Mark POV
The trip back to Velmora was really not what I thought it would be. It was very different from what I had in mind when I was going to Velmora at the time. My experience of going to Velmora was totally unexpected.
The sound of the horses' hooves on the ground was still in my head. It was like a tune that I had not heard in a long time. The royal messenger was a man, with hair and a strong voice.
He rode his horse ahead of me without saying a lot. The royal messenger had a way of speaking that commanded attention.
I found myself listening to his voice even when he was quiet. The sound of the hooves and the messenger's quiet demeanour brought back old memories. Memories of the messenger and his horse were things that I would always remember.
I was just sitting there not making a sound and my thoughts started to wander from Noctrya to Noctrya again.
Lyra.
The name alone was enough to tighten my chest. Every mile away from her felt like a wound reopening. The air grew colder, the sky dimmer, but her soft voice, trembling, reminded me of the promises whispered in the streets' side of Noctrya
I could still feel Lyra's touch on my skin. The warmth of Lyra's hand was still, against my chest. Then Lyra said, "Do not walk again."
Here I was. Walking away again. The Street of Noctrya memories were all still stuck in my head. I also remembered when we would take a walk in the Street of Noctrya. We would talk about what happened between us in the Street of Noctrya.
It was full of connection and confidence when we were together in the Street of Noctrya. Even though it seems we both need to heal from what happened in the Street of Noctrya.
There is this connection we had in the Street of Noctrya that makes us share the same thought, about the Street of Noctrya. I never thought that the girl I helped when she was being bullied would be the one to catch my eye and have such an impact on my life.
The girl I saved was the one my heart really wanted. She was also the one who could help me heal with her presence, like a special healing stone that I really needed in my life. The girl was very important to me.
I really wanted to dislike the crown, the title and all of it. The bloodline that tied me to the crown was something I did not want anymore. But my duty had a lot to say and the duty was loud. I could not make the duty quiet.
When we got to the edge of Velmora I saw the gates that went really high up into the clouds. The city of Velmora was still really pretty, with its marble towers and golden bridges and flags that had his family's symbol on them.
Velmora looked just like it used to, but it felt different; it felt empty and cold and tough.
When we walked into the court the messenger bowed down. He said to us "Your Grace," in a voice. "Welcome home to the court, " he said. The royal court was really nice. We were happy to be home, in the royal court.
Home.
The word does not mean what it meant before. The word has. The word is not the same as it was. People use the word in a way now and the word has a different meaning.
As I walked into the hall I could hear people whispering about me. The servants would bow down. The important people would stare at me from the dark corners. At the end of the hall, my Father, King Alderon, was sitting on his big throne.
King Alderon is the man that Mark wanted to make proud of his life. King Alderon is very important to Mark.
The King said to Mark that his voice was really low, but it sounded angry. Mark was finally back, the King said.
My heart felt really tight. "I did not come here to be forgiven, " he said in a voice. "I came because I was called to come "
My father looked at me. I saw how tired my eyes were. My cloak was dirty from traveling and I was not full of myself like I used to be. The King said to me, "You are different now. The King said, "You are not the boy who left here angry.
My father and the King saw the change in me. The King saw that I was not the boy who stormed out of the place in anger.
I said that I had to do it. The walls of the palace do not teach you how to be at peace. The palace walls teach you about being proud.
They teach you about pain. The palace walls are like that. They do not teach you peace. They teach you pride. They teach you pain.
The King got a smile on his face. It did not go all the way to his eyes. He said "Peace" in a quiet voice. The King thought that peace was something that people, like him, could not have.
I did not respond. My heart was still in Noctrya, a place where peace had a name and a heartbeat. That is where my heart really was, in Noctrya.
Back in Noctrya Lyra stood by the edge of the bridge where Lyra and I had often watched the sunset together. The wind pulled at Lyra's hair.
She held the pendant I had given to Lyra the night before I left Noctrya. A small silver crest that looked like a wing.
I said, "This used to belong to my mother. When I wear this necklace it reminds me of the love that my mother had for me, a love that does not fade away. My mother's love is something that I think about when I'm wearing this.
This is a thing that my mother gave to me and the love that my mother had is still with me when I wear it."
Now, it was her reminder.
Every day since I left, she went back to that spot waiting for a letter from me or some kind of sign, really anything at all. All she got was silence. This silence was really bad.
It hurt her more than if someone had said something mean to her.
She still had faith that things would work out. She believed in it no matter what happened.
Love like theirs did not just disappear. It was still there even when they were really apart in different places and countries. Love, like theirs, just kept going no matter what.
She looked up at the stars and whispered, "Come back to me, Mark… not as a prince, but as the man I love." I could hear all she was saying in my mind; we both have this connection that signals us whenever we are far apart.
Her voice was shaking. It was a strong kind of shaking. This strength came from love. Love is what made her voice like that. Her voice trembled. The love was what made it strong.
I was sitting in the chambers by the window that looks out at Velmora. The moon was. Its light was all over the floor. It even touched the books that are all over my desk.
I had a quill in my hand and I was staring at a piece of parchment in front of me. The moonlight made everything look really pretty. I was just sitting there with Velmora outside my window.
I have written a dozen letters already, all of them unfinished. The words never seem to be enough when it comes to the letters. I have tried to express what I feel. The words just do not seem to be enough for the letters.
So I finally started writing slowly. The man's hand was shaking a lot with every line he wrote:
> Lyra,
The palace feels like a cage again. It is a sad place for me now. The walls feel so heavy. Every single voice I hear reminds me of what I lost. I see your face in every flame that I look at and I hear your laughter in every echo that I hear. If you ever doubt how much I love you just look at the stars up in the sky. I see you in all of the stars.
I do not know when I will return. I promise that this time I will return. I will really come back this time.
I sealed the letter with the emblem, knowing it might never reach her. I had hope and that is all that was left for me. This hope was really fragile. It was also very stubborn. I knew that someday the letter might get to her and my words might make her think about things again and that I would be back with her.
I leaned back in my chair. I closed my eyes. For a moment I thought about Noctrya again. I remembered the smell of the market in Noctrya. It was nice. The warmth of Noctray's hand was something I missed. I also remembered the sound of Noctrya's laughter. It was echoing against the stone walls in Noctrya.
It was not love. It was a place that felt like home.
I knew that no matter how hard it was to be in this position, my heart would always be in a town. This is where love showed me what being a king could not. I would do anything for this. My heart belongs in that town where love taught me so much. I do not care what I have to pay for it.
That night the palace got really quiet. A messenger bird flew out of the window. It was carrying my words. The bird flew across the night sky. It was going to Lyra. She was waiting under the stars, for my words.
And somewhere in Noctrya, Lyra lifted her eyes to the same sky, her heart whispering a truth that distance could never erase. I knew she always did what was right.
I was gone — but your souls still walked side by side.