Chapter 9

After getting in the gate, Aaron met then in the Old throne room. It now had the throne removed and a large circular table in the center of the room. The dais where throne sat now had a large square table with flowers and books on it.

Aaron came out, refused Aric's outstretched hand, and grabbed him in a bear hug. Then he turned and asked who his stunning companion was.

Aric introduced her as his wife, soul mate, and the mother of his child. And apparently the only person who still could kick his butt, no matter how much he trains, and the one who makes sure his life always turned out right.

Brianna smiled and blushed at that comment, and lightly punched him in the shoulder.

Aric then said to Brianna that Aaron was the man who was like another father to him and always did his level best to look out for him while he lived in the city.

Surprisingly Brianna let Aaron give her a hug in greeting as well.

She normally didn't do well with other men touching her, but for Aaron she made an obvious exception.

Aaron asked them to follow him to his office. And before Aric realized it they had walked back to what used to be Daven's old office in the castle.

At the door Aric stiffened as he relived the last time he was here.

While they were all still standing in the hallway, Aaron froze, turned and said "I'm truly sorry. I should have remembered you have an understandable aversion to being anywhere near Daven's old office. We kept most everything because it was a waste to just throw away perfectly good furniture. But let's go somewhere else."

But Brianna, quick on the uptake grabbed Aric's hand and said "I'm here with you now, so let's make some new memories to cover the bad ones."

She then pulled him into the room, pushed him up against a wall, and then pulled him into a tonsil searching kiss. She ran one of her hands through his hair, while putting her other hand under his shirt as she rubbed on his chest, where once she found a nipple, proceeded to lightly pinch it.

Suddenly the very last thing on his mind was Andrea's and Daven's betrayal.

A few moments later Aaron chuckled as he walked in the room and said "Yes you were right and I can see you are in very good hands."

After seating his guest, he then walked behind the desk, and took his chair. Then he asked why Aric returned.

Aric covered all the hardships, making his way to his mothers home in Mariners Deep, spending his time working at a tavern, meeting Brianna who was the love of his life, meeting Galen who taught him high level magic, and finally his young daughter. Then he mentioned wanting to see how Aaron was doing, and thus the reason for the trip.

Aaron smiled during Aric reciting of his life, but then he frowned as he started bringing Aric up to date on what happened while he was gone over the last eight seasons.

It seems they had only been "liberated" for just under two seasons now. It was all thanks to the former King finally going too far.

It seems that he was up to his old tricks again and Aaron began to tell the tale of what happened leading up to the liberation.

Once Aric left the kingdom the old King was in a rage. He blamed everyone under the sun for it but his son. Then he tried to send out search parties, but Aaron directed them to search in the wrong areas, everywhere but the direction he went. So they never found his trail.

After a couple weeks they returned to the castle to an irate King. The King was a bear to be around during this time and he punished people for the slightest infractions.

After a couple month, the King went back to life before like nothing ever changed, and suddenly they started parading women though the castle like it was an collage academy dorm room.

It was at this time that Daven and the other two Princes started trying to build harems for themselves from the woman in the city.

Apparently they no longer took no for an answer from the women they chose. The woman being married with a family wasn't a barrier for them it seemed. Women were then afraid to leave their homes.

Aaron looked at Aric and said "You really did tempter him apparently. Once you were gone, he had no real friends left at all, so he behaved like the brakes were totally removed on his wild lifestyle."

Aaron continued.

But the kingdom kept going on. The King even decided to re-enact an old law where the King got to sleep with all brides first on their wedding nights. Suddenly the marriage rate dropped to zero overnight in the kingdom and couples took to just living together.

During this time Aaron decided to go out on a patrol that was going around checking the borders of the kingdom and trying to ensure the safety of the citizens.

He normally didn't go on patrols, but he needed to get away from the corrupt and lewd King. He even went by the village to check on Aric's aunt and uncle, and mentioned to Aric they were doing fine.

But in their village he found a widow named Lichelle who was a quite a few seasons younger than him, but didn't care about his age.

She had lost her husband a number of seasons back and she was having a hard life living alone because she refused to trade sex for things to live on. She did what she could, but there wasn't much she had as a skill other than being a housewife.

He tried not to, but he fell in love with her. She was so open and friendly, not to mention beautiful with her long straight brown hair, brown eyes, and a figure that only youth brought.

She could make him laugh regardless of what he was feeling. He swore after his wife Jewel he would never marry again, but she changed his mind so they married while he was in the village.

There was some land in a village just outside of the city, at the edge of the outer city, and there Aaron bought a small home and finally seemed happy again.

A few seasons later Lichelle became pregnant and they were ecstatic and shortly afterwards Lichelle gave birth to a boy who shared her features.

Aric was surprised to learn Aaron had a child.

He leaned over, smiled, and said "You old dog", but Aaron didn't respond to his smile and Aric sense there was more to the story and that tragedy played a part in it.

With a somber expression he leaned back and waited.

Aaron was leaning back with his eyes closed and continued.

Their happiness wasn't to be it seems. The old King eventually heard about Aaron's new wife. And he called Aaron in to the throne room and told him he expected Lichelle in his bedchamber that night.

Aaron was shocked and said that would never happen. The King laughed and said that he already had been with his first wife and he might as well make it a matched set. While that angered Aaron, he knew he needed to pick his time.

The King realized that Aaron was too much loved by the people, the castle staff, and most of his men. He wasn't stupid enough to just lock him up, banish, or even kill him. He needed a reason to harm him and that's why he was goading Aaron.

He pointed out that as a resident of the city Aaron was supposed to bring his wife to him on their wedding. Aaron pointed out that his wife was never a resident and that he was at the fringes of the kingdom on his wedding night and that would have been impossible even if he was willing to do that. And it was seasons too late regardless.

While Aaron was still before the throne the King told him it didn't matter anyway, that all he had to do was wait here, he had already long since dispatched some of guards to get his wife, Lichelle I believe her name is said the King, from the little home Aaron and her shared. And he would return her to Aaron the next day once he was finished with her.

Aaron was enraged, and he ran out of the throne room to go protect Lichelle. He stopped at the barracks and rounded up a few of his men to go with him.

But it was already too late.

Lichelle, who was having a visitor who was a close friend of hers, was up and entertaining her, when the Kings guards showed up and told her what they were there for.

They informed her they were there for the ritual of the wedding night the King insisted on.

She leaned close to the friend and asked her to hide and protect her child, because it was her they were after. Then she asked the men to wait while she got ready.

Because Aaron had already told her the story of his first wife, she had no intention of doing the same thing too him as well. So while the men were waiting she climbed out the window, went to the barn, saddled a horse, and then jumped on the back of her horse.

The men in the house heard the commotion and ran out. Lichelle screamed she would rather die than betray Aaron and rode off into the night. The King's guards gave chase.

It appeared that her plan was to get to Aaron and have him protect her. She knew that her friend would take their son and hide him for her.

It was a good plan, but just as she got to the city gates, because of the darkness, the horse stepped in a pot hole and threw her.

She hit the ground hard, but as close as she was to the city wall, she kept rolling until she came to a stop at the base of the wall. They said her neck was broken as soon as she first hit the ground though. She died on impact.

Aaron rushing out of the city gate with his men got there just in time to see her as she first hit the ground.

Aaron was heartbroken. His whole world just crumbled a second time in his life in the span of a heartbeat. But that was the last straw.

His men had to pry him away from her body once he got jumped off his horse, which was still at full gallop. They said he sat cradling her body chasing off anyone trying to help him.

After they finally separated him from his now dead wife, he barricaded himself in his room in the barracks and wouldn't eat for weeks. Lichelle's friend took care of their infant son because Aaron was in no position too.