Zeek descended the staircase of the palace, exchanging kind greetings with the servants and some of the Agricultural Experts as they passed by.

As he passed the door of the grand ballroom, he could hear the faint sound of the servants still cleaning up the remnants of last night's ball.

He eventually reached the King's Meeting Room, and, with a gentle rap of his knuckles, he knocked on the large and imposing wooden door.

"Come in." King Jora's muffled voice sounded from within.

Zeek opened the door to find King Jora, his hands clasped together as if deep in thought, looking up with a warm smile.

"Oh, Zeek, good afternoon. Did you need something?"

Zeek scratched the back of his head, smiling as he sat down on the loveseat in front of the King's desk. "Yeah, actually, I had a couple of questions about magic."

King Jora raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Oh, I didn't take you for someone interested in the arcane. What would you like to know?"

"First, I'd like to know if you knew anything about magic that can physically disable another person?" Zeek asked, feeling a growing sense of anticipation.

Jora scratched his chin thoughtfully. "There are many spells that could render a person immobile. Could you be more specific?"

"Well, this morning, Lydia grabbed my wrist, and my body glowed. Soon after, I could feel all the strength leave me as if I had been paralyzed." Jora stood up from his chair, his eyes widening in surprise, before sitting back down and clearing his throat.

Zeek's eyes narrowed as he asked in a low voice, "Is there something wrong?"

Jora diverted his gaze outside the window, his face taking on a serious expression. He clasped his hands together and said, "Since you've grown so close to her, I feel like I should tell you. But whatever I'm about to say must remain in this room."

A single brow rose on Zeek's forehead as he replied, "Of course."

Jora paused for a moment before continuing, "Lydia's mother, Cassandra, was someone I knew quite well. She was a powerful magic wielder and an amazing woman. I met her around the same time I met Angela's mother, and we became very close friends."

Zeek gave a terse nod and prompted, "Go on."

Jora's face fell in shame. "It took a while for Angelica's father to accept me, and I lived on the outskirts of the city for quite some time. Cassandra was intrigued by the magic of my universe, and I would teach her spells in the early morning, spending the afternoons and evenings with Angelica. I found out that Cassandra had a powerful innate healing ability that could manipulate the body of the person she healed. She probably passed her abilities down to Lydia."

Zeek closed his eyes as the pieces of the puzzle slowly began to fit together.

"We continued our affair up until the time I became king, but Cassandra and Angelica got pregnant around the same time."

His face darkened with a mix of sorrow and regret as he spoke, "I finally worked up the courage to tell her about Angelica and offered her a place in the palace to raise Lydia, but she refused- claiming I had betrayed her.
Despite the pain of her rejection, I kept in contact with her for the sake of my daughter. But, she used her magic to mask her presence, and I never heard from either of them for 19 long years- until just last year, when Lydia came to the palace asking for a job as a maid.

The moment I saw her, I knew she was my daughter. I wanted to give her the job, no questions asked- but doing so would have brought too much attention to her since most of the servants had been faithfully serving in the palace for generations. Thankfully, Angela stepped in and demanded that we give Lydia a position. With her being the beloved princess and the summoner of the year, no one questioned her decision."

Zeek pinched his nose, his face twisted in disgust as King Jora's story began to fill him with rage. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, his fists clenching and unclenching in fury.

"How could you be so heartless? Your child had to watch her mother die, and you don't even have the courage to demand she be given a place in the palace?" he seethed to himself.

Zeek tapped his foot in frustration, attempting to control his emotion.

"I'm going to tell both Angela and Lydia what you just told me. In fact, I'm going to let the entire Kingdom know their King is a Coward." Zeek stated.

King Jora stood from his chair and exclaimed," I won't allow it! It's better if they never find out."

"Better for who? Your daughter who suffered alone because of your cowardice, or you, the failed hero King? I bet Angelica also died because of you."

The vein on King Jora's forehead throbbed, a precursor of the rage building within. His reply to Zeek's comment was a thunderous roar.

"I've lived for hundreds of years, kid. What would you know about courage and cowardice? Do you know what it took to get here? How much I lost and sacrificed? Both Cassandra and Angelica should be grateful I even considered giving them the seed of a descendant of Elves!"

Zeek's gaze hardened, his voice low and menacing. "You know she had to watch as her mother died in her arms, right?" 

His jaw clenched, and his muscles tensed as if he were ready to fight. Zeek was at the tipping point, and the King's answer to his question would decide his next move.

"Pffft and? I gave Cassandra a chance to come to the palace, but she refused. While I'm sad that she died, it was her own fault. I was even generous enough to bestow her daughter to the Hero. Now, looking at her, she seems happy. I'd say I did all I could," said King Jora with a sneering tone of arrogance, his eyes flashing with disdain.

He scoffed and shook his head, a slight smirk playing on his lips.
"What more did she expect of me? I was as gracious as I could be." His voice was full of condescension and superiority as if her refusal had wronged him.

Zeek flew across King Jora's grand wood desk, picking him up by the throat and slamming him against the wall with a loud crash.

His powerful grip tightened around Jora's throat as a wave of rage overpowered his senses.

"Wrong Answer," Zeek growled through his teeth. 

Jora smirked, "What are you going to do? Kill me? I'm the King."

"Perhaps," Zeek snarled. "It would certainly make Estaria a better place if I did. You've been King for twenty years? And you haven't changed a thing."

His fingers pressed tightly against Jora's windpipe as he spoke. "It's a shame, Jora. I took you for an honorable man. But it turns out I was wrong."

The door to the meeting room creaked open, and in walked Angela, her arms full of books. His emotions consumed Zeek too much to notice her entrance. His hands clamped tightly around King Jora's throat.

Angela dropped the books and screamed, "Zeek! What are you doing!?" She ran over and tugged at his arm, trying to pry his fingers away, but he was unmovable.

Giving up, she threw herself in between the two of them, looking into Zeek's eyes, her voice soft and pleading, "Please, my love, don't do this."

The intense sadness in her gaze was enough to break Zeek out of his fit of rage, and his hands loosened around the King's neck.

Jora fell to his knees, gasping for air, his skin pale and mottled with bruises in the shape of a palm.

"You'll pay for this!" Jora rasped.

Angela shot him a stern look before turning back to Zeek. She wanted to be angry with him for attacking her father, but her mind returned to the previous night and the love he professed for her and the sorrow of his tragic origin story. She knew he wouldn't attack someone without reason.

"What made you do this, Zeek?" Angela asked, her voice gentle.

Zeek's gaze shifted to the pitiful King Jora, still on his knees, and his voice turned cold.

"Why don't you ask him?" he said.
Angela looked to her father expectantly, awaiting an explanation.

The King rubbed his neck and averted his gaze. "I don't need to explain anything," he mumbled. "It was you who overreacted."

Zeek's lip curled as he spat on the ground. "Pathetic," he sneered.

But as Zeek's gaze met Angela's, his expression softened. "Talk to your father," he said, his voice gentle. "And if he doesn't tell you what he just told me, come to the room with Lydia, and I'll tell you the truth."

With that, Zeek turned and exited the meeting room, leaving a heavy silence in his wake.

....

Zeek sat in the room, alone, defiantly waiting for either Lydia or Angela to enter or for the guards to try their luck by attempting to capture or kill him. He scoffed at the thought of them even trying such a thing.

Just then, the door clicked open, and Zeek quickly stood up to greet his lovers, but instead of either of them, Tera walked in.

Her face looked crestfallen, and Zeek asked, "Oh, Tera, I wasn't expecting you. Where have you been?"

Tera sat down on the bed and sighed. "I had to go back with Yamcha to settle some things with the empire. I'm officially free of all obligations."

"I figured they would have put up a fight to keep you," Zeek said, surprised.

Tera smirked. "Oh, they did, but I refused all their offers of money and land without a second thought. I expected them to overreact, but I told the emperor I had a new purpose, and he let me go."

Zeek chuckled. "A new purpose?"

Tera gave him a loving look, and Zeek smiled in understanding. "Speaking of overreacting," Tera added, "I heard about what happened between you and the King."

" How did you hear about that?" Zeek asked

Tera crossed her legs and scoffed, "I went to talk to King Jora as soon as I got back, and he wasn't in his meeting room. I followed the sound of groaning and found him lying in bed with a purplish bruise on his throat. I asked him what had happened, and he said you attacked him because you overreacted about Lydia's mother or something. The nurse magicians came in and started healing him, and I couldn't get any more information out of him."

"Wait, we have nurse magicians here? I've been injured plenty of times, but I've never seen them," Zeek said with a furrowed brow.

Tera giggled, "Obviously, because you already have your own personal nurse. Whenever the nurse magicians came to help, Lydia would shoo them away."

Tera cleared her throat, her face serious, "Anyways, back to the topic at hand. Why did you do that to Jora?"

Zeek's face soured, "Because he's an arrogant ass who deserves it."

Tera cackled, her eyes twinkling with mischief," Has he finally shown his true colors?"

Zeek raised his brow, "You knew he was like that?"

"Yes, but he had stopped being a pretentious asshole once he had Angela. I thought having a child had made him grow up a little, but it seems I was wrong."

"Did you know anything about Lydia's mother?" Zeek asked with a hint of curiosity.

Tera turned to him, her face serious, "Not much, really. Jora had mentioned her, but I was working for the empire at the time, so I didn't pay it much mind."

Zeek crossed his arms and sat next to her on the bed, "I see."

"Why? Does she have something to do with what you did to Jora?" Tera asked, her eyes searching Zeek's face for answers.

Zeek let out a long sigh, "Pretty much, but I'll tell you the details when Lydia and Angela arrive."