WHAT UP!

So, I hope you guys are enjoying this story so far, even though my updating skills suck. Plus, the finale of A&A was just full of the feels and had me in tears! Also, if you read the latest chapter of My Sister's Secret, I have explained what happened to me during my little hiatus. I literally scratched the skin right off of my legs.

I love you all and I'am so grateful that you have stuck with this story!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Austin & Ally

Chapter 22

Who is the Witch-King?

After her impromptu meeting with Austin had finished, Ally walked down the winding corridors back to her and Austin's room. With Austin finally agreeing to let her go, she began to feel a sort of lightness in her chest. Something she hasn't felt since she got here.

She guessed that it was because she'll finally be able to see her parents and friends again, but maybe it also had to do with something else. Maybe, it had to do with Austin finally opening a little more to her and not trying to hide behind that stupid arrogant persona.

Either way, she thought, I'm just happy we got all of that out in the air. Hopefully, he'll now see my views on all of this and trust me more.

She knew that it was hoping for a lot, but it's better to hope than to just assume.

Reaching the bedroom, a maid was already on stand-by to help Ally out of her dress. Normally she would reach for a pair of night clothes, but seeing as she had dinner later, she decided to just strip down to her undergarments.

After the dress was pulled off and hung back up in her closet, Ally dismissed the maid and crawled underneath the covers. With everything between her and Austin as well as her lessons, she felt completely and utterly drained. Once her head hit the pillows, her eyes immediately shut and darkness overtook her.

*3 hours later*

After her nap, Ally was awakened by the same maid, who she had learned was named Anya, and directed towards the bathroom for a quick soak. After Anya shampooed her hair, she used a quick-drying spell and proceeded to curl the ends. Her makeup was applied and then a light blue floor length gown was chosen to dress her. Ally grabbed a pair of matching slippers and once she was ready, Anya directed her back to Austin's solar.

When the doors open, Ally saw Austin sitting at the baby grand playing around with various keys. His back was turned to her, so she coughed to get his attention. When he turned around, his face became one of shock, but a good kind of shocked.

"Wow…" He said as he moved from the piano to the door. "Ally… You look… Wow." Ally blushed a little as she watched Austin try to form a coherent thought.

"Thanks," She said back. "You don't look so bad yourself." And she wasn't lying. Austin was dressed in a white button down with a leather vest over it, a pair of tailored trousers and black leather ankle boots. Even though she tried her best to deny, she knew that Austin could have been the physical definition of sexy.

"Shall we sit down for dinner?" He asked as he pulled a chair out for her at the small table. There were two places set along with two lit candles and vase of red roses between them. It gave off the feeling of quiet intimacy with quiet being the main word.

Ally nodded as she walked to the chair that he had pulled out. He pushed the chair back in and motioned to the butlers to start serving.

Once dinner had started, the mood had taken a drastic turn. While the food and drinks were good, the conversation was not. Oh sure, they managed to make small talk here and there between courses, but it was the prying eyes and acute ears of the maids and butlers around them that made it hard to talk. It was kind of like lions watching the wounded antelope as it slowly died.

Ally could tell that Austin had something he dying to talk about, but it was obvious that he couldn't. It must have either been something embarrassing or a secret, something he knew no one else should know.

"You know," Ally said as she placed her fork down on the table. "Maybe you would be more comfortable to talk in private?" Austin was halfway to his mouth with a piece of steak when he stopped to stare at her. "I know you have something you want to tell me, but you're a little uncomfortable to say it with all these people around. We're still on our third course and our wine glasses are full, so maybe you could give your staff a small break?" His face seemed to show that he was contemplating what she had said until he had finally decided.

"Jacek," He called out to the lizard-man. "Why don't you and everyone else take a break while we finish?" Jacek seemed a little taken aback by what his king had said and didn't seem sure about how to answer. "We'll call you back when we're ready for dessert." And it seemed to piece together as Jacek ushered the others out of the room until Ally and Austin were the only ones in the room.

It was quiet for a while until Ally broke the silence.

"So, what exactly have you been dying to tell me?" And that was when Austin's face suddenly went south. Ally could tell whatever he wanted to talk about must have been a big deal for him. Why else would he look this somber?

"What I'm about to tell you," Austin said as he leaned back in his chair. "Is something that only those close to me know about."

"In other words, only Dez knows about it." Ally had hoped to lighten the mood with that, but it didn't work.

"As you know, as the Witch-King, I'm considered to be the strongest of all, but that's not the whole truth." He pulled his wine glass to him as he took a sip. "In truth, my body has been physically and magically weak." That intrigued Ally.

"So then," She interrupted. "How did you manage all of this? If you're as weak as you say, your body wouldn't be able to withstand it all." Without a word, Austin reached into his shirt and pulled out the crystal that hanged around his neck.

"This is called a Lacrima." He said as he held the crystal up. "It's a crystallized form of magic that provides magic to those that wield it. Before the separation of normal and magical, humans used this to perform simple magic, but that is not its only use." Ally reached for the small crystal and placed it in her palm. She could feel the magic radiating from it and it gave off this rich aura that she has only felt around Avion.

"So, what's its other use?" She asked as she held the crystal up to her face.

"Lacrima, when placed into another specimen, can cure all kinds of things." He said. "When I was born, my body was very small and sickly. My father, fearing of losing his only heir, hunted down a suitable Lacrima, but he couldn't use it on me."

"Why not?" Austin then got up from his seat and walked over to the large window behind them. The moon was peeking out from behind a large cloud as he continued.

"Doctors wear afraid that it would be too much for my small body to contain, but I needed something to keep me going. So, the healers decided to give me small doses over the years. It seemed to work as I grew up with very little problems, but my body began to shut down when I was a young boy. That was when my father decided to take matters into his own hands." The stress in Austin's voice began to worry Ally. She knew that the explanation was getting to be too much for Austin and she didn't want to push him too far.

"Look Austin," She said as she got up from her seat and went to the window. "If this is too much for you, you don't have to tell me." She handed the Lacrima back to him as he turned to look at her. He smiled before he took the crystal back.

"No," He said as he placed it back around his neck. "You shared with me, so now I have to do the same with you." Ally knew she should have pushed the matter, but with his stubbornness, she knew he wouldn't listen.

"When I was 10 years old, my father was giving me a lesson on the Lacrima itself. When he handed me a large piece, I was so distracted that I didn't hear him casting the spell." Ally didn't like the way this story was going, especially when Austin began to lift his shirt up. "Again, no one has ever seen this because I use a concealment spell, but…" He placed his hand over the center of his chest to reveal a large going from his neck to his belly button.

Ally reached out to touch the scar, intrigued by the various zigzag form and how it seemed to fit into his form. She couldn't hold back the gasp when she felt how rough the skin had become.

"Your father did this?" She asked. "Why?" Austin gave a sigh as he pulled his shirt down.

"To be honest, I've only considered one explanation." He said as he stuck his hands into his pants pockets. "To strengthen his weak son cause even with the various Lacrima implants, I never really had the strength to do what he wanted. So, what better way to beef me up, then to place a fucking whole Lacrima into my body."

"But, there had to be some side effects right?" Ally asked.

"Oh there were some side effects alright. After he implanted me, I was out cold for two whole weeks. Thankfully, my mother was there to take care of me."

"I'm guessing she wasn't so happy about what your father had done?" He gave a small laugh as he thought about his mother's reaction to what his father had done.

"She was irate about it." He said. "I remember waking up to the sound of them yelling at each other about what was right and what was wrong and how he could have killed me if something had gone wrong. After he had stormed out, she had turned back to me and reassured me that everything was okay. Truth was it wasn't"

"That Lacrima didn't work?" Ally asked. "Oh wait, you're still here today, so it obviously did work. So, what happened?" His face had gone from relaxed to sorrowful once again as he continued.

"As it turned out, my mother had been giving me ample amounts of her own magic in order to level the effects of the Lacrima." Ally could see Austin's hands clench into fists and his shoulders begin to shake. Whatever he had to say was definitely not good. She placed a hand on his shoulder as tears had begun to form in the corner of his eyes.

"Because of that, she had developed an illness called Magical Deficiency Disease. Normally, it's easy to counteract, but she had had it for far too long. The doctors couldn't do anything for her and to enjoy what little time we had together." A lone tear had slid down Austin's cheek as his body began to shake. "My father wasn't even there when she passed and nor was he at her funeral. The bastard couldn't even be there for his son except to tell me that a king didn't cry and that I should man up. After that, I dove head first into my studies and ignored his very existence until the day he just disappeared and left me to become king." Ally couldn't believe what she had just heard.

How could someone do this to their son? Even worse, not be there for him when his mother passes away? How could that man call himself a father, much less a king, when he just up and abandons him? Maybe that would explain why he was so keen on keeping her because he's afraid to be alone? Whatever the reason, she knows that he must have been holding all of this for far too long. Any regular person would be crushed under the pressure, but Austin wasn't just anybody. He was a king, one who didn't back down from his task or morals, still…

"So there you have it." He said as he rubbed his arm across his eyes. "The reason I'am the way I'am, so I guess-"He was cut off from what he was saying when Ally wrapped her arms around his neck and held his head against her chest. "If this is your way of taking advantage of me, please conti-"

"It's alright, you know." She said. "To cry if you want to. You've been strong enough for far too long. We're the only ones here; I won't tell anyone, so just let it all out." She felt him stall against her breast before his knees began to shake and then give out completely. They collapsed to the floor as Austin let the tears fall, his arms wrapped tightly around Ally.

You never realize how much you're holding in until you can't stand it anymore, until everything just rushes out all at once. Now, however, Ally could feel the weigh lift right off his shoulders as his warm tears hit her chest.

She didn't know where this would lead now, but she was glad that she got Austin to open up.

Remember to leave me a nice review!

If there are any anime fans out there, can you figure out where I got the Lacrima idea from? I just couldn't get the idea out of my head and I just thought that it kind of fit.

Let me know what you think!

Much love and thanks!