“I… I…” Prudence was astounded that he should tell her such an outlandish story. “You truly expect me to believe all this? This is ridiculous!”
Thierry sighed. “I know it sounds ridiculous, but it’s the truth. Would I really waste my last breath telling you a lie?”
Prudence crossed her arms, looking into her divorcee’s eyes intently. She saw no lie in them, but the story was so ridiculous that she wasn’t willing to buy it at face value. “Where is the proof of such a story?”
“I have no proof. I only know what I have seen and experienced with my own two eyes.” Thierry answered despondently.
Prudence, was tearing up at the fact that the man had supposedly killed her son in two worlds--feeling like she was ready to not only kill this man who had brought her nothing but suffering, but make him suffer for it, too. She sniffled and murmured, “If all of this is true, then how come people were not blinking out of existence in this world when my son was born?”
Thierry had thought about that often, himself, and the only answer he could come up with was, “I can only assume that, because he existed in both worlds, that the wound in time was sealed. I think… the witches of this world harvested what was left of his drowned body in this world, and used it to help create the Helvius of this world.”
Prudence leaned against the wall momentarily, breathing deeply. “If all this is true, then you killed my son in both worlds, and you killed me in both as well.”
Thierry raised an eyebrow. “Killed you in both worlds? You’re still living in this one.”
Prudence glared at him. “Do I look alive to you? It’s true I am walking, it’s true I have a pulse, but I died the day my son did. After that, I was just a soulless husk. And when I sold my flesh away to the witches for more power, I could barely even be considered human anymore.”
Thierry lowered his eyes. “Do you at least understand why I had to do what I had to do?”
“If it’s true, then I suppose I do—my son would have destroyed this world, the same way he did yours. But it doesn’t matter. I know you did it to save the world, but I would let this world crumble away and die before I let my son go with it. Helvius was mine—the best thing that I ever made. Even though he lived a short life, for the time he did live, he made me feel human.” Prudence whispered.
Her eyes met her husband’s. “Well, I’ve heard what you had to say, and we both know what happened afterwards, so now it’s time for you to end.”
Prudence pressed the sword to his neck. “Goodbye, Thierry. For what it’s worth, when we were together with Helvius… those were the happiest years of my life.”
She pressed the sword harder against Thierry’s skin. Thierry let her for a fraction of a second, as he wasn’t sure he wanted to live in a world where he had killed his son and he had lost his wife—the only woman he had ever loved. When the sword pricked his skin and blood spilled, however, the instinct to live took over automatically took over. He scooted away from her, but she approached him, not letting him escape. Thierry hopped to his feet, watching Prudence’s movements. Thinking quickly, he turned around—leaning forward--just as she did a downward slash.
She cut the ropes bounding his hands—narrowly missing his wrists—Thierry took his chance, launching himself at her and pinning her to the ground. “I’m going to let you go, but you must promise you’ll leave me alone for the rest of our days. Let me grieve our son in a way that makes sense. You should do the same.”
Prudence shook her head. “Never! I won’t rest until you’re dead! He was never your son, never! You were only a surrogate father—and a poor one at that!”
Thierry wrestled with her, rolling around on the dank, dirty floor until he wrested the sword from her hand. When he managed it, he stood up with the sword in hand. He was shaking in anger—furious that she didn’t understand how much he loved their son. For a moment, he considered killing her, but then…
He remembered the first moment he had laid his eyes upon her--when she was playing with their son on the beach. Her hair was fluttering in the wind as shimmering rays from the orange sunlight filtered through it--looking for all the world like an angel. He knew, in that moment, he had fallen for her. And then, he remembered seeing her again in the world they were living in now.
***
Thierry was dispatched from Castle Aru at the age of twenty-five—now twenty years ago—to occupy a small village in the kingdom of Ariskran. Aru had already taken over Ariskran, and Ariskran had lost its sovereignty. Now, guards from Aru were being dispatched to occupy the other kingdom.
Thierry was a decorated war veteran at this point in his life. He had played a big role in capturing the kingdom and was admired in Aru as the man who clinched the final battle by capturing the king of Ariskran and ending the war.
Since then, Thierry had asked the king for lighter, easier work, and occupying a small town sounded like the perfect thing for him to do.
Despite being a decorated war hero and essentially ending the war, he was desperately unhappy. He felt like he had blood on his hands from that other world that he just couldn’t wash off.
Killing soldiers in battle was one thing—it was fair and honest—but killing a woman and her child while they were having fun on the beach was dirty and underhanded. It wasn’t just that, though. The woman and her son… he felt like he loved them, even though he didn’t know them. Their faces haunted him day and night. He thought it would be best for him to be away from killing.
But when he arrived at the village, he was met with angry villagers throwing stones at him. A particularly large man with a bow fired an arrow at one of Thierry’s men, killing him. Thierry gave the order to detain the man—not kill him--as Thierry had seen enough of that. A woman with a two-year-old holding her hand rushed out from a nearby house and stood behind the big man.
“Earl! Come inside this instant!” The woman cried, her child screaming in terror. “Do you want our child to lose his father?”
Thierry’s jaw went slack; he recognized the woman, of course. It was the one he had killed from his own world. Thierry quickly reiterated his order, “Don’t kill any of them! Disarm them and—”
But one of his soldiers had already launched an arrow. It whizzed through the air, piercing the large man—Earl—through the head. This only riled up the peasants, who yelled in anger, continuing to throw stones. Thierry shot a glare at the man who had fired the arrow. The man’s only response was, “They deserved it for killing Jeremy. He was a good man.”
“I’ll see to it that you never work for the king again after this.” Was Thierry’s only response as he steered his whinnying horse away from the rocks. He looked down at the ground—at the poor woman and her eyeless child weeping over her husband. Thierry’s own eyes shone with unshed tears.
The prince, who was traveling with them, was gazing at the woman, too. He whispered to Thierry, “That woman is… there’s something about her. We must capture her—I would love her as a mistress.”
Thierry’s eyes went wide. There was no way he wanted that poor woman to end up in the prince’s clutches. Outwardly, he nodded. “Of course, sire.” Inwardly, he was coming up with a plan to get the woman away from him.
For the time being, Thierry called to all the villagers, pointing his bow at them, “All of you settle down, or I will be forced to kill you!”
The villagers stopped throwing the stones. Everyone went quiet. Thierry said to them all, “Everyone return to your houses immediately.”
Thierry hoped the woman and her child would escape, but the prince added, “Except you, girl. I would like you to stay out. I have business with you.”
The woman and her child stood up, shuddering in fear. Once all the other villagers were inside, the prince dismounted. Thierry, worrying for the woman’s safety, followed suite. He followed his prince over to the woman, and, as if the woman was merely an ornament, the prince began examining her, running his hands through her hair and rubbing the back of his hand against her skin. He whispered, “She’s soft…”
The woman cringed with every touch, and Thierry felt the need to tackle the prince so he would leave the her alone. Instead, he waited patiently.
“She’ll do… how would you like to come back to Aru with me? You’ll be treated like a queen, and you’ll never want for anything.” The prince said to her affectionately.
The woman cringed, leaning away from him. She cleared her throat and wiped her tearful eyes. “I take it from your dress that you’re the prince?”
The prince nodded. “That’s who I am.”
“I also take it that you’re a brat who thinks he can have whatever and whoever he wants? Including a woman who wants nothing to do with him?” She snapped.
The prince chuckled. “Quite the firebrand, eh, Thierry? Well, I’ll be taking her back to Aru, so you won’t have to deal with her here. If you wouldn’t mind hoisting her onto the back of my horse?”
Thierry clasped his hands behind his back, gazing at the woman intently. “Sire, what about her boy?”
“What about him?” The prince answered. “He’ll become an urchin.”
The boy’s mother gasped. “You couldn’t possibly consider tearing me away from my child—”
“Hush, woman. Thierry, put her on the back of my horse.” The prince commanded.
The woman looked at Thierry with pleading eyes, as if she knew he had feelings for her. Thierry cleared his throat. “Why not bring her child, sire? She’ll be far more fun and cheerful to be with if she doesn’t hate you for leaving her boy behind.”
The prince stroked his chin thoughtfully. “I suppose you have a point, although they can be fun if they hate you, too. The boy is an inconvenience, but not a pricy one. Very well, I’ll take both, and then I’ll leave you to your occupation.”
Thierry couldn’t stop looking at the woman with lovesick eyes. He said to the prince, “Perhaps I should come with you to ensure she doesn’t escape? After all, you’ll be traveling with her alone if the rest of the soldiers remain here.”
The prince was confused for a moment—he couldn’t understand why Thierry would want to travel with him, and then it hit him. He nudged the knight playfully. “I get it, you want her, too. Once I’m bored of her, you can have her. You have been nothing but loyal, after all. You may travel with us.”
Thierry was embarrassed for the prince to even suggest that Thierry would ever take a woman without her permission, but he decided to play the prince’s game. “Yes, sire. I must confess I fancy her very much. I have… been looking to start a family, too.”
The prince snorted. “Don’t be ridiculous, Thierry. The wench is pretty, sure, but she isn’t fit for a soldier of your stature. Surely we can find you a more suitable woman to marry, and you can keep this one on the side.”
Thierry grinned awkwardly. “Of course, sire.”
__
The prince, Thierry, the woman, and her son, set off back to Aru after that. Everyone was quiet, but the woman consistently shot dagger eyes at the back of the prince’s head. Her son was sniffling—constantly asking where his father was—and the woman couldn’t even soothe him because he was riding with the prince, while she was riding with Thierry.
Thierry, meanwhile, couldn’t take his eyes off the woman who rode in front of him, even though all he could see was the back of her head. He wanted to get to know her; but more importantly, he wanted to help her escape. He said to her, “Are you doing alright?”
“What do you think?” The woman spat.
“Yes, I suppose it was a stupid question to ask…” Thierry cleared his throat, lowering his head in shame. “What’s your name?”
The woman’s voice was quiet as she answered, “Prudence.”
Thierry was grateful for the fresh scent of flowers on the wind and pollen in the air—breathing something pleasant into the unpleasant moment. He focused on the road ahead; a narrow, green path nestled in-between two mountains. Thierry said, “That’s a nice name…”
Prudence snorted. “I know what you want, you beast. You want what’s left of me once the prince is done.”
Thierry knew that nothing he could say could convince her otherwise. He had no proof other than his word after, all. He decided to change the subject as a whistling wind blustered through the narrow pathway. “I’m really sorry about your man. What was his name?”
There was silence for a time, and all Thierry could hear was the gentle weeping of Prudence. Eventually, she managed to choke out, “Earl. He was a better man than you will ever be.”
Thierry nodded to himself and to Prudence as they rode out of the narrow pathway and out onto a rolling, green plain. “I can believe it.”
Prudence took a deep breath. He heard her sniffling, still. He sniffled, himself, feeling awful about what was done to this woman in both this world and his original one. Some people, he supposed, were just destined to be miserable.
“You seem to have a conscience.” The woman whispered. “If you are a good man, you’ll let me go.”
Thierry didn’t answer. He wanted to let her go, but he couldn’t give the prince any indication that he wanted to. Maybe tonight, I can let her go.
Thierry returned to silence. Prudence muttered, “I guess you’re not a good man, after all.”
The remark hurt him more than he thought it would—because he knew it was true.
Night came, and Thierry and the prince set up camp. The prince set up his own tent, and Thierry set up his. The prince was humming cheerfully under his breath as he did so. Thierry was disgusted by how the prince seemingly didn’t care about violating or humiliating Prudence, and he wondered how he had ever felt pride in being a soldier. He was happy to have ended the war, but he wasn’t happy to have sullied his hands with the blood of men who were just like him.
No. They were not just like him. These were men who had friends and family; good men who deserved to live more than he did—men who had not killed an innocent woman and her boy. He often wondered if these men served the same depraved nobles he did, and wondered if they had leaders worth fighting for, or if they, too, had committed their lives to the service of those who didn’t deserve it.
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