Luke green pov
I spent the carriage ride answering questions.
I asked some, too.
I realized three things.
Lucas loved Ella, Raine, and Illaine.
He liked to eat plants.
My son was as awful a person as I was.
He was seven but acted like twenty, as though he had lived two lives.
Lucas was also my son.
It was the first time I felt like someone was mine, well, after Asteria's death at least.
At times, at certain words, Lucas would look at me, expecting me to laugh.
But I don't understand the point of the ruckus.
So I nod, a much more efficient answer.
But he seemed to be annoyed after a while because he stopped talking altogether.
"Did I do something wrong?" I asked.
"I don't know, we are not close enough for that." He answered, not looking at me.
"Alright, I apologize." I felt annoyed at the response.
He hummed.
He sounded like Asteria, maybe it was because he was so young.
We sat in silence.
"What's your favorite color?" He asked after a while.
"Red," I answered truthfully.
"Huh?" Lucas looked like he saw a dragon.
"Why?"
He seemed very confused.
"It was my late wif—your mother's hair color," I remembered how soft they were, almost like feathers, or grass, depending on when you found her.
"You two had the same hair color?" Lucas asked, curious.
"No." I shook my head.
"But your hair is red." I was enjoying his bafflement.
He seemed to speak more when confused.
"Yes," I replied, almost smiling.
He looked at me.
"I dyed it red," I answered.
"Oh my God, you loved my mother!" He yelled.
"Yes, she was the most perfect woman I ever gazed on." I answered, my brain taking me back to the days when she was alive, "She was kind, crooked, easily delighted, and she was intelligent."
"She was the smartest in the kingdom."
"Her hair—"
"Okay enough." He snickered.
"Ew."
He continued humming, turning to the window.
I realized something.
My son looked exactly like Asteria.
Just as adorable.
Asteria had a lot of suitors, but she still chose me.
I never understood why.
Talking of suitors.
"Didn't Prince Elin propose to you?" I was annoyed at the news for some reason, I don't understand it.
"He did." Lucas shuddered.
"Why did you refuse?" It seemed a foolish thing to reject a prince's offer.
"Well, I don't have any reason except that I don't want to." He answered.
And I felt like I had started to hallucinate, he looked the same as my wife.
He was her son.
So it was not exactly surprising.
But it was.
I hummed.
"Was the prince a bad person?" I asked after a pause.
"No, he was a little kid, and kids are neither good nor bad." Lucas looked me straight in the eye.
"Children are what the adults make out of them. I agree with your sentiments." I said as I nodded.
I looked at him.
I hovered my hand above his head.
Silence.
Then he bent his head.
His hair was like grass, too.
I continued ruffling his hair.
"Enough." Lucas pulled away, his hair a mess now.
"Sorry."
"It's fine." He shrugged as he looked out of the window.
And then we remained silent.
But it was the kind of silence that comforted the soul, rather than the stinging silence of the noble courts.
And I looked at Lucas, stealing glances, and I saw him fall asleep.
And as unmannered as it was, he fell into my lap.
And for once, I did not feel like it mattered.
But it did not last for long. The carriage moved over a rock and woke him up.
It made me feel a bit disappointed.
I'm sure he realized what he did, but he just looked out of the window.
Being a father was hard.
I must have been the kind of father who is the antagonist in children's books.
Regardless of what I did, I ended up a character in books for children.
It is shameful.
"It is a shame that you could not have been better from the start." Lucas mumbled, he did not look at me, scratching the window, "But I hope one day you will love me too."
"Lucas," I stared at him, he did not look at me, I sighed, "I don't understand feelings or love, I've been told so by many, but I promise I will make up for your pain, maybe not this year, or the next, maybe in the next fifty, but I will."
"That is a promise."
Lucas nodded.
And in between our talks, we reached the Evans's March.
The castle was larger than most; they were one of the richest, with a high amount of money embezzlement and insulting the king on numerous occasions during the past few years.
They were a very powerful family.
I got out of the carriage and watched the line of all-female maids.
The Evans child was sharp and most probably generous.
Lucas got out and hid behind my legs.
He was so small.
"Lucas!" The lady Miarale Evans ran to him.
He smiled at her and he let her hug him.
"Good afternoon to you, Lady Evans," I offered greetings with a subtle bow.
"Good afternoon to you, too, Lord Green." The girl's red hair was much darker, almost pointing to brown.
Lucas had brighter hair.
And then I followed them, they talked about her brother and what they planned on getting him.
And I realized Miarale might be a good suitor for my son.
The Evans were known for being a loving family.
No.
He is not some product.
I need to get rid of this habit.
"Lucas, should we go shopping now, or do you want to play?" Lady Miarale asked, a shine in her eyes.
"Depends on what you make me play," Lucas said, humming.
"We are going to play house." She said, thinking she would be rejected.
"Okay, that sounds fun." My son said, smiling.
"Really!" She clasped her hands together. "My brother never plays it with me!"
"What is his name?" My son asked, running his hands through his hair.
"Mier, he came to the…tree-ground," Miarale said, stumbling on her words.
Lucas was silent.
Then he laughed.
"What is a tree ground?" He laughed, and Miarale shook him, embarrassed.
"Mia! Where are you?" The boy cuts between, and I watch my son hide behind Miarale.
It was Mier Evans.
What is Lucas going to do now?