What is Meant to Be

Chapter 7

Slip of the Tongue and a Flick of the Wrist

Serafino shifted uncomfortably as he observed his king moving slowly down the stairs and towards him. "I know, I know..." Serafino starts. "I stepped out of line with what I have said, but-" King Albert stopped and gave Serafino raised eyebrow. "There are no "buts" when it comes to you and your mouth." Albert said in a low serious tone of voice. "Why, tell me why...did you have to say those things."

Yep, it was obvious that Serafino touched on a subject that was highly delicate to the young king. The young knight couldn't help it, sometimes he got a little curious and he uses his power to find out a little bit more on the subject. Well, what can Serafino do now? He could either play it off and say that he let his mouth get the best of him or he could just lay it out on the table. The young red head took a deep breath and began to scratch his head. Serafino lazily moved himself into an area that was lit up by the light of the moon and placed his hands on his hips. He decided, he was going to simply lay it all out on the table for the King to "feast" on. Albert should be able to understand. He was the understanding type, or so he thought.

"Look, " Serafino begins. "I already know by the look in your eyes that you were rejected...turned down...Neglected. How ever you want to put it. You were turned down by the one person that you happened to fancy. For the longest, you have been quite the downer. Honestly, I believe that you should not be up and about, knowing how you have been taking things lately. You need rest. Plenty of rest, your majesty." Serafino said, making sure that he tagged some of his sentences with the phrase, "your majesty" just to make sure that the king wouldn't be further pissed off than what he currently is. "You sit around and mope and send yourself into a mental bog...There's no reason for you to-". A loud bang suddenly echos through the throne room, followed by another loud bang. His Majesty Albert was slamming his fist into the nearby post. "You don't know anything!" Albert shouts. "How would you feel if the person who you've loved for well over ten years was taken from you by some mere commoner. Someone who doesn't even have enough years to even top what Lavitz and I have together." The king's breathing becomes heavy as he continues with, "I've known Lavitz for over twenty years...TWENTY...and how long has Lavitz known Dart? Tell me..." Serafino looks over his shoulder and a look of concern moves across his face. "I know. Not that long, your majesty. I do believe that the two knew each other for barely a year...barely a half of a year."

"Exactly..." Albert hissed as he made his way even more towards Serafino.

"But...Time shouldn't mean anything. Maybe,"

The next sentence, could be the deciding factor on whether or not Albert was going to fly off the handle or come to his senses and realize that the one at fault was...

"Maybe, what?"

...The one at fault was Albert.

"Maybe if you told him earlier, you would've gotten a different answer! Yeah, that's right. Your timing was horrendous! You waited too long. Way too long. If Sir Lavitz did indeed had feelings for you, they're gone now! Gone! Kaput! Nothing left! Maybe you should've made the move years and years ago when you stood a better chance! Ever thought of that!? But no! NO! You just had to succumb to your fears, your cowardice, your shy ways and just allow your emotions and shyness take over. If anything. . .If Dart confesses any type of feelings for Lavitz, I would have to say that he won the competition. You have no one else to blame but yourself! That's why I dropped the words "stupid" earlier...You really made yourself out to be a big idiot by holding ANYTHING over either Dart or Lavitz...That's if you did. Albert...You could have done so much better...What happened to your logical thinking?!"

To little that they knew, Lucien stood in the very back of the throne room, hidden by the shadows. 'Damn it, Serafino...' Lucien thought. 'I think you stepped out of line...Far out of line...I hope you're ready to get your ass handed to you by the King, because he is obviously pissed.'

Serafino stood by and awaited a response from the king. He gives a small smirk as he adjusted himself. The young red head felt pretty sure that he brought Albert back to his senses and was confident that everything was resolved and probably back to normal. Well, he was wrong...Dead wrong. The mind reading knight found himself dodging a punch from the young emerald clad king. "This isn't how it's supposed to go!" Serafino shouted as he continued to dodge punches. Yep, it was official, King Albert's kind and caring demeanor hid a short fuse. Who would've thought? Serafino attempted to look into the young King's eyes to see what was going through his head at this current time, but he couldn't. It was just far too dark for him to see Albert's eyes. Now Serafino had a brand new challenge on his hands. Would he be able to complete it. Serafino made sure to deflect each punch and dodge, taking care not to harm the King. It was very difficult to defend in such a poorly lit room, but Serafino had to manage and do his best. First thing's first, though...Calm down the King.

"The only reason as to why you're acting like this is because you know that I am right. I have a poi-" Serafino was cut off as he dodged another punch. Albert began to repeatedly yell the words "Shut up" as he continued swinging his fists. Serafino was trying to think fast. "You need to...stop this! Don't let your insecurities and your frustration blind you!" He was running out of options very fast. The young red headed knight gave up trying to come up with options and decided to go on the offensive. Once Albert threw his next punch, Serafino grabbed Albert by the wrist and backhanded Albert across the left side of the young king's face. Unfortunately, Serafino hit the young King too hard. He hit him hard enough to send him flying back a few inches, not only that...Injuries were inflicted. Lucien jumped forward and darted from the shadows. "What in the hell are you thinking you crazy-" he started. Lucien gave up on continuing his sentence because he knew it would no use in even finishing. Serafino would've made up some sort of crazy, botched, excuse anyways.

"I had no choice...I seriously had no choice!" Serafino said. "He was coming at me with all of his might, that and he was blinded with rage. It was either stop it right now or get pounded into the throne room floor!" Lucien was speechless. Words couldn't define how he felt right now. Serafino then continued. " He was getting out of hand. The King is young...fragile...and has gone through a lot. I really don't want him to suffer the same fate as those who were once close to me. Driven to the point of insanity...all because of love and affection. Boy, have I seen some days." Lucien looked over at Albert, who was still on the floor. The knight could tell that his king was slightly quivering... not out of fear, but out of shame. Serafino moved over to the king and bent over Albert and gave him a look in his eyes. The light of the moon provided enough light for Serafino to look into Albert's golden brown eyes. King Albert looked into the eyes of Serafino and was a bit confused. He noted that Serafino had eyes of blue that were oddly tinted red.

Serafino forcefully turned King Albert over and then picked him up. He carried the king out of the throne room and into the royal chambers. There, Serafino tossed the King onto the bed and then made his way to the door. Before leaving, the red headed night looked over his shoulder and said, "I don't want you to end up like my friends when they let situations drive them to the point of insanity. It's a sad thing to see...when someone deteriorates because of their instability. I know it's going to take a long time to recover...I know that time isn't of the essence right now, but your country...Your country needs to come first before you end up at Emperor Doel's mercy. Do not come at me again until you realize your flaws, recover, and clear your head because next time...I really will lay it on thick." The young knight left the room. King Albert rolls over in his bed and looks at the dresser. He didn't say anything, instead he layed his hand on his injured cheek which happned to be swollen and possibly bruised. The young man gave a deep sigh and closed his eyes and soon he fell into a deep slumber.

Hoax was cold and quiet, with the exception of the owls hooting in the distance. The crisp clean air was still and peaceful for the most part. Dart, Lavitz were sitting at a small post located above the entrance into the town. Multiple thoughts riddled Lavitz's mind as he gazed at the big, bright moon. Things felt awkward, sitting with Dart. Lavitz didn't want to look at Dart, in fear that he would comment on what was mentioned earlier about how he felt about him. Dart broke the silence by saying, "So...is it true?" Lavitz's eyes widened and he looked over at Dart.

"Is what true?"

"That you have feelings for me..."

Lavitz shifted and began to look down at the ground. He felt even more awkward just from the mentioning of his feelings.

"Well, I-"

Then it became quiet, suddenly. The men looked up and in the distance. Tension grew thick, so thick that anyone could cut it with a knife. Then a voice could be heard in the distance, shouting that the empire of Sandora was invading. This gave a cue that it was high time that they took up arms and defended the kingdom, Serdio and make sure that no one gets past the town of Hoax. The capital, Bale must not be invaded.

Dart looked over at Lavitz and smiled as he said, "I guess this has to wait until everything is over." The knight smiles and nods in agreement. They see the enemy begin to flood into the town and without a second thought, Lavitz and his partner hurried down to the lower level and began to fight. Arrows were shot, weapons were swung, many were injured as well as killed, but when it came to those who fought for King Albert and the country, Serdio...It was all for good reason. For peace...as well as unity.