SGE His Broken Heart (Sequel to His Darkened Heart)

Chapter 24 To Letting Go

I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my twin sister, Amanda. You are the best of me and I am the worst of you. May I never forget our twin bond and may I never love anyone the way I love you. ❤️
~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

A/N—The answers to the question in the previous chapter was D.) Japeth is gonna pass the first trial 🎉 and F.) Japeth is gonna attack the School for Good and Evil. 🦢
_______

"In the far off, distant future, you'll be happy, Japeth...and that's all I ever wanted."
——————

~ JAPETH'S POV ~

Instead of going back to Sophie after seeing who the mysterious visitor was and learning that it was Krushem, Japeth stayed in the throne room.

Krushem and Japeth ended up talking with the topic of their conversations being Aric. Never once did Krushem inquire about Japeth's obviously sour and fidgety mood, and not once did Japeth question Krushem about his strange behavior either.

Japeth knew he had greater things to worry about. Those greater problems certainly couldn't be solved when he was delving into the past. But speaking of Aric so openly and learning who Aric had become after Arbed House was soothing for Japeth.

"Aric was closed off," Krushem told Japeth. "He always had this tough facade on that nobody would dare try to break. The other boys feared him for it."

Krushem paused and ran his fingers through his hair. The two were standing in the throne room still as the first rays of morning sunlight began to filter through the throne room windows to bathe the floor in a golden glow.

The two had been deep in conversation for what felt like forever. Japeth had asked Krushem what Aric had been like in the School for Boys, and Krushem had gladly indulged him. It started off simple at first with Japeth wondering about Aric's daily routines at the school for boys and wondering about what classes Aric had. The answers were simple enough too; Aric's daily routine was usually to attend classes and torture boys between class time, and the classes Aric had had included Weapons for Boys (which involved swordplay—a feat Aric was "remarkable" at according to Krushem), defense against girls (another class Aric excelled in), and Forest fitness.

Japeth found himself listening intently as Krushem told him all about how Aric overcame all his class challenges without fail. He was the top ranked and most intimidating boy in the School for Boys at the time, and even the teachers seemed a bit scared of him.

"I see why you were one of his henchman," Japeth said, watching Krushem. "I'd rather be loyal and follow Aric than to fear him."

Krushem had been fiddling with his fingers as if out of habit or out of nervousness. But when he heard Japeth's words, he cocked his head upwards and stuffed his hands into his tight pants' pockets. "Me too. Being a follower was better than being beneath him..." Krushem paused before he fixed Japeth with a deep look. "But that's the difference between you and I, your majesty. You would never be his follower or be beneath him, because you would be Aric's equal, through and through."

The intensity in Krushem's gaze rendered Japeth speechless for a moment. Krushem's gaze was brimming with a strange emptiness and look of pain as if Krushem's drunkenness had worn off, leaving him with the regret and guilt that he'd ever consumed a drop of alcohol in the first place. Somehow, Japeth found himself relating to the boy before him. Krushem was obviously dealing with issues of his own and perhaps he turned to alcohol to deal with those issues, just like Japeth was dealing with his own problems and struggling to keep those problems at bay by taking advantage of Sophie's closeness.