Paradise Forgotten Trilogy

by Mackenzie Morris

  "All right. One week." Troy looks at the graves. One is old. That one is labeled as Jayce's. Beside that is Zodiac's. But there's one more on the end. The headstone is simple and blank. "Silver, whose grave is that? Why is it unmarked?"

  "My other son. It's Paris's grave. I left it blank so people wouldn't try to dig it up. I buried him with my family because he was my family. He deserves to rest here where I will be buried as well. Paris was always my son, even when he was struggling. Deep down, he was there. At the end, he was my little boy again. I could see it in his eyes. He was so scared to die. I wanted to help him, to take him far away to a place where he could be happy and forget about all the pain. But I couldn't do that. I can only pray that God forgave him and helped that lost innocent child find peace apart from a life filled with so much suffering. Now I've lost almost everyone I love. And for what?"

  Troy watches as the silent tears roll down Silver's face and fall to the marble headstone. "Come on, Silver. I know a good bar not too far from here. Let's get you a drink and get you into bed. I'm here for you. You were there for me when I needed you. Now it's my turn to make sure you are taken care of. I will do anything in my power as king to help you."

  Epilogue

  Troy bounces the tennis ball off the concrete and catches it. "All right. My serve. Um, what's the score? Sorry. I'm very absent-minded today."

  Donnie chuckles and sets down his glass of lemonade before stepping back onto the court with Seraph at his side. "But of course. I would be too nervous to do anything if I was in your shoes. Any day now, huh?"

  "Yep." Troy tosses his racquet to one of his servants and wipes his face with a towel. "You're right. I'm in no mood to play tennis."

  Seraph ties his long white hair back behind his shoulders. "It's a nice day for flying. Anywhere we can fly you to help get your mind off of things?"

  "As lovely as that sounds, I really should stay on the palace grounds just in case. I can't risk it. I wouldn't miss this for the world."

  "Of course not, Troy. You already have the world."

  Troy laughs and sips his lemonade. "True." He watches the white doves flittering in the pale blue sky. The warm air is a welcome respite from the rough winter this year. At least he can breathe easy knowing that no winter will ever be as bad as the one three years ago. Many wounds have healed since then, but others never will. The best he can do is carry their memories with him and never let them be forgotten.

  "Hey, this isn't any time to be thinking about sad things."

  "Seraph is right. Back to the present. So, tell us. Do you have any names picked out?"

  "Rhea, after the little sister I never got to meet."

  "That's sweet. And if it's a boy?"

  Troy shivers as a cold breeze blows around him, even though no leaves stir and no one else seems to feel it. "I won't have a son."

  "How can you be so sure?"

  "The ultrasound. Trust me. It will be a girl."

  "So the kingdom will have a princess? You're going to have your hands full."

  "I know. I couldn't be happier, though. Nova wanted a daughter so I'm thrilled I was able to give that to her. We were afraid for a while that she wouldn't be able to have children because of the damage Paris did to her. Then there were some complications on my end due to the Ebola and other factors. I guess things lined up perfectly and the gods decided to bless us with this wonderful gift. Growing up in a large family helped me prepare for this. I have the knowledge of diaper changing already."

  "That's right. How does Silver feel about this?" Donnie asks.

  "He is going to be one overly enthusiastic grandfather. My daughter is going to be so spoiled. It's all he's been talking about. He even picked out the decorations for the nursery."

  Seraph shakes his head. "Wow. Who knew a man as rough as Silver could pick out curtains?"

  "I know. I thought the same thing. Turns out, he really knows how to decorate."

  "Guess that's what happens to a guy like him when he goes two years without killing anything."

  "Perhaps."

  A guard rides up the path, leading another white horse behind him. "Your Majesty, it's time."

  Troy jumps up. "Now?"

  "Yes. The queen just went into labor."

  "Take me there immediately."

  * * *

  Troy rushes into the room to find Nova smiling and holding a tiny bundle of blanket in her arms. "That was quick."

  "Oh, Troy. You're a father."

  "I'm a father . . ."

  "Well, come here."

  "Of course." Troy sits on the edge of the bed next to his wife and reaches over to touch the baby's soft black curls. "Nova . . . she's beautiful."

  Nova shakes her head. "I'm sorry, Troy."

  "What?" Troy takes the bundle in his arms and unwraps it. He sighs as the realization sweeps over him. In an instant, his world stops. "A boy."

  The doctor smiles. "Yes, Your Majesty. You are one lucky man. You have your male heir on the first try. You must be so proud."

  Troy places the baby back into Nova's arms and leads the doctor outside. "I'll be right back, Nova." He pushes the man up against the wall. "You told me it was going to be a girl."

  "That's what the ultrasound showed. Sometimes it's wrong. Are you not pleased?"

  "No. Dear gods, no. If I had known it was going to be a boy, I would have ordered you to end the pregnancy. Have you told anyone yet?"

  "Yes. I told them the child was born."

  "Have you told them what sex it is?" Troy asks.

  "No, Sire. I wanted to let you know first. Why is this such a big deal?"

  Troy tightens his hand around the doctor's neck and leans in close. "You listen to me and you listen good. That baby in there is a girl. Her name is Princess Rhea. Is that understood?"

  "Yes . . . Your Majesty."

  "Good." He lets go of the doctor. "If you breathe one word of this to anyone, I will have you executed. Is that clear?"

  "Yes, Your Majesty. Anything to please you."

  "Get out of here." Troy enters the room again and closes the door behind him. "Nova, I'm sorry, but we have to do something about this."

  Nova instinctively shelters the baby against her chest. "Don't hurt him. Please don't hurt him."

  "I would never dream of hurting him. He's beautiful. But you know what I promised to Hector."

  "You're not actually going to give him to Hector, are you?"

  Troy's hands tighten into fists as he paces across the room. "Over my dead body. Here's what we're going to do. Dress him in pink and put a bow in his hair. From this day forward, he is a girl. We will buy dresses and everything else a little girl needs. This is for the best. No one can find out the truth. When he gets older, we will explain things to him."

  "Won't he be confused? What if he grows up with problems because of this?"

  "If Hector gets him, there will be many more problems, problems that I wouldn't wish on anyone."

  "All right. I'll do it. Are you going to let everyone know?" Nova asks.

  "I will announce that we had a baby girl tonight when I address the public. Until then, let's be happy. It will all work out."

  A guard opens the door and bows. "Your Highness, a word?"

  "Can this wait? My daughter was just born."

  "It's urgent, Sire."

  "Fine." Troy kisses Nova and follows the guard out into the hall. "Well, what is it?"

  "I regret to inform you that we have just found Silver Cunningham's body in his room. He's dead."

  Troy's joy is drained from him. "What? No. How?"

  "Alcohol poisoning. We found eight empty bottles of whiskey and a syringe. He was injecting the alcohol directly into his bloodstream."

  "This can't be right. I can't believe this. No. Conduct a full investigation. There has to be foul play here. He would never do this. I know him well enough to know. He wanted so much to be a grandfather."

  "It was suicide, Sire. We found this note."

  Troy h
as to brace himself against the wall. How could this have happened? "I talked to him yesterday and he was perfectly fine. We had lunch together and he brought Nova a bouquet of tulips. He was happy. I swear he was happy. Why today of all days?"

  "Here is the note, Sire."

  With shaking hands, Troy unfolds the messily written note.

  To My Dearest Nova,

  I have been lying to you and to everyone. You wanted what was best for me, but I couldn't do it. I honestly did try for the first couple of months in that program, but I needed to drink. I couldn't stop, no matter how much I wanted to. I wanted to be a better father for you and get sober before the birth of my grandchild. I know now that it's not going to happen. Reality is too hard for me to continue trudging through day after day, only living for my next drink. But I now know the true reason why I can't face reality. My reality should have ended many years ago. I knew true love once, when I had Jayce. Without him, I will never be complete. No one else can ever love me like he did. Without Jayce, I know I will continue to be worthless until I wither away into nothing. That's why I am doing the responsible thing and ending my torment before I become too much of a burden. You won't have to worry about me anymore. You have been the best daughter I could ask for. I love you. Always remember that. I will be watching over you. We will meet again in heaven, hopefully many long years from now. When your child is born, tell him or her that I love them. But please don't tell them how much of a coward I turned out to be. For now, I leave here to go be with my husband in the next life. Be a great queen and a wonderful mother. Make me proud. May God bless you.

  With love and finality,

  Jarred Silver Cunningham

  Troy lets the paper slip from his hands and land on the floor as he walks away from it all. Before he loses his mind again, he leaves it all behind . . . at least for a few minutes. Going through the sliding glass doors to the garden behind the palace, he pushes back the tears and holds out his arms. Let the gods do what they may. Let them bring wave after wave of loss and hardship. He will not be pulled under those currents again. With a scream, he releases his frustrations to the powers outside of his control. As the tears streak down his cheeks, Troy catches his breath and looks far past the city gates at the bottom of the large sloping hill. Far off in the distance are the fields of bright-colored tulips, his Elysian Fields. Not yet. He can't give up on life and the future just yet. Turning back to the doors of his palace, he smiles. This is his chance now to fix all the things that have yet to be fixed. He will be a father, a lover, and a dreamer. More than that, he will be the Phoenix King.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Mackenzie Morris writes fantasy and science fiction novels as well as short stories and poetry. She lives in Arkansas with her husband. She has a degree in Creative Writing from Arkansas Tech University.