Beautifully painted flowers stretched toward the sky with curious faces that resembled the sun itself, so wide and welcoming. Deep reds, pale yellows, and boisterous blues were scattered along the fields that grew unkempt throughout the Edge; a perfect symphony of color that could delight the eye if looked upon with an open mind. Birdsong was in full swing in Helovia and though it was considered not only the season of new life, it was considered the season of love as well. Was it not in spring that weary hearts found solace in the comfort of another’s arms? I’d always thought it to be such a time for healing and acceptance. After all, the cool breeze tinged with the slightest brush of summer warmth always seemed to encourage a certain desire for company, at least in my own opinion. It was caused by the need for happiness, a sense of belonging that overwhelmed those like me to want for more… more than what this lonely life had given us.

My family, my life, my world- they had endured Invasion and dealt with the ramifications with flying colors. I, on the other hand, seem to have lost myself in the resulting blur of its memory. I could not recall any certain event that passed during that time nor could I recount how it happened or how it ended, only that it had certainly occurred. At times it felt as though that significant part of my story had been wiped clean, meant to be erased from my definition… even if I couldn’t explain why or how. My life had been placed in a frozen part of my conscious that seemed only to surface when conflict was absent. But, I felt no guilt for such a defense mechanism. My heart had seen so much hurt and so much pain that I had forgotten any real coping mechanism- or at least any beneficial ones. Now, I only floated through the present like a walking corpse, still forcing movement into these forsaken bones.

I had lost to the Assassin- another piece of my story still unexplained. Where the answers had gone was lost to me and perhaps it was just as well. I couldn’t face knowing that I was too weak in mind, body, and spirit that I could not even seek victory in my first battle when my herd was about to face their second war. Yet still, time resumed and I was still here thriving, albeit comatose.

The sound of the waves grew closer as I approached the cliff overlooking the sea. For the first time in a long while I felt as though I could truly see all the lay before me. The harsh rolling of the waves rushing toward an unseen shore, the soft morning sunlight falling over the horizon and lighting up the shadows night had left upon its departure and even the pale green grasses that were so fresh and new they appeared to be quite surreal beneath my heavy footfall- it was all there before me like some sick reminder that I had been asleep for the better part of my existence. I didn’t cry out for the company I so longed for, for fear that whoever replied would only find one very broken King with a desolate gaze that stretched far beyond reality into the scene beyond. I wasn’t sure if they would see the immaculate picture now painted before my soulless eyes or if they would merely see the home they’d always known to come to when times got rough. I considered walking away, just merely walking away from it all. But what would they say? What whispers and rumors would follow in my wake should I seek an answer to end all ends? I couldn’t be sure that such a rash decision would benefit anyone, including myself, but it was a thought all the same.

At times, faces would appear in my mind, faces of loved ones, of friends, of enemies. But over the course of the past few months, they had all begun to meld together into one endless query of images that made no sense at all. I was falling quickly and I wasn’t sure if I could find the strength to save myself even with so much riding on all that I’d done and promised. A king is a king are they not? How I decided to take this next leap, this next chapter in my book was entirely up to me. But what kind of King would I be if I didn’t at least have some kind of plan in mind? You’re no King, never were kid. But at least you’ve had fun pretending.