‘Sometimes when I look at you, I feel I'm gazing at a distant star.
It's dazzling, but the light is from tens of thousands of years ago.
Maybe the star doesn't even exist anymore. Yet sometimes that light seems more real to me than anything.’

― Haruki Murakami, South of the Border, West of the Sun

                        ~~~
The Palace;

Lord Zachary Hayworth cast an almost apprehensive glance at the rather familiar surroundings.
He had in the past travelled with conviction through the same shadows that now appeared to be looming figures of rebuke. The last time he had visited here was almost sixteen years ago. He had ceased coming to the Palace since his relinquishment of the title of a Knight. He no longer felt himself worthy enough of the respect that it endowed.

This time however, it was not his own choice that necessitated his presence here but the invitation of the King himself.
Zachary was not sure if he was ready to face the disappointment that he knew he would see in the eyes of his friend- for what he had become.

He was by no means a failure in literal sense.
To the outside world, he was a noble Lord of one of the largest Estates in the Kingdom, with wealth beyond what many had failed to amass even in their entire lifetimes.
He had five handsome sons and a daughter who was dearer to him than his own life. But that was not how the people who knew him would view him.
They would see the broken man behind that illustrious façade- A man who was still repenting for the many sins that he had committed against the same woman whom he had vowed to love and respect with the Lord as his witness. A man who could no longer face his own mother and children without having the feeling of shame wash over him. Zachary was tired of being that man but he had no way out of his predicament. This was his own doing.

He took a conviction-filled step towards the Palace courtyards and his eyes landed on the regal figure of his old friend.
King Eric stood near the avenue, gazing thoughtfully at the beauty that adorned his gardens. Zachary smiled inadvertently as he moved towards him.
How he missed their old banters and jibes!

He had lost all of his friends over the years.
Eric was the only one who had kept some form of communication with him but that too was lost once he had to take over the throne upon his father’s death. They were by no means strangers, but they did not have their old jovial conversations anymore.

“You summoned your subordinate, Your Highness?” Zachary spoke in a teasing tone.

King Eric turned towards his friend with a wide smile and replied jovially-
“Yes, I did, my lowly servant.”

They both let out a chuckle, their short teasing taking them back to the old times, when this was a daily occurrence.

“It is good to see you after such a long time, my friend.” King Eric smiled softly as he took in the tired face of his friend.

Physically, Zachary looked every bit of the five and forty years of his age but his eyes had aged well beyond those years. He had lost the spark that used to be omnipresent in him. He no longer held the aura of the invincible Knight.

“It indeed is, Your Highness. However, this was quite a surprise. I hope everything is well.”
Zachary’s voice expressed the apprehension that he had felt since he received the King’s invitation from the messenger that very morning. He had came rushing to the Palace.
This was the first time in all these years that he had been summoned here in this way and he had feared for the worst.

King Eric shook his head lightly. “Nothing is wrong, Zachary. On the contrary, I have to discuss a rather delightful issue with you. I hope you have some time to spare for an old friend.”

“I would never refuse your company, Your Highness. What is it that you wanted to discuss?” Zachary matched King Eric’s step as they entered the library.
They settled down on the seats near the rear shutters and Zachary looked at Eric. He was not sure what to expect.

Eric began in an expectant tone,
“We have known each other since we were children, my friend.
Whatever transpired in your life in the past many years, though unfortunate, is not something that I would hold you responsible for anymore.
I know that it troubles you. I can see it in your eyes. But I would like for us to not have any hesitations between us.”

Zachary buried the regret that was forcing its way up his throat. He was grateful for the words that Eric was uttering but he knew that he had done nothing to deserve them.

Eric let out a short sigh before he continued,
“The truth is, my friend, that it was Catherine who insisted that I meet you immediately.”

“The Queen? I-I do not understand.”
Zachary was surely not understanding any of this.

“Yes, Zachary. You see, a gathering was held at the Palace a few weeks ago. All the royal ladies were invited.
Your mother, Lady Margaret, also visited accompanied by your daughter. My wife was, let us say…quite smitten by her. She is a lovely girl.”
Eric smiled softly as he faced his friend.

Zachary could not help the smile that creeped its way to his face. His daughter, or any talk of her, was enough to cause that. She was the light of his world.

“Yes, she is.” Zachary replied in a soft voice.

Eric’s heart warmed on seeing the love shine in Zachary’s eyes on the mere mention of his daughter.
He knew how much she meant to him. It was the very reason that he had wanted to meet Zachary in person when he suggested what Catherine had asked him to.

“Yes, indeed. She has grown up to be a delightful young lady. You must have a very hard time fighting off all the suitors.”
Zachary’s face lost its smile as he deciphered the potential meaning behind Eric’s words.

He was suddenly transported back to a different time but a very similar situation.
The only difference was that this time, it was his daughter that he had to consider. She was still a little girl for him.
He hadn’t even given a thought about her marriage.
He suddenly felt a fervent need to steer the conversation away from the topic of his daughter’s wedding.

“Oh no! That is not a problem at all. I am not looking for any suitors. She is still very young for that.”
Zachary’s tone took on an almost defensive turn that did not go unnoticed by Eric.

“I know how it feels, Zachary. I have married off two of my own daughters. We can never be prepared for them to grow up. But you know that she has reached the age. And what I am about to suggest is only going to strengthen the friendship between us.”

Eric knew he had Zachary in a bind. He could not stop him from speaking.
He also knew that he was most probably going to have to agree to it. He was his King after all. But it did not bide well with him. For him it was not simply a marriage proposition. He really cared about his friend.

Yes, he was disappointed in him for his actions over the years but that did not mean that he was going to abandon him.
He also had a soft spot for Maya. She was like his own daughter. He wanted their families to be joined by will, not because of an obligation.

“You have known Edward since he was born, Zachary. He is a good man. He is five-and-twenty; well past the age of marriage.
It should have happened years ago.
I had given a thought about a proper betrothal first but we already have lost a lot of time. With my father’s demise, then Elizabeth’s and Anne’s weddings, I never got the opportunity to talk to you about this. The truth is that me and Catherine, we have always considered Maya as best suited to be the royal consort.”

Zachary was at a total loss of words.
He did not know how to react to this. He definitely knew that Edward was a good man.
A great one in-fact. He had even trained him for a short while in his early childhood.
He had an impeccable character and a sense of justice that was second to none. He was bound to be a great ruler someday.
If there was any man that he would trust his daughter with, it was him.
But this did not change the fact that he was never going to be ready to let go of the one person that brought some happiness to his dispirited world.

Eric saw the plain hesitation on Zachary’s face and continued in a more credible tone,
“Maya is sixteen, my friend. She is of age.
Girls get married at an even younger age. Anne was married at fifteen. As a father, it is hard to accept, but accept is what we must do. We cannot hold their future, Zach.
I do not ask this of you as your King, but as your friend. She would be happy here. Catherine and I would make sure of that. And even you know how Edward is. He is never one to shy away from responsibilities. He would take care of her. This is the best match for both of them. Yours is a respected and noble family. This alliance would benefit the entire Kingdom. It would effectively shut off the prying minds and scheming tongues.
Also, Catherine considered Lady Saya as her friend. She would be delighted to have her daughter as a member of our family.”

“H-Have you talked to Edward about this?”
Zachary cleared his throat as he spoke, trying to keep his emotions at bay.
He knew it was the best proposition for his family. It was the highest honour for any family to have their daughter be chosen as a consort to the Crown-Prince.
Maya would be the future Queen of the Kingdom. Theirs would be the most powerful family after the Royal family itself if he agreed to this…not that he had a real choice in it. For even though Eric made it sound like he was offering him a choice in this, he knew he did not have enough power to spurn a perfectly generous offer from the King himself. He could not defy his own King. But he could not bear to repeat the mistakes that he had made.
He had vowed to himself to never force any of his children into a marriage against their wishes. He knew first-hand what that could result into and he would not wish that situation even on his worst enemies and certainly not on his own daughter.
He might sound like the biggest hypocrite but he wanted the man who married his daughter to love her with all his heart and be loyal to her.
She deserved nothing less.

Maya had the same spirit as her mother.
All her qualities matched that of Saya. The same things that used to annoy him about Saya, now made him admire his daughter and it reminded him every moment of the absolute bastard that he had been to her.

Maya had the purest heart and cared about everyone she knew. She never had a bad word to say about anyone. But it was these same qualities that made him apprehensive. She was too pure for this world.
She needed his protection from people like him- people who could take undue advantage of her kindness and not value her enough.
He would rather have himself hanged than let his daughter face the same fate as her mother. 
He wanted the man who married her to care for her and respect her and her wishes.

“I would, Zachary. Edward knows what is expected of him. He is not a child anymore. He is a grown man. You do not have to fear for your daughter’s future with him, my friend.”

Eric waited for some of the uncertainty to drain off of his friend’s face before continuing,
“You can take some time to think. Send me a word when you are ready…just know that I do not want to wait much longer.”

Zachary saw the finality in Eric’s eyes and already knew the ‘word’ that he was going to send. He just sought solace in the fact that at the very least, his daughter was not going in some strange home.

“Thank you. Your Highness. I just request for a meeting with the Prince…and if he could just visit the Estate and meet Maya once before the wedding.
I hope it is not too much to ask for from an old friend.”
He recovered a little from his daze and spoke in the most concrete tone that he could muster at the moment.

Zachary saw the flash of hesitation cross Eric’s face. He knew that his request was out of the line; some would even call it preposterous.
But that was the least he could do to ensure his daughter’s happiness.

“That should not be a problem. I shall send him there once I have your word.”
__________________________________

Hayworth Estate;

“Easy, my angel. Easy, girl.”

Brandon spoke softly as he stroked the agitated mare’s mane.
She had been acting flustered since they returned back from their morning ride.
He was having trouble soothing her and seeing her in this state did not dwell well with him.
She was a gift from a man he admired the most in the entire world, Lord Geoffrey Berkley and had been with him since he was six and was one of the few things he really cared about.

“Looks like the Lord Almighty is having trouble taming his subject. Clearly, there is a limit to the potency of your indestructible and inescapable charm.”
The annoying voice of Emma Mortimer reached Brandon’s ears, causing him to groan inadvertently.

He turned to look towards her advancing figure, holding a basket of flowers.
She was probably coming from the gardens. The basket was full of daisies and petunias.

Huh…disappointing.
He wished there were more roses- just so he could have had the satisfaction of witnessing the sight of Emma Mortimer’s finely pricked dainty hands.
Just imagining it was so comforting!

“So, you finally decided to acknowledge my charm. Well, better late than never.”
Brandon grinned widely as he retorted.

Emma’s face twisted with a scowl.
She simply could not resist the chance of throwing a jibe at the boy. She should have known better.
He was not worth her time.

She sighed dramatically as she rolled her eyes and decided to pass by silently, fighting the omnipresent urge to argue with Brandon-spoiled-Hayworth.

However, her chance to make a dignified exit was spoiled by the conniving accomplice of the said boy.
The mare chose the exact moment to turn violently to her side and throw Emma off balance, causing her to land with a thud in a very undignified heap on the muddy ground.

It took a moment for her to come out of the daze and shock registered the loud, bellowing and inhumane howls that seemed to somehow come out of the mouth of the uncouth boy standing in front of her and could distinctly be registered as a human laugh…by an equally uncouth person.

“Oh no! What have you done, my girl? That was not very nice of you. Lady Mortimer here, is a friend of Maya. We should be careful not to hurt her.”
Brandon spoke in an animated voice; trying hard, but failing miserably to stifle his laugh.
He was now holding the reins of a much calmer mare.

Funny he hadn’t had the mind to do that a moment ago when the wild beast was attacking her!

Emma was seething on the inside.
When she had decided to be the better person and not lower herself to the level of Brandon Hayworth, she had not settled for being ridiculed and humiliated.
This called for drastic measures.

“Where are my manners! Here- take my hand. You must be hurt.”
Brandon suddenly went all quiet and spoke in a suspiciously sincere voice as he held out his hand for Emma.

She searched his face for signs of pretence but found none. She decided that her revenge could wait.
First, she would have to get all the mud off of her dress.
Putting a reluctant hand in his, she raised herself, only to drop back to the ground as he retracted his hand in the very next moment.

Emma squeezed her eyes shut as she took deep breathes.
She was not going to lose her temper on top of everything.
She could almost picture herself- her dress patched with mud, hair frazzled and the basket that she had so painstakingly arranged with the flowers that were to adorn the vase in Maya’s chambers, now lay on the ground- the beautiful daisies now half-buried in the mud.
No. she would be calm and collected.
She would get up an-
“You are the most uncouth and insolent person that I ever met in my entire life!”

Emma almost winced at her high pitch. Almost.
She definitely would have winced- if she had any reason left in her. For all the reasoning went flying out of the window once she heard the barbarous bellow of laughter that tore its way out of her perpetrator’s throat.

In all honesty, she was not hurt physically but her ego had taken the worst hit.

“Are you sure that is what you had to say, Lay Mortimer? Maybe you hurt your head down there somewhere. You took quite the fall.”

Emma had half the mind to wipe the smirk from his face.
She opened her mouth to tell him just that when the sweet voice of her friend stopped her.

“Emma! What in the heavens happened to you? Are you alright?”

They both turned to the worried figure of Maya Hayworth rushing towards them.
She stopped in front of Emma and took her hands in hers.

“What happened?”
Maya looked just as worried as she sounded and the sudden urge to comfort her friend overcame the desire of giving a specific someone a piece of her mind, and Emma held Maya’s gaze with a soft smile.

“I am fine, Maya. Just a little fall. Courtesy of your dear brother, of course.”
She cast a vindictive glance at Brandon as she said the last part and was satisfied to see the hint of sheepishness on his face as Maya turned to him with a frown.

“Did you do it, Brandon?”

Brandon winced internally at the hint of disappointment in his sister’s voice.
The last thing that he wanted was for his sister to be disappointed in him. He rushed to defend himself.

“N-Not at all! It was not my fault. She just came in the way of an agitated mare.”

Maya still looked unconvinced but she did not press any further.
Her first concern was her Emma’s well-being. She turned to her friend, who was throwing daggers at her brother and checked her for any signs of bruises- which was hard considering all the mud she had covering herself.
“Let us get you cleaned up first, alright? I hope there are no bruises.”

“I am not hurt, Maya. You need not worry. I just need a bath.” Emma tried to reduce her friend’s worry.

Her sight then fell upon the tramped petals and she continued in a saddened tone, “It’s a pity to see the waste of perfectly beautiful flowers. We have to pick new ones for the vase.”

Maya smiled softly at her friend’s words.
“Do not worry about that. Brandon is going to help me pick new ones while you bathe. Are you not, brother?”

Brandon, who was until now trying to think of ways to compensate for his mistake for the sake of his sister, finally looked at her and smiled broadly- finding an answer to his solutions.
“Of course, I would.”
He replied in a fervent tone.

“See, I told you.”

Emma cast a last grimace at Brandon before leaving for taking a well-needed bath.
__________________________________

“Am I forgiven?” Brandon cast a hopeful look towards his sister as she stood in front of the rose bushes.

Maya smiled warmly as she plucked another flower from the bush.
She knew that despite all his antics, her brother had a kind heart. 

“For what exactly? You said that you did not do anything.”
Maya spoke in an innocent tone, arranging the roses in the basket in Brandon’s hand.

“I did not lie. She fell because she was struck by the mare. I just think it…might not have been very kind of me to not offer my help. I should have helped her get up.”
Brandon stumbled on his words as he tried to defend himself.

“Might not?”
Maya pushed on, looking him straight in the eyes.

Brandon sighed heavily as he slumped his shoulders in defeat.
“Alright! It was not. I apologise. You know I am not usually like this.
I am always my charming self with all the other ladies. Your friend on the other hand, has a way to stir up my worst side. She started it this time too.
If she behaves like a normal lady, I would have no problem in treating her like one too.”
He ended his tirade with a frustrated shrug of his shoulders.

Maya shook her head at his childish behaviour.
“I can never understand the problem you both have with each other. You are perfectly mature individuals. Why can you not act the same in each other’s’ company.”

“Tell me once you find the answer to that.”
Brandon muttered under his breath, out of his sister’s earshot.

“It would make me really happy if you both tried to act civil around one another.
She is my closest friend Brandon. I do not want my own brother to feel such animosity against her.”

Brandon’s heart filled with regret on hearing the plea in Maya’s voice.
He hated to upset his sister. He had never done it intentionally and he did not plan to do it ever in the future.
She had that quality about her- bringing out the best in everyone. She could drive people to be their best…even if they had a tendency to do otherwise.
He always thought himself to be fortunate to have her as his sister as though he was born a few moments before her, she had always been the one guiding him towards the right path.

He could do anything for her and had never refused any of her requests- not that she had made many in the last sixteen years of their lives.
But he knew that she only had to ask once.

“Alright. If it would make you feel any better, I promise that I would try to act my usual self around her.”
Brandon spoke earnestly.

Maya smiled widely upon hearing his words.
She could clearly see the sincerity in his eyes. Satisfied by his words, she turned back towards the bush.
__________________________________

“Why do you think Mother liked them so much, Brandon?”

It was some moments later that Maya’s question broke the amicable silence that had settled between them as they made their way back to the manor. 

Brandon cast a quick glance at his sister.
He did not need to ask her. He knew what she meant.

“The roses? I am not sure…maybe because of their sturdiness.”

Brandon tried to keep his tone light.
He always did that.
He avoided talking about their mother. It brought forth emotions that made him feel weak and helpless.

Maya on the other hand, could never do the same.
Even though she did not remember her, she felt a deep emotional connect to her and loved talking about her whenever they were together.

She felt comfort in that- imagining what she would have been like. Why she liked certain things and disliked others…they made up their own reasons. They had no way to verify them but it gave Maya a sense of calm so he would always play along.

He would never disclose to her that these conversations that they had, were nothing short of torture for him.
They reminded him that she was no longer there for them to ask her things that they were now forced to speculate. They also reminded him of how much he really missed her even though he never really knew her. But most importantly, they reminded him of how cruel the Lord had been to snatch their mother away from them when they needed her the most.

All his life he had heard people talk about how kind, generous and loving their mother was. He had grown up listening to his grandmother and aunt Eleanor talk about the many lessons that their mother would want them to learn. He could see the respect that the maids of the manor still carried for her. For him, all of it always felt like they were rubbing salt to the wound. Unlike Maya, who loved to listen to and would absorb each detail about their Mother, it always reminded him of what they were missing; of how helpless he was to be unable to erase all the pain that she had to suffer because of the one person who was meant to protect her and of how stupid he had been for the many years to trust and respect the same man who had hurt her…

“Sturdiness? That is an interesting thought. I wish we knew for sure…”
Maya’s eyes held a far-away look as she twirled a rose in her hand.

She looked to be deep in thought before she continued with a spark in her eyes,
“I would say versatility. Roses are also valued for their versatility, are they not?”

Maya’s expectant face caused Brandon to force a reluctant smile on his face as he was brought ashore from the sea of dark thoughts that had been plaguing his mind ever since he was sensible enough to understand and grasp the truth.

“Yes, it could be that too…”
He spoke with a comforting smile, hoping that it was what she had wanted him to say as that was all they could do- wish and hope.

__________________________________

Author's Note-

Okay...I have to apologize.
Again.
I am sorry.

I know it has been a long time since my last update. But I had promised to continue this and I intend to keep that promise.

I know that many of you must be frustrated but I really have to thank you all for having terrific patience.
It was really sweet to see many of you worrying about my well being. I am grateful for all your concerns. I am in perfect health.😊

As I've already stated, I am never going to abandon this series.
The last year was a little hectic. I could not find the right time.

As of now, I would try to be as punctual as possible. 😅

Last but not the least, I wish all of you a very  Happy New Year!

Till the next time 👋