Chapter Five: An Exile

The palace was quiet as Prince Belan Helseth got out of bed, it was almost as if the palace was as dead inside as he was. It was hard for him to believe that this would be the last day of his life in the palace, but facts were facts, no matter how much Belan wished they would simply change.

It had been less than a week since that fateful day when his father had caught him in his personal study, less than a week since he had been disowned by his own father.

Now, he could no longer even use his last name, he was no longer royalty, hell, he was, at least in the eyes of the king, not even really a Dunmer anymore.

It just isn t fair, thought Belan, I shouldn t be treated this way, I m the Prince Regent, and heir to the throne of Morrowind!

Still, Belan knew that his father s decision made sense, after all, he was not completely a legitimate heir. He was simply a loose end of an affair from Helseth s sorted youth, and could easily be forgotten. It was only his father s goodwill that he was adopted and raised like a noble.

Belan walked over to a window overlooking the Temple of Almalexia, and inhaled the cool, sweet air of the summer morning. The leaves of the trees were just now changing colour, violets and blues mixed with bright red and orange in their lushous canopies. The cheerful songs of birds mixed with the Temple s call to prayer, creating a dischordant, but beautiful melody.

He had to soak in every moment he could, Belan knew he would never see Mournhold again.

For a while, Belan lost himself in the early summer morning, revelling in its calm.

His trance was broken, however, by a loud, brutish rap on the door.

This is it, he sighed, after taking one last breath of the cool summer breeze. He dressed himself in his finest clothes, and opened the door. Behind it stood a royal guardsman, his red plate armor gleaming in the morning sun. He was surrounded by nearly half the court.

King Helseth shall see you now, the guard rumbled under his thick helmet. This was followed by a low roar from the crowd.

The prince slouched, and sighed. He barely suppressed a tear, then he took a deep breath.

If these are to be my last moments, he thought, then let them be glorious.

Belan held his chin up high, and stepped out of his room with what little dignity he had left. Even as the guard grabbed his arms and cuffed them behind his back, he carried himself nobly.

The guard then escorted him through the palace, the spectators judging every movement Belan took. No one laughed, no one jeered, an eerie silence had fallen over the entire palace as he was paraded through the halls like a common thief.

Still, every courtier he passed eyed him with hatred, piercing through his defenses, trying to break him.

Soon, the ever malicious gazes brought him to his wit's end with their silent, reproachful judging. He closed his eyes to try to ward them away, but he still knew they were there. He felt like he was going to scream.

He turned a corner, and there before him were the doors to the throne room.

He looked behind him, and saw that the courtiers had stopped following him, and now stood clustered together at the far end of the hall.

The guard pushed him forward, and he fell to the ground, smacking his head forcibly against the marble floor. Immediately, he was pulled back up and thrust forward in a daze against the door, throwing them open. Belan landed on the floor again, in front of his father.

Woozily, he looked up at the king, but he was unable to focus.

"Father! Please!" He pleaded, "please have mercy."

Hlaalu Helseth glared at the miserable dunmer before him, "Father! How dare you call me that you whelp! Bah! Mercy! Why should I have mercy on a traitor? You dared to break to steal from your king, and you come calling me father! You are no son of mine!"

"Please, I can explain! Just give me a chance. For the sake of Almsivi, give me a chance!"

"No, I would not forgive even my most trusted subject for what have done, I care not for the reason! You dared to steal documents precious, nay, irreplaceable by the crown. You are guilty, you shall not find mercy from me, and you shall find no mercy from your ancestors!"

Belan could bear it no longer, he had to say it!

I wanted to know who my mother was! You never told me her name, or who she was to you! A sleezy noble hunter, a fair haired maiden, I needed to know!

Helseth s face turned bright red. He pulled Belan up by the collar, and punched him square in the face.

You have no idea how much she meant to me, and you never will! You took her from me, you brat! I should have thrown you out of the palace the moment I laid eyes on you! I gave you everything you ever wanted, and I get this? You are hereby exiled from the city of Almalexia, on penalty of death!