Alaunus

Alaunus had not been old enough to beg to stay. His mother held him in weak, exhausted arms, and he gurgled with joy, a mere babe. He could not have seen the look of disdain upon his father’s face.

He was allowed only to mature to a toddler stage. A boy of bright blond hair and sweet eyes as his father, but looked too similar to his mother. A face too round and features too much from Regalis’s own. Days passed in which Regalis scowled at the boy, until he could bear the sight no longer. Through the protective screams of his mother, the deafening slamming of doors. Alaunus was snatched into the arms of guards and dragged from the castle. He shrieked, too young to understand, arms stretching past the guard’s shoulder and hand splayed out for his mother to grab him back. But the heavy swing of axes barred Serenity from moving beyond them. Alaunus looked to his father, petrified and desperate. His eyes flew wide.

Regalis laughed, bowed his head, and returned back inside of the castle.

The guards cared little for Alaunus past the city walls. He was left trembling and alone, head buried in small hands to bawl, wailing in agony at the sudden twist of loneliness creeping down his spine. Royal orders stopped him from returning to the city, staring up at the faceless helmets looming over him.

He was lost.

Alaunus recalled those memories as if they were a mere minute’s recollection. Now grown, he snarled with seething hatred, forcing himself to move around to exert his frustrations. He donned the rich golds upon his body and threaded flowers into his apparel to remind him of the life he surrounded himself with. He had dedicated his life to living in opposition to his father. The memory of that smirking face and his turning back sent scalding ripples down Alaunus’s spine. But he could not tear himself from the pained scream of his mother. He prayed she would find the power to leave. But his heart did not hold hopeful for long.

His new home smelled of summer flowers. A humid-aired, breezy amalgamation of life in abundance. At first, Alaunus found it strange that conversation should naturally occur. He stunted his speech, expecting to be silenced, but was instead listened to. His first laugh came to him sat upon an open fire. A story weaved and told, the punchline humorous enough to draw out the softest bubbles of laughter, before he paused in embarrassment at such a strange, new feeling. He realised quickly he had never known happiness in such a manner.

He had to thank his father, in a miserable, strange way. If he had not have been outcasted, Alaunus pondered if he would have ever known such peace. Though his heart sat dull and heavy in his heart from the inescapable visions of his poor, crestfallen mother, he knew his fate was a better one than most. He dreaded to think of how many of Regalis’s children were abandoned in the same manner, and were not so fortunate as to be found.

He had a home here. A new life. And in his father’s mad search for power and riches beyond mortal comprehension, Alaunus knew he had the upper hand. He was born with a heart and soul.

Something Regalis could never have.

Lore by PunchingSolas