The World Walkers: Unknown World: Thalia: Meeting the King

[k_a_webb]

Written for thnidu’s prompt: meeting.

As Thalia walked into the throne room of the man she’d been told was her brother she tried not to let the fear she was feeling show. Everything that had happened since she’d been found had added to her worries. She didn’t know how they’d found out about her or why they’d chosen to invite her to the palace, and she couldn’t seem to convince herself that everything was going to work out. Looking at the King felt too dangerous, so she kept her eyes locked on the floor, before curtsying the way she had been taught to. Nothing was too debasing if it meant she was going to survive the meeting.

The hand that tilted Thalia’s face up was unexpectedly gentle. When her eyes met a pair that reminded her of the father she’d only ever seen pictures of she tried not to panic. “You’re my sister,” he said, his voice just as gentle as his hand. “Father never mentioned you, but from what I’ve heard your mother never told him that you existed.”

“Your Majesty…” It was hard to speak around the lump of emotion in her throat, but Thalia knew that she was supposed to speak when she was spoken to. “Mother never told me I was the daughter of a King and I have no interest in your throne.”

“What did she tell you?”

“That she fell in love with a man, but he was already taken by another. Neither of them thought about the possibility of a child being conceived. When she realised what had happened she made the choice to raise me alone, because she had no interest in destroying a family, and I don’t know if she ever found out that her lover was the King.”

“You’re my father’s eldest child. The throne I sit on is yours by right.”

Shaking her head, her chin still in his hand, an unexpected tear trickled down Thalia’s cheek. “If you’d just left me where I was…”

With his thumb he wiped away the tear, looking perplexed. “That was never going to happen.” He gave Thalia a look that told her he was struggling to find the words to explain his intentions. “You’re family and you were alone. I brought you here because I want to get to know you, because I want you to have somewhere safe to live, because I’ve never had a sister before and now that I know you exist I want to protect you.”

Finding the right words was impossible. Thalia didn’t want to insult him, but at the same time she had no idea why he thought she needed protection or somewhere safe to live. Maybe she didn’t has as comfortable a life as he did, and she had a job some might think of as immoral, but she’d been happy until her ‘brother’ had appeared from nowhere. A ‘brother’ she thought was going to kill her because she was a contender for his throne. Breathing deeply she stared at him, at the eyes that were so like her father’s, and tried to understand why he’d made the choices he had.

Mirrored from K. A. Jones Writing.

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[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>>Maybe she didn’t has as comfortable a life as he did<<

That should say "have" above.

I like the idea of someone being held for positive rather than negative purposes.