"It took more than a month to catch all of those bastards," Elias admitted as he collapsed onto the soft cushions of the couch.
Caelum offered a gentle smile, allowing Elias to rest his head comfortably on his lap. "But it is certainly better that we managed to apprehend them before they could escape the country," he replied, his voice calm.
Elias nodded, a weary sigh escaping his lips. "That truly is the only positive outcome of this entire delay," he confirmed.
"How is your mother doing?" Caelum inquired softly, his fingers beginning to run soothingly through Elias' dark hair.
"She is much better now," Elias said, a palpable sigh of relief following his words. "The first week after the revelation was absolutely terrible for her," he explained. "Father even had to exempt her from her usual duties because she was so emotionally unstable."
"She feels deeply guilty for not bringing Aurelius in sooner," Caelum observed, a touch of melancholy in his own smile. "How is he, by the way? I heard he was having a screaming match with Aristotle just last week."
"He still is," Elias confirmed, a subtle, vindictive smile curving his lips. "He believes it is Aristotle's fault that we ultimately uncovered their entire plan."
"Has Aristotle made any attempt to correct that misguided idea?" Caelum asked, looking down at Elias, whose eyes were closed, savoring the comforting sensation of Caelum's hand in his hair.
"No," Elias answered simply. "According to Father's personal guards, Aristotle only attempted to argue back on the very first day of his confinement."
"He must be conserving his energy and composure for the impending trial," Caelum surmised thoughtfully.
Elias nodded in agreement. "I would bet my entire manor that he will try some maneuver to convince the court that he was an unwilling participant, forced into this whole scheme."
"I know he will," Caelum agreed, letting out a tired sigh. "I just cannot imagine exactly what he will attempt."
"How was your recent training session with Matheas?" Elias asked, shifting the subject. "And what prompted him to suddenly want to train with you?"
"To be perfectly honest, I have no idea why he is suddenly interested in training with me," Caelum confessed with a small huff of frustration. "He holds back significantly when we spar, and I genuinely see no purpose in a fight where all he does is continuously defend himself," Caelum elaborated, his tone showing his irritation. "It is incredibly frustrating not to be able to land even a single strike on him."
Elias chuckled lightly, the sound warm and genuine. "That is precisely how I feel almost every time we fight together," he admitted.
Caelum sighed heavily. "But truly, why does he want to train with me at all?" he pressed, still perplexed.
"I asked precisely because I did not know the answer myself," Elias replied.
"Did His Majesty speak to you at all this week?" Caelum inquired, looking intently at Elias.
Elias shook his head slowly. "He did not," he said. "He apparently mentioned that he needed some dedicated time alone with Matheas to maintain his composure and prevent himself from lashing out at anyone."
Caelum nodded slowly, a small knowing look in his eyes. "No wonder," he muttered quietly to himself.
"Huh?" Elias looked up at Caelum, his confusion evident.
"He consistently shows up to the training grounds rubbing his aching back and muttering loud grumbles about the difficult nature of royalty," Caelum explained, a soft chuckle escaping his lips at the image.
Elias stared at Caelum in utter shock for a few seconds as the words slowly sank into his mind. Then, he too began to laugh heartily, joining Caelum in his amusement.
"I think I might have to tell Father to take it significantly easier on poor Matheas," Elias managed to say between gasps of laughter, wiping a tear from his eye.
"You might find yourself losing your head for making a comment like that to the King," Caelum teased lightly.
"I am sure you would be able to stop him before any real harm could be done," Elias countered, giving Caelum a confident wink.
At that moment, Isolde walked into the room, holding a plate laden with freshly baked biscuits. "Hello, my dears," she greeted them warmly as she took a seat on the opposite couch, placing the plate carefully on the table in front of her.
"Is something troubling you, Mother?" Elias asked immediately, sitting up straighter on the couch, his demeanor becoming instantly formal.
Isolde shook her head gently. "No, nothing is wrong," she assured him with a soft smile. "I simply went to the imperial prison earlier today with His Majesty to see how Aurelius was doing in his confinement."
"Why did you go?" Elias asked, his tone suddenly stiff and laced with apprehension.
"Because I feel a degree of sympathy for that child," Isolde admitted, a look of pain flickering across her face. "Arthur also accompanied me," she added, an afterthought.
"He went with you?" Elias repeated, his eyes wide with surprise.
Isolde nodded. "He insisted quite strongly that I take him along," she confirmed.
Elias let out a mirthless, sharp chuckle. "I understand," he said, the flatness in his voice revealing nothing of his true emotion.
Caelum immediately felt Elias' potent ice magic beginning to surge and threaten to spiral out of his control. He quickly reached out and firmly took his lover's hand in his own. 'I cannot fathom how he must be feeling in this moment,' Caelum thought, the silent fury directed at Arthur. 'Damn it, Arthur, you foolish brat. You should have shown loyalty to your own blood brother.'
Isolde, oblivious to the swirling magical undercurrents in the room, continued speaking, describing her emotional reaction to seeing Aurelius shackled, confined in the cold, dirty cell, and wearing the simple prisoner's clothes.
Caelum had not felt Elias' magic attempt to completely freeze his surroundings like this since the powerful antidote had been administered. He couldn't help but let out a quiet, dark chuckle. /Those were truly some unforgettable days,' he mused privately.
Only when Isolde heard Caelum's quiet chuckle did her attention finally focus on her son and his powerful guardian. She finally noticed the sheer volume of Caelum's fire magic actively working to suppress Elias' ice magic, preventing it from uncontrollably freezing her solid as a direct consequence of his escalating anger.
Isolde's eyes widened in horror as the realization hit her that she had just been vocalizing sympathy for the very person who had severely injured her own son. Her son was the victim of the conspiracy, and yet she was offering sympathy to the perpetrator. "I am terribly sorry," she immediately apologized, standing up quickly with the intention of moving closer to Elias.
The instant she took a step toward them, a wave of profound cold washed over her hands, forcing her to stop dead in her tracks.
"Please, Mother, leave me alone for just a moment," Elias requested, his voice sounding utterly devoid of warmth. "I need time to calm myself down," he explained.
Isolde apologized once more, her voice trembling slightly, before quickly leaving the room and closing the door softly behind her.
"I sincerely apologize for this unexpected outburst," Elias said, looking directly at Caelum, his eyes clouded with lingering pain.
Caelum immediately shook his head. "I can absolutely understand the depth of that anger," he reassured him. "If I am angry at anyone right now, it is at Prince Arthur and Madam Isolde."
Elias offered him a weak, pained smile. "Can I really trust my own mother and brother, Caelum?" he asked, his eyes showing such raw anguish that it physically hurt Caelum just to look at him.
"Honestly, I cannot say for sure," Caelum admitted, pulling Elias into a tight, comforting hug. "But I do know that Madam Isolde will always fiercely defend you whenever you find yourself in trouble with the King," he added with certainty.
Elias nodded silently into Caelum's shoulder, letting out a shaky sigh as he concentrated on bringing his powerful ice magic back under complete control. "Are you hurt?" he asked, pulling back slightly and taking Caelum's hands gently into his own, inspecting them.
Caelum shook his head. "Ice and fire, we instinctively neutralize each other's effects quite well," he explained reassuringly. "I am absolutely fine." He paused, then asked, "How about you? Are you injured?"
Elias nodded. "Not physically hurt," he confirmed. "But I think I am going to need to unfreeze this couch and the table before Father sees them," he said, offering a small, apologetic smile.
"We can always replace the couch and the table later," Caelum dismissed easily. "But I strongly believe I need to have a very serious talk with your brother very soon."
"So do I," Elias agreed, his expression hardening slightly. "But before we do anything else, could we just hold each other for a little while longer?" he asked, his voice softening, a fragile smile gracing his lips. "I really need to calm down, and simply holding you always makes me feel peaceful," he confessed.
Caelum returned his soft smile and pulled him into a strong, protective embrace. "For as long as you need," he murmured back sincerely.