Chapter Text
It felt like finally waking up from a nightmare that had gone on for far too long.
After a certain point, the throng of elated people filling the palace courtyard singing Elena’s praises had simply become too overwhelming for you, so you’d been forced to retreat to the verdant calm of the Royal Gardens. It had long been a favored sanctuary for you.
There, you released a breath as you sank onto a bench beneath an orange tree that had been around longer than you had, grateful for the freedom to move around without bumping into somebody else. Your relatives were more than welcome to continue celebrating. They deserved it.
At times, you wanted to curse yourself for being such an introvert. When you were small, you tended to be shy in the presence of unfamiliar faces, and the years of near-isolation had only exacerbated the problem. As much as you wished to be as good at social interaction outside of formal occasions the way Elena was, that was another area she outdid you in.
It wasn’t that you weren’t happy that Shuriki had just been vanquished and your surviving relatives were back. Oh no, far from it! But layered on top of your delight was a surreal sensation, like being outside one’s own body and observing events transpire around you.
Shuriki truly was gone. That fact was really sinking in. Previously, you had resigned yourself to never being rid of her. Being a sorceress, she would just outlive you. Death had been looking like your most likely opportunity to finally be free of her. But no, this foreign royal family had basically ignited a full-on rebellion that had ended with Shuriki plunging off the terrace and down into the Mitotiqui River. It was something you never would’ve predicted.
Exhaustion was starting to settle over you like a blanket, more than likely a result of all the excitement of the day, including getting to run around with Shuriki while she’d been madly pursuing that one orange-furred jaquin (you wondered if said jaquin was upset about having a spear thrown at her. You really didn’t want to have something with teeth and claws like that mad at you). Still, it was a good kind of tired, a well-deserved rest since slumber didn’t often come easily to you these days. You stretched out on the bench in the cool shade and shut your eyes.
“Don Esteban! There you are!”
The unexpected intrusion caused your eyes to snap wide open and a jolt of fear to race through your body in the same instance.
Sitting up and looking around, you started relaxing when you realized it was just Higgins lolloping towards your bench, but not for long. “Yes, Higgins?” You made no attempt to hide your aggravation, both towards him and towards the situation. At least none of the more annoying or embarrassing symptoms of your condition had decided to accompany your little fit this time. This problem had plagued you for some years now – if you were startled somehow or sleeping and someone woke you up, or you heard either a loud or strange noise, you had a tendency to panic. It was rather embarrassing.
“The rest of the royal family was wondering where you’d gotten off to!” The portly servant explained as he halted before you, trying to catch his breath.
Curious as to how long you’d been there in the garden, you glanced skyward to notice that the sun was starting to set, scarlet and violet hues replacing the azure blue which had previously been the sky. Sunsets were something you loved – they reminded you of soft evenings spent stargazing with mother and father -- but you supposed there would be no time to stop and appreciate this one. “Where are they?”
“In the Dining Hall.”
With a sigh you got up, and after stretching – maybe falling asleep on a wooden bench hadn’t been the best thing for your back -- made your way there.
Standing just outside the Dining Hall, you observed your family seated at the table there. They looked like they were still having a good time, laughing and talking with two servants who were standing around the table attending to them. One of them, Ana, a slim young Avaloran woman with dark brown hair and who was a relatively recent addition to the household staff, was busy filling their drinking cups. Elena, ever the social butterfly, already appeared to be ingratiating herself with the help.
The other was your manservant, Sancho. He was a thin older man (but still younger than your Grandfather was), and so had an almost paternal air about him, something even you had picked up on. His black hair had not yet grayed entirely, and he was clean-shaven. Lastly, he was a mute. Sancho had been brought into your service by none other than Shuriki. At first you could do nothing but seethe in silence. What on earth were you supposed to do with a servant who couldn’t even talk? But in the end, the joke was on her as you came to see the benefits of having of Sancho as a personal servant. He was always appropriately respectful, hardworking, and unlike certain other palace staff that you could name, had always been a sharp one. People would often speak freely in his presence, dismissing him due to his dumbness.
As overjoyed as you were to see your loved ones again, as you beheld the scene, a sense of discomfit and envy rose up in you. It was just a reminder that you had changed, while everyone else in your family had been literally frozen in time, and so basically remained the same as before.
Always the odd one out, even now.
Made uncomfortable by the sudden revelation that even now you were plagued by the same insecurities you’d suffered from when you were small, you tried pushing the feelings away before...
“Ah, Esteban! Sorry we weren’t able to properly catch up with you earlier!” Your gaze traveled over to your Grandfather, who was the one who'd just spoken. He was looking straight at you, beaming brightly. “Come over here and join us!”
“Hey, where’d you go earlier?” Elena demanded before you could answer him. “One minute you were right beside me, then I turn around and you were gone.”
You didn’t know if that line of questioning was innocent or not, but you chose to interpret it that way, beating down your annoyance and simply replying, “Forgive me. The day’s exertions left me a little tired, so I retired to the garden for a quick nap.”
Prior to your nap, Elena had told you point blank that she didn’t know whose side you were on. She seemed to have believed what you'd told her about why you became Lord Chancellor under Shuriki, or so you thought. But uncertainty had definitely been present in her tone. And you knew that your grandparents were going to have questions too.
Oh, Lita and Papito. Relief didn’t even begin to describe how you felt when you finally saw your grandparents again after all this time. They looked exactly the same as they did right before being magicked by Alcazar into the painting which had then gone onto hang in the throne room. That’d had you deeply worried, wondering how the passage of time might affect the two of them. They were already old before.
Originally you had no awareness of what Alcazar had done, instead fearing the worst. You’d only learned about the portrait from one of the servants. You were immensely grateful to Alcazar -- he had also apparently enchanted it so that it could not be moved and was impervious to Shuriki’s spells. That was why she’d ultimately thrown a tapestry over it, hiding it in plain sight. You had always felt strange walking past that spot.
What had it been like, being stuck inside a painting? Or trapped inside Princess Sofia’s amulet? Was it like being asleep? Or had all of them been conscious of everything going on around them the whole time? Had your grandparents and cousin watched you while you’d stared at them, helplessly observing everything? You weren’t sure you wanted to ask either, so you hoped and prayed it was the former. Sometimes you had to wonder if they fared better then you, Raul, Lucia, and all of Avalor put together had.
But everyone was here now – your surviving loved ones. Everything was going to be alright now.
It was going to be alright, wasn’t it?
The last time you’d seen your family in the flesh, you hadn’t exactly been on the best of terms with most of them. Isabel was the only one you really had never gotten into it with, and that was because she was too young to even understand what was actually going on. You still clearly remembered a much younger you snarling at Grandfather how much you hated him because you knew that he and everybody else preferred Elena to you. The memory was stuck in your mind like a shard of broken glass in your hand -- sharp and clear, and about as painful as being cut by glass too.
Did the old man still think about that night too?
By then Grandmother had climbed to her feet and was approaching you. She had to crane her neck just to be able to peer into your face (she always had to do that though, ever since you hit your teenaged years – she wasn’t a very tall woman), marveling at how much you’ve changed, her fingers tracing the gray on your temples which hadn’t been there when she last saw you.
Before, when you were alone and afforded a chance to daydream, you’d always wondered and fantasized about what you would do if ever given the opportunity to see her again. You were going to wrap your arms around her and never let go, tell her how much you’d missed her.
But that didn’t happen. Instead you were frozen in place, only capable of staring at her as if she was a spirit returned to haunt you. ‘For the love of everything pure and holy, Esteban, move, speak, do something.’
Grandmother then took a step back, looking you up and down as she did. “Have you been eating enough? You look so thin!”
That snapped you out of it. Feeling somewhat put out, you momentarily held out your arms slightly, looking yourself over. “I eat well enough, abuela!”
“You’re old.” That was Isabel. You can see it in her eyes as she took in your appearance. Your little cousin was sitting there regarding you like you were a complete stranger.
“Isabel.” Grandfather shot her a stern look.
“It’s fine.” You quickly reassure him, not wishing to see any sort of strife among them after just having finally gotten everybody back. Personally though, you didn’t believe you looked that old (in fact, most people were stunned when they learned your actual age), but the last time she had seen you you were seventeen years old. Now you were a mature man while she was still a little girl. That was really unnerving.
Grandmother’s hazel eyes studied you curiously. “How old are you now?”
You hesitated before replying. “Fifty-seven.”
Looks of shock passed between your grandparents.
“And… what year is this?” Grandmother pressed. She was struggling to retain her composure, but you could tell the dam was threatening to burst, as it were.
Your mouth tightened, but you answered anyways. “1658.”
Her only response was a sharp intake of breath. Grandfather made the sign of the cross. Confusion and surprise both flashed across Isabel’s face, but upon hearing Grandmother gasp, she turned to her and Grandfather with a wide-eyed stare. Elena was the only one who appeared relatively calm, merely sitting there in silence. Shuriki had already told her how old you were before going for her dip, so it was likely she’d done the math in her head at some point.
You felt it best to allow them to process everything they just learned. And so, none of you said anything more. Good old Sancho approached to offer you something to drink off his tray right then. After ensuring that it was indeed cognac (the servants knew what you liked), you accepted one of the silver goblets. As you lifted it to your lips, you noticed the look of concern in his eyes as his gaze traveled over from your family to you. You did nothing but offer a slight raise of your eyebrows and a small tight-lipped smile before swallowing your mouthful of cognac. There wasn’t really much of anything either of you could do for them at the moment, other than allow things to play out.
It was right around then that you became aware that Grandmother was looking around as though searching for someone. Likewise noticing her questing gaze, Grandfather shot her a glance that she caught.
“I’m looking for Marta.” She explained.
Understanding dawned on Grandfather’s face, but not comprehending who they were speaking of, you just continued regarding them both with bemusement. “Marta?...”
“Yes, Marta.” Grandmother sent you an incredulous look. ”You know Marta -- she helped tend to Isabel when she came down with pneumonia.”
“Oh, her! Well, she died some years back. She was in her eighties.” You stated matter-of-factly. You regret the words as soon they left your mouth. Elena and Grandmother’s mouths fell open, while Isabel’s eyes became huge as plates.
“But… I just saw her yesterday!”
“M-M-Marta is… gone?”
Biting your lip, you looked away from them and down at your feet instead. This was going just splendidly. Now you had upset everyone, just like before with your perpetual need to quarrel with and lash out at everybody else. You weren’t sure what your next move should be. You hadn’t really dealt with or been around very many young children a great deal, not since you were younger anyways. And sure, you’d seen your fair share of sad people – it was only natural when you were in a kingdom in the grip of a tyrant -- but any comforting had to take place away from Shuriki’s eyes. Tears only irritated her.
Still, given that everyone else appeared to be struggling with the news of Marta’s passing as well, someone needed to step in for Isabel. Lord, you hoped you could do this and that it wouldn’t come across as insincere... Setting your goblet back on Sancho’s tray, you knelt in front of Isabel, looking directly into her eyes as you did. Sure enough, tears were gathering there. “I apologize, Isa. I forgot how close you were to her.”
Isabel didn’t say anything, only wrapping her arms around your neck and burying her face into your shoulder instead. You rubbed her back. Your sympathy for the poor girl had won out over your embarrassment at the stir you’d inadvertently created.
“I didn’t think about that… how some people wouldn’t be here anymore...”
You glanced away from Isabel and over at Elena, who’d just said that, her eyes haunted. You, on the other hand, honestly felt relief at seeing her display a natural reaction. Aside from when she’d previously confronted Shuriki in the throne room, Elena appeared to have just shrugged off the events of the past forty-one years like nothing had happened. Hers' had always been an upbeat personality, but now, much of her behavior came across like someone putting on a big show of appearing happy and perky. You weren’t sure if anyone else had picked up on it, or if everybody was so swept up in all the excitement that they hadn’t even noticed. But you found it rather jarring, to say the least. You wanted to tell Elena that it was alright to be upset at having basically been imprisoned for half her life. She didn’t have to wear this mask constantly.
Your gaze then traveled over to your grandparents, who were watching Isabel before giving you a significant look. Catching the hint, you addressed your younger cousin. “You must be hungry, Isa. How about some rice pudding?”
Lifting her head, she wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. “Not really... I ate earlier.”
“Thirsty then?”
“Esteban, I’m not a baby anymore.” In spite of the fact that she’d followed that up with a sniffle, much to your relief, a small smile had formed on her face.
You were trying to think fast. No use sending her off to her bedchamber, since she technically no longer had one. And a tour was out of the question. For one, what was there for her to even look at? That hideous silver and purple color scheme Shuriki had chosen to decorate everything in? And the palace had been – no, was -- Isabel’s home. Who toured their own home?
Only one route left to take then, and it was one that could backfire – the honest one. “Listen, we need to talk about some serious matters.” You indicated your grandparents and Elena. “Do you think you could give us some time alone? ”
Hesitating initially, Isabel finally gave a reluctant nod. “I guess so...”
Realizing Ana was still waiting in the room in case her services were required, you got the woman’s attention and called her over. “Ana, would you please take Isabel somewhere a little more appropriate for her?”
Ana, who wore an expression that was a combination of pity and unease as she stared at you and your family, snapped to attention when her name was called. “Yes, Don Esteban.” She dipped her head to you deferentially before approaching Isabel and extending an inviting hand to her. “Come, Your Highness. Let’s go see what kind of fun we can dig up around here!”
Isabel was led away, but not before looking back over her shoulder at you and everyone else. Seeing Grandmother nod at her, she finally turned around and walked on out with Ana.
‘Good.’ You think. She didn’t need to be present to hear how her parents had died. How your aunt and uncle had been brutally cut down because of you.
Sancho refilled your goblet once more before quietly slipping away. More than likely the fellow sensed that all of you wanted privacy.
Retrieving your goblet from where you'd left it, you then took a seat beside Grandfather as Grandmother gave you her full focus. “Now, tell us what happened that day.”
She didn’t have to elaborate on what she meant. You looked between your relatives, who in turn were peering at you inquiringly. Just how much did they actually remember? For you, that whole day was like one long bad dream, one you wanted to forget altogether.
You’d given Shuriki the keys to the kingdom basically. So, how had you rationalized the plot in your idiotic seventeen-year old mind again? You had naively assumed Shuriki was going to stick to her word like she’d promised to – she would just throw some spells around, magically persuading your aunt and uncle to step down. You would then be crowned king while Shuriki and Victor received lofty positions in the new government. When she had pressed you about Aunt Lucia and Raul’s schedules before, you told her what she wanted to know and thought nothing more of it. If you had only just been wiser back then…
You didn’t know what on earth had been going on inside of Victor’s head back then, other than his ravenous desire to get one-up on the rest of your family. Once upon a time, you had believed him when he said everybody in the palace looked down on him and falsely accused him of stealing things because he was your close friend. You felt that your family had been unfairly giving him a hard time for years.
Looking back on everything now as a grown man, the scheme you and Victor had concocted together hadn’t just been a plan that didn’t make much in the way of logical sense, but you’d been such a fool to invite a complete stranger in to help rule your family’s kingdom. Uncle Raul and Aunt Lucia wouldn’t have given up the throne without a fight, but you had never believed Shuriki would’ve actually stoop to murder. Otherwise you never would’ve agreed to the damn deal in the first place. Shuriki had lied straight to your face. You may’ve been angry with your family and Raul especially, but that didn’t mean you seriously wanted any of them dead.
But of course, you couldn’t tell them any of that. You weren’t stupid -- the penalty for high treason was death. It didn’t matter if you were blue-blooded or commoner, except that since you were of noble birth, you most likely would be beheaded and not hung. And sometimes it took the executioners a few tries to decapitate the unlucky soul.
Resisting a sudden urge to massage your neck, you launched into your tale. “I was in the chapel the day she showed up.” That much was true.
Grandfather nodded. “Now that I think about it, I do remember you mentioning that the night before.”
Yes, you’d deliberately made a point of telling your grandparents that you and Victor wanted to spend some time in the palace chapel in the morning praying and contemplating things. This seemed to please Grandfather. In light of all the recent familial hostility and tension, he probably wanted to believe that you were penitent for your behavior.
But Grandmother had seemed a little more… dubious? Or unsure, perhaps? But was that because of you, or Victor? She had never liked Victor, she’d made that abundantly clear before.
Father Martinez, a heavyset older man with thinning pale gray hair and a fleshy nose, had listened patiently when you and Victor approached him in the hall, explaining that the two of you wished to attend Mass earlier in the day then everybody else and by yourselves.
“Of course, my sons.” The priest nodded at the duo. “The doors of God’s house are always open. I look forward to seeing you both.”
“Thank you, Father.” Victor ducked his head, the very picture of contriteness and piety.
In actuality, he had been far less religious then the Castillo-Flores clan was, only attending church when his father Tomás Delgado, the chief royal treasurer, made him go. Faith held no fascination for Victor. It was another black mark against him in the Castillo-Flores’ eyes.
Thus, you and Victor had served as one another’s alibis. Once the hour was up, you both would exit the chapel, seemingly none the wiser to what had happened elsewhere in the palace, and go on to embrace the dawn of a new era.
New era indeed.
Inside the chapel, Esteban and Victor sat by one another on a pew in the middle of the high-ceilinged, elegant room. Esteban couldn’t help but fidget restlessly. “You think it’s over?” He whispered to Victor.
Victor merely shrugged, keeping his gaze fixed straight ahead.
The orotund voice of Father Martinez rang throughout the chapel as he recited the words of the Confiteor. He bowed low before the foot of the alter, his back to the two young men. “Confiteor Deo omnipotenti, beatae Mariae semper Virgini, beato Michaeli Archangelo, beato Ioanni Baptistae, sanctis Apostolis Petro et Paulo, et omnibus Sanctis, quia peccavi nimis cogitatione, verbo et opere: mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.”
As a young boy, he’d loved the pomp and ceremony surrounding church. It not only made him feel like a part of something that was centuries old, but much bigger and grander than himself. But now it was all just background noise to Esteban. His emotions were a strange, roiling brew of dread, anticipation, uncertainty, other things he couldn’t even put a name to... He listened closely, trying to see if he could hear anything outside, studied the faces of Martinez and the servers to see if they noticed anything – a flash of fear there, or confusion. Nothing. Nothing but solemnity and reverence. Esteban couldn’t take it any longer. “I’ll go see how things are going!” He made to rise, but Victor set a hand on his shoulder and roughly made him sit back down on the pew.
“You remember what she said.” There was a warning in his eyes. “She’d come get us once everything was done.”
It was then that the chapel doors blew open with a loud crash, announcing Shuriki’s arrival. There she stood in the doorway, scepter in hand as she haughtily surveyed the area…
There was nothing like realizing the aunt who had read you bedtime stories when you were five was slaughtered as you sat there listening to the Holy Gospel. To this day the very thought made the bile rise in the back of your throat. It was really a wonder that the entire chapel hadn’t just burst into flames with you and Victor in it right then and there that day.
With as much time to think about all this as you’d had, one evening, a grim thought had entered your mind – had Victor actually been aware of what Shuriki intended to really do to Raul and Lucia the whole time?
Well, whatever he had known, he was no longer around for you to question on the matter. You’d always wondered whatever had become of Victor after he had been exiled from Avalor by Shuriki. The only other person in the world now aware of the dark secret you kept...
Obviously, Elena had been present for the attack. Exactly why she had chosen to confront Shuriki with no weapon to defend herself with, no guards, or any other kind of protection or aid you couldn’t really understand. You weren’t sure if those factors would’ve necessarily changed anything that day, but still. There was bravery, and then there was foolishness and youthful bravado.
“... I wanted to make certain no harm befell your portrait. Shuriki also told me if I didn’t go along with her, she would not hesitate to kill me as well. Knowing what she did to tío and tía, I didn’t want to try her.” All of that was also true. You furthered explained how Avalor’s economy would’ve been decimated if you hadn’t stepped in to handle those matters. Shuriki was far more interested in enforcing her draconian laws, erecting monuments to her vanity, and obsessing over her appearance.
“Didn’t the jaquins try mounting an attack against her?” Elena demanded.
“They did.”
“And?”
“As you said, they tried.” You shrugged. “It was unsuccessful.” Yes, you’d actually been there for the poor jaquins’ failed assault. You swore you were going to have the most depressing memoirs ever. You remembered how originally you were headed to the library for some reason, but, lured by the sounds of fearsome shouts and roars from outside and wondering what on earth could be happening, went to the courtyard instead to see furry forms tumbling from the sky. Brilliantly colored fur and feathers could be seen drifting gently to the ground like a fall of rainbow snow. Shuriki was standing there armed with her scepter, jade sparks of her maleficium still dancing along its crystalline length. The sight of both it and the dead and dying jaquins all around you caused your heart to seize up in your chest and your breathing to come out in short, harsh gasps. She didn’t care, of course, only ordering you to have the corpses and gore cleaned up like she was talking about sweeping up a broken plate in the kitchens.
“Afterwards, she placed a bounty on the head of every jaquin in Avalor and tried to drive the whole species into extinction. In fact, I hadn’t seen any again until today.” Some people felt like the jaquins hadn’t put up enough of a resistance, but you couldn’t say you blamed the jaquins for vanishing to wherever they’d gone off to. They were formidable fighters, but there was only so much they could really do against magic, not possessing it themselves. “Ask them more about it the next time they show up.”
After that, nobody had anything to say until Grandfather was the one to break the silence once more. “So, have there been any good changes around here? Do you have a wife now? You’re certainly old enough to have already started a family of your own.” He leaned forward across the table hopefully, expectantly. He had that glint in his eye too, the same one that was there back when he and the rest of your relatives had been pushing you into becoming more proactive about courting and marrying some young noblewomen.
The very idea! You startle yourself (and everybody else, you’re sure) when an undignified snort escaped you. “Good Lord! I can’t imagine what Shuriki would’ve done if I’d tried getting married, either to me or the poor woman!” And what a blessing it was that Shuriki had never attempted to wed you (ugh), being the last lone Castillo-Flores standing and all! If she had been smarter, then she would’ve done so and then had you murdered so she could’ve had the throne all to herself.
Your grandparents tried to conceal it, but disappointment momentarily flickered in their eyes.
“Well, she’s gone now, so you don’t have to wait anymore.” Grandmother gave you a smile which was intended to be encouraging.
You really didn’t like where this conversation was going. “Thank you, Lita, Papito.” You said, using your old pet names for them while patting the backs of their hands. “But enough about me. We should really focus on putting the kingdom back on track! Most importantly, we need to apprehend Shuriki’s supporters first.”
Both your grandparents nodded resolutely. “He’s right.” Concern now filled your Grandmother’s eyes, along with something else -- anger. “These people are still a danger.”
Secretly pleased that all talk of the M-word had been forgotten, you went on. “No doubt a number of them have already learned of what’s happened here, but Don Benevente and I can identify any stragglers to the guards.”
“Don Ruiz is still alive?” Grandfather asked.
“He is, but his health isn’t the best these days, so he usually remains at his estate. Rodolfo mostly sees to his affairs now. He’s also our Minister of Finance.”
Elena stared at you with disbelieving eyes. “Rodolfo? Lit-a-firecracker-in-history-class-on-a-dare Rudy? Wow. Didn’t see that coming.”
Grandmother shared another glance with Grandfather before nodding her approval. “He was always a fine young man -- ” Her pleased expression suddenly shifted into a scowl “-- Except for this firecracker incident which I’m only now just hearing about for some reason. That was a really foolish thing to do!”
“Well…” You cleared your throat, “In Rodolfo’s defense, Victor dared him to do it.”
Grandmother rolled her eyes. “Of course he did.”
The gentleman in question, Don Rodolfo Benevente-Ruiz, son of the senior Don Benevente-Ruiz, was someone you’d known since childhood. Over the years he had become one of your strongest allies, and loathed Shuriki almost as much as you did.
“Okay, well, sounds like you can handle that, Esteban.” Elena said. “And then once things are safe again, we all should sit down together so we can figure out where to go from here.”
“I will send for Rodolfo then.” Arising from the table, you took your leave of the Dining Hall. You strode down the hall, trailed by your terrible secret and a stream of unending thoughts. Even with no more Shuriki, that didn’t mean your problems were over with. Not by any means.
Even if your bringing up the issue of Shuriki’s backers had originally been done with the intent of dodging the topic of your bachelorhood, it was another truth. Even you didn’t know exactly how many people within the government were sincerely loyal to Shuriki – she’d appointed those she liked or who were willing to throw in their lot with her to positions of authority – but you didn’t want to take any chances.
The clergy meanwhile had either been effectively beaten into submission or driven out of Avalor years ago – the stronger and more principled ones had a clear stance on maleficium, and Shuriki would not tolerate any potential threats to her authority. Father Martinez had been one of the latter. You still felt ashamed about lying to him the way you had. You wished he were there so that you and he could talk. He’d been well-respected around the palace and in Avalor itself. You yourself had certainly trusted and liked the man. You felt sure he would’ve had some words of wisdom for you. Would’ve even kept your secret.
But thanks to you he wasn’t there, so it was all on to you to figure out how to solve your own problems. Would it be possible, you wondered, to take some time off in order to deal with everything? You barely remembered the last time you’d had a vacation. You would need to bide your time, of course – aside from the fact that leaving Avalor wouldn’t be the smartest move right now, you had no desire to just abandon your family so soon – but maybe it was something you needed look into doing at some point in the near-future.
In the meantime, you would continue to wear the mask of a man who was the very model of tact, consideration, and restraint at the edge of the precipice.