A year passed by in a flash and Kael's name was never mentioned again. Not in court or in the council chambers not even in the corridors of the east wing where dust grew thick over his abandoned chamber . The queen had removed his sigil from the family seal and his portrait had been painted over ,the gold frame now home to a flower painted for prince Theron. Kael was not missed he was simply erased.
It was an ordinary morning just like any other. The sky was cloudy and the marble courtyard was still slick from the rains of the previous night. Servants scurried to get their tasks done in time. A foreign envoy had arrived the night before and the palace was busy preparing for another day of diplomatic choreography .
The gates of the eastern wing creaked open and gained the attention of palace servants going about their duties, the gates had not been used in ages. Three men stepped in from the gates leading to the main palace. A guard gasped in shock and a maid dropped a tray, staring at the men in shock. Kael was at the centre, but he did not look like the Kael who had vanished.
His hair was longer now tied loosely at the nape ,damp from the drizzle and wild. His skin held a bronze tone and his expression unreadable and just cut off. It was like he had stepped out of another world but with no plans of explaining himself. To his left and right were two men one walked with his hands clasped behind him like a scholar and the other had the gaze of someone who had watched men make mistakes and smiled through all of them.
They did not speak or stop but simply walked past the dumbfounded servants and into the palace gracefully like it belonged to them.
By the time they got to the inner court whispers had outpaced the footman who went to announce the information to the king.
"That is Kael ." A servant whispered.
"He is alive." Another chimed in.
"Who are the other two, they look like princes." A maid whispered, unable to hide her excitement.
The great doors of the throne room opened before the foot man could announce his message.
The royal court was in session as the foreign envoy was presenting their reasons for visiting.
Kael stepped into the throne room and everything went silent.
Princess Seris blinked.
"Is that,,,, gods. When did Kael become so,,?"
"Beautiful?" Calera murmured.
"Domineering." Seris corrected while giving her a stern gaze. "What in the gods' name happened to him."
Prince Aaron, standing beside the Virellian princess turned rigid and his eyes narrowed. He had noticed how the princess's breath hitched when Kael walked in.
"Who is that? "The princess whispered earning a disapproving glare from Aaron.
Kael did not bow or greet anyone. His eyes flicked from Theron to Aaron to Queen Rina and paused just a beat longer on his father and then past all of them like they were already beneath him.
King Malric watched from his throne silent and unmoving. His face revealed nothing but the way his eyes narrowed slightly told the room that he was keenly reading every detail.
Kael stopped ten paces from the throne and did not kneel as was expected of him, the king was not keen on it either instead he studied Kael curiously and said quietly;
"You return with an entrance."
Kael did not blink but his voice was steady.
"I return with clarity."
"Clarity about what exactly?"
"Who I am and who I am not."
The king tilted his head, seemingly amused.
"And what should Seradelle make of this,,,evolution?"
Kael's tone did not change and his gaze remained steady.
"Whatever it wishes. I will be glad to indulge all their thoughts and assumptions .And most importantly I did not come back for it's approval."
The pause that followed was ice over fire. Court attendants held their breath and a few nobles looked toward the queen for a signal but she gave none.
King Malric leaned forward slightly unable to fight of the smile that was now evident on his face.
"Your arrogance is new and refreshing, I must say."
"No ," Kael said. "It is just finally visible."
"You have changed."
"So has the palace. "Kael replied his voice flat. "You filled the space I left even before the echo could fade."
"Should I have wept?" the king asked mildly.
"You do not weep but you maneuver."
For a second their eyes locked, father and son, predator and something more dangerous.
The king now smiled widely thoughtfully and amused at the same time. As if Kael were now a chess piece on the board worth keeping.
"Then stay," he finally said." Let Seradelle observe what it left behind."
He glanced at the two men behind Kael. Eyes narrowing.
"Your companions? "
"Unnecessary to your concern," Kael answered.
The king chuckled .
"Everything within this walls becomes my concern. They can also stay with you. But understand this. You come back with men of unknown origins. I will watch you as I would a potential threat within my territory. Closely and constantly." he paused. "And without trust."
Kael nodded once. "That makes the two of us."
"Court is dismissed we will continue the previous discussion after the feast tonight."
By afternoon Kael had not said another word to anyone. He shut himself along with the mysterious men he had come with in his chambers which surprisingly the king had ordered to be cleaned. When the time for the feast to begin arrived he did not bother to change his clothes but simply went as he was.
He did not eat at the feast nor did he sit in the formal row for royalty. He simply stood behind the last pillar of the great hall with his guards at either side like shadows curved from a stone.
The princess from Virellia who had barely blinked at Prince Aaron's touch the previous night now stared for too long towards where Kael stood.
Prince Theron walked with a confident gait towards where Kael stood with a goblet in his hand. "Dear brother, your coldness hurts me so. A whole year and you can't even come greet your dear brother." He said as he studied the men with Kael carefully.
Kael simply passed him a fleeting gaze and went back to studying the room. Theron's smirk faltered but he continued "So,,,from under which tree did you crawl from this time?" Kael now turned his full attention to him but did not speak, instead he slowly closed the distance between them calmly while holding his stare. "Try harder." he calmly whispered in his ear. Theron stumbled back, shocked. Kael turned around and left the hall with his guards following him leaving the dumbfounded Theron behind. Queen Rina who stood beside the king watched the scene with a frown on her face while the king was visibly amused.