His Arrival

Stefan

I haven’t slept. I know he is due to arrive tonight, so I have stayed awake, pacing the halls of the palace. I aim to leave first thing in the morning.

Right now, I accept that when he arrives, I need to let him rest before forcing him to come back out with me. He can rest, but at first light, we’re leaving. I won’t delay it anymore.

He has been travelling for days. Usually, I would refuse to let them have a break and rest, but I need him, so I need to be careful how I act. The last thing I want is to upset him, and he refuses to help.

It means I will get there in just over twenty-four hours. It takes about twenty-four hours to get there. Still, a lot can happen between now and then, like Harlyn waking up and panicking and running away from Wayne. That wouldn’t be good as I wouldn’t be able to find her then.

“Your Majesty, people are approaching.” I turn, hearing the guard, and begin to walk to the door.

“Son, let him rest,” my father says, and I nod.

“I know, okay, I will welcome him. The maid can show him where to sleep.” I reach the door and watch as a guard pulls it open.

“Your Majesty.” I watch the man bow. “I was going to ask why you would need help from a warlock, but I can already sense the dark magic.” He stares at me.

“In here? Or on me?” Am I somehow part of it?

His head shakes, and he glances at the manor. “Whatever it is, has been festering for years,” he explains.

“That can wait until you have rested,” my father smiles at him.

“No, I couldn’t possibly sleep with that; it’s too strong to ignore. I will deal with it first.” He turns and walks towards the manor.

“Get some guards and soldiers to follow. We have no idea how Harold will react.” I look at my father, and he nods. I move and follow the man.

“May I know your name?” Calling him man or warlock sounds wrong.

“Volkaros, Your Majesty.” He stops at the door, and I go to open it, his hand raises to stop me.

“Not yet. I need to understand it fully.” He stands at the door, and I don’t know how long we’re standing there before he opens the door.

His eyes widen as he walks through. “There’s a lot of hate created by black magic in here.” He glances at me and continues to walk.

“What the hell?” Samuel comes around the corner and stares at us.

“I would say yes. This is very much how hell would feel.” Volkaros pushes Samuel to the side and continues to walk through. I shake my head at Samuel and we follow him through and into Harold’s office.

“And there is the cause.” Volkaros points towards Harold before going closer to him.

“What is happening?” Harold shouts and steps back. “Your Majesty, I didn’t agree to this.” He stares at me.

“He felt black magic. Just stand and don’t speak.” I nod at the guards, and they move into the room.

“Your ring, remove it.” Volkaros points towards his hand.

“No.” Harold glares towards him.

“Do as you’re told,” I shout over to him.

“Your Majesty, I am not removing this ring!” He glares towards me.

“The magic won’t let him. It needs to be forced from his grasp.” Volkaros looks at me. I’m the only one able to, moving I walk towards Harold, and he fights off the guards, moving forward, I grab his hand.

“No!” Volkaros shouts, and I turn to look at him. “You can’t remove it. If you have it in your hand, you won’t want to release it.” He looks at me, so what am I meant to do? I watch as he reaches into his pocket and hands me a cloth.

“It blocks the magic. Don’t touch the ring unless it’s covered with that.” I nod and take it. Turning back to Harold, he begins fighting against the guards as they try to hold him down.

Grabbing his hand, I cover the ring with the cloth and pull it from his finger. As soon as it leaves his hand, his body stills. I pass it to Volkaros.

“Give it back!” Harold screams, and I stare, shocked. “Please.” His body shakes, and I watch as his eyes fill with tears. Since when did Harold ever cry?

“Please, Your Majesty, I can’t survive without it.” He falls to his knees and begs.

“What is wrong with you? You’re meant to be a Earl; act like it!” I shout at him, and his head falls forward.

“I don’t want to feel it. Please give it back.” He stays kneeling while pleading with me.

“Your Majesty, while ever he had the ring on, he wouldn’t have been able to feel anything but hate for his target. Without it, he would feel guilty. If he loved the person he was evil towards, he would drown in guilt.” Volkaros explains, and I look at Harold. He’s a mess, but he deserves it.

No, it was the magic that caused it, and if Harlyn even feels an inch of the guilt and pain he does, I won’t be happy. I hear Harold crying, saying, ‘My daughter’, and we just stand amazed. He never called her daughter, or at least rarely, and there was always a look of disdain when he did.

Now, he looks like he’s drowning in guilt, begging for the ring back to stop the pain. The ring though, might stop him feeling guilty, but it will only make him hate her more, so it’s not an option.

“He will be fine. The ring is meant to suppress the love, the guilt, and such. He would have been inside and fighting it but not able to; now it’s all released. He will be fine. Far better than the person his hate was towards.” Volkaros turns. “I shall rest now. I know you want me to travel with you, so we leave at sun rise.” He walks out, and I stand shocked.

“Father!” Samuel shouts, and Harold looks up at him, crying. “You deserve the pain, the guilt, and everything else. You hated her, even if it was just a small bit. You hated her enough for it to work, so you deserve it.” He turns and walks out, and I follow with the guards.

Samuel isn’t wrong, but I still feel bad. It can’t be easy to finally have those feelings unlocked, and it all hit at once.