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His rooms had been half-emptied. The tub where he’d been grabbed and collared was dry. The rug where he’d been raped had been stolen. His books? Gone. The bed had been stripped. His clothes had been carried off or lay about in the closet. The couch in his sitting room had a mysterious green stain on it, and a cushion was missing. A window had been busted.
It didn’t feel like his rooms anymore.
His parent's rooms had also been robbed, and someone had been using the bed judging by the dirty blankets. The idea that some filthy bastard had been sleeping in his parent’s bed almost made him want to scream. A stranger’s clothes littered the floor. A coat of Father’s, torn beyond repair, lay near the closet room, and when he opened it, he swore he caught a whiff of Mother’s familiar scent.
Her dresses were gone because the silk, jewels, and velvet would be worth something. On a shelf at the back, he recognized a simple knitted shawl that a woman had given her. Mother had often worn it in her rooms despite it being so plain and something a commoner would wear. It had been left behind and deemed worthless.
It still held a bit of her smell.
He knew that would eventually fade, and nothing could quite evoke a memory of her again. Nothing so direct from her would ever exist again. Never again would he come into his parent’s rooms like when he was little and see her sitting by the fire. He’d never sit in her lap, lean against her shawl-covered chest, and listen to her voice. He’d never vie with his brothers for a spot against her while she told them stories.
Kalen found him standing in the hall, crying, holding the shawl, and clueless about what to do next. Every room would be tainted. He couldn’t even bring himself to go to Father’s office because he’d remember being forced to kneel while hearing Aspen scream and the agonizing truth that he’d lost his family.
“Oriel?” Kalen said as he approached.
“This isn’t home,” Oriel choked. “How can I ever come back here again?”
Kalen said nothing as his expression darkened with understanding. It wasn’t about cleaning the place up. He’d never view it the same. He’d never even be able to step foot into the sitting room where they had hanged his Mother after they violated her. He’d never be able to sit at the High Table even if he had a different chair. He’d always think of his Father and brothers being killed there and Aspen being held down on the floor.
“I don’t want to sleep in the room where I was raped,” Oriel spat out, and Kalen flinched. “I can’t bring Aspen here to live either. Not after what happened to him. Even if I changed bedrooms-I-I don’t have a home anymore. I think they’d want me to take it back, and I can’t.”
Kalen looked down for a moment. “I’m sorry, Oriel. If you can’t stay here, I wouldn’t blame you, and I don’t think your family would either.”
“I kept thinking about going home later, but there’s nothing to go back to.”
“Your real home is with Roth and Aspen, and I think your parents and brothers would understand that. It sounds like your family was close and wanted what was best for each other. If they could, they’d probably tell you to find a new place with Roth and Aspen so you can make new memories. It doesn’t mean you’ll forget the good things that happened here, or the bad, but there can be good again in the future.”
As the King, he could pick a new city. He and Aspen would never ride on these nearby beaches or make love inthosewoods. He’d never share those things with Roth here, and add a third to the memories in this city.
But they could do it elsewhere.
They didn’t have sex in the cabin now with Aspen around, and quite frankly, Oriel was too afraid to even mention sex around him. Still, he’d gone out to look at the water the night before, and Roth had gone with him for a bit. Sex by the railing wouldn’t be happening with so many around, and Roth, pretending to hug him from behind, had given him a little bite where his neck and shoulder met. His clothes covered it, but it was a reminder.
They belonged to each other. And even with no bites on Aspen, he also belonged. No matter what, they had each other wherever they went, and that was more important than any set of walls with a roof. Kalen was right.
“Do you want to go outside?” asked Kalen.
Oriel did. He wanted out of there, but he had one last thing he wanted to do.
“Would you come with me for something?”
“Of course.”
Oriel started down the hallway. “How do you even get through shit? You were locked up for ten years. You lost people too.”
“Because I have Rhys. He’s the first to really see me for who I am, and he never tried to change it. We have some similarities in some ways, but where we’re different, we accept it. Rhys has said we were made for each other."
Oriel had felt ready to break in his parent’s rooms, but somehow, Kalen had helped. Oriel needed to keep going, and he wanted to.
When he and Kalen entered the attic space, they found it had also been robbed. Oriel tried not to think of the things from past generations that were now gone forever. When he saw the open chest in his corner, his gut tightened. Please, not that too.
The toys had been left behind. Nobody cared for the things that triplets had played with, and the items had been simple. Boys who play rough and have a tendency to accidentally break things don’t need gold or gems on their toys.
The chest had certainly been searched, and some blocks lay scattered along with a few other things.
The things that Oriel wanted were at the bottom. After being stuffed in a chest for so long, they were still in pretty good shape, although they smelled musty.
Oriel gathered them up and went to sit on the steps for a bit with his items clutched in his arms.
