Their Fae | B X B X B

Part Forty Two

Ferris

It wasn't long before I spotted the two. My heart seemed to stop and a sickness fell over me. What would they think once they saw me?

Would they look at me with disgust and disdain? Or maybe they'd go back to being cruel and nasty. So many emotions circling inside my head- too many thoughts wanting to be spoken allowed.

The one thing I noticed was how exhausted Zaelyn looked. There were dark bags under his eyes and his eyelids are half closed. Those sparkling ruby eyes were now just a dull red colour. Was it because of me? Maybe the trauma of almost dying was too much for him. Another thing I noticed was the fact that Fraener had cut his hair. It was levelled just below his ears. I felt a pang of sadness at his new haircut.

Don't feel sad, Ferris. Memories I've tried to suppress for the last five months came surging back with brute force and I felt it bring on a migraine. I closed my eyes for a few, holding my hand up to my hand as the announcer called out someone else's arrival which added more to the vacuum of noise. The muddled sounds all formed into one loud ringing tone which made my face scrunch up in annoyance.

This went on for another minute or so until a voice escaped the loud ringing noise. "Ferris! Listen to me! Ferris!" My eyes flew open and there was an almost silent room, full of at least a hundred people. It was an eerie sight, seeing this many people but almost no sound at all. It was Claude who brought me back from the horrible state with a worried expression. He eyed something aside from me and my eyes automatically flicked over in that direction.

What once was a lively lush plant was now a rotting lump of black plant material. I check the entire room- the massive throne room and paled even further from the sight. The shrubs, the hyacinths- all the plants were either in the process of rotting or already limp and dead. Did I do this? I wasn't even focusing on anything!

I started to panic at the silence from the massive crowd. I've been studying my magic for my entire life and to lose control infront of future subjects was humiliating. What would they think of me, their prince? What would Zaelyn and Fraener think?

I felt faint. This was a bad idea. All of it was a bad idea. Father rushed over and hooked his arm around mine before pulling me away from the throne and down a deserted hallway. I couldn't tell if he was angry but the odds that he wasn't were very slim.

I had the urge to cry. A minute in the spotlight and I could've even handle that- by god! How pathetic is that? Five months to get over what happened- them and I still couldn't do that! I should be fine by now! It's what everyone expects of me and I couldn't even manage that. A simple, easy task like that and I managed to screw that up.

If I was like this now, what am I going to be like on my actual birthday? Or coronation? He lead me into a room I didn't bother to register and let go, allowing me to place my sweaty palms on my knees and swallow the air like none of it was making its way into my lungs.

"Ferris calm down." Father ordered, placing a hand on my back. I was slightly taken aback by his calming tone. "I-I can't do it, Father." I gasped, mentally praying that I didn't spill tears. I didn't think I'd have a reaction like this just by seeing their faces. "Do what? Ferris- you don't need to worry so much!" He assured me. I still felt like I couldn't do it. Not as long as they were here.

"What was it? You seemed fine up at first," He questioned. My nerves calmed a tiny bit, and I looked up at him. He was standing behind his desk with a hard stare directed at me. We were in his study. "I-I just.. I didn't want to be there anymore." I muttered. He rose a brow and then frowned. "You mean to tell me your rotted an entire rooms worth of plants all because you didn't want to be there? I know when you're lying to me, Ferris." He huffed. I was too busy thinking about them that I didn't bother coming up with a more believable excuse. "Was it a consort? If it was I'd happily remove them from the pool. Or was it something about their auras that put you off- I need to know!"

"Did one of the guests bother you?" He kept prodding me. "Are you feeling   ill? Did someone say something?" My heart beat was booming in my ears and I felt even more pressure put onto me. "People are going to start talking, Ferris. You either have to go back out there or we release a statement on your behalf but before that I need to know what happened." He tried again and the thought about facing them two again made me snap. "I-It was Zaelyn and Fraener!"

The room went horribly silent as I watched his face undergo a series of changes as he tried to guess why they made me freak out. "What?" Was all he said. My panic levels rose and another migraine smash into the side of my head. I closed my eyes for a split second which was enough for a set of flowers on his desk to rot. He stared wide eyed at the plants then went to speak on it. Luckily a knock on the door interrupted him. He didn't take his eyes off me once as he went to answer the door. Claude was on the other side with an worried face as he stared down at the plants.

"Could I talk to Ferris privately?" He asked. Father looked hesitant but once he saw my pleading look he allowed me to leave. "This isn't over, Ferris. I want an explanation." He said before I quickly exited the study and joined my uncle. A few of the guards nearby gave me sideway glances as he took my hand and lead me down a deserted hallway, away from the throne room and the masses of people.

He was eerily silent, just leading me further and further away from everyone else. It wasn't until we reached the gardens did he stop.

It was slightly cold outside and this breezy outfit wasn't helping. I took the time to sit down on a stone bench and breathe in the cool air. He say down beside me and cleared his throat. "You can tell me what happened, Ferris." He assured me. "You killed those plants because you felt a powerful surge of emotion, right?"

I stared hard at the ground and thought about it. "Y-Yeah, I guess. How did you know?" I mumbled. "I've experienced something similar. Merlin has always been good at keeping calm." He explained. I instantly thought about his deceased lover and suddenly felt bad. "But I'm not Merlin, so you can tell me what really happened."

Should I really tell him? If word got out about what went down between the three of us surely I'd end up in a world of trouble. I couldn't risk something like this. My biggest secret. But this was Uncle Claude. If there was anyone out there that I could tell it was him.

I started thinking about my time with Zaelyn and Fraener and for the first time in months I felt a deep, deep sadness. It wasn't shock or anything or an after thought. It just felt like something was missing. Something I could never replace.

I felt a warm tear slide down my cheek and into the stone pathing as I gripped the bench. No plants died around me, instead they only closed up. I wiped away a few tears and looked up at my uncle who had an almost knowing look. "What I tell you must never be spoken aloud. Ever." I sniffled. I felt like this was the right move, to finally get this off my chest without any repercussions. "I swear on my life." Was all he said.

I took a deep breath, then exhaled. "It started at the summer palace.."

**

Do you think Ferris will end up in hot water or will Claude keep his word and stay silent?

Sorry for the suuuuuper long wait! No matter what I did I could not for the life of me figure out what to write for this chapter!

Anyway, from all of your lovely comments I have come to the conclusion that I shall write the ending for this story as it is, though I have no clue on how many chapters that will take and I will be rewriting it once completed! Thank you guys for all the love and support I really appreciate it!