He didn't know what to think.

He had all these secrets, he knew everything about what was happening. He had traveled lands and lands all in search for answer and when he got them, he decided to keep them locked to his chest. Why? Because it was too absurd and nobody would believe him.

To be fair, he could hardly believe it himself.

"Your majesty," the servant placed the plate in front of him. He could barely stomach the idea of eating at the moment.

He should have done something. None of this would have happened if he just spoke up. If he did at this point, he doesn't know how people would take it.

"Joel?" He looked up, seeing Lizzie across the table from him, concern on her face. "Are you doing alright?" She asked softly.

Joel bit his lip. "Have you had any communication with Jimmy in awhile?" He asked her.

She shook her head. "No, I think he is still upset with me. My messages won't reach Elven territory."

Joel knew why her messages wouldn't reach, after all, he had seen the destruction first hand and was homing a dozen Elven refugees in his kingdom. Lizzie had no clue what had happened past the border.

Joel hated that he wished that she tried harder to connect with her little brother.

That wasn't going to fix anything now.

"Grian was talking about the game you joined." Lizzie changed the subject but that made Joel tense more. "Said that it glitched out and one of the contestants was badly injured?" Joel just wanted her to stop talking but she continued. "A twenty something year old if I remember him saying. Grian says that he reminds him of Jimmy a bit."

Joel paused at that. Did Grian know that it was Jimmy?

"Although he had never given me the name of the person. Said that they have the same blond hair and eyes as Jim. Said that he was also different in a way." Joel tilted his head at that. Different? "More independent, less whiny and more adventurous. Also has a phobia of water."

Joel's eyes widened. Water? Ever since he had known the family, they were all obsessed with water. If they ever needed to relax, they were in one of the many pools of the palace. "Water?" He asked softly.

Lizzie shrugged. "Deathly afraid from what I heard. Someone named Scott told Grian that." Something flashed across her face as she looked down at her hands. "Scott, like the Elven kingdom's leader." She muttered under her breath. A second later, the look evaporated before Joel's eyes. "Probably just a coincidence, Scott is a very common name after all."

"Lizzie, you are completely right, the Elven King is there." He wanted to shout at her he opted staying quiet instead.

"Queen Lizzie, your one o'clock meeting is starting soon." An advisor came into the room saying. Joel was too distracted to even name who they were.

"Thank you, I will be there shortly." She promised with a smile before they left. Lizzie turned to Joel and gave him a wave before following the advisor out.

Joel didn't notice.

Everything was constantly playing in his mind at full speed. He had promised Jimmy when they were younger that he was going to protect him. He was his knight in shining armor that warded off the nightmares and loneliness. Joel was the one who put Jimmy to bed at night when nobody else in the castle wanted to do it. Joel was the one that was a big brother to a kid who lost his at a young age. Joel was the parent when he cleaned any scrapes off of Jimmy's knees or chided him for running in the halls. He was the one that held Jimmy in the bunker when both the king and queen had died and it seemed like there wasn't any hope.

Look at him now, a pathetic king with a gold crown and broken promises. The knight was gone, it had been gone for awhile.

Jimmy was now laying on a bed, probably getting emergency surgery, he had grown up too fast physically and mentally. Jimmy was no longer going to hear or see, his face would be permanently scarred and he had lost everything, even Joel. Not to mention all the trauma that had happened years and years ago, starting that fateful day when Grian had left the castle.

And look at Joel, sitting in an extravagant dining room, a large plate of food in front of him with no scars or battle wounds in sight.

He had seen the way Jimmy hobbled past. He was horrified and wanted to cry. He had always had a special bond with Jimmy even if it was originally just so he could be friends with Lizzie. It turned into a two-for-one deal, except he preferred the free offer a bit more.

Joel remembers laughing with Jimmy in the pillow fort. He remembers singing and dancing on the plush carpet in Jimmy's room during night time. He remembers playing hide and seek with both the younger siblings of the palace, sometimes purposefully not noticing Jimmy to keep the game alive (Jimmy was always in sight and his giggles gave him away. When Joel would wonder where he was outloud, the fit of giggles would grow.)

Had he just ruined it?

Will Jimmy be able to laugh in a pillow fort anymore?

Will Jimmy be able to sing and dance to the records that Joel had gifted him years ago?

Will Jimmy still hide with ignorance or will he hide like his life depended on it?

Joel didn't want to find out.

Instead, he just decided to wait.