Chapter 15: Raindrops
Silas's mind wandered off not long after seeing the darkness when he closed his eyes. Suddently memories from his past came floodiagainst his will, making him relive and reenact things he had no desire to go through again from when he was 18.
There Silas was, yet again, awoken late in the night from all the commotion from his father's room next door. The signs of a struggle were evident as the sound of throwing, shattering, and slamming filled the air.
Something's terribly wrong; there's no doubt that father's in trouble; there must be an armed assailant who snuck into the castle, Silas thought worriedly.
What would Silas do when he directly came in contact with the armed assailant? Would he be strong enough to kill them? Would he even be capable of doing something like that? Silas frantically thought as he quickly grabbed the sword he kept next to his bed in case the castle was ever under attack.
While tightening his grip on the sword in his hand, Silas cracked open his bedroom door. The hallway suddenly elongated as if it stretched infinitely with no end. Silas's pupils quickly dilated in shock over what he saw, causing him to become completely immobilized over the sight before him that would forever be etched into his mind.
The hooded figure towered over Silas as it stepped out of his father's room, painting the doorknob a cherry red color. Silas would never forget those cold and emotionless stained blue glass eyes of Kalias's that day that sent shivers down Silas's spine.
"What, Kalias? What are you doing here? No, there must be some mistake," Silas exclaimed in a shaky voice.
Kalias did not say a word in response and looked quite dissatisfied that he wasn't fast enough to evade any prying eyes from capturing a glimpse of him. Seeing Kalias with such a demeanor and expression that lacked any warmth was so out of character for him, or was it?
Without as much as a moment's hesitation, Kalias gazed directly at Silas. A haunting, eerie smirk plastered itself onto his face. Kalias's grin spoke volumes before he made a run for it, making a swift escape.
"Hey, get back here! You're not going to get away!" Silas cried out after gasping since he wasn't expecting Kalias to be so fast and take off so suddenly.
Silas began to chase after Kalias without thinking, but no matter how fast he ran. He could not catch up to him for some reason as the hallway continued to stretch on forever.
Then, random loud voices began to scream in Silas's eardrums, causing Silas to cover his ears to try to mute them out. But despite his feeble attempt, he could still hear them.
One voice shouted, "Kalias would never have done something like that. He's incapable of doing so. You simply were in a state of shock after seeing your father dead, causing you to hallucinate and see things that weren't there. Causing your eyes to deceive you."
Another voice boomed, "You were probably just dreaming with your eyes open."
Silas squeezed his eyes shut and sank to the floor.
"Shut up! I know what I saw!" Silas yelled out to the voices.
But the unrelenting voices did not cease and continued to pester him. Silas felt as though he were going insane despite his pleading. The voices continued to pester him while Silas gripped the sides of his head with his hands.
A third voice cried, "You need proof to make such an accusation. If you dare lay as much of a hand on Kalias, you'll be nothing more than a traitor. You'll break the truce between humankind and the divine, putting everyone's lives at stake."
Yet another voice chimed in, "It couldn't have been Kalias. During the night your father was murdered, Kalias never left the comfort of the forest. When we asked Kalias about the matter, he said he had no idea what we were discussing."
"I don't know how he did it, but I know damn well that it was Kalias who murdered our father!" Silas yelled out to the random voices.
"Quit spouting nonsense; Kalias would never kill someone. Kalias is innocent. He's incapable of killing," a final voice spouted.
At that moment, when Silas opened his eyes, droplets of water fell on his face. He looked over and saw the chestnut brown hair that belonged to his little brother Tristan, with tears streaming from his emerald eyes. Tristan appeared as his 11-year-old self and stood beside Silas while sniffling.
Silas remembered that day like yesterday. Silas held back his tears because how would it look to see the newly crowned 18-year-old king show any sign of weakness to those around him? The people around him were already rubbing their hands together in greed and were waiting on the sidelines for Silas to slip up.
Silas gazed onward as their father's casket passed by them since the royal funeral procession for him was taking place. Silas had to remain strong to protect Tristan, Calista, and everyone, for that matter.
Silas could feel the pressing gaze of someone's eyes staring at him, causing him to glance over to the left to meet the gaze of the younger version of Calista. She had concern and empathy etched into her beautiful face.
Silas couldn't get over how beautiful she was. There were so many things that he adored about her. She is kind, caring, intelligent, quick-witted, and honest, and she always takes the initiative to stand up for what she believes in.
Calista had a difficult life after losing her parents to a tragic incident at a young age. King Caddel, the father of Tristan and Silas, had been good friends with Calista's father, who was also his most trusted royal advisor. This led to Calista being welcomed into the Caddel royal family with open arms.
After their father's funeral procession was over, the next thing Silas knew, he was standing alone in the royal garden. The raindrops from the sky fell on him while he trembled and cried his heart out. His heart felt as though it was about to sever into two.
According to Silas's mind, if someone were to come along and spot him, they would not be able to recognize him in such a pitiful state. It would be difficult for someone to distinguish the raindrops from his tears, and the rain drowned out the sound of his sobs.
Suddenly, Silas temporarily stopped sobbing in confusion since the rain had stopped dripping on him. When he glanced up, he realized it was because someone was hovering an umbrella over him to shield him from the rain. It wasn't long before he felt someone lovingly caressing his shoulder, causing him to glance over.
"Why are you standing out here all by yourself in the rain? You're going to catch a cold," Calista said in a worried tone as a perplexed expression covered her entire face.
"It breaks my heart to see you hurting so much. It's okay, I'm here. I know what you're going through. I felt the same way when my parents died. I know it's hard. Your father was like family to me, and he will be dearly missed by me as well; let's go back inside the castle and get you warmed up, alright?" Calista said softly.
She then grabbed both of his hands and placed the umbrella in his hands. Shortly afterward, she wrapped a blanket around his shoulders that she had draped over her right shoulder.
She then lovingly caressed his face. The warmth radiating from her hands caused him to close his eyes and take the comfort she was offering him into his heart. She then wiped away the tears streaming down his face with her thumbs, causing a slight blush to form on his cheeks.
At that moment, he wrapped his right arm around her while his left hand clung to the umbrella. He buried his face into her right shoulder.
Silas wished that they could stay like that forever. It was so comforting to have her there so that he did not have to mourn alone. She was one of the few people who had always been there for him throughout his entire life. He always wanted to be close to and near her.
She was the type of person who offered someone a shoulder to lean on if they needed it. She was always trustworthy and had the best intentions in mind.
Silas badly wished he could return to that moment to tell her how much she meant to him. He loved her so much that it hurt. He wished he would have kissed her that day to show her the special place he held her within his heart.
But that day, Silas did not dare to do so. What if she didn't reciprocate his feelings? Then, would the close bond they shared be jeopardized? He was already mourning the loss of his father, and having her potentially reject him on top of that would have been too much for him to bear.
Silas didn't want to know the answer about how she truly felt about him. He didn't want his heart to ache more than it already did.
Instead, Calista and Silas cried together in each other's embrace as the rain danced around them. They stayed in each other's company without saying a word.
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