Chapter 73 - The Truth

Ander spent the evening by the lake, his heart and mind were unsettled with troubling thoughts. His body was numb from all the crying that he had been doing and he couldn't help it. It was difficult for him to wrap his head around being rejected twice by those he cared for.

One thing was certain his body couldn't handle any more heartbreaks. He laid on the ground with his eyes closed and his hands wrapped around his legs that were on his chest. He could hear footsteps approaching him but he couldn't move to check who it was from the loss of energy and will to do so.

He felt warm hands wrap themselves around him and lift him off the ground. The person who carried him took slow steps away from the lake being careful not to hurt him. The gentle way in which the person carried him made his cold heart warm. But the warm feeling only lasted for a minute until his mind told him that the care was fake just like the life of those around him.

He let out a weak breath. The man laid him down on the bed and covered him with warm blankets. "Is he going to be fine?" Malia asked her husband.

"I don't know. I have never seen him this shaken before," Mordecai replied truthfully.

He took Ander's hands and rubbed them gently to make them warm as the boy was shivering. His heart was throbbing watching his nephew in that condition.

"Sofia is on her way, what do we tell her once she arrives?" Malia asked not sure she had the words to explain to the woman how she couldn't look after her son. That too after insisting on having him at the school.

"The truth," he said.

"But what exactly is the truth. I am not even sure I understand Ander anymore. The things that he has shown being capable of doing surprises me," she stated.

"I too have never seen so much anger in his eyes. It seems as though he has been masking it with a smile and is only waiting for someone to cross him so he can vent out," Mordecai said.

"Alexander was also not in the right for saying such things to him," She said recalling the conversation she had watched on the orb of truth that showed what occurred between Ander and Alex.

"I have long given up on expecting anything of the man. It was not just Francis that died sixteen years ago but also my brother," he said.

"W..water," Ander mumbled weakly. His throat was dry.

"Here," Malia said handing over the glass of water to her husband. Mordecai helped Ander to seat up and gave him the water to drink.

As he helped Ander to drink the water, Alex walked into the room. He had searched the whole school for Francis but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Mordecai, brother I need your help," he said the minute he walked in. His voice made Ander shudder on the bed, he didn't need to open his eyes to know who it was that spoke. Hearing his voice made his heartache in pain, all the years of yearning just to realize you aren't wanted was painful for him to bear.

"I am busy," Mordecai said without even sparing him a glance.

"Doing what?" Alexander asked.

"Taking care of your mess as usual. What other work would I have?" Mordecai questioned, his voice bitter.

"I am your brother, how can you treat me like this?" Alexander questioned feeling unjustly treated.

"And Ander is your son yet you find no problem in hurting him. You might not love him but we do," he said to him and placed the glass of water aside and said his nephew back down. Ander felt warm hearing his uncle defend him.

"He is not my son, he is Olivia's son. And that woman only had him so that she could manipulate me into doing her bidding?" he said angrily.

Ander felt his heart constrict in pain from what he heard. Tears flowed from his eyes when he uncovered another truth that was hidden from him. Sofia wasn't his mother.

"Alex," Malia shouted. "What is wrong with you. How can you say something like that in front of the child?" She asked him.

"What am I wrong? Just because you all act and pretend as though she is Sofia's child won't change the fact that in his body flows Olivia's blood. And just like his mother, the boy is going to ruin the lives of everyone around him," he said confidently.

"Alex," Malia called out and slapped him with all her might. She didn't wait for him to recover from the shock before she took him by the hand and took him away from the room.

She walked him to the entrance of the school and let go of his hand. "Get out," she ordered.

"Malia, how dare you?" he asked with disbelief in his eyes. Never in his life did he ever expect anyone to treat him as she did.

"When you can hurt someone I love without blinking then why should I hold back. You might hate Ander but I won't spare anyone who causes him harm. Before I do something that I regret, I suggest you leave my school," she said.

"How dare you treat a king in this way?" he asked her.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha," Malia laughed at his statement. "Which king are you talking about? Look around you and take a closer look at Arimelari and see if it is the same kingdom you used to run. This is the queen's land and no one even speaks of you anymore, you are history to everyone in Arimelari," she said to him.

"I will not have you disrespect me in this way," Alex said.

"A king doesn't leave his kingdom and secluded himself just because he lost a loved one. I would be ashamed to call myself a king if I were you, in the history of kings of this great kingdom. I think you are the worst king to every seat on the throne," she stated to him.

"I could care less about what you think of me. I just want you to tell me where is Francis. I tracked his dragon mark earlier and it showed that he was here," he explained not interested in justifying anything to her.

Malia looked at him and shook her head, to think that he came out for his kingdom was such a big illusion. He only cares for Francis, his love had long turned to obsession.

"Follow me," she said to him and walked in the direction of Mordecai's office. She opened the door to the room and let him inside. She went and got the orb of truth and set it in front of him. "Orb shows him where Francis is," she said.

They both stared at the orb and saw Francis sitting on Ander's bed taking care of him. He was brushing Ander's hair with his fingers and whispering to him.

"Orb activate the audio," she said and they started to hear what he was saying.

"What were you thinking Ander? You could have gotten hurt staying out there for too long. I wasn't able to be by your side because I was looking for the doors that we talked about, the good news is that I found them," he said to him hoping to get a positive reaction from the male but nothing.

Ander's hand only continued to get cold, his eyes tightly shut with all the things his father said replaying in his ears. He tried to shut it out but the more he tried the louder they got.

"Did you see him? Francis is by Ander's side, he is trapped with him and only Ander can bring him back," she said to him. "And after today, I doubt that he would ever want to so that," she added.

"I will go talk to him. He will have to free my beloved."

Alexander turned around, his heart racing in his chest at how close he was to find his beloved and reuniting with him. He had lost hope for a long time but now things were looking up.

"What exactly do you wish to say to him. You want him to free Francis, the man to whom you said such horrible things. Or the man who is the reason that you have no love in your heart for him?" she asked making him stop in his tracks. "What, you expect him to listen and obey you?"

"He will have to," Alexander said.

"Who will make him, You?" Malia asked mockingly.

"You couldn't even fight him when he was but a toddler and yet you think you are a match for him now. As you were busy mopping in sympathy hurl, he was training to be stronger. You don't stand a chance and by now am sure he hates you for the things you've said to him." She said to him.