Chapter 19
Kol called for Kessa. The air in the library was heavy with tension. He was staring out the window. Her arrival went (she thought) unnoticed. He didn’t look up from the floor as he walked beside her. His hands behind his back. This was odd. He had never done this before. When he stopped beside her, he didn’t look at her. She could see with her peripheral vision that he was looking at the door behind her. He took a deep breath, “why did you take my mother with you?”
This was not at all what she was expecting. “I was on the platform when she got off the boat. I wasn’t dressed in my uniform. She asked me why? So I told her. She invited herself to go with me.”
He wasn’t standing beside her anymore. But he was still in the room. “I’m sorry. Forgive me.” He whispered. “It didn’t sound right to me that you and mother would go anywhere together. I’m sorry that she did that to you.”
“Thank you, my king. If I may be honest, there is no need for you to apologize for her.”
She wanted to ask him if he was okay but it didn’t feel right. Something was wrong. More so than usual. Should she speak?
He was standing to her right. His hands still behind his back. This time he was staring at the coat of arms in the middle of the room. He took one step to his left and they were arm to shoulder. Kol was a little taller than Kessa. In a low voice, he finally spoke; “I’m dreaming Kes. If God is trying to tell me something, I can’t begin to figure it out. I can’t remember anything that happened in these dreams. When I wake; I’m shaking, covered in sweat and I feel either angry, sad, or empty.” He stepped behind her. Still speaking in a low voice. “When you have been on a long journey, or when we come back from battle; how do you feel when you see Rajaf?”
“Overjoyed, my king.” Her answer was swift.
He was to her right. “When I saw my mother yesterday, I felt nothing. It was like seeing a stranger before me.” He was behind her, “this is going to sound bizarre, what do you remember of my childhood?”
“Very little, my king. Believe it or not, I remember holding you when you were a baby. Abraham always accompanied you to the barracks. Even on your first day. I never remember seeing your parents there. If they ever attended a competition, I don’t remember. It was always Abraham.”
“What was I like that first day?”
“Timid. Myself, Max and” she put her hand to her mouth, “what was that other kids name? He had red hair. I can’t believe I forgot his name. We showed you around.”
“How old was I?”
“Six, I think.”
“Was she at my crowning ceremony?”
“Your mother? I honestly don’t remember.”
“Was she here when Frego was born?”
“Breifly, my king. She left once it was announced your wife had passed.”
“Are you sure?”
“I accompanied her to the platform.”
Kol was behind her. She could feel the material of his garment move when he took a breath. His voice broke when he spoke, “thank you.”
Poetry & More 