Hitomi walked into her bedroom to find her husband kneeling on the floor, his head buried in his hands on the bed. He had been quiet lately, which wasn't completely unlike him. Ever since the war with Basrum, something changed inside the young king. The queen couldn't tell what it was, either.
"Van? Darling, what's wrong?" She asked sitting next to him, petting his hair.
He didn't budge. "We won, but the loss was too great."
Hitomi's eyebrows rose. "Did something happen? You said their were barely any causalities."
"Barely, but not none." he elaborated, finally resting his head in her lap. "A good soul was lost, and taken way too soon."
"Would you like to talk about it?"
He raised his face to look at her's, full of comfort. "It was the last day of the battle. After Basrumian soldiers fell back, my troops began to celebrate. I joined in with them too, happy that none of our men had been injured. Then a boy, about 15, approached me. He was distraught and distracted.
"'What is it, Soldier?' I asked, trying to ease the boy.
"'It's my brother,' he confessed. 'He was fighting with us, but he's not here, I've looked everywhere, but I can't find him.' I wasn't too concerned at first, I thought the lad had gotten separated from the rest of the troops and was maybe lost in the woods. I ordered the men to fan out and search for the missing soldier as I assured the older boy that he was fine."
Van paused a long time and hid his face. "I went off by myself, to search a nearby meadow. Far across the way, I saw a speck of Fanelian red." He swallowed. "There was a boy, no older then 12, laying against a tree. Blood covered his uniform. My heart broke as I saw the extent of the damage, and his haggard breathing."
Hitomi covered her mouth in shock. "Why, he was just a baby!"
"Boys are allowed to join the army at age 12. I just wish…" He stopped as he shifted to sit next to her on the bed. "He said his name was Billy, and he wanted me to tell his mother something. I held his hand as he softly recited a poem that he had thought of to me…
"'Momma, hey momma, come lookin' for me. I'm here in the meadow by the red maple tree. Momma, hey momma, look sharp, here I be. Hey…hey…momma look sharp.
"Those soldiers, the fire. Oh mom, did we run, but then we turned round and the battle begun. Then I went under, oh ma, am I done? Hey…hey…momma look sharp.
"My eyes are wide open, my face to the sky. Is that you I'm hearin' in the tall grass nearby? Momma come find me before I do die…Hey…hey...momma look sharp…
"Then she'll say…I'll close your eyes, my Billy, those eyes that cannot see and I'll bury you, my Billy, beneath the maple tree and never again will you whisper to me…hey…hey…momma…look sharp."
As the words came from him, he broke down into tears and hung his head. "Then he died. His mother would have probably rather had lost to Basrum…if she could have only saved her son."
Hitomi didn't want to come off as insensitive, but she had to ask, "you've seen men die at your side for years. You were his age when the world was at war…but I've never seen you so upset before Van. What's different this time?"
He simpered. "Your right…this never bothered me before. But that boy…" The king held his wife's hand tightly. "I imagined him as my son."
"Oh…" Hitomi hung her head as she heard the toddlers laughter from down the hall. "I can't imagine how painful that would be…"
"Don't you leave me either!" He pulled her into a tight hug. "I love you."
"I love you too, Van." She smiled, comforting him.
"Papa?" A small voice called from the hall. "Can I play with you?" He scuffed his shoe on the floor.
Van smiled. "Anything, but war."