News of the events of the royal ball had spread like wildfire through the underworld in the week since it's occurrence. Talk of an unstable princess, rumors of a generational curse, and whispers of a new kind of magic- and a ballroom on fire- flooded the gossip network, as did the king's notable absence following the whole affair. His majesty it seems, had completely withdrawn to the castle, not a soul outside of it had seen him- and for good reason too. To say that the king hadn't been sleeping well might have been the understatement of the century. Since the fiasco of the ball his mind had been racing, with so much uncertainty over what exactly would happen now. As he tended to do, he kept to himself, eyes drifting to the outskirts of the underworld's city to the foggy edge of the wilds where he knew Myste lay resting.

Through the stained glass window in his chambers he watch the moon shift, and the dust darken into the blackness of night. His eyes and body were heavy, between all the magic use and tiredness he was worn. A voice shaped like Arella called quietly in the back of his mind, telling him he couldn't keep this up. A small feeling of sunlight passed him over, and he gave in. Whether it was really her or not, he supposed it was right. As he stalked his way back to his bed, slipping beneath the silk of his sheets his entire being was in knots.

Of course he hadn't meant to leave her again, it was not in his power to do something. But did she know that? Did she ever know it? If she opened her eyes alone in that forest would she curse him for putting her there again? Would she even think to come home? He knew of her historic distaste for the underworld; as a child she'd begged to see it, he could see her next to him now- eyes wide and shining at the endless dusky sky. And again he saw her, older now, realizing her place and shrinking away from it. The last time he'd asked her to come home was after the magic in her blood was first discovered, in the smouldering wreck of a village.

It's been inside you all this time, latent. Powers like yours need to be harnessed. Come home, please, just come home.
YOU KNEW? ALL THIS TIME AND YOU KNEW NEVER THOUGHT TO TELL ME? WELL FINE. I AM NEVER, EVER, COMING BACK.

With the residual affects of his daughter's magic wearing off, he could still perfectly hear that argument echoing through his mind- thankfully it wasn't still strong enough for him to see it. Gods, if the stress of this didn't end him, the exhaustion might. Tired of pondering, he used the last shred of his energy to command the window drapes shut, and Reino lay there awake. Dead still, and wishing for a thousand other things that simply weren't this.

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