Choices

Chapter 38
King Yorin stared out from one of the many balconies higher up in the palace. He could see his youngest daughter standing near the lake. She was just a speck of a formation, but he knew it was her. She'd been moping about since her return from Asgard, two weeks ago.
With each passing day he watched her descend into a spiral of despair. She'd hoped Loki would have gotten in contact with her by now. No matter how hurt she'd been by his words, she still longed for his friendship. Thankfully, her sister was the voice of reason and made sure Cephera knew the importance of not running back to the prince. Had she done that, Loki would never get the chance to realize what he lost.
The king had been hopeful that his youngest daughter would find her hearts desire in Asgard. It was important for her to find love, and though it broke tradition of their kind, the King would not deny her it. The chance to follow her heart was her dream. She was a lot like her mother.
When Cephera had grown so close to Loki, King Yorin thought it possible that he would be this man to steal her heart, but knowing the things he'd said to her, the King doubted a relationship would be possible now. Cephera was easily hurt by words and Loki, in his anger and defensiveness, struck at her in the worst way possible. Cephera's heart would be closed to him now, afraid to open up in fear of more hurt. The King hoped he was wrong. He would like to see them reconciled.
He didn't hate the young prince, not personally. He hated him for Cephera, he hated him in ways a father would for having someone hurt his youngest. Like Seraphina, the king understood why Loki reacted how he did, and according to Seraphina, knowing him as she did, Loki's outburst was meant to make Cephera feel like nothing because she had struck him in the heart as well. Whether Loki was willing to admit it, some part of him believed Cephera, and the truth was too much for him to process and so he lashed out in turn. A complete and utter clusterfuck of negative emotions and rash words.
"It's good to see your daughters home." King Yorin schooled his face and readied himself for political politeness.
"It is." He agreed, turning to look at his enemy. Demos Fevour, father to Katarina and Krystoff was standing behind him.
"I take it no arranges have been made to permanently connect Mechanova with Asgard?" Demos asked stepping up closer to the King.
"If by arranged, you mean a union... you know full well I wouldn't sell my daughters off that way, besides, unions are not important to us." King Yorin waved it off.
"Unions should be." Demos replied. "I'm telling you, a bit of well spoken magic could make us fertile enough to make pure bloodlines." King Yorin scowled.
"I will not have dark magic used to create children, you know the risks." This was one of the many ideals Demos had that he wanted to force upon the people. Using black magic to create life had the potential to create abominations, and still he was willing to sacrifice their people to attempt it. Luckily, without the kings consent, Demos couldn't test his theory.
"Think how powerful we would be with pure blood. My son and one of your daughters, Krystoff is very fond of Cephera. We wouldn't need to rely on peace with other worlds to survive." Demos insisted.
"I like peace between other worlds, getting to know other people is a bonus for us."
"Look what outsiders did to us in the war." Demos scowled.
"Yes, which is why I passed the law for visitors only, no residence. Visitors can be watched." King Yorin replied, keeping his tone even.
"You trust too easily." Demos growled.
"I keep the peace." King Yorin stepped up to Demos and glowered at him. "Do you question my love for my people?" Demos's eyes flashed with defiance.
"No, my king." Demos replied not willing to start a fight over poor choice of words. Demos wasn't stupid. He knew he had to place his family on the throne legally, and he couldn't do that without one of King Yorin's daughters, which meant playing nice to the king. However, King Yorin wouldn't ever let either of his daughters couple with Krystoff. "I would like you to consider a union between Cephera and Krystoff," Demos said changing the subject.
"It concerns me very much that you know we have a less of a chance to procreate with our own kind and yet you insist on a union between them." King Yorin raised an eyebrow, let's see Demos talk his way out of that.
"As I've said, my son is fond of her. He doesn't care about children, he just wants a good woman at his side." Demos lied.
"And Cephera wants to find love, if your son wants her, he'll have to win her heart." King Yorin didn't mind placing that thought in his head. Cephera would never feel that way for Krystoff, this was something the king was sure of.
"Of course," Demos responded and backed away. "By your leave," he said and walked off. King Yorin watched him go, envisioning himself ripping out the mans gut with his bare hands. It wasn't enough that Demos had targeted the throne, but to target either of his children was enough for King Yorin to want to kill him.
(Cephera)
Cephera retreated to her favorite spot outside the palace along the lake. She wasn't sure how long she stood there skipping rocks across the waters crystal clean surface. She thought of everything and nothing at the same time. Too many things running in her mind to focus on just one.
"I hate when you frown," a voice said. Cephera didn't have to look up to know it was Krystoff.
"I'm not in the mood for company." Cephera told him without turning to look at him.
"Sometimes that's when you most need someone." He replied and she wanted to growl or yell at him, but she never. She looked over and he was silhouetted in the setting sun. "Come sit in the grass, we can talk about anything, it doesn't have to be about what's making you sad." He offered. The back of Cephera's mind screamed 'don't' and her naive half said 'yes, what's the harm.' She felt too depressed and defeated to think straight right now anyway.
She followed him to sit in the grass. She made sure to keep enough space between them to deter the feeling of intimacy. "I don't really want to talk." She told him shaking her head.
"That's alright, I'll talk." He grinned and bent forward over his crossed legs. "Look, I know I've been a little... clingy. That my feelings for you have made you uncomfortable. You probably think I'm crazy but...," Cephera watched him as he spoke. For some reason she was interested in what he was trying to say. His timid and hesitant manner drew her in. "But I've never known how to talk to people, not properly. I always let me emotions cloud my judgement. I'm not always a good person, I feel like I'm the black sheep." He sighed.
Krystoff shifted before beginning again. "You're like a ray of sunshine. Soft, warming, innocent. You're probably far too good for me, but like me you're also a black sheep and I'm drawn to that. What you are, who you are amazes me. You hone a strength to persevere instead of giving up. I wish I could be like that." Cephera struggled to understand his words. She'd never thought of Krystoff as awkward or a misfit.
At that moment, he seemed small and vulnerable. Like a sad child and Cephera felt bad for him. "I'm sure you have your own strengths."
"I suppose." He smiled. "But I've been thinking lately that maybe I should start working toward things I want. That maybe I should take a first step instead of holding back." Cephera had a funny feeling come over her, like now was the time to go. She stood and he followed quickly behind her, as if anticipating her actions.
Before she could pardon herself politely, he'd grabbed ahold of her. What should have been a soft, firm grab from a man feeling vulnerable, was actually a rough, intimidating clench. Cephera cried out in shock before he kissed her. He pulled her body close despite her struggle. His tongue touching her partially parted lips as she tried fruitlessly to break free. He was strong, too strong.
He pulled at her harshly and quickly shifted to wrap one of his arms around her waist, and his other hand burying up into her hair. Cephera wriggled and jerked around, but Krystoff was much stronger than he appeared. Warning bells were howling in her head. She struggled to scream. She felt helpless and afraid. Fear shooting through her making it hard to even concentrate on the magic of her ring to call out to her sister.
When his hand moved from her hair to her neck and then the back of her dress, tugging at the strings to untie it from her body, Cephera opened her mouth allowing his tongue in and bit him. He was lucky he didn't lose his tongue completely. He screamed, pulled away and Cephera punched him in the gut followed by a strike to his face. He stumbled backward and hit the ground as his foot hooked into a rock.
Cephera ran as fast as she could, back to the palace.
***
King Yorin wiped his forehead. "I've warned you time and again to never allow yourself to be caught alone with him." He chided Cephera after she'd told them what had happened. "Thankfully, he'd gotten nowhere."
"Screw that. He attacked her!" Seraphina yelled.
"He didn't attack her. He might have acted improperly toward her personal space, but he didn't harm her." The king growled. "It's a he said she said situation, what proof do we have. All your sister ended up with is some swollen red lips, he's left with, at best, a bruised face." He slammed his fist against the table he stood near.
"So, we say and do nothing." Seraphina hissed clenching her fists.
"Believe me I'd love to rip him apart for daring to touch my daughter, but I am still king. I will not risk the safety of the people for an unprovable incident." He snarled and growled in frustration. "You are not to traverse this kingdom without an attendant. Not a single hallway is to be ventured into without a handmaiden with you." Cephera nodded. She should have listened years ago, but of course she'd been blind and naive as always. She felt ashamed to have fallen for Krystoff's seemingly harmless conversations.
When everyone knew what he was like, she wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. Had he not been so forceful, she might have still felt like she could trust him, but the force with which he'd held her and touched her sickened her to her core. From now on, Cephera would be more careful. More and more, Cephera was seeing how naive she was and how much that hindered her. The moment Krystoff had shown up she should have forgone politeness and walked away. Why did she sit with him?
Cephera hadn't been paying attention when her father stood and wrapped her in a hug. "I'm sorry, it's not your fault. It's just so frustrating that I wasn't there to help you." He apologized.
"I understand." She told him as he gently kissed her forehead. "I won't walk around alone anymore." She assured him. She saw the relief on her fathers face and the helplessness. Had she been in the palace and someone had seen, then he would have been able to speak up, but he was right, it was Cephera's word against Krystoff's and his family was powerful enough that no one would want to get involved with a hearsay situation.

Notes