~.✧ Ethira ✧.~ [COMPLETE]

~.✧ twenty-three ✧.~

All remained quiet as Varien stood before Margaret and she cried silently. I wasn't sure how exactly Varien wanted this meeting to go, but I knew he would most likely need support and assurance through this. So I slowly approached the pair and sided up next to him.

He didn't react beyond a blink. I could tell this was difficult for him. It was difficult for me, too, but my rule wasn't the ultimate line. His was.

"My mother was exceptionally gracious to you and your family, Margaret," Varien eventually said into the silence, his voice low yet still holding the authority of a king.

Margaret's shoulders slumped farther, like she was starting to deflate within herself. "She was."

"She allowed you not only to take refuge in our capital province but become a part of the Royal Court, an honor very few Ethira-born can even call their own. She gave you opportunity and care. And this is how you repay her?"

Margaret didn't respond, refusing to look up.

Varien shook his head and turned on his heel, taking a couple paces away toward the door. He rubbed his chin with his hand and looked as if his words weren't formulating properly in his head, like he wasn't sure how to approach this situation at all.

I looked between the two of them for a long moment before my eyes ultimately landed on Margaret. Her face had grown so familiar to me over the course of the past few months, yet now she seemed unrecognizable. Despite her true character being revealed, she looked far from an evil murderer. She looked like a broken girl, desperate beyond measure and explicitly oppressed by a weight far heavier than she was supposed to be carrying.

Into the silence, I let the one word my mind was struggling to understand slip out. "Why?"

She barely hesitated before choking out. "Because I'd give anything to keep my family safe from him."

Varien's shoulders stiffened and he slowly turned back around, his interest piqued. "Who was threatening your family?"

"King Solanus," she breathed, like his name alone would summon him if she said it too loud. A shiver racked her shoulders.

Varien's brows furrowed and I knew we couldn't beat around the bush anymore. We needed all the answers out in the open or this meeting was going to go nowhere.

Pulling up one of the other chairs, I placed it in front of her and sat. Her watery eyes flickered to me for a moment before shame pulled them back down. With a deep breath, I leaned forward and told her, "Explain to me the situation. Tell me the truth."

Her chin quivered and while she looked scared, she eventually nodded.

"But look at me as you do so."

She cringed and then sniffled, like it was the last thing that she wanted to do. But her eyes eventually raised. When our gazes locked, she whispered, "I'm sorry."