The woods beyond Velmora's palace were quiet, but King Alaric's heart was anything but. He followed Elara through the winding paths, his steps heavy with guilt. He had suspected for some time that his daughter was meeting someone in secret—someone who had shaped her brilliance. Today, he needed to know who.
When Elara entered the overgrown garden behind the old storage house, Alaric stayed hidden behind a crumbling wall. Then he saw her—Ana.
She stood tall, her shawl slipping from her shoulders, revealing the face he hadn't seen in years. The woman he had exiled. The woman he had betrayed.
Elara ran into her arms, and Ana embraced her fiercely. Alaric stepped forward, unable to stay silent.
"Ana," he said.
Ana froze. Her eyes met his, and the warmth she had once held for him was gone. Replaced by steel.
"You shouldn't be here," she said coldly.
"I had to see," Alaric replied. "I had to know if it was true."
"That your daughter still has a mother?" Ana snapped. "Yes. She does. One who never abandoned her."
Elara looked between them, sensing the storm brewing.
"I made a mistake," Alaric said, voice low. "I let fear guide me. I let them convince me you were a threat."
Ana stepped forward, her voice sharp. "You didn't just let them. You agreed with them. You let them strip me of my name, my child, my dignity. And now you want forgiveness?"
"I want to make things right."
"You can't," Ana said. "You let them call our daughter a disappointment. You let them say I was a waste. And you said nothing."
Alaric's shoulders sagged. "I was weak."
"No," Ana said, eyes blazing. "You were cruel. And cowardly. You chose your crown over your family."
Elara reached for Ana's hand. "He's trying, Mama."
Ana softened only for her daughter. "Trying doesn't undo years of silence."
Alaric stepped closer. "She's going to Columbia. She's going to change the world. And it's because of you."
Ana's jaw tightened. "Yes. It is. And she'll do it without your crown, without your court, and without your permission."
Alaric looked at Elara, then back at Ana. "Will you ever forgive me?"
Ana turned away. "Forgiveness isn't owed. And reconciliation isn't welcome."
She led Elara back into the garden, leaving Alaric alone beneath the vines, surrounded by the ruins of the love he had once held—and the legacy he had nearly destroyed