"Far Away"

Kay pressed his ear against the door of the main hall, straining to listen. He could hear his mother’s voice and the voice of the farmer, but words eluded him.

A shout from his mother reached audible levels. “-far away!”

Kay heard footsteps and retreated away from the door, started down the hall. The door swung open behind him. He froze, heard the farmer retreating.

“Kay. Come here.” His mother’s voice was calm. She’d been getting better over the past two years. She still kept his name from the tapestry hidden away, but the violent outbursts had become fewer and fewer ever since.

Kay turned to face her, kept his face stiff. “Come here. We need to talk.”

Kay closed the distance between himself and his mother and did his best to hold her gaze.

Ailsa folded her hands. “I have sent her away.”

Kay bit his tongue.

“She had no place here, certainly none with you. You’re about to come of age in two years, Kay. You have no place with a peasant girl. Whatever was happening between you two… It’s unacceptable. You must only love a girl worthy of a throne.”

Kay nodded. He couldn’t say anything. He didn’t want to set his mother off.

 

“Come now, Kay. Your lessons await.” She pointed down the hall.

And Kay went. This was one battle he knew he could not win.