[ 06 - CHAPTER SIX ]

― broken soldier ―

Orion, having apprenticed under his father, knew quite a bit about the ghastly art of torture. Even so, in all the flaying and skull-crushing he'd witnessed, he'd never known a torture so heinous as the kind he went through on the voyage back to Saros.

The silence was deafening. No one dared to do so much as utter a single syllable in the presence of Titania, and the few soldiers that were unfortunate enough to survive the explosion refrained from moaning in pain for fear of igniting Titania's harbored fury. Titania herself hardly spoke a word unless it was necessary. He couldn't determine whether it was because her throat was so raw from her precursory screaming, or if it was because her heart was simply too broken to allow her to speak, but Orion figured both had a part to play in her silence.

The empty void of space were soldiers used to be was a reflection of what Orion imagined his heart would look like if he could put a magnifying glass to it. Where vibrant, exuberant souls used to stand - souls that should've shone for many years to come - there was nothing. Nothing but a few swords a handful of men must have left behind right before they marched onto the detrimental battlefield. Not that a sword would have saved them, anyway.

Orion could almost imagine the ghosts of his soldiers haunting him, whispering curses in his ear as they dreamed about all sorts of macabre ways he could die. About the array of dastardly fates that could come upon him as repayment for what his arrogance had done to the warriors that had entrusted their lives to him.

When the ship finally landed on Saros' military docks, Orion saw it as a merciful release from the demented onslaught of thoughts that had been filleting their way through his mind. He didn't deserve that mercy. Not when he'd decided to betray the trust of his sister, of all people.

Titania wouldn't even spare Orion a glance as they trudged onto the platform outside the ship's exit. He knew he should've let her walk away from him. Based solely upon the deflation of her normally perfect posture, and upon the loss of the bounce she usually had in her step, he should've known better than to try and speak with her at that moment. And yet, as she uttered a farewell to her second-in-command, he couldn't stop himself from hurrying over to place a shaking hand on her hunched shoulder.

"Titania," he began, too desperate for her once-abundant affection to be fearful of her anger.

Her shoulders bristled, and she took a deep breath before turning around to face her brother. "Your Highness."

At first glance, her features displayed no emotion but a cold and detached fury that Orion had fully anticipated. However, as Orion looked closer and began to chip his way under the many walls she'd thrown up, he caught a brief glance of the pain she was feeling. The agony, sorrow, and the heartbreak. It felt like a stab in the gut to know that he was the one who'd created the stronghold of barriers around her heart.

It was times like these that made Orion wish he was still a young boy, wrapped in soft blankets and encompassed in his mother's arms. He could only remember one other instance from his adulthood in which he'd wished for his mother's warm embrace. He'd just turned eighteen, and he'd only had an army of his own for a month. A month was hardly enough time to gain the respect of his soldiers, and one day, when he'd overheard an older group of his trainees mocking him in the dimness of their dressing room, he'd wanted nothing more than to regress to a time when things were much simpler. He'd been so innocent and vulnerable then.

Orion repeated his sister's name, and risked being scolded to wrap his arms around her like he used to when they were children. Titania's small frame no longer melded into his like it used to, and for some odd reason, her rigid bearing made him want to cry even more. Orion didn't notice his chest was quivering until Titania pulled away from his grasp, not even a single hint of empathy showing on her face.

"I knew your humanity was beginning to drift away, but I didn't know you were this far gone," Titania spoke, her monotone way of speaking making Orion's blood run cold.

"Titania, please-"

"No!" Titania erupted. She waited a moment, allowing herself to make sure there were no onlookers before continuing. Even in her anger, Orion noticed, she still managed to retain her prestige. "I saw what you did back there. I saw the cold detachment in your eyes as you carelessly ordered those men to their deaths. Things like this have consequences, Orion! You think you can just march around here, doing whatever you please and answering to no one? Look where that got us!"

Titania threw up her hands in a gesture to the empty docks around her. She didn't have to speak to shout at Orion about the copious amount of soldiers that were missing. He already knew.

"You killed everyone."

With those final words, Titania turned her back to Orion an strode in the opposite direction with her head held as high as she could bear. With every step she took, Orion could feel his heart sink a little more. He didn't know what else to do except scream in a horrific parallel of the cries he'd heard while on Cygnus.

"Titania!" His voice cracked, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. He was losing one of the only people he truly cared for, and the state of his dignity was the least of his worries in the face of such an atrocious occurrence. "Titania, please! You must forgive me! I couldn't have known it would lead to this!"

When it became obvious Titania wasn't going to turn around and offer her brother forgiveness, Orion's wails quieted to a soft and pitiful moan. "Don't walk away from me, Titania. Oh God, please don't walk away."

Orion lost track of time as he stood, alone and abandoned, stagnant in his thoughts and movement. He was too stunned to speak, too empty to find the courage to follow through with his plan to flee. With Titania gone, he wasn't sure who he should turn to. Cosmo would turn him in to Castor in a heartbeat if he went to him for help. Any member of the court would glare at him in disappointment and contempt. He couldn't imagine what his father would do to him for going on a risky conquest and getting both his and Titania's armies slaughtered. He'd been beaten for less.

Orion could only think of one other person who might consider offering him solitude, but he despised the thought of bringing her into the mess he'd created. She hadn't done a single thing in her entire life to deserve that. Unfortunately, as the defenseless prince stood in the shadow of his empty ship, he realized he had no other option.

He raced to his mother's quarters as quickly as he could. He forced his trauma-stricken legs to move, back and forth, faster than they'd moved in years. No matter what he'd done, no matter the wrongs he'd committed in the past, Pandora Atlas had never failed to open her arms to her firstborn child. Though his wrongs were much more drastic this time, Orion had to believe his mother would still feel sympathy for him. His freedom from his father depended on it.

"I need to see the queen," Orion gasped when faced with the guards that stood at his mother's doors. He was surprised he'd managed to say that much, with how out of breath he was.

Contrary to common behavior, the physical exertion from running across the palace to his mother's quarters wasn't the reason for his lack of air. Rather, the overwhelming influx of emotion he was experiencing was the culprit guilty of his inability to breath.

The guards that protected any unwanted visitors from entering the queen's room simply nodded and stepped aside. Judging by the creases by their eyes and the streaks of grey in their scruffy beards, they'd been in service long enough to know who Orion was. In fact, they'd probably even watched him grow from a little boy playing pranks on the palace guards to a grown man handing out orders to guards of his own. They had no need to question his motives for wanting to enter the queen's chambers.

The guards' trust in Orion was so blind that they didn't bother questioning him when he requested that he see Pandora alone. They immediately marched down the hall so Orion and Pandora could have their privacy.

As soon as they were out of sight and, hopefully, out of earshot, Orion rose his fist and rapped his knuckles against the large, mahogany door. He'd always found his mother's door peculiar. While nearly every other room in the palace had doors lined with steel or doors wrought with the strongest metals in Saros, Pandora preferred a simple, wooden door to one that ensured safety. He'd never asked her about it before, but if he did, he imagined she would say something about how it reminded her of Saros' peaceful days, when war was practically unheard of even among the king's court. She never ceased to reminisce of those days whenever she got the chance.

"Mother?" Orion called out when no one answered the door. "It's Orion. I...I need your help."

Orion didn't have to wait longer than a few seconds before he heard the sound of footsteps coming from the other side of the door. The footsteps sounded hurried, almost as if Pandora knew her son was just a few harsh words away from falling into a million pieces. She wasted no time in unlocking the door and swinging it open to face her son.

Orion's tight-knit features softened at the sight of his mother. He felt like he hadn't seen her in months, even though he'd eaten dinner with her the day before.

She looked exactly like Titania. Orion wasn't sure if it was the dim lighting, or if it was just strong genetics, but standing so close to her made his chest convulse just as if she was Titania. They had the same smile that dimpled at the ends whenever they laughed. Their brown eyes were one in the same, glinting with every turn of their head. The way they held themselves as if they owned the entire universe was the same, even if Titania didn't hold her shoulders that way anymore. Orion had to refrain from wincing at his own thought.

"Is something wrong, baby?" Pandora cooed, her serene voice soothing to Orion.

Those simple words were all it took, and suddenly, Orion was a child again in his mother's arms. Those arms that could protect him from all the evils of the world. A single question had rendered Orion a helpless, sobbing mess, his mother's body the only thing holding him on his feet.

He buried his face in the crook of her neck like he used to every time she held him, and she combed his knotted hair with her fingers as if he were a toddler in her arms once more. He wasn't sure how long he remained there. It could've been seconds, minutes, hours even. The only thing he was sure of was that he never wanted to let go, not even as clarifying words of regret and panic began to pour from his quivering lips.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I hope you guys don't mind that this chapter was a somewhat shorter than my average word count, and could probably be considered a filler chapter, but it's what I had in my outline for this book and I'm trying to follow that as closely as possible. Also, I thought about it, and there's really no way I could've chunked this in with the next chapter without in seeming rushed.

Anyway, the next chapter is the last chapter of Act One, and as sad as this chapter was, the next chapter is going to be much, much worse. I'm not really looking forward to writing it, but it's necessary for Orion's arc, so I guess I'm gonna have to suffer through the pain of tearing Orion's heart to shreds lol.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

Q: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE 80'S TREND?