Fayebel…
Upon hearing the claim that Frosk had made to her, she could only stare at him with an incredulous look on her face.
Gritting her teeth, she spat back at him, “How dare you speak such lies to me! What possesses you to believe that you are my father?!”
Shocked by her extreme reaction, Frosk’s eyes widened and he put up his hands as if to ask her to settle down. It only served to make her even angrier as she back away from him and gave him a fierce glare.
“Look, I know it may be hard to believe, but-” he said in a nervous tone.
“Its ludicrous!”
“I thought so too, and I didn’t know about this either until Dorrin approached me about it after our fight. I swear to you, I am not lying,” he said, and upon hearing the name of her uncle, she froze up.
“Uncle Dorrin said that…?” she asked, still struggling to believe it.
“Yes. He did. He handed Gurthang to me with two options. He said I could either keep it and accept you as my daughter or…or return it to King Rohen and forget about you entirely,” he said and her hands began to shake as she didn’t understand what was going on.
“Why would…what would you get out of claiming that sword if it meant you would accept me? What does it mean to you if I am your daughter, hm?” she asked, anger and confusion filling her voice.
He went silent as he couldn’t find the words right away to answer her.
“I don’t know yet…, but your mother Lorra was a good friend of mine and someone I cared about deeply,” he said to her.
Hearing that, Fayebel’s anger grew as she shouted at him, “AND YET YOU KILLED HER! You killed my mother during the war, didn’t you?”
Frosk’s eyes fell to the ground in shame as he said, “I did, yes.”
“So you admit it then? You admit it and you still claim to be my father?!” she said until the anger overcame her.
She lashed out at him as she stepped forward and smacked him in the face.
He did not bother to dodge her hand but his eyes had widened in surprise as she stared at her.
“Do not ever approach me further. I never want to see your wretched face again!” she said to him.
He ignored her words and continued to stare at her, or more so her hand.
“Fayebel…,” he said as his voice trailed off.
“What?! What else do you have to say to me?” she spat at him.
“Your hand. Is that what I think it is?”
Confused, she pulled her hand and realized that the red lightning that had been emitted from her body had been summoned from her anger towards this man.
She closed her hand into a fist and hid it behind her back as she said, “What of it?”
Frosk raised his hand to her and red lightning sparked from in between his fingers.
“Either the God of Wrath has personally blessed you with the Scarlet Bolt or…you have inherited it from me,” he said and she went silent.
Fayebel’s ears bent down as she was faced with the cursed realization that what Frosk had told her was the truth, but she didn’t want to accept a word of it.
“No… No no no…,” he stammered as she took several steps back before turning around and ran away from him.
Frosk did not chase after her or say a word, he simply remained where he stood as he watched her silently as she ran.
She kept on running long after the man who claimed to be her father was out of sight, even as tears started falling down her face at the thought that great man, King Rohen, who she had known all her life, was not her father after all.
The tears made it difficult for her to see where she was going, and as she tried to rub them clean from her eyes, she crashed into someone and fell to the ground.
“Fayebel?!” the voice of her younger brother Alta reached her ears as she realized that it was him who she crashed into.
Through her tears, she looked up at him and said, “Brother…?”
Upon seeing her in her sorry state, Alta quickly knelt down and asked, “What’s wrong? What happened to you?! Who did this to you?”
Thalia, who was standing next to Alta, was also surprised to see her like this and knelt down next to her silently.
Fayebel could not yet find the words to explain what she had heard or how she was feeling and just sat on the ground as she tried to stop crying.
As time passed, she managed to get control of herself and the three of them went to Thalia’s home so she could explain things.
As Thalia and Alta sat across from her, he asked, “Are you able to explain what happened to you now?”
“Nothing happened to me, I just…met a man who claimed to be my father,” she said quietly.
Alta and Thalia looked at each other for a moment before he asked, “Who was this man?”
“Frosk of Forrosa.”
Alta’s eyes widened but Thalia simply asked, “Who is that?”
Alta glared at her for asking such a dumb question and said, “Have you not been paying attention to the contest at all? He fought that god with the storm magic.”
“He did? I didn’t watch that fight so I didn’t know. Is he important?” she asked.
“He is the Champion of Forrosa, the strongest warrior of their kingdom,” he said impatiently.
Thalia’s eyes widened as she finally understood and said, “Oh! I heard that my brother was working with Forrosa! Maybe he knows Frosk too!”
“That’s not the point you little shit!” Alta cursed at her and she stuck her tongue out at him.
Fayebel saw their bickering and failed to stifle a laugh as it eased her mood slightly.
Hearing her laugh at them, Alta looked back at her with a concerned expression and asked, “Are you okay? You looked pretty upset about what you heard.”
“I…I don’t know if I’m alright. I mean, learning that the man that raised me and cared for me as if I were his own wasn’t my true father is…it might be too much for me.”
“Have you asked father about it yet?” Alta asked.
“N-No…I only recently heard about it before running into the two of you. I haven’t talked to him yet. I’m not even sure I want to ask him about it,” she said.
“You should anyways, besides, there is something you’re forgetting,” Alta said.
Fayebel raised her head to look him in the eyes as she asked, “What’s that?”
“Even if Frosk is your real father, you are still my real sister. You’ll still have me as your family right?”
Hearing that put her heart at ease, if only slightly as she smiled and said, “Yeah. That’s true.”
Alta then stood up and said, “Alright. Lets go ask him.”
“What, now?!” Fayebel asked in a panic.
“Are we going to meet the Elf King?” Thalia asked in an excited tone.
Alta looked down at her mildly impressed as he said, “So you have been paying attention to some degree huh…? Wait, isn’t your brother’s fight today?”
Thalia shrugged and said, “I’m pretty sure he’ll win this one. I can afford to miss it just this once. Lets go!”
“No, Alta! Come on! I just heard about this less than an hour ago! I don’t…I don’t want to face Father right now after what I heard!” she stammered.
“Either I drag you there to talk to him now or you won’t be able to talk to him about it at all. Now come on!” he said as he reached out his hand to her and she took it reluctantly.
Since Alta had no idea where King Rohen was staying, she had to lead the way to him herself.
The King was staying in a very luxurious inn called The Ouranos Lodge which was close to the royal palace of Lycea. As a king, he would only be treated as finely as the royals within the kingdom he was visiting for the contest.
Fayebel had been staying in the inn with Father during the contest and could come and go as she please, but she wondered if they would let Alta and Thalia in too.
Alta might be able to since he was her brother and the son of the king himself, but Thalia was another story.
However, the moment they explained that she was the little sister of Marcus Wright, the receptionist’s eyes widened and hastily approved for her to join them.
“That was easier than I thought,” Thalia said, surprised.
“Your brother’s name holds a lot of weight in the world,” Fayebel said.
Hearing that, Thalia furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she asked, “Really? But we only just came to this world a little over a month ago. How could he be that famous so quickly.”
“Marcus killed the most powerful dragon in the world almost by himself, even if Malthael was half dead and severely weakened at the time of being resurrected. A feat like that would make anyone famous. I was there to see him do it too. That dragon was larger than the tallest mountains, yet he fought on par with him until the end,” Alta explained as they made their way to the penthouse suite where King Rohen was staying.
When they reached the door, Fayebel froze as she didn’t feel prepared to go in and talk to him yet.
Losing his patience, Alta rolled his eyes and knocked on the door for him while shouting, “Hey Dad! Are you in there?!”
Thalia looked at him as if he were nuts and kicked his leg, “Are you crazy?! Your dad is a king right? Why would you address him that way?”
Alta shrugged and said, “I don’t care.”
Fayebel sighed and said, “By this point Father is used to Alta acting like an ass.”
From the other side of the door, the three of them heard a voice say, “Alta? Is that you?”
She could hear his hurried steps as he rushed to the door and opened it.
King Rohen was dressed in finely woven leisure clothes meant simply for relaxing since he didn’t need to wear formal wear in his own room.
It was a white shirt and pants underneath a robe.
Upon seeing Fayebel and Alta in the door way, King Rohen smiled warmly and said, “Ah, so you’ve brought him back to me just like you said you would!”
Alta raised his hand and said, “Ah! No, that’s not what’s going on here. Though its good to see you too father.”
Without saying another word, he walked past him and entered the room.
Upon seeing Alta’s behavior, King Rohen’s face fell with disappointment.
“Is he still acting this way even now?” he asked.
“Yes,” Fayebel and Thalia said at the same time.
Hearing Thalia’s voice, King Rohen’s ears pricked up in mild surprise as he turned to look at her.
“Who are you?”
“She’s my ward,” Alta said from within the penthouse kitchen.
“Well that’s some good news at least. Perhaps watching over you will teach him some manner of responsibility,” King Rohen mused as he welcomed the two of them in.
As Thalia walked inside, she asked, “Where are all of your guards?”
King Rohen waved his hand dismissively as he said, “This entire floor is reserved for me, which means that my guards are occupying the other rooms. The other rulers that came to watch the contest are in different lodgings.”
He then walked over to a chair and sat down while watching with a disapproving stare as Alta shamelessly helped himself to whatever food he could find in the pantry.
“So…what brings the three of you here?” he sighed.
Fayebel was taking note of his behavior and how it was unlike he was acting during her fight today.
She took in a deep breath before saying, “I met Frosk today and…he had a lot of things to say to me.”
King Rohen’s face, which seemed excited and joyful to see them, slowly changed to a different emotion that resembled guilt and shame.
“Oh…I see. So what did he say to you then?”
“He said that he is my real father.”
King Rohen went silent as he listened to her and his expression did not change.
“Is that true...father?” she asked, with her tone pleading for him to deny what she said.
Yet, instead of correcting her, he simply looked away before saying, “Yes. He is your real father.”
Shocked by his upfront honesty, she took a sudden step back as she didn’t want to accept it.
“If its really true then why haven’t you told me? Why have you kept this from me for all these years?! In the 138 years that I have been alive, you have said nothing about this! Why?”
King Rohen then finally looked her in the eyes as he answered, “Because you seemed happier that way and I was happy to have you regardless if you were not mine. As a woman, you are not burdened with the prospects of ascending to the throne so your lineage would never be called into question. For that, I have Alta to succeed me.”
Alta rolled his eyes and continued munching on the food he had scrounged up as he handed some to Thalia who took it reluctantly. She hesitated to take a bite of it and looked at King Rohen for permission until he impatiently nodded to her.
“Even so…how has this not become known to the public? If anyone found out about this, it would certainly be a scandal, wouldn’t it? The elders would certainly be furious!”
“The elders have been aware of it since you were conceived, the overbearing bastards that they are… They’ve known the entire time that you were not my blood, yet they let you remain in the house as royalty.”
“What would they have to gain by keeping that information to themselves?”
“Leverage. They have used that information to tighten their leash around my neck for the entirety of my reign.”
After swallowing a mouthful of food, Alta spoke up and said, “That explains why you seem so...relaxed. Or maybe uncaring. Is that why you want me to take the throne? So they don’t have any leverage?”
Before King Rohen could respond, Fayebel cut in, “Even if you replaced him, it wouldn’t matter! Father’s legacy is already stained by this with our mother’s relation to Frosk. What good would it do to have you replace him if our mother had a fling with a man other than Father?”
King Rohen raised his hand to try and calm her down as he said, “Now hear me for a moment. Our marriage was political in nature. I had no reservations about who she had been with prior to my succession to the throne.”
“Maybe at first! I know the truth though Father! Over a century with her, you certainly still developed feelings over mother, didn’t you?! Otherwise why would you be so angry about that man Frosk when you heard that he had killed her?” Fayebel argued.
Hearing her words, King Rohen fell silent as he could not ignore the truth in her words.
“You are correct. Over the years…I did love her and I believe that she felt the same given time. I doubt she would have felt an equal amount of love and warmth to you and Alta alike had she not loved me. However…, I don’t think you know the full story behind me and Frosk.”
Fayebel folded her arms in front of her as she waited for him to elaborate.
Even though Lorra’s marriage to me required that she would end any kind of relationship she had with Frosk, that did not mean that he was unable to visit New Alfheim and remain friends. In fact, when I met him I even grew fond of him. I had even befriended him myself and through him, New Alfheim had a good relationship with the Kingdom of Forrosa. Even the Elders found no reason to pursue a negative stance towards the man right away. Yet despite that, the fact that you were his child was kept from him to preserve the calm in our society.”
“If you were such good friends then why did you send mother to war only to be killed by him in the process?” Fayebel asked.
“It was at the pressured advice of the elders, it was not my own choice. I wanted to abstain from the war in its entirety, but the Elders were out for blood due to the interference of the Orcs supporting Forrosa. If Lorra and myself were befriended to Frosk, the Champion of Forrosa, then it would have sent a message to the rest of the kingdom that her and myself were friends to the Orcs as well. I tried my hardest to push back against their wishes, but our friendship with Frosk only gave them further leverage.”
Hearing him explain the situation caused her to pause and think about things deeply.
As painful as it was to hear, both King Rohen and her mother were both victims of the Elder’s whims and even Frosk had been put into an unfavorable position.
“Before your mother had participated in the Second Siege of Alken, she had been ordered by the Elders to kill Frosk. She fought alongside Alan Mercer to defeat him and even though Frosk had been defeated and was at their mercy, she had gone against what she was ordered to do and spared his life. She even stopped Alan Mercer when he tried to finish him off.”
Fayebel and Alta both stared at Father in shock upon hearing that as they continued listening to him.
“When I heard that she had died in the third and final siege, yes I was angry at Frosk for killing her. Enraged even…but I knew that the Elders were truly at fault as they had arranged for such a situation to happen. When they heard of her defeat, they spat on her name,” he said with pain and anger in his voice.
He then tilted his head upwards as he stared at the ceiling and said, “Truthfully, I am still angry at Frosk for taking her life as it was his hands that dealt the killing blow, but I cannot shift the blame solely on him. I am partly to blame for not doing enough to go against the elder’s when they arranged for all of this to happen.”
“Then…what should I do now?” Fayebel asked.
King Rohen turned his head to look at her and replied, “Are you asking me what you should do about Frosk now that you know the full truth?”
She nodded.
He sighed and said, “He now knows that he has a daughter and he wants to be a part of your life, rightfully so. I cannot blame him as you are quite an incredible daughter. I would not blame you if you wanted to get closer to him and learn more about him. However, if you decide to reject him still, then I will always welcome you as my daughter, if that is your wish.”
He looked her in the eyes as if waiting for her answer but she looked away and said, “I…I don’t know yet. I’ll have to think about it. For now, I feel more comfortable calling you Father so I will stick with that for now.”
Hearing that, he nodded with a smile and said, “Very well. I’m please to hear that at the very least.”
“Well, now that this has been resolved, I guess I can say you officially won the bet,” Alta mumbled as he finished eating, with crumbs all across his face.
King Rohen shook his head in further disappointment at his lack of manners before asking, “What ‘bet’ is he talking about?”
“Well, we made a wager of whether or not I won or lost the match. If I won, then he would let me take him to see you. If I lost, I was going to be stuck as Thalia’s sword instructor,” she said, with disappointment in her voice as she realized that she lost her opportunity to be a teacher.
Alta clapped his hands together mockingly as he said, “Congratulations. You won and you brought me back to see Father. Too bad I’m still not going to take the throne like he wants!”
“Yes you are dammit!” King Rohen shouted at him, raising his voice in annoyance for the first time.
“Like hell!” Alta spat back at him and the two glared at each other silently.
While the two of them bickered, Fayebel walked over to Thalia and said, “Even if I did win the bet, I still want to be your teacher. I’ve always wanted to have a student under me.”
Thalia looked up at her with wonder in her eyes as she asked, “Really?! You’ll still teach me?”
Fayebel smiled as she said, “Yes. I would love to.”
If she could teach Thalia then it would give her a way to distract her from what she knew about Frosk.
Thalia then pumped both of her arms into the air and said, “YES!”
Curious, King Rohen eyed her and asked, “What is your name child?”
“Thalia, er-,” she then stiffened up and brushed the crumbs off of her face and shirt as she bowed to him, much to his amusement, and continued, “My name is Thalia Wright, your highness. I am Marcus Wright’s younger sister.”
Upon hearing that, King Rohen’s eyes bulged in surprise and he leaned forward as he could not believe what he had heard.
He looked between Alta and Fayebel’s faces to see them nod in confirmation.
He then pointed his finger at Fayebel and said, “I hereby order you to become her teacher at once and learn as much as you can about that man Marcus Wright and report back to me.”
“Uh-yes sir!” she replied as she turned her head over to Thalia and smiled.
Perhaps things won’t be so bad after all.