Chapter 8 - Too Broken To Repair

Night fell and stars spattered the sky. It looked so beautiful. However, there was a more amazing sight.

Hundreds of red roses grew on the land that lay wide. A gust of wind gently swayed the petals of the flowers. A sweet fragrance perfumed the air while the golden coloured moonlight gently shone on the flower and made its beauty shine even more.

Surely anyone who saw this thought that the roses were not from the earth but from the garden of heaven.

Among the flowers, Rion stood and stared at one of the rose petals that was there. A petal that was still a bud and had not yet opened. Maybe when the sun rose tomorrow, then the bud would open?

Rion's hand moved slowly and touched the flower petals gently and carefully.

Rion smiled, but his eyes stared sadly. His hazel eyes were a mist of sadness.

From a distance, two servants and a soldier looked at their king who was in the middle of the rose garden.

Call them servant A, servant B and the soldier.

"Even though it has been six years, the king has not been able to forget the queen. I feel very sorry for the king. He loves the queen very much, and he is very sorry for his actions," said servant A as they looked on at the king sadly.

"I thought true love like that only existed in fairy tales. I didn't think that love like that actually existed in this world," said servant B, who also looked at the king.

"But if the king really loves the queen, he should trust the queen completely, right?" the soldier commented, he looked young. Maybe twenty years old.

The two maids beside him immediately gave a sharp glance.

"How could that be? After all, King Rion is a king who must uphold law and justice. Those who commit crimes must be punished. Too bad that time all the evidence pointed to Queen Rose and Knight Lucas. What do you think would have happened if all the evidence pointed to Queen Rose and Knight Lucas, but the king didn't punish them?" said servant A.

"The king will be judged unfair in enforcing the law," said the soldier.

"If you saw how much the king suffered at that time. Although he was very angry with Queen Rose and Knight Lucas, it is very clear that it was very difficult for him to sentence Queen Rose and Knight Lucas to death." Servant A spoke as he gazed up at the sky. He recalled the time when the king stood on the altar of execution. "At that time ... the king's eyes looked very empty. He was in a lot of pain, but he tried to cover it up."

He remembered the king's eyes that shone on his subjects below. Those hazel eyes were very empty.

"Hah. All this because of that rotten Queen Helen. I hope her soul will always be miserable," said servant B who couldn't help his frustration when he remembered Queen Helen.

"Heeey, watch your words, don't let Princess Anwen hear it." servant A reminded them.

"Oh, I forgot."

From behind the wall, Princess Anwen listened to the conversation of the three people. Anwen's purple eyes were closed, and water was running down her cheeks.

After a moment of silence there, Anwen left the place.

The conversation between the three previous people had not ended.

"We are lucky to have a very fair king. I hope the king will soon have the same happiness as before," said servant A.

"By the way, the woman the king brought earlier that afternoon, has she regained consciousness?" asked the soldier.

"Not yet."

"Who do you think that woman is? I think that woman's appearance is a little strange."

"Hey, you two, what are you two doing here? Come in and help me quickly! There's still a lot of work to do!"

Before the two servants could answer, the butler came and grumbled and asked the two subordinates to finish the job immediately.

***

After a few seconds passed, Rion let go of the flower petals and stepped towards the open building in the middle of the rose garden.

Before actually reaching the building, Rion passed the edge of a pond. The water in the pool was so clear that it could reflect the shadow of Rion's late night stroll and the starry sky above very clearly.

Rion stood in front of the building. For a moment, he looked at the entire building before he went and crouched near a gravestone. It was the headstone of the queen who died from being beheaded.

The sadness in Rion's eyes, which had been vague for a long time, was now very clear.

"I'm back, Rose," he said and touched the queen's headstone.

"Rose, are you still mad at me? Can't you forgive me yet?" Rion smiled bitterly. The heavy clouds within his chest were about to rain down. "It's okay, Rose. Don't forgive me. I don't deserve to be forgiven."

Two hazel eyes closed. His tears fell and sank onto the grass of the queen's grave.

After his mother died because she was killed by enemies of the kingdom, Rion was raised by his grandfather. His father was busy with various government affairs and always went to war. But not long after that Rion's father fell ill.

At that time, Panthera's glory had slowly faded, so the enemies took the opportunity. There were some rebellions, followed by coalitions which turned to the enemy's favor.

Even so, the king, with all the efforts he made, helped by several loyal allies, finally managed to defend the Panthera Kingdom from its enemies, who wanted to overthrow him and seize his kingdom.

To increase his power, the king married Helen, who was the daughter of the king of Arawn. Although the Arawn kingdom was small, the soldiers there were the best.

The king fought hard against his illness. He wanted to survive to defend the kingdom, at least until Rion was ready to take over the royal throne and took his place in the lead.

Because Rion was the only heir, the grandfather educated Rion very hard. Rion was not given any play time at all. Every day little Rion spent his time on swordsmanship, archery, fighting and learning everything needed to become a true king.

Due to his grandfather's strict upbringing, little Rion forgot how to play and have fun.

Since the death of his mother, Rion never again felt love, warmth, and affection.

Ever since his mother left Rion for good, Rion was a broken vase until he fell in love. Many years later, Rose came into Rion's life and fixed everything. The woman put the broken vase back together.

Rose made Rion feel the warmth he had forgotten, such as love and happiness. When he was with Rose, Rion felt human, not a warrior.

Rion's thirst for love and affection disappeared because of Rose's presence.

However, because of his own stupidity, he lost Rose. This time, it was not the enemy who took the life of the woman he loved but himself.

The vase that had been broken before, shattered and ruined to the last pieces.

Now, the vase was too broken to repair.

Rion's tears fell across his face and was soon accompanied by a soft sob.