I had never quite planned on my father finding out about Timaeus and I. To be honest, I would have kept it from him much longer than it had. Timaeus and I both knew he would not approve of us being together, what with him having my whole life planned for me, or at least that is what he claimed. He did not like Timaeus very much either. He thought Timaeus as not worthy, a pest. Someone who would not amount to nothing, no matter how far Timaeus climbed the ranks of Knighthood. My father had a lot of influence on the Council and had almost made most of them see what he saw. Ironheart and Dartz remained uninfluenced, though, for Ironheart had brought Timaeus to the castle.
We had been laying in bed with our legs tangled together, our breathing slowing when Timaeus had said he was going to inform my father of us. I remember my hands stopped trailing against his soft skin and my eyes opening to look at his. He was looking at me, I assume, as he said it, because his eyes were locked with mine. If his voice hadn't carried the seriousness of his statement, his eyes did. Timaeus, more so than me, hated keeping things secret. I could never understand why, but his explanation was that if my father found out himself, he didn't want me to earn some punishment.
Timaeus didn't know about all that my father did, and I could never tell him. Not with words, anyway. And I knew if I did tell him, he would go to my father and…who knows what would happen. My father had a history of hitting Timaeus when he intercepted the slaps that were supposed to be for me. It was always "behind closed doors" and with my father's influence, Ironheart never found out.
I had, although slightly unwillingly, agreed to let Timaeus ask to court me. I already knew the answer, and I had wondered if Timaeus did as well.
It was not long after that when Timaeus had requested permission to see my father after our weekly meetings. Timaeus told me he would rather go in himself, just in case my father decided to "throw" something in my general direction. At first I had been against him going in by himself at all, but with his stubbornness, I let him. Besides, we both knew Ironheart would still be in the room, so that eased my concerns a little.
It felt like it was hours after Timaeus went in until I saw him come back out. His expression was unreadable, which was different for him—his expression normally cheerful and determined. He walked over to me, and I could see the tension in his body. His small frame leaned against mine as he exhaled. The verdict had been, of course, my father's disapproval. There was a silence after that before Timaeus told me that my father had sent him on a mission. It didn't seem too out of place since he had been sent on missions before, or at least until he told me where it was.
The outer regions of the land, where the Spirits were hostile. Apparently there was another break out of war, and my father was sending Timaeus to try to negotiate with the Spirits.
I openly expressed my distaste for this, Timaeus kept quiet as I continued. He told me after I was finished speaking that Ironheart had gone along with my father, saying that he was well equipt with dealing with this sort of struggle. I was not one to deny Timaeus' abilities; he had proven himself over and over while training that he was capable of almost everything and more. Ironheart had good judgement, but that did not keep the looming pit out of my stomach.
Timaeus was to leave that night, hopefully making it there in two days and returning soon after that. I had not let him out of my sight for the rest of that day, and once to bed, not out of my arms. I hardly feared much, my father being the biggest containment, but I was not sure what I would do if I was to lose Timaeus. He seemed confident about this, so I tried to be as well.