Episode 12

Eos

I dove into her arms and she clutched me tightly. I missed her. Her scent. I took a whiff of her hair but she smelt different. She smelt like roses.

I withdrew from the hug and gazed up at her. Her eyes held so much love and affection in them my insides melted.

Her soft fingers fell on my cheek as she caressed my face. A tear dropped from her golden eyes and I wiped it away before it fell to the floor.

"Eos..." She said and kissed my forehead and then the both of my cheeks.

"Eos...I missed you." She said and her voice broke. She looked sad. Very sad. I looked at her face closely. She had gotten...fat. I chuckled at the thought of her becoming as fat and round as a ball.

Her eyes lit up when she looked at me.

"What is it Eos? Do you find the fact that I miss you funny? Can I not miss my own brother anymore?" She asked,looking hurt.

"No Persey. That is not the case. You have grown fat over the past few weeks."

Her face turned red and I laughed harder. I threw my hands around her again,pulling her into a tight hug.

"Careful there child. You do not want to harm the baby." I withdrew from her and looked up to see blue beautiful eyes. Like Layna's. Only this one was harsh and unwelcoming. She looked grumpy, perhaps, she had an off day. Then her words registered in my brain.

"Baby? Whose baby?" I asked,very confused.

She snickered before answering me.

"The bastard child that whore has in her womb."

Her words confused me but I did not miss the fact that she'd called my sister a whore.

"Do not refer to Persey in that manner! You are not half the woman she is. My Persey is no whore and she is not pregnant either. Mind your language!"I raised my voice and a deep frown appeared on her face.

" Such impetus! I will have your head fed to the dogs if you speak to me in such manner. I am the Queen Hera. No one disrespects me."She shook with fury.

Queen Hera? Layna's mother? How could someone so sweet have been produced by someone so bitter?

"Regardless of who you are,you will not speak to my sister that way in my presence." I said a bit calmly.

I turned to Persey who stood,looking at nothing in particular.

"Persey,why are you letting her speak to you in that manner? Why did you let her accuse you? Why are you even here Persey? You hate this place so much. Why are you here then?" I asked her. Tears dropped from her eyes and she wiped them away quickly so I would not see it.

My anger melted. I took her hand in mine. She was obviously upset by the Queen Mother's choice of words.

"Come Persey. Let us go home. " I said pulling her arm. She followed me without a word and suddenly stopped in front of a room.

She twisted the door knob and the door opened easily. She motioned for me to follow. I did not understand but I nodded.

She went in and sat on the bed. I watched her with curious eyes as she patted the bed beside her for me to sit on which I did.

She took my hands in hers and gazed upon me. Her eyes,they were extremely sad. I could feel it too.

"How did you find me Eos?" She said softly.

"His Majesty came to pick me up from the Academy today. He said he would bring me to you and he did."

Her eyes roamed the room for a while before they landed on mine again.

"Eos...you trust me,do you not?" She asked with urgency in her voice.

"I do trust you Persey." I nodded.

Tears rolled down her cheek again,breaking my heart again.

Persey never cried in front of me unless I was sick or I did something wrong. I know I had done nothing wrong so I did not understand her tears.

"What happened Persey? Who hurt you?" I asked softly.

She hiccupped when she opened her mouth to speak.

"He...he took advantage of me,Eos. He took my pride."

My eyes squeezed shut as her words sank in. In Avalor, a woman's maidenhead was her pride and her honor. Someone had stolen my sister's. It infuriated me that I had not been there to protect her.

"Who was it?"I demanded.

" Teris." She cried.

I removed my hands from hers as I stood with shock.

"King Teris?" I repeated to myself. The King I knew would never do such a thing. He could not even harm a fly. I looked at Persey. Persey would never lie to me either. Her yes was yes and her no was no...except with me. Everything was a yes for me.

"I am with child Eos. The King's child."

My chest constricted. Where was it all coming from? With child?

"I want to go away from here Eos. I want to leave but I can not."

I took my sit beside her again and cleaned her cheeks.

"Tell me everything Persey. Everything."

I watched Persey cry so much in front of me for the very first time. There was a fat chance she made the story up. To think King Teris could do such a thing. I felt he was a good person. What angered even more than that was Adrienne. He had told me he loved Persey very much. He wanted to give her his name. One would never do that to someone they cherished. Another thing I found more annoying was that everyone knew what happened and they still treated Persey this way.

"...I felt if I successfully crossed the border,I would be fine. I asked Sir Thoth to come see you on my behalf-"

"To lie to me that you were fine?!" I raised my voice unconsciously,letting my anger get the better of me. She hiccupped on the increase of my tone.

"I did not want you to worry about me Eos."she cried,looking at me tearfully.

I looked away from her and stood from the bed again.

"Eos-"

"Stop it Persey! Just stop it! What if you died?! You did not think once how I would live without you in my life!" I snapped.

She broke into a soft sob,covering her mouth as she sobbed. It only angered me even more and I clenched my fist.

"Eos...I am sorry..."

"No Persey. I am sorry for even trusting you at all. You are just like the rest. You all think I am a burden that should be pushed about."

She sobbed even more but that did not change anything I felt. I felt betrayed. She was going to leave me like mother and father did. She did not care that she was all I had left.

I walked towards the door, already too angry to hear anymore of her cries and pleas that she did not mean.

"Eos...where are you going?", she asked when I twisted the door knob.

" To the only place I am needed. School."I answered and pulled the door open.

"Eos."

I looked up to gaze upon the one who caused my sister's tears. The one who had brought me here under the pretense of wanting me to meet my sister. He brought me here to meet someone who was broken. Broken beyond repair. Someone he had broken. That was the breaking point of my patience with the royals. At that moment,i was blinded by a burning rage that needed to be let out. I clenched my fist and threw a punch which landed on his right cheek.

He staggered backwards with shock on his face. I was angry. I was angry and I was not going to spare him even if the heavens came down.

I threw another punch on his left cheek and he winced.

"Eos! Stop it!" Persey screamed somewhere behind me but I was overwhelmed by the anger I felt towards him.

"Teris! Let go of my child this instant,you filthy peasant!" I did not look up but I recognized her voice. The Queen Mother. Yes. I am a peasant and so was Persey and yet they did this to peasants.

I threw another punch at King Teris but he weaved it and I was sure he had recovered from the shock.

He weaved my blows effortlessly,not laying a finger on me as though he was showing me mercy thus enraging me even more. I caught his arm,bent him over and kicked him in his belly. For a teenager I was pretty tall and so he did not have any advantage over me.

"Eos! Stop it!" Persey cried.

"Let my son go!" The Queen Mother barked.

I kicked him yet again until he wheezed.

"Seize him!" Someone shouted and when I finally looked up,I saw knights there. A whole lot of them. Both my arms were suddenly seized and I was raised up by them roughly.

"Treason! You dared to raise a hand to my son. I will personally see to your death!" She shouted again.

Laughter escaped my lips.

"Death? To cover up his mistakes you would end my life your Majesty? Go ahead then. I fear not." I said without an ounce of remorse.

"You are an awful child. I would do good to our lands,wiping you off the surface of the earth." She said and signaled to the knights by my side.

"Mother,he-"

"Silence! You have shown these peasants so much mercy! I am the Queen Mother. I will do as I wish! Take him to the square!" She ordered.

I glared at King Teris but he looked at me with sad eyes. I snorted and looked away. The knights dragged me roughly and I winced.

"Let go of my brother!" Persey shouted. Her face had swollen from crying and she looked like she was going to fall. Her skin had turned pale all of a sudden.

"Take him!" Queen Mother ignored her. The dragged me with them roughly.

"Let go of my brother or I will end my own life!" Persey shouted and we were all forced to look at her.

I craned my neck and noticed a knife to her wrist. Very close to her pulse point.

"Let him go." King Teris told the knights. I felt them release my arm slowly until the Queen mother stopped them. "Do not disobey me. She is but a peasant who plays tricks. She is bluffing and will not go through with it. She will never give her life for her brother's." The grabbed my arm again and fear gripped me. Not the fear for my life. I knew Persey well enough. She would give everything for me. She was not bluffing. As they pulled me,I kept my eyes forcefully on her.

"Mother..." I heard King Teris say before I saw Persey tighten her hold on the dagger and stare at her wrist with conviction.

"Persey...no..."

It was a quick and clean cut.

"Persey!" I shouted and struggled with the knights holding my arm. I soon heard a loud thud in front of me and I freed myself from their hold,rushing down to my sister.

Her hand bled and her eyes were closed.

"Persey...Persey what did you do?" I cried,shaking her.

"Persephone?" King Teris, whose presence i had not noticed until now, caressed her face and traced his finger to her neck,checking her pulse. I slapped his hand away,slightly irked.

"Do not touch her. You do not have that right."

He looked at me,his features hardening. "Do not speak to me like that child. I understand how annoyed you must be but things are not as they seem. I do not have time to explain my actions to an angry child so if you would please move aside. I have to tend to the mother of my child." He said,taking Persey in his arms like a small child.

He turned to look at his mother and the knights with a very pained look on his face. "Get out. All of you."

All except Queen Mother bowed and exited the room.

"Teris..." Queen Mother began.

"You too mother. You have caused me enough stress for one day. You are dismissed. " he said and she dared me a glare before haughtily leaving the room.

"Eos..." Persephone cried out in her unconscious state. King Teris laid her on the bed and sat beside her,rubbing her palm in his.

"Get the royal physician down here." He said and I stared at him weirdly. He surely was not thinking I would leave my sister with him,was he?"

"I was not asking you. I was ordering you. Get the Royal physician down here boy!" He barked and I winced at the harshness in his voice.

I muttered a few words before leaving the room.

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