Chapter 117 - 117- The Prince's Truth

Ea had been waiting for Ares for quite a while now. He felt the cold wind collide with the warmth of his furry coat and closed his eyes in an attempt to not have snowflakes poke his eyes. The weather was especially wild today. Like the earth and all the elements, the magic of the world had sensed what they had done. The life they had taken.

He took a deep breath and paced around, leaving footprints on the pure snow, listening to the familiar sound his steps made. Ares and he had to talk. He couldn't postpone it for any longer. They were so many things he wanted to say but at the same time when he was facing him he was lost.

Looking at his crimson eyes, the way his hair was always perfectly styled and his neat clothing. The free spirit he possessed and the will to always follow his believes showed obviously how different they were from eachother. Ea was not special. He was pretty normal except for his petite form everything else was average. So standing in front of someone so magnificent. Someone who could reject you and would be right to do so since you offered nothing, was terrifying.

It was now or never. The golden king had finally returned and everything seemed to be put into place. It was time for this obligation to get out of the way. Ea would speak and then Ares would have the time to decide, if their marriage was a simple deal or something more. They were still young. Children in comparison to Theseus and Allias even if they had lived a few full centuries and a lot of the times Ea forgot he was a teenager. In human years he would be around sixteen seventeen years old while Ares would soon be eighteen. He couldn't believe that he got married so young, in such a rush. He was basically a child and was forced to link with someone. Same happening to Ares. Of course he would be hated like that. He couldn't blame him.

He wished he wasn't though. Ea was always serious and never overstepped the thin lines the others set. No one could imagine the dreams he had from his strict face and attitude. No one knew how jealous he was of Theseus and Allias. Not in a bad way, he just simply wanted it too. A love that can last for years, centuries and the eyes of the one he loved would still look at him like it was the first day. A love where no one else matters and home was an embrace and the secure feeling of a heartbeat not some cold building or a dull room filled with paperwork and books.

The young elf sat down on the snow daydreaming again. Letting that bittersweet sensation into his soul again as he imagine being held by Ares. As he wondered how kissing him now would feel or how happy he would be if he ever was the reason for him to smile. How different the world would feel is he felt loved.

"Why do you have that bitter smile on your face?" He heard Ares' voice and flinched as he landed back to the real world.

"I...I was waiting for you. Are you done with your mission?" He asked him and immediately stood up.

"Yeah." Ares said looking slightly perplexed. He wasn't sure why Ea would be waiting for him out here in the snow. He must have waited quite a while, the prince realized as he saw his red fingertips and how red his small nose and cheeks were. "Are you here to nag me again?" Ares asked trying hard to fight the urge to take his hands in his and huff into his palms to make the cold go away.

"No. No. I...I think we should talk." He said, stuttering a bit.

"Talk about what?" Ares asked him.

"Us."

"Us?"

"Yes. I want to clear things out between us " Ea explained and suddenly Ares frowned.

"So you waited here to make clear to me that you don't like me and that our marriage is a burden. You don't have to tell me that. I already know how you feel." The prince told him and every word was a shock in Ea's heart. Was it really how he seemed to him? Had he failed so much into showing his true intentions?

"What? Wait..." Ea shouted as Ares began walking. He was tall and his steps were much bigger than his. Ea ran trying to catch up into the thick snow, the air pushing him back, growing more and more intense. At a moment his foot became unstable and got too deep into the snow. As he tried to raise it he hit a rock that was burried by it and fell face first, feeling like he had just dived into a tub with ice cubes.

Hearing the familiar sound of a collision Ares turned around fast and ran back to reach Ea. He tended his gloved hand and Ea took it shyly. Every part of his body had turned red from embarrassment. At least he hadn't seen him fall.

"Thank you" Ea said and stayed silent as Ares took his gloves off and grabbed his hands. He made him wear them and he felt how much bigger his hands were in comparison to his. Long fingers and strong arms. He rubbed their hands together and looked at him, his eyes warm as a raging fire and Ea could feel the blizzard in his heart calming down. He was so handsome.

"Don't stay out in the cold like this. I've told you before you need to be ..."

"I like you. I always did." Ea spurred out in the moment. Ares stopped talking and his hands stopped moving as he raised his head. Their gazes met, and the moment seemed to last forever. It was unexpected and the young elf didn't know where he found the courage but when he felt his hands touching his he could sense a strange pull and then a push. Like his mind was now shut down and his heart had taken over. It was now or never.

"For years you have been calling me a cheater, irresponsible and a disappointment. Is that how it feels to like someone to you?" Ares asked him sounding almost as if he was insulted by his confession. "Don't mock me." He said and took his hands away. Placing them in the pockets of his jacket.

"I am not. I swear. Please listen to me. I really want to explain how things are...in my head. Even if you don't want me I have to tell you this. You have to know it. I might sound selfish but please...."

Ares was quiet and Ea did not know what to think. He couldn't understand why the prince was so mad at his confession. All he had said was that he liked him but Area seemed liked he was getting more and more angry at him. He turned around ready to leave. Ea wanted to stop him again but unexpectedly he decided to stay. He looked at him, wrinkled forming between his brows as he looked at him like he was some kind of hard to solve enigma.

"I am the one who doesn't want you? You don't like me Ea. If you did you wouldn't have treated me that way back then. When we got engaged. I really...I really..."

"What do you mean? What did I do? Please tell me! You've said that before but I don't know." Ea pleaded him to explain. There was something he had always been hiding. There was something that had stranded their relationship and now Ea had realized it. Some wound Ares had never shared. An action Ea did not take notice of.

"I don't know if you're pretending to be dumb but this game of yours is starting to make me really mad. You don't know? Remember when I got kidnapped with Allias? He had just gotten engaged. I was tortured day after day. Forced to watch a rape scene unable to do the slightest bit. I waited to be saved by someone helpless and alone and when I came back I remained alone. My mother and father were already dead during the war. My brother needed to be by Allias' side because he had gone through so much more than me and I was all by myself. With my wounds, and scars. With the nightmares and I waited and waited like a fool for you to at least visit me once. To hold my hand. To comfort me. I knew this engagement was not ideal. I had known that but I believed that you would at least care for me a little bit. So I kept believing that while I was on that lonely bed, filled with wounds and wrapped in bandages, unable to even speak for a few day because of the shock but still I fucking waited for you to come! When I actually could walk again I decided that maybe you were shy to see me, maybe you wouldn't know what to say so I decided to visit you and do you remember what you said as I looked at you, beaten up and exhausted?I couldn't sleep from the nightmares. I couldn't breathe at night and I would wake up heaving, gasping for air looking around lost to see if I was still chained up in a dirty room waiting to be tortured again. Do you remember Ea?!" Ares shouted filled with rage. His loud scream being taken away by the raging wind. "I am busy. That's what you told me that day when I needed you the most. The only time I had decided to turn to someone in my life. To ask for even the slightest support. The only fucking time I needed someone so I could cry my eyes out. Someone to tell me that my torture was over. Someone. You. I am busy. That's all I got." he repeated and laughed. "That's the reason why I will never believe you Ea. I will never acknowledge that you like me."

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Hello! Thanks for reading! How does Ea's and Ares' story seem so far to you? Please let me know!