Hector had been a bit hasty when he had made that oath to the moon. He was going to stick to his word, and he didn't regret the oath, but he had underestimated just how much influence it would have on his life. He hadn't really realized how self-destructive he naturally was.
He wanted to return to the Great Tree. He wanted to forget about his family and never see any of them again. He would miss them terribly. The Brotherhood was everything to him, even if it was just an annoying obligation to the others. He didn't feel whole when he was alone.
And that right there was his problem right now. If he returned to the Great Tree then he wouldn't have to deal with the pain that came with knowing that his siblings had lied to him. He wouldn't have to cope with the guilt of knowing that he had probably messed up Varian for life. There were so many times where he could have hurt Varian badly, both physically and mentally, all because he had been a fool and thought the kid had the powers of the moonstone.
He was afraid to face his siblings, and he was too ashamed to face his nephew. He couldn't be with his family, but he knew he couldn't go back to the Great Tree. If he avoided his siblings then he'd be subjecting himself to loneliness, and Hector knew all-too well where his mind went when he was on his own. Isolating himself counted as hurting himself, and that was something he couldn't do anymore.
He couldn't return to his family, and he couldn't avoid them either. It was a seemingly impossible situation, but Hector knew what he was doing. There was a way he could be around his family without going back to the deceit and manipulation.
"Oh. You're still here." Eugene muttered as he came back to his room at the end of the day and found Hector sitting there, waiting for him.
"I told you before, I don't have anywhere else to be." Hector said. "How was your date with the princess, Your Highness?" He didn't need to ask. He had been watching Eugene from a distance all day, just as he'd been doing for the past several weeks.
Eugene, as Prince Horace wanted to be called, was still Hector's family. If he was with the young man then he wouldn't have to be alone. He could still fulfill his duties to serve the royal family of the Dark Kingdom. And he wouldn't have to face the rest of his family. It wasn't a half-bad solution.
Eugene had been more than a little resistant at first. He'd been suspicious of Hector and knew that he had been involved with breaking Adira out of the dungeons, even if he couldn't prove it. But Hector was more stubborn than Eugene was, and he had proven his worth enough for his prince to tolerate his company.
"I told you not to call me that." Eugene said. Hector just shrugged. He was calling his prince by his preferred name. What more did he want? "And you know perfectly well that it wasn't a date." He sounded tense, and Hector couldn't bring himself to tease him any more. They both knew that things in Corona were just getting worse.
The black rocks were still spreading. The king was still trying to convince his people that nothing was wrong, and a number of people in the Capital who never left the island were convinced that the indestructible black rocks were just false claims and rumors spread by gullible and malicious traders who came from further villages.
But Rapunzel had been to Old Corona. She had seen the destruction of the black rocks. She had seen the amber that Hector had been trapped in. And she had used the decay incantation and felt the full power of the moon. The princess knew that there was more going on than what her father was willing to tell her, and she thought it was her responsibility to deal with it.
For the past week and a half the princess would leave the capital and try to get more information about the black rocks. She had tried to use the decay incantation on them again, but that was just a temporary solution at best. She had tried to go to Old Corona to ask Varian or Adira about the black rocks, but nobody was there. Hector thought his family had left the kingdom, both to keep Adira from being arrested again, and to look for him, who they probably thought had gone back to the Great Tree.
Hector hadn't had any intention of helping the princess, because he couldn't really care less about this kingdom. But Eugene cared about Corona, for some inexplicable reason. He considered this place his home, and if it mattered to Eugene then it mattered to Hector. He didn't have a solution to take care of the black rocks, but he had information about them.
Rapunzel would take any information she could get, and the more that Hector told her the more that Eugene trusted him. He still didn't seem to like him, but Eugene let him stick around. He started to let his guard down around him a little bit. After a few days Eugene had started to ask him more about the Dark Kingdom, and that moved on to questions about their family.
It had taken Eugene a long time to accept that he was the prince of the Dark Kingdom and his father was alive. But the more Hector insisted on it, the more open to the idea that Eugene got. Hector didn't think he entirely believed him still, but he liked hearing the stories.
Eugene sat on his bed. "The black rocks will reach the capital soon."
"That will be the least of this kingdom's problems." Hector reminded Eugene. "My brother said that the properties of the black rocks can corrupt the land over time, making it almost impossible to grow things here." The Dark Kingdom had been desolate and barren for a long time. They had adapted, but it had taken generations. The Coronans weren't as hardy as the people of the Dark Kingdom were. Most of the people would be wiped out during the first winter, and the rest of them would have such heavy hearts that they'd be soon to follow.
"Do you have any idea what we can do?" Eugene asked. "There has to be a way to get rid of the rocks or control them or something."
There actually were a few possibilities. Two of them stood out to Hector. One of them would be a temporary solution. He knew that there was an incantation to control the black rocks, and the princess was probably capable of using it. But as the sundrop she couldn't control the incantation. That had been clear with the decay incantation. She could potentially do more harm than good if she didn't have complete control. And even if she could use the incantation properly it probably still wouldn't work as a long-term solution. She could make the black rocks retreat, but they'd come back. They would always come back, and it wasn't realistic to expect her to stand by and send the rocks on their way whenever they reappeared.
Hector was reluctant to talk about the other option. There were a few reasons for this. For starters, this idea was inspired by Adira and he didn't want to think of her. The other reason was that he knew that this solution was incredibly risky.
Stories said that the moonstone and sundrop were two parts of a whole. They were opposing forces, and they were always going to try to balance each other out. The moon destroyed what the sun breathed life into, and like a phoenix, the sun would create new life from the ashes of that destruction. It was a cycle. One couldn't be complete without the other.
Some people, like Adira, wondered if the two halves should be whole again. They believed that their powers would balance out and bring true peace. Hector didn't know what he believed. Was it even possible for true balance to happen between the moonstone and the sundrop? What Hector believed was that it was more likely that the sundrop would try to overpower the moonstone, which would lash out as it always did when it was in danger. Hector thought the moonstone and sundrop would either destroy each other, or they would destroy everything and everybody around them.
But it was all myths and speculation. Maybe Adira was right. Maybe reuniting the sundrop with the moonstone would neutralize the dangers they both brought. The only way to tell was by trying it, and that was beyond risky.
Adira probably wanted to bring the princess to the moonstone. Hector was surprised she hadn't tried to do just that yet. Hector didn't want to lead the girl to what could potentially be her death, but Eugene was looking at him hopefully, and he couldn't lie to his nephew.
"There might be." Hector said. "But it's a long-shot, and dangerous. But I think we both know that the black rocks are after Rapunzel. It could be the moonstone trying to destroy what it views as an enemy, but if that was the case then we would see way more destruction, and it wouldn't be taking this long to get to her. Trust me, if the moon wanted to destroy the sundrop she would be gone. But if it's not trying to destroy her but it's trying to get to her, maybe the moonstone is trying to reunite with the sundrop."
He really didn't want to admit that Adira was right, but things were certainly looking that way.
Eugene gave Hector an unimpressed look before he groaned and flopped down on his bed. "So we have to go to the Dark Kingdom and find the moonstone." Hector found it a little hard to believe how easily Eugene believed him. Either his nephew was that desperate for a possible solution that he would believe almost anything, or Eugene actually trusted Hector on the matter. He didn't know which option he preferred.
"If your princess starts to go to the Dark Kingdom and the moonstone actually does want this to happen, the black rocks might not spread more in Corona." Hector said. He was just spit-balling, but he'd always been pretty good at guessing the moon's will.
"Well, there's that at least." Eugene said sarcastically. He sighed tiredly. "Would you be coming with us? I hate to say it, but your expertise could probably come in handy. And you can help keep us on track."
"I'm not going to the Dark Kingdom." Hector said. King Edmund had banished them all. And while Hector could answer Eugene's questions and give advice, he couldn't be directly involved in the possible destruction of the object he had sworn his life to protect. He couldn't do it. But he knew of someone who might.
This was exactly the kind of thing that Adira wanted in the first place. She had abandoned their duties so she could find the sundrop. She wanted to use its powers to save their kingdom. For Adira, her duty to the moon was an afterthought. Her family and her people came first. If the moonstone was killing their people then it was a problem that she needed to take care of.
Eugene didn't push the matter. Maybe he was being considerate. Maybe he was just happy to finally be rid of Hector. But it didn't matter if Eugene tried to persuade him or not. If he went to the Dark Kingdom Hector would be going with him, because he needed to be with his family. He had condemned himself to this.
He was just so tired. It wasn't that he wanted to hurt himself. That wasn't quite it. He just wanted everything to stop. He wanted to stop feeling the cold emptiness that he'd never been without. He wanted to stop longing to be with the family that he was responsible for pushing away. He wanted to stop feeling like nothing he ever did would be good enough for anything.
He just wanted to close his eyes, go to sleep, and never wake up. But he couldn't.
"Hey, Hector?" Eugene's voice cut through, interrupting him feeling sorry for himself. He focused and looked at his nephew. No matter how bad he felt he would pay attention to his nephews. They deserved attention. Especially since that was the only thing either of them asked for, and it was almost all Hector knew how to give.
"Yeah?" Hector said tiredly.
"I think Rapunzel's going to be running to the Dark Kingdom the second she knows there's even a chance that she can fix things." Eugene said. "I mean, adventure? Seeing the world? Helping people? Are you kidding? That's all she wants in life. Obviously I'm going with her. But what will you do?"
Eugene didn't know the specifics of why Hector was there, he just knew that he refused to leave. But Eugene was smarter than he wanted to admit. He probably knew that Hector was avoiding their family, and was also desperate to be a part of it. That much wasn't that hard to figure out.
Hector took a deep breath. "I'll start the journey with you. Adira would be a better guide than me, and I'm pretty sure she's on the way." He didn't want to see her, but it would take a while to get to the Great Tree. Maybe by that time Hector would be willing to face Quirin and Varian, even if it would take him time to feel comfortable being alone with the kid. Adira would take them the rest of the way to the Dark Kingdom. Hector would stay with Quirin and Varian. Everything would be fine.
Eugene didn't look convinced. "Adira. You want me to trust the person who kidnapped Rapunzel?"
"She didn't kidnap her." Hector said. It wasn't Adira's style. Manipulation, absolutely, but not kidnapping.
"You weren't there." Eugene said.
"Technically, neither were you." Hector had heard the story from enough people to know that the only people who knew what had happened were Adira and the princess, and even Rapunzel was in the dark on some matters.
"I thought you didn't trust her." Eugene said.
"I don't trust her with myself." Hector said. "You already know to be cautious around her. What's the problem?"
Eugene just looked confused. "I don't understand you."
Hector snorted. "Join the club." Hector didn't understand himself. Varian had been spending the past ten years trying and failing to understand him. Hector thought that Adira might be the one person in the world who understood him best, and look where that got him. Hector thought it was safer for everybody involved if he just remained a mystery to everyone around him.
But Eugene wasn't content with that. He was a loner, but when he let himself care about people he needed to know about them. Eugene felt like he had turned his entire life into a lie, and his girlfriend had been forced into a lie. Both of them now thrived on wearing their hearts on their sleeves and trying to get others to be the same.
Hector thought it was unrealistic, but he had also spent the last ten years being lied to. He understood where they were coming from, and he didn't want to just be another mysterious deceitful person in his nephew's life.
"I'll tell you everything you want to know about Adira." Hector said. "And your father. And myself, if for some weird reason you want to know about me."
Eugene tried to sigh dramatically, but it turned to a chuckle mid-way through. "You know what? That sounds like a plan. But if I don't trust Adira by the time we catch up to her, she's not coming anywhere near Rapunzel."
"Hey, I won't fight you on that." Hector said. He was the last person who would insist that somebody trust Adira.
"I'll talk to Rapunzel tomorrow." Eugene said. "Be warned, she might want to leave within minutes."
Hector shrugged. "I don't have anything keeping me here." Eugene just laughed tiredly. He laid back on his bed.
"Are you keeping watch tonight for a non-existent threat, or sleeping on my floor like a freak? Eugene's words weren't kind, but his tone was casual and almost playful. Eugene had gotten used to him after several weeks, and he'd accepted it.
"I'm tired and lonely." Hector said bluntly. "I'll sleep like a freak." Maybe he was having a similar response to deceit as Eugene and Rapunzel had. He was always too honest with Eugene. He could be open with him as though he was family, but he was like a stranger in the sense that he didn't have to put on a show and pretend he was okay when he wasn't.
Eugene groaned and threw a pillow at Hector, who caught it with ease. "Don't say it like that!"
Hector smirked. "You said it first." He clung to the pillow. "And I'm keeping this."
"Do what you want." Eugene said moodily. He rolled over with his back to Hector. "Good night."
"...Good night, Horace." Hector said. He tried to call Eugene by his preferred name, but he still thought of him as Horace. He was still his prince. They had agreed on this compromise. Hector would call him Eugene, but once a day or in case of emergency he was allowed to call him Horace. It was a compromise that neither of them were entirely comfortable with, but it was good enough for both of them.
Hector had started to think that that was the best that he could expect from life. Uncomfortable, and something he wasn't happy with, but good enough.
Things were going to be changing tomorrow. Their journey could be starting, and this good enough life that he'd had going for him for the past few weeks was going to end. He had to start thinking about confronting his family again. He didn't really have much of a choice. Maybe by the time they reunited with the others Eugene would be comfortable enough around Hector and nervous enough around Adira that he would have his back.
It was a long-shot. Hector knew that he couldn't rely on anybody to really have his back. He could dream though.