Chapter Text
It may have been selfish, but Hoenir knew that his suggestion for Lily to explore the castle, located at the heart of the Blighted kingdom the young girl was forced to traverse, was one he would not change for the world. Yes, the plan had its merits; there were plenty of justifications he could make were he ever questioned as to why he prompted Lily to travel here. They were not, however, the thoughts that plagued his mind when he had first offered a solution regarding where to travel next.
He could justify his actions until the day he died once more, but much like Lily herself, all Hoenir sought was answers.
What had happened to Julius?
Staring up at the ruined walls before him, ever-dying sunlight casting a sharp relief over all the cracks and flaws marring the once perfect veneer of control that watched over the kingdom, dread and cruel hope began to course through Hoenir’s veins in equal measure. He could tell that the Umbral Knight, sitting beside Lily atop crumbling ramparts, was watching him with concern, eyes darting between their charge and Hoenir himself. With his hands clasped tightly behind his back and head tilted back to look upon the castle, a far cry from his usual closed off posture, Hoenir knew that the other had more than enough reason to be concerned. The Umbral Knight may not have known why, but something was clearly wrong.
With one last look at the castle, Hoenir forced himself to relax, before walking over to his travelling companions. “The throne room is not far from here,” his words instantly gained the attention of both Lily and the Umbral Knight, “If you are... not too injured, Lily, we should try to make our way there.” Having said his piece, Hoenir retreated slightly and allowed the other two to contemplate the idea. The final decision was not his to make, after all, and further input was no longer necessary on his part.
As he watched the Umbral Knight check Lily for any remaining ailments, Hoenir could not help but think back on - not quite peaceful, but certainly lighter days. When Julius was still a child, not yet old enough to swear his life away to king and country. Although it had not been easy, Hoenir had done his best to ensure Julius had some semblance of a childhood, as his sister had asked him to on her deathbed. Whether or not he was successful was a different matter entirely, but still he hoped that Julius lived knowing that he had family, both alive and dead, who loved him.
When Lily rose and nodded towards him, the Umbral Knight trailing ever faithfully at her shoulder, Hoenir knew that no matter what they came across next, he would at least be one step closer to answering his many questions regarding what became of Julius.
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Keeping a watchful eye over Lily as she made her way through the once grand castle halls brought countless, long forgotten memories back to the surface of Hoenir’s mind. Passing through the castle gates without notice. Watching frivolous events and processions from the shadows. Seeing Julius surpass all expectations placed upon him with respect to his role as both protector and leader. The resentful looks Julius shot towards the King when he thought no one else was looking.
There was no doubt in Hoenir’s mind that Julius excelled at his duties; he had not been granted the title of Knight Captain for no reason, after all. For all that he may have had his own hidden motivations, Julius’ accomplishments were nevertheless incredible. Hoenir was eternally proud of everything Julius had achieved, in spite of all the trials and challenges that had been in his way. He knew his sister would feel the same, were she still around to watch her son grow.
He was also well aware, however, that Julius was never one to forgive and forget, no matter who it was that slighted him. For all that Hoenir had raised Julius, had acted like a parent when his sister could not, he knew the other’s anger at being cast aside and seemingly all but forgotten by his biological father had never stopped growing. It was a notion he had tried frequently to dissuade the other of. When Julius joined the knights of the Bastion and began spending more and more time in the presence of his biological father, no matter how often he reminded Julius that he did not have to reach near-impossible goals to be worthy of recognition and love, Hoenir could only watch on in despair as his resentment grew stronger than ever before.
Looking upon the tall, ornate doors guarding the throne room, Hoenir could not help but think back on every moment he had seen the King ignore and dismiss Julius, every moment he could do nothing but stand back and watch no matter how much it hurt to see the boy he raised suffer. He was the head of the Dark Executioners, after all; the grounds for treason were ones Hoenir knew like the back of his hand, and any direct action against the King most certainly qualified.
If he died, even if he did so defending Julius, then Hoenir would no longer be able to assist with his sister’s dying wish for Julius to live a normal, happy life.
Hoenir supposed it didn’t matter, in the long run. Not after the rains began to fall.
There was far too much else to deal with after that.
Despite it all, however, here he was once more. Stood before the throne room, waiting silently for Lily to press on. He would not enter alone, it was not his place, but the wait for Lily to catch her breath before entering a likely highly dangerous area, much like the rest of the castle, was torturously slow.
In the end, it was a shifting sliver of light, creeping out from beneath the grand doorway, that caught his attention.
Whenever Hoenir had seen these doors in the past, they were always shut tight, unless the King was receiving guests. Now, however, there was a small, barely noticeable crack between the doors. Just enough for someone to see a narrow portion of the room before them, if they looked close enough.
Walking forward slowly, ignoring Lily and the Umbral Knight’s looks of concern, Hoenir stood before the rotting, yet still ornate, doors. With one hand resting lightly upon the wood to support himself, the other clutching a dagger tightly, Hoenir peered into the throne room.
Then immediately took a sharp step backwards.
Ignoring both the Umbral Knight and Lily’s looks of concern, and how the Umbral Knight took a few steps forward to place a hesitant hand upon his shoulder, Hoenir could not stop thinking about what he had seen.
With its crumbling ceiling, dilapidated walls, and a twisting growth of dense plant life making its way around the room, Hoenir had never imagined that such a previously well maintained area of the castle could fall so far. In a morbid way, the sight of the clearly long dead King, sword piercing his chest and body left to rot, was the least surprising thing within the throne room. In fact, Hoenir had only seen the body at all thanks to light catching upon the blade within its chest.
It was this same light that caught upon a figure, statue-still upon the throne, lance held tight by their side.
It was this same light that reflected off of once pristine armour, a set he had watched the owner care for countless times across the years. Armour that had since lost its shine due to rust and blood and Blight.
Hoenir supposed that he did ask for this, when he suggested that Lily should explore the castle.
Hindsight did not, however, make the situation at hand any easier to deal with.
Not now he had learnt what happened to Julius.