Chapter 49 - Stuck Between Two Ends

The mood went from bad to worse in a matter of seconds. No one made the effort to initiate the conversation. Awkwardness floated in the air around them making the situation tense.

Alexander was shocked to even move, he still was unsure if he was hallucinating or if Francis was right there right in front of his eyes. He hadn't seen the male in so long his heart skipped a beat at his presence.

The queen's mother was very happy to see Francis back into the palace. Her heart was filled with immense happiness from having to think of how good his visit could be. He was the one who could fix everything that went wrong after he left the palace.

The King and changed so much for his liking after he left. She could barely recognize her son anymore from all that was happening. She and Mordecai both had the same ideas running through their mind. They just had to bring the two love birds together again at all costs.

"Welcome to the palace of Arimelari," the queen said to them. "And welcome home my son," she added to Francis.

Francis bowed his head to greet her but other than that he didn't say anything to her. He held Silvia's hand as she led him inside the palace. They walked past the king who was still frozen on his spot.

As Francis walked past him his hand unconsciously reached out and held his hand. On feeling Alexander's hand on his, he stopped in his tracks. He found himself stuck between the two people that were both holding him at different ends.

Silvia stopped in her tracks when Francis stopped moving and glanced back. She was shocked to see Alexander holding him, it pained her heart to see Francis stop for him.

On his right hand, there was his wife and to his left there was Alexander. Both were holding him, one pulling him to move forward while the other was holding him to stay. He couldn't decide on which hand to follow. His mind was saying to move forward but his heart was asking him to stay.

He looked down to the ground. The wind blowing in his direction whispering of promises that awaited him if he moved forward with his life and then there were the promises that were made in the past that awaited him if he stayed back. He was torn between two desires and two choices of which he couldn't make.

He took a deep breath and calmed his mind and heart. He closed his eyes and as usual, all he saw was Alexander's hateful eyes staring at him and chasing him out of the palace. He let go of Silvia's hand.

She looked at her hand which he was holding and a tear fell from her eye. She averted her eyes from them as she didn't want them to see her cry. She wouldn't be able to explain the reason for her tears even if they asked her about it. Her fear had come true, she was always afraid that if Alex ever came back into her life then she will lose her family and that was just what she saw happen.

The queen and prince Mordecai were happy about what they were seeing. It was nice to see that the bond the two of them shared was still intact and that they still had feelings for each other. It would be easier for them to help the lovers get back together with them still being in love with each other.

Francis reached for his other hand and yanked Alexander's hand away from him. He walked to his wife and took her hand.

"Shall we go inside?" he asked her. She smiled and agreed. Together they walked past the queen mother and the prince and went into the palace hand in hand.

"Do you know the royal family of Arimelari?" Celeste questioned how the queen had greeted Francis.

"You could say that," Silvia replied nervously.

"Then can you tell me what kind of person the king is Francis?" Malia asked Francis. He thought about the question. What could he say about the prince, he is selfish? He is rude and cruel and he doesn't deserve to be loved by anyone. That is what he wanted to say but instead, he just remained quiet as he didn't trust his lips not to betray his feelings.

"The king is a nice man. He treats people in the same way that they treat him. If you show love to him then he will love you back," Silvia said describing Alex as she knew him.

'Did I ever show hatred, is that why you treated me so badly before and threw me out of your life?' Francis asked himself in his thoughts.

"What else can you say about him?" Malia inquired curiously.

"He is gentle and sweet. He is too trusting to those he considers family and very protective of them too. He would do anything for his family," she replied.

'Then why did he not protect me from the pain of his words. Why did he not trust in my love? Was it that I wasn't important enough for him?'

"He sounds like a gem of a person," Malia commented.

"Yes, I am wondering if I am a bad judge of character or if I just missed seeing these qualities in him," Francis uttered.

The queen's mother walked into the room with both of his sons by his side. They spoke to Malia and her aunt explaining the rules of the palace and what is expected of them before and after the wedding as per the traditions of Arimelari.

The King could care less about what she was saying to them. His eyes only cared to look at a certain male that he had not seen for three months. He traced Francis's body with his eyes and watched him carefully not wanting to miss even the slightest change in him since he was gone.

Francis felt Alexander's eyes in him but he did his best to ignore the king. His face was without any emotion and he just looked out the window and let the others do and talk about the wedding.

It didn't make a difference to him that Alexander was getting married again and he made a promise to himself not to let himself be affected by his past. He was there to attend the wedding and will stay for four to five days than return to his life far away from all the painful memories and people that never valued his love.

He has a wife and a child on the way to think about so he couldn't allow himself to be swayed by irrelevant feelings. He listed every reason that he could think of to convince himself of why he should stay far away from the dragon king.

'This is what happens when you fall in love with a dragon. You end up with broken pieces of yourself that you can't fix,' he thought and sighed.

Alexander who was watching him very keenly didn't miss the sad sigh. He felt bad for seeing Francis in that condition but he felt even worse about how he had let go of his hand.

He thought that he has made the right choice by pushing him away but fate found a way to bring him back to the palace.

Then why does doing the right thing hurt him so much? He couldn't think of anything good that could have come from his decision because it was clear that even Francis was unhappy with his decision. And Silvia didn't look any better, he not just ruined his life with his decision but he also destroyed Silvia and Francis's life.

The two most important people in his life had their lives ruined by him. "Enough," he said and it came out loud. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him except for Francis who was too busy in his thoughts to concentrate on what was going on in the room.

"Stop what Alex?" The queen's mother asked him.

"Yes brother, what is wrong?" Mordecai asked knowing well that he was rattled up because of seeing his ex after a long time.

"Francis," Silvia called to him but he didn't hear her. "Honey," she called again and he looked over to her.

"What happened. Are you okay," he said rushing to her side and taking her hands. "Did something happen?"

"Relax, nothing has happened but the journey here was rather long and it is getting dark. I thought that you should get some rest, we can freshen up and rest for a while," she said.

"Okay. Where do we sleep, did you ask for a room?" he asked her. She nodded and together they left the room with the servants carrying their bags for them bringing it to their room.

"Honey?" Alexander whispered as his eyes followed behind the two. He was surprised at how intimately she was calling him and how Francis reacted to that. He was worried about her as though he was in love with her.

His eyes opened at the possibility of Francis being in love with Silvia and forgetting him.