30

King Kojo sat beside the bed his wife lay. He'd fool himself oftentimes, telling himself that Ariana was just sleeping.

She'd wake up soon. She had to.

He'd first met her when he was seven and she was the most stunning girl he'd seen. Kojo remembered going up to tell her that he was going to marry her someday.

Ariana had just giggled and ran off. 

Twenty-eight years later, they'd created a beautiful family together. She'd left him with newborns only a couple of days old, who were now without a mother. And Kaya.

The elves. 

King Kojo's mind drifted back to when he was eight. He'd been playing with some of his friends in the palace courtyard when he heard screams of pain and surprise in the distance. He heard sounds like bombs, and houses collapsing.

Guards had rushed from the palace in large numbers. He had his friends had tried to run for cover, but fiery arrows had sailed over the wall, killing all of them. Only Kojo had escaped and hid away.

In all the chaos, they had broken through the gates and stormed the palace, killing every guard that stood in their way. 

It felt like hours later when his father found him and carried him into the palace past all of the bodies and puddles of blood. They reached the library and his father put him down and pointed out a shape on the ground.

Blinking in surprise, Kojo looked up at his dad.

"Go on."

Kojo took a slow tentative step toward the figure praying that it's not who he thought it was. His mother was on her side with a spear sticking out of her back. Her eyes were wide with both pain and fear, her dress was down a deep red and her hair was also soaked.

Last night he and his mother had gotten into an argument and Kojo had told himself the next morning that he wasn't going to talk to her for the rest of the day. That declaration felt good.

But not talking and not talking ever again were completely different.

Kojo collapsed beside her, not caring that his clothes were getting soiled.

"Th-They killed her!!" Kojo wailed, burning his face in his hands. "Pa! Why! They killed my friends!!"

His dad scooped him up and placed him on the table. "Those elves are monsters and must be stopped at all costs. This-" he points to his mom. "Is what they were made to do. They're animals, son."

Kojo whimpered. "I'm...I'm scared."

"They want you to be, son. But you don't let them know that you are." his dad took him by the shoulders. "Someday you will bring our people, your friends, and your mother to justice. But you can't show fear. Understand?"

Kojo didn't understand. Who in their right mind wasn't scared of the elves?

"Fear is a weakness and that's where your enemy will strike when you least expect it." his father shook him slightly. "Do you promise to bring our people to justice? Will you do everything in your power to give those elves the ending they deserve?"

"I do."

...

Gripping the sheets of his wife's bed, a tear trickled down his cheek. "I've failed you, Father." he looked at Ariana's face and his blood boiled. "I've become weak and afraid, but no more. Your death will not be in vain, my love."