Xander looked pensive. Airin breathed as quiet as she could. Only the crackling of the burning wood and the warmth that emanated from the hearth in the corner of the room that filled the air between them.

"This ... half-burned palace was ... a home to me. And Rovan. And our parents, King Lymnos and Queen Arajulia. Rovan was just a year younger than me ..." Xander took a deep breath as his memories stirred. "Before I heard about Ares, I was a happy child, I befriended everyone who came in my path. I just wanted to be liked, to be accepted with my gifts. And among them ... there was this soldier ..." Xander sighed, strengthened his heart to continue."He was young and funny. He came and befriended me, and I happily accepted. I was maybe about nine years old. He was a new recruit, a young guard trained at the main palace, but he would play with me after his duty was done for the day. He brought me snacks from the kitchen, or these awesome wooden toys he made himself. Rovan loved him too. We all used to play together. Argo was his name."

Xander sounded flat as if he just recanted something that he had memorized well, something he had wanted to say for a long time and finally got a chance to do so.

"My parents did not seem to care about Argo, or my friendship with him. Airin, what I thought was a happy childhood was because I was not told of all the intrigues that came with my Father's throne. He had made some bitter enemies within his court. Bitter enough to plan a sinister coup, a quiet takeover of the throne ..."

Airin's heart thumped faster. Xander's expression grew darker, and the air around seemed to stand still. He continued ...

After he found out the secret about Ares, Xander grew more and more distant from his parents, his little brother Rovan, Nydda, and everyone else. He spent a lot of time alone, crying and wishing things were different. Hatred grew and took roots in his young heart.

He was lonely, consumed by fear and shame.

Argo became his only friend. He thought Argo was his bestfriend, a big brother whom he never had. He did not tell Argo about his secret though, he did not want him to be scared.

For a few months since his overhearing of the secret, Argo was his only friend.

One day, Xander had a fight with his mother. He wanted his mother to draw with him, but his mother refused, and his father who was there just told him off by saying that he needed to do more serious stuff other than drawing. Drawing will not prepare you to be a king. That was what his father had said.

That blew Xander off. He raged and ran away from home. It was one of the many times his mother had refused to do anything fun with him, and his father had looked down on his drawing even though he had such a gift in it.

Argo secretly followed him, and he spoke to Xander in the middle of the forest where he hid from his parents. It was in this conversation, he asked Xander all about the layout of the palace where he lived with his parents and younger brother. Xander, who was angry and fragile and hated his parents so much at that point, told him everything including the family secret bunker.

A few nights after that, there was a commotion in the house. King Lymnos was angry, and the queen was crying. Some of the king's most trusted aides were there too. Then Xander and Rovan along with their parents were rushed to the secret bunker.

But Xander had something important in mind. His bestfriend Argo had asked him the day before to open the kitchen door for him at night. He said he wanted to hand Xander a new toy he just made, but he did not want to knock the front door because he did not want to be an inconvenience to the rest of the family.

Xander easily slipped out of the bunker among all the panic and commotion in there. He had been sad, and he just wanted the new toy from Argo because he wanted to feel better. And Argo always made such wonderful wooden toys, with moving parts that made funny noises.

So he opened the kitchen door as instructed by Argo.

Argo was there indeed, along with ten big, burly men whom Xander did not recognize.

No toy from Argo. No kind words. Nothing.

They pushed him aside, and went straight to the bunker with swords drawn.

Young Xander realized what had happened. He ran to the bunker, kneeled, begged for the lives of his parents, for the men to spare them, but Argo grabbed him, and made him watch as the men interrogated King Lymnos for the hiding place and secret code for the sword of Zeus. The king refused to tell even when the men threatened to kill his entire family. King Lymnos found his bravery, so did Queen Arajulia. They were ready to sacrifice the whole family to protect the sacred sword.

The men assassinated the king and queen, their aides, and knocked crying Rovan unconscious. The last words of Argo to him before he pushed him to the floor to be with Rovan,"You killed your parents, stupid boy. You told me about this secret bunker. Their blood is on your hands forever!" After that, Argo and the men locked them in the bunker and ransacked the whole house to find the sword of Zeus. They decided to burn the whole palace in frustration when they failed to find the sacred sword and realized some enforcement was coming from the main palace.

Fire burned the front of the palace, and that was when Nydda came.

Nydda saved the two boys, and some generals loyal to the murdered king captured Argo and his gang. The coup was extinguished. Argo and his gang were brutally executed in public.

Tears rolled down Airin's cheek now. Fresh, warm tears.

Xander trembled as he spoke now, "They were a part of the rebel group who tried to takeover the throne that night. They killed the guards around this house in silence by poisoning their food, and Argo had been tasked to infiltrate the guard battalion, befriending me was a way for him to gain trust, to gain entry to this house without making too much commotion before they could find the sword of Zeus."

Airin stared at Xander, and she could not fathom the depth of pain that child Xander must have experienced.

"When Nydda saved me that night, with the fire burning in the background, burning the front of my home, I was sobbing and I finally told her that I overheard the conversation she had with my mother about Ares ..." Xander shivered, and Airin rushed to sit closer to him, and she hugged him. "Nydda cried as she held me that night. Ask me to keep it a secret. Nobody must know about it, she said," Xander tried to breathe normally but failed. "I told Nydda I killed my parents, and she kept saying that was not true. I did not stab their neck, but might as well! I told Argo where the secret bunker was!"

Xander turned his attention to Airin now, and Airin's heart sank when she saw the brokenness in Xander's eyes.

Xander squeezed her hand again as if he was trying to absorb a sliver of strength from her, and continued,"I have lived in a bottomless pit of guilt since then. People do not talk about it, they do not bring up the tragedy, but in their heart, in their mind, I know that they blame me and my childish stupidity for such a tragic end to their beloved king and queen." Airin shook her head many times, tried her best to disagree with Xander.

"I was 17 the year before I was supposed to take the throne when I decided to forfeit it. I let Rovan ascend instead, and Zeus agreed because he came to Rovan in a dream and told him where the sword was and the secret code to open the storage ..."

"Where is it?" Airin could not help but asked.

"The sword is in the body of the king, Airin. I have seen Rovan chanted the secret code to himself, and the sword just ... appeared on his hand ..."

Airin nodded. That made sense. Airin gently chuckled when she realized she had so much lower bar of what was considered "made sense" by her mind now.

"I live my life since that day in atonement, Airin. I cannot draw anymore. I just don't know how to ... draw. Only lines, awkward lines." Xander coughed. "I decide to live here in this half-burned palace. I vow to do all that it takes to keep this kingdom safe, to keep Rovan save ... I do anything and all ... for this kingdom. For elegarii. For the people."

"That is why you become an assassin. The assassin of Halgard. You kill ..."

"I kill to protect my people. I have to. It is the least I could do after what I have done. And I am the son of Ares anyway. Maybe I am supposed to be a killer, a monster ... like my real father."

They were quiet for a moment, and Xander continued in low voice. "I feel a certain freedom in your universe, Airin. Freedom that lets me use my gifts again, and I draw again there." Airin nodded hard.

Suddenly Xander let out a loud groan. His body trembled hard and he bent and grabbed his legs. Airin saw it. More part of his legs had now turned into stone. Now it was a few inches above his knees.

"Xander!" she shouted in panic. "Who did this to you?" she asked as she hugged Xander.

"Nydda ... with a winged snake of Ares ..."

"Why?" Airin caressed Xander's face, cupped his jaw in her palm.

Xander screamed in pain. He did not answer anymore. He was too busy struggling to catch a breath.

Airin held Xander, letting him rest his head on her chest. "You can't die, Xander. Don't leave me alone here in Halgard. Please don't ..." she tried to muster her courage but failed. She struggled to speak with some coherence without sobbing. She was scared. Really scared.

Xander wheezed, lifted up his face to Airin, and stuttered,"Listen, Airin. Please listen. There are some ... creatures ... they will listen to me, they will rise up at my command. Nobody, nobody knows this, Airin. But I am too broken to raise them ..." Xander whispered.

"Xander, what do you mean? Are you hallucinating?" she whispered.

Xander sat up more, his eyes searched Airin's face, and he shook his head. "No. That is my final secret. Creatures I can raise ... not even Nydda knows about it."

"What creature, Xander?"

Xander's eyes grew more alive, and it was as if he almost smiled.