After that, the stable grew quiet again. It wasn't an awkward silence, nor a particularly tense one. Just that kind of silence that slips in when two people have said too much for the moment, and even the dust particles floating in the air decide to hush for a bit.
Nyx lay on the old straw-strewn grass, his hands tucked beneath his head, staring up at the wooden ceiling above as though it held the answers to the universe—or at least to the next few questions in his head. The wood creaked every now and then, as if it, too, was tired of being part of a stable.
His stomach growled. Loudly.
He blinked, then gave his belly a little pat. "Calm down, buddy. We've survived this long without royal feasts. A little more starvation won't kill us."
He shifted slightly, groaning as he turned on his side and then flopped back again with a sigh. "You still there?" he asked aloud, though his voice was a little lazy from hunger.
There was a pause.
Then, finally, Love's voice returned. Soft, but clear.
["Yes, I'm here."]
"Hmm… So, like that… he died?" Nyx asked.
["Yes, he died,"] she replied.
Nyx nodded slowly, eyes still glued to the ceiling. "So what happened after that?"
Love's voice turned almost gentle, maybe even nostalgic.
["After that, everything started to get better. The sun came out again. The birds started chirping again. People danced in the streets… figuratively speaking, of course. They still had taxes to pay."]
Nyx chuckled faintly. "So… the evil was finally over."
["They killed Nero. But when they came to you—yes, you—Alice stopped them. No one really knows why. Maybe she had a moment of divine mercy. Maybe she felt sorry for your very confused little face. But for whatever reason, she let you live."]
Nyx blinked and smiled faintly. "She is a good girl."
["Yes she is,"] Love agreed.
["After that, her uncle ruled for a few years. He was… alright. Managed not to blow anything up. Then when Alice turned nineteen, she became the Empress of the Sylvan Empire. Fancy, huh?]"
"Did she wear a crown?" Nyx asked.
["Several. She looked fantastic in all of them. She even fell in love—with the son of that mysterious mage who had orchestrated half the downfall of the empire. They married a year later. It was a big wedding. You weren't invited."]
"Ouch," Nyx said, clutching his heart in mock agony. "So much for being family."
He let out a small laugh and stretched out again, his spine making a sound that could be described as either satisfying or concerning.
"Alright, real question," he said. "Why the stable? Shouldn't I be in, I don't know, a small cozy room in the palace? Maybe something with windows?"
Love hesitated for a beat.
Then she answered,
["Let me explain it like this. When someone has been through absolute horror—like, horror with capital H—they often want to make sure nobody else ever has to go through what they did. That's the noble thing to do."]
"Makes sense," Nyx said, nodding.
["But people aren't perfect. And even those who want to do the right thing… sometimes fall short."]
"So?" Nyx tilted his head.
["She let you live. That was something. But… she couldn't bring herself to love you. You reminded her too much of the past. Of him. Even if you weren't him."]
Nyx frowned slightly. "But I was just a kid."
["She knew how it felt to grow up without affection. But she still couldn't do it. She sent you to another palace, near the royal one. She never came to see you. Ever."]
Nyx was quiet for a while.
Then, in a low voice, "That's kind of cold."
["It was,"]
Love said.
["But, for what it's worth… you didn't really understand much of it back then. Lucky you."]
Nyx blinked. "Wait, what?"
["Your mind… didn't quite develop. Something went wrong. You became… slow. Simple. Like a child who never really grew up."]
Nyx squinted, confused. "What do you mean, my brain didn't develop?"
Love didn't skip a beat.
["What part of that don't you understand? You're a bit of a dummy. In simple words you are a incest whose brain didn't work as normal and who couldn't understand anything.]