very human ears don’t show. ‘Don’t let the hood fall, Silver.’ Silver nods. ‘I mean it, Silver. If it falls and they see your ears, we are going to be in big, big trouble.’ Silver nods with more ferocity this time. ‘Yes, Lilia. I won’t let it fall.’
Lilia raises, grabbing the boy's hands. Silver to his right, Malleus to his left and begins to walk. The boys naturally follow Lilia as he guides them into what can only be described as the belly of the beast. Lilia would rather be in the training camps of Mount Dread Canyon over Blackscale Castle. Lilia would at the very least have a better chance of surviving the canyon than the Queen.
Lilia makes sure to grip onto the boy’s hands for fear of losing them in the semi crowded streets of Dragonopolis. It is nearly midday and the streets are filled with men and women both buying and selling wares. There’s some children playing around on the street but only a handful of them. Boys and girls running around, screaming, laughing. Nothing out of the ordinary.
This causes Lilia to grip onto his boys even harder. Malleus, being the blissfully ignorant child that he is, doesn’t even notice. He’s been completely enraptured by the beauty of the castle town. Silver, on the other hand, looks all the more nervous but he also returns Lilia’s gesture with his own. The little darling grips Lilia’s hand as well, seemingly trying to make him feel better.
It does, even if Lilia refuses to admit it.
‘Lilia,’ Malleus called out to him. ‘Can I play with them?’
‘No.’ Is all Lilia says. Malleus is a smart enough kid to know not to question Lilia too much. Even more when his tone is as serious as it currently sounds. He can tell Malleus is disappointed, they both can. Silver tried to cheer him up, ‘It’s ok, Malie. When we get home, you and I can play hide n seek and then go stone skipping.’
‘Yay!’ Silver’s sweet little attempt worked perfectly.
What the boys didn’t know is that Malleus wasn’t going back to the cottage. He would never return for as long as he lived. Once Lilia returned Malleus to the Queen she would never let him out of her sight ever again.
[…]
As they approach the gates to the castle, Lilia grows more anxious. It had been years since he’d been there, walked its walls, hell, even laid his eyes upon it. Not since Maleanor moved out and took him and Raverne with her to Wild Rose.
The path was just as he remembered it to be - winding roads, slippery cobblestones and perilous drops hundreds of feet above jagged rocks. All in all, not a place for the faint of heart. Not a place for a human boy like Silver. Evidently, even Silver realized that, because the moment they got on the path he clung to Lilia’s side like how a baby possum clings to its mother. Lilia pulls Malleus closer, while Malleus can fly he’s not very adept at it, only having Silver’s training to go off of and Silver can’t even fly.
Malleus, true to form, is not overly concerned about anything that has happened since they got into the city. It’s one of his many qualities that he inherited from his mother, much to Lilia’s chagrin. Truly, if Lilia had to choose one of Maleanor’s qualities that he would be happy that Malleus inherited, he’d be better off staying quiet. For however much he loved her, he could never say that she had good qualities in spades.
‘Oh, who’s that?’ Malleus pointed at the guardsman that stood protecting the gate. When Lilia focused his eyes, he could tell exactly who it was: Armand Riventine. Armand had been one of Lilia’s old soldiers; he'd trained under Lilia after surviving the camps. Lilia could say that out of all of his soldiers, Armand was one of his favorites. Brave, courageous, and most importantly of all, intelligent. Intelligence was a rare thing among most of the soldiers, with very few of them even capable of claiming that they had brains. Let alone a functioning one.
In that sense, Armand had been a breath of fresh air. Lilia didn’t need to explain things several times for him to get it or dumb it down. He could just speak his mind and Armand would do exactly as he’d been ordered to. Truly a respectable soldier. Lilia could only hope that Armand had kept that intelligence and had not been dumbed down by the imbeciles that served alongside him.
Armand stood in front of them the second they got to the gate. ‘Who are you? State your business! Without good causes you may not enter! If you dare to try, I will force you off the mountain in the name of the Queen!’
‘Good to know you haven’t changed, Riventine.’ Lilia said as he craned his head up to look at Armand. ‘I’m happy to see you still serving Her Majesty.’
Armand quickly realized who he was talking to, ‘General? By the stars! I'm glad to see you again. Truthfully I didn’t think I’d ever get the pleasure of talking to you. How long has it been?’ Armand was very happy to see Lilia and that made Lilia think that maybe this trip wouldn’t be so bad.
‘Years. It’s been years. I’d really like to chat with you but I’ve been summoned by Her Majesty and you know what she’s like.’ Armand made a face of worry. ‘Yikes, the Queen? Oh, even in retirement she can’t let you be at peace. Good luck, General.’
He steps aside and salutes. Lilia nods in acknowledgment. ‘It was good to see you. And thank you, I will be needing it.’
Lilia then hurries in, dragging Malleus and Silver with him. He’s ever so glad that Armand was too shocked by his presence that he completely neglected to notice the children. He had no idea how he was going to explain them to him. He couldn’t just say “Oh yeah, these are the Prince of Briarland and the son of the Dawn Knight!”. That wouldn’t go over well with anybody.
‘Lilia,’ Silver finally spoke after his long period of silence. ‘Why are we meeting the Queen?’
Lilia doesn’t answer. He can’t answer. He refuses too. Because it’s easier for him to pretend that nothing is happening as long as he doesn’t say it aloud. He can continue to pretend like this is just a bad dream, a horrific nightmare created by his sick mind as a way of punishing him for all his past failures.
‘We’re meeting a queen? That’s so cool!’ Malleus exclaims. Seconds later comes the next question, ‘Uh, what’s a queen?’ That forces a smile onto Lilia’s face. ‘She’s a leader,’ Silver explains to the best of his ability. Lilia had taught him the difference in titles a couple of weeks ago, when the boy had gotten curious about his parents. It had taken so much out of Lilia to not punch a hole into the wall every time that Silver described his parents as “cool”.
He knew that Silver wasn’t doing it on purpose. For the six years that he’d had him Lilia swiftly learned that Silver was incapable of malice. His heart was so pure and soft that even the idea of hurting someone or something was horrifying to him. Even more so when the poor boy had fallen victim to Henrick’s disgusting abuse. And the abuse of the elderly woman and her son when Lilia had foolishly believed that he’d be better off with them.
‘Really? Who does she lead?’ Malleus’ line of inquiry continued. Ever the curious little thing, so much like his father, like Raverne. To this day Lilia still wondered what had happened to him. ‘Her people. She rules over them and swears to protect them from danger. Queens are supposed to be really nice and friendly.’
Lilia scoffed. His Queen? Friendly? Nice? What a joke. For as much as he admired his Queen for her strength and magical prowess, he could never claim her as any of the aforementioned. And if she was, she had never shown Lilia any of that kindness in the many centuries that he’s known her and has been at her service.
‘I can’t wait to meet her!’ Malleus hopped with joy.
It doesn’t take them long to reach the throne room. Truth be told, they haven’t encountered any obstacles on their way to the Queen, which tells Lilia all he needs to know. He had been wise to set out for Dragonopolis the moment he got the letter, this was exactly what the Queen expected of him. She had set the path for him to bring Malleus straight to her without any complications. Armand had most likely been stationed at the gate so that Lilia wouldn’t have any trouble getting in.
The Queen might be getting on in years, even by dragon standards, but she was still as sharp as broken glass. And three times as dangerous and volatile.
Lilia lets go of Silver’s hand to knock on the door. The door is dark oak, it combines perfectly with the dark aesthetic of the castle, the cobblestone walls and its Malefician architecture. He knocks once, then twice, then thrice. It was the knocking pattern he had established with the Queen so that she would always know that it was him. Truth be told, he never thought he’d use it again. Every part of him wishes he never would.
Thanks to his impressive hearing, he can hear the Queen’s voice through the thick door right before they open by magic. Lilia grabs Silver’s hand and walks in with them.
The throne room is as magnificent as ever. High ceilings, armor stands lining the walls and the banners bearing the Queen’s insignia hanging from the ornate arches. Every inch of the cavernous room screamed Malefician architecture and opulence. And at the center back of the room sat the Queen herself. Imposing as ever, her aura and pure magical might was enough to suffocate anyone who was woefully unprepared for it.
Luckily for him, Malleus was a Draconia himself and Silver, for all his human weaknesses, seemed to possess relatively potent magic. Lilia brought them to kneel at the base of the dais where the Queen’s throne sat elevated. He pushed Silver behind him then he takes the hat off and pulled Malleus in front of him, almost like an offering.
‘I have brought you your heir just as you requested, Your Majesty.’ Lilia pronounced aloud. He couldn’t deny it any longer, no matter how much he wanted to. It hurts to speak. To admit to the world what he always knew. ‘He kneels before you, healthy and strong.’
‘Good job, Vanrouge.’ Lilia could practically hear the smile on her face. It sent chills down his spine. Made him want to cower in fear of her power. But he couldn’t appear weak in front of her so all he could do was force Silver to hide behind him even more. ‘I knew you wouldn’t disappoint me. Well, not again, anyway.’
The cool calculation of that line and the delivery of it was perfectly tailored to rub salt and poor molten iron in all of Lilia’s still open and pulsing wounds. ‘…Yes, Your Majesty…’ Lilia struggled out, just barely.
‘Lilia,’ Malleus looked back at him. ‘Who is she? Is she the queen we were meeting?’
Malleus had the worst timing for questions and he also had the worst questions. Lilia directed his gaze to the Queen’s face to gauge her reaction, she looked almost amused by Malleus’ question. Almost. She looked at Malleus and then at him, her message was clear, he had seconds to fix this before the worst happened. And not just to him, but to Silver too, even if had no idea who he was at the moment. He wishes to keep it that way.
‘Yes, she is,’ Lilia replies quickly. ‘But more importantly, she’s your grandmother. Maleficia Draconia.’ Malleus appeared to understand, until he didn’t. ‘What’s a grandmother?’ Lilia winces at his question. He was making it exceedingly difficult for Lilia to keep both himself and Silver alive. ‘She’s your mom’s mom. Remember when I told you about your mom? Well this is her mom.’
Malleus looked in between him and the Queen. He waved at her with his bright little smile, ‘Hi, Grandmother!’ Lilia really would rather be anywhere else than here at this moment. Malleus was really showing his age, all six years of it. Lilia wants to cry. ‘Hmm,’ the Queen began. ‘Good enough. Servant!’ She yelled out. Swiftly a maid teleported in, head already bowed and hands clasped in front of her.
‘Yes, Your Majesty.’ She spoke in a levelled tone. One could tell that she had years of service under her belt. She carried herself with that air of confidence that Lilia used to have.
‘See to it that my heir is bathed and dressed in clothes befitting his station.’ The Queen leaves little place for argument. Not that anyone with any self preservation skills would even dare to try. Doing so would only end in a slow death at the hands of the Queen’s executioner. Which used to be Lilia back in the day. He partially wonders who has taken up that position after his shameful retirement.
The maid looks up with eyes widened in surprise. When she sees him, her eyes sparkle with joy. The heir is alive and has been returned to his rightful place. Briarland is saved. More importantly, the Draconia’s are saved.
‘Of course, Your Majesty.’ She bows and quickly makes for Malleus who makes a grab for Lilia when she tries to touch him. This is Lilia’s fault, he should’ve tried to expose Malleus to more people in the past six years. Not just him and Silver. Yet again another area in which he had failed him.
‘Lilia!’ Malleus grabs onto him desperately. Wishing to stay by his side. ‘It’s ok, Malleus,’ Lilia explains in the softest voice that he can. ‘The nice lady is just going to give you a bath and some fresh clothes.’ Malleus pouts. ‘Hey, I know that you don’t like baths but you have to promise me that you’re going to behave yourself when you’re with her, ok?’ Malleus eventually nods and lets go. He allows the maid to guide him out of the throne room, but not before glancing over his shoulder are Lilia.
‘Now that that has been resolved,’ the Queen spoke abruptly as she stands and begins walking towards Lilia. He can feel Silver grab onto him and hide his face in his back, trying to look as small as possible. Unfortunately, such tactics don’t work on the Queen. It only eggs her on. She’s almost like a hunting dog but instead of sniffing out deers or boars she sniffs out fear. It’s actually very frightening how she hones in on someone’s fear and seems to feast on it. Lilia would even go so far as to call it downright sadistic. ‘We must have a private conversation.’
Lilia can feel her hand on his head before she teleports them away into her office. Lilia has been here before. A dark oak desk with ornate carving of roses and briars, dark oak shelves filled to the brim with books, and the same Malefician architecture that is a staple to the castle interior and exterior. It is the pinnacle of fae opulence.
‘Now, would you like to enlighten me as to why you kept my heir from me for six years?’ She asks as she sits at her desk. She is no less imposing just because she’s sitting down, if anything her presence doubles if not triples. ‘Or maybe you’d like to explain to me why my heir was unaware of my existence?’
He has no answers aside from his selfish desires to keep a part of Maleanor with him. To keep Malleus all to himself. He knows both answers will only make things worse for him, so he goes to the only other thing he can: silence. Silence amuses her, it excites her. It’s like a puzzle to her. Everyone is like a puzzle to her.
‘I see,’ her voice is cold and filled with mirth. ‘In all the time I’ve known you, I’ve never known you to be silent, Vanrouge.’ She chuckles, her sharp gaze is trained on him. She’s waiting for him to mess up. ‘You’ve always been a screeching bat with something to prove. An orphan I took in, a loyal soldier. Even when you were young and uneducated you always had something to say. Why stop now?’
Lilia knows she’s just trying to hurt him, to make him suffer. And it’s working. He wishes he could cry right then and there. Just begin sobbing and never stop, but that would only give her more ammunition. She was right about him, though. He was always rather opinionated as a young fae, he never quite knew when to shut up. He thought he could voice all of his opinions and that they would be taken seriously. The court had very quickly disabused him of that idea.
All he was there for was to master as many weapons as possible and become a loyal soldier as recompense for the time, energy and resources wasted on him. He had no greater purpose in his life. He was a sword and shield and he had failed at both when he let Maleanor die and let Malleus be ripped out of his arms by the Dawn Knight.
‘Fine then. Let me ask you something else. A simpler question: who is that cowering behind you?’ Both Lilia and Silver froze. For some unknown reason, Lilia hadn’t thought about what to say to the Queen if she ever asked about Silver. Lilia is beginning to regret taking Silver with him to Dragonopolis. But for all the Queen's criticism of his intelligence, Lilia was good at thinking on his feet. If he wasn’t he wouldn’t have survived the war.
‘He’s a random child that happened upon my home while I was trying to hatch Mal- His Highness. I fed him and then was never quite able to rid myself of him. He’s proved useful, though. He watched His Highness while I take care of everything else, so I was remiss to dump him somewhere when I could utilize him.’ Lilia hated every single word that came out of his mouth. He hated saying it but it was the most believable thing he could think of. The Queen didn’t need to know that he’d kept Silver because he formed an attachment to him and that it had developed into actual love.
There was a glint in her eyes that Lilia couldn’t quite figure out, but she doesn’t probe any deeper into his make believe story. ‘Alright then. Now that I’ve recovered my heir, you can finally rid yourself of the little beast that cowers behind you.’
‘…Yes, Your Majesty.’ Lilia mumbles with great pain in his heart. He reaches his hand behind him as secretly as possible to grab Silver. This is the best he can do to assure Silver that he won’t ditch him, that he’s staying with Lilia. Even if Lilia can’t keep Malleus, he’ll latch onto Silver and he won’t let him go. He’s sick to be glad that Silver is an orphan, but thanks to that Lilia gets to keep him all to himself. Silver is his and he will fight anyone who tries to take him.
‘I believe that you should be on your way, Vanrouge,’ The Queen said after a long moment of silence. The air is thick with tension, she is completely unaffected. She raises from her chair, which was wrung from the kingdom’s finest satin, moving to stand in front of them. ‘I shall take time out of my very busy schedule to escort you.’ The reminder of her enormous kindness, of her choice to not kill them for the crime of keeping Malleus from her, doesn’t go unnoticed by Lilia.
‘Thank you, Your Majesty… You are ever so kind…’ He couldn’t say any more or he’d lose it, and he was already walking that perilous tightrope. One gust of wind, no matter how weak, would be strong enough to send him falling down to the abyss.
The Queen walks out, leaving Lilia and Silver to stumble behind her. Of course she would not wait, she is the Queen and she waits for no one. She walks five paces ahead of them. Commanding the servants to press themselves against the walls with her presence alone. She must always remain unperturbed by the little people as she navigates the halls of her ancestral home. A castle that was built by the first Draconia and therefore has witnessed the birth and death of so many Draconias before her; and a castle that will witness many more after her. She glides effortlessly through the halls, taking many twists and turns through the maze of corridors. The only thing they do is quietly and dutifully follow.
‘Will we ever see Malleus again?’ Silver asked in a hushed tone. When Lilia looked at him all he could see was silent desperation and tears brimming from his eyes. Lilia had to be strong for him. He couldn’t cry, Lilia was the adult, Silver was the child.
‘No. He is where he belongs.’ Silver only nods, turning to look forward. He’s struggling not to cry, just as Lilia struggles to not demand to keep Malleus. To raise the child just as Maleanor had wanted him too, but he knows that the Queen would never allow it. Lilia had been the one to allow her daughter to die. Lilia had been the one to lose Malleus to the humans. Out of all the fae, Lilia was the most undeserving of being in charge of Malleus. And that unworthiness is one of the biggest wounds that Lilia has in his heart.
It is not long until they reach the main entrance.The tall dark oak double doors that lead in and out of the castle open with just a flick of the Queen’s wrist. She hikes up the long, flowing skirt of her sleek black dress and descends the few steps that lead into the courtyard. Lilia and Silver descend them not long after her in silence. They’re almost like ghosts or even loyal canines following their master wherever she may go.
As they approach the gates the Queen halts and takes a gander back at the duo. She clearly expects them to continue walking until they stand before her, so that’s what they do.
Just as they bow and begin saying their respectful goodbyes, they all hear the voice of a woman calling out for someone to stop. The three of them look in the direction that the voice is coming from only to see Malleus running at full speed being chased by the maid that had left with him earlier. Malleus is wearing what can only be described as royal regalia. Long black robes, mystium adornments with embedded emeralds and a similarly made crown. It was very similar to Maleanor’s and the Queen’s.
Malleus runs to Lilia and grabs his hand. ‘I finally found you, Lilia. Are we going home? I’m hungry!’ Malleus looks up at Lilia with the most expectant eyes and it breaks his heart. He pulls his hand away from Malleus’ grasp but the boy is determined to hold onto Lilia. So he just removes his hand from Malleus’ and drops to one knee. ‘Malleus, you can’t come with us. You have to stay here.’
Malleus’ little face falls, ‘Why? I want to go home?’
‘This is your home. With your Grandmother. This is where you belong.’ Lilia tried his best to explain such a complex situation to a very young child. Malleus wasn’t having any of it. ‘But my home is with you and Silver! I don’t want to stay here! I want to go home!’ He was starting to throw a tantrum. ‘Why can’t I go with you?!’
‘Because you belong here,’ Lilia tried not to cry but he was failing. He took a shallow and shaky breath. ‘You are a Draconia. You are a Prince. Princes live in castles, not small cottages in the forest. You stay here. I stole you from your grandmother, your real family. It’s about time that I give you back.’
Lilia keeps his eyes on Malleus while the young boy looks in between him and Silver. Malleus realizes that he can’t convince Lilia so he tries to convince Silver. Whatever Silver does behind Lilia’s back is enough.
Malleus begins to cry and the sky follows his example. He makes grabby hands at him but Lilia slightly pushes him away. Lilia’s eyes sting from the tears that he’s holding back and it only becomes worse when he gets a glance of Malleus’ face. His little face screamed of heartbreak, tears streaming down his rosy cheeks. He runs towards Lilia but the maid manages to catch him in time and picks him up. She struggles to hold him as he kicks and screams for Lilia.
Lilia wishes he were deaf, so that he wouldn’t have to hear Malleus’ screams combined with the sound of his heart breaking. But he was doing what was right, Malleus belonged to the Queen, not him. He’d already kept him for longer than he deserved.
He quickly grabs Silver’s hand and give the Queen one last bow before teleporting back to the Tenebrous Woods.
Silver and Lilia are silent as they make the short trek back to the cottage. With Lilia being so distressed he had miscalculated his teleportation by a hundred feet. Thankfully the cottage was in sight.
Lilia had to be strong for Silver, the young boy was most likely saddened by Malleus’ absence. It’s very likely he feels a bit empty now that they no longer had Malleus’ laughter in their lives. As an adult Lilia had to be strong enough.
When they finally reached the cottage, they both took off their cloaks and shoes and left them by the door. Lilia then takes Silver’s hand, gently pulling him through the living room, upstairs and into Lilia’s room.
‘What are we doing here?’ Silver asks softly. Lilia doesn’t answer. He just sits on his bed and pulls Silver with him. He then hugs the boy and falls back onto the bed, holding him tightly.
‘Good night, Sil.’ he says despite it only being an hour past midday.
‘Good night, Lilia.’ Silver responds before closing his eyes and falling asleep. It’s only when Silver’s breathing evens out that Lilia gives him a kiss on the forehead and whispers, ‘I love you.’ Lilia has just lost half of his heart today, and he can’t bare to have the rest of it so far away from him.
[…]
The weeks following the visit to Dragonopolis had been rough. Horrible, even. They were both affected by Malleus’ absence more than Lilia had anticipated. Silver had been making flower crown with his bird friends and had made three. One for each of them. Lilia had to give Silver the painful reminder that Malleus wasn’t around anymore.
Then Lilia set the table for three. It was automatic, he’d been setting the table for three for six years. He even made a portion for Malleus. Silver gives him a sad look as he quietly sits at the table. A few days later Lilia ends up cooking Malleus’ favorite. The look he gets from Silver is one of pity and understanding. Silver had been drawing, when he’d finished he’d gone to show Malleus only to remember that he wasn’t here.
Silver doesn’t go outside as much anymore. He spends a lot of time in Malleus’ old room; the sky has yet to clear since they left the castle town. Lilia isn’t quite sure if it’s Malleus’ doing or the Queen’s. Either way, the days are bad. They’ve had three storms since that day too. Horrific thunderstorms that keep Lilia awake and that send Silver into a panic that has him running to Lilia’s room for comfort.
All in all, the worst few weeks of their lives. Malleus’ absence is felt by both of them. It’s this wormhole of silent despair and grief that is all encompassing. The storm clouds aren’t the only dark clouds over their home.
Finally something changes, one day the sun is actually shining, or as much as it shines over Briarland. Lilia manages to push Silver to go outside and enjoy the sun and fresh air. Silver begrudgingly agrees and heads outside.
The day is quiet as Lilia tends to the chores such as organising the pantry and cleaning the rafters. Chores that are far to daunting for the still frail Silver. He might’ve gained a bit of meat on his bones but he was still well below a normal weight for a teen boy. At least by the standards of the book in human development that Lilia had bought in his efforts to improve in his caretaking abilities. He’d also bought a book of human recipes but he wasn’t having any success with it. Silver blames Lilia’s unwillingness to follow recipes, Lilia disagrees. He’s just trying to make sure that Silver has all the nutrients a grown boy needs.
Lilia is nearly done cleaning when he hears Silver calling him frantically. ‘LILIA! COME HERE QUICK!’
He rushes out expecting Silver to be in danger due to one of his animal friends finally remembering that Silver is made of flesh and bones and is therefore very edible, but what he finds is even worse.
Silver is in the middle of the clearing in front of the cottage, paralysed in front of a green light. Lilia recognizes it immediately. It’s the Queen. As soon as Lilia gets to Silver’s side, the green light shines so bright it blinds them. They turn away to spare their eyes and when they look back they see the Queen in her full glory. Perfectly styled hair, regal black gown, with her crown and other jewelry accentuating her horns and eyes.
‘So this is where you’ve been living. How quaint. A tiny cottage in the middle of the forest. It’s very rustic.’ She mussed, her eyes taking in the landscape. She pursed her lips, showing clear disapproval of where Lilia had decided to live.
Lilia and Silver kneeled, eyes pointed down.
‘I had suspected something was odd with you because of your little pet. Especially when you said that you couldn’t rid yourself of them. It’s highly unlike you to keep a child around you. My heir is one thing, but a random child?’ She explained without needing to be asked. ‘Of course, I had no idea that you had decided to play family with a little boy, much less a human one. Especially when he looks so much like a certain man who killed my only child and your dear friend.’
Lilia struggles on what to say. He opens and closes his mouth, gaping like a fish out of water. When he finally goes to say something Silver gets ahead of him. ‘I’m sorry.’
Lilia snaps his head to his right, just in time to see Silver raise his head and look at the Queen.
‘Oh?’ She’s amused if her tone and the glint in her eyes is anything to go by. She arches her brow, inviting Silver to continue.
‘Yes. I’m sorry. What my birth parents did to you, your family and your kingdom was wrong and horrible. They should’ve never set foot on your land. They should’ve never tried to steal what belongs to you and the fae. I’m sorry that your daughter was killed by my birth father, I’m sorry you lost so much because of them. I wish I could undo all the pain and suffering but I can’t. I can only hope that one day you can heal from everything and continue to rule over your people in peaceful prosperity.’
The Queen takes in Silver’s apology. Her emerald eyes bore into his amethyst ones. When the Queen places both hands on her scepter Lilia grabs Silver and pulls him into his arms. He might not be able to stop the Queen but at least he can take the brunt of the attack. But she doesn’t attack, she just laughs.
It’s loud and clear and so very much like Maleanor’s. ‘My goodness. Who would’ve thought that his own child would be on our side in all of this? Or is that your influence, Vanrouge? Maybe it is, or maybe there are humans who actually know right from wrong.’ She smiles, but for the first time ever it’s not predatory. Just genuine.
Silver and Lilia stare up at the Queen with shocked expressions. This wasn’t what they were expecting to happen. ‘Oh, don’t look at me like that. I didn’t come here to hurt anyone. I came here to deliver a package.’
She waves her hand and a green flame appears next to her. From that green flames comes a certain little boy in full regalia with black hair and horns. ‘Malleus!’ They both called.
‘Silver! Lilia!’ Malleus cried out, tears already spilling from his eyes. Malleus barrels right for them and jumps into Lilia’s waiting arms. Lilia’s arms wrap around Malleus and press him against Lilia’s body. This time Lilia can’t hold back tears and he begins to cry.
‘My darling. My dear.’ Lilia cried as he placed a kiss on Malleus’ cheek. He lifts one arm from Malleus only to bring Silver into the hug. ‘My babies. My loves. My boys.’
‘Papa!’ Malleus cries out, clinging onto both of them now. ‘Big brother!’
‘Malie. Dad.’ Silver sniffled and hugged them both tightly. Hearing the boys call him their father break something in Lilia. He finally says what he’s never been brave enough to say while his boys are awake. ‘I love you. I love you. I love you.’
‘I love you too, Papa.’
‘I love you too, Dad.’
Lilia glances up at the Queen, ‘Thank you, My Queen.’
‘No need, Vanrouge.’ She smirks, eyes narrowed. ‘Let me tell you how this is going to work. Since he is still my heir he needs to be trained and taught. Every weekday starting next month I expect you to drop him off at the library where he will study from eight to three. Then you can pick him up and bring him here. It will be like a school. Understood?’
‘Yes, Ma’am.’ Lilia nods ecstatic. He’ll do anything as long as he gets to keep them both.
She smiles, ‘Good. Your banishment has been lifted and I expect you to come to my office after you’ve dropped him off. We need to talk about how you wish to receive your pension. See you next month.’ With that, she disappears in a glow of green.
Had he been the Lilia of a few years ago, he’d be excited at the idea of getting to set foot in Dragonopolis and to be treated with respect again. But he’s not the Lilia of a few years ago, he’s the Lilia of today. And the Lilia of today has two things in his life that are more important to him than anything: his two sons who had dragged him out of his depressive spiral just by being themselves. They were worth far more than respect and gold.
Malleus and Silver were his everything. His heart, his soul and his reason for living.