But he stayed, too.
Eventually, they were the only two left in the throne room. She wasn't sure how long they stayed. It might have been hours. It might have been minutes.
"I have to go," he said.
She looked over at him. At that moment, she wasn't sure if she hated him for wanting to go or if she loved him for it. Maybe both.
She nodded, getting up.
He stood, and they faced one another. She knew it was time for a goodbye.
He reached over and grabbed her hand, bringing it up to his lips and placing a gentle kiss over the scar on her wrist. He brought the hand back down and laced his fingers through hers.
"Come home," she said.
Home.
"I will," he said, smiling a bit.
But the smile only made her heart feel like it was breaking.
He pulled her close, and they hugged for the first time in over two months.
Suddenly six guards stormed into the throne room. Lex let go of her. Aria looked up in surprise, startled.
"What is the meaning of this?" Lex yelled, turning to face the guards.
"Your...Your Grace, we-we were told that you were under attack in the throne room," one of the guards said.
Aria recognized him from the training room.
The guards glanced around and mumbled to one another.
"And where did you hear that?" Lex asked.
"The boy. One of the queen’s people," the same guard said, looking behind him. But no one else entered the room.
"Which one?" Lex asked through clenched teeth.
"Ben, Your Grace," another guard said.
Lex didn't wait for them to say anything else. He started towards the door. Aria followed, feeling her stomach drop.
Lex, Aria, and the guards that had stormed into the room made their way to the training area. Aria knew that was where he was headed. That's where the guards had come from.
Lex stood in the center, turning in a circle to glance at all of the storage areas. Aria looked around, the blood in her body turning to ice at the site.
Weapons were missing. A lot of them. Knives, swords, axes.
"When I find him..." Lex said, glancing at Aria. He looked absolutely murderous, but she couldn't really blame him.
Why? Why would Ben do such a thing? And what did he plan on doing with all those weapons? Why did he need them? Why would he do that?
It was a death sentence. He knew that. And yet, he still did it.
Why?
It was the question that haunted Aria for the rest of the night.
Lex had left, and he took quite a few people with him. Some of them were her own. But she stayed in the palace, trying to understand. Trying to figure out why Ben had done such a thing.
Aria waited up for him that night. She figured his plan to go with the next party searching for her people had been put off. He wouldn't leave now, not with Ben on the loose with so many weapons.
She thought and thought about it, about why Ben had done it, but not one idea she'd had made any sense.
Eventually, she got tired of waiting. She left their quarters in search of someone who could give her some answers. Maybe Lex was back? Perhaps he was holding a meeting to decide his next move? She wanted to be a part of that.
But as she made a turn to go down the hallway, she saw him heading her way.
If anything, he looked angrier than before.
"Hey," she said, a little cautiously.
He must have been heading to their room.
"Hey," he said. Even though he looked angry, his voice was gentle.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"What? Why?"
"Because I should have...I should have known he'd do something like this, eventually. You were right about him, and I didn't listen. I just-"
"No," he said, cutting her off, "Don't be sorry. You were just...you saw the good in him. Don't apologize for that. It's one of the reasons-" but he didn't finish the sentence.
She waited.
But he just shook his head and turned away, looking at the village below them.
"One of the reasons why what?" she asked, unable to stop herself.
"You see the good in people," he said shrugging. "A lot of the time, I don't. It's one of the things I like about you."
"Well," she began, "That's not true. I mean, you saw the good in us. When we came here? Despite what you heard...you gave us a chance" and look at where it's gotten you, she thought.
He didn't say anything.
"So I take it you didn't find him?" she asked, moving to stand beside him. It reminded her of one of her first few nights here, the first time weapons had been taken from the training area.
It was a little strange, being in that same position, realizing how far they'd come since that night.
"No, we didn't. And honestly, I don't really care. If he took the weapons for himself so he could, I don't know, try to kill me or live in the wild or something, I wouldn't care at all. Not knowing why he did it is what's really bothering me."
She nodded. It was what was bothering her, too.
"So, what are you going to do?"
"I don't know," he said shrugging. "Right now, I'd just like to forget about it. All of it."
She understood.
So with that, she interlaced her fingers through his and gave his hand a little tug. They walked to their quarters in silence.
They didn't speak until they were both lying in bed, in semi-darkness.
"Lex," she whispered, turning on her side to face him once he'd crawled in after her.
"Yeah?"
"Do you regret it? Letting us stay here?" He must have. Since they'd come, he hadn't gained anything. Instead, he'd lost his own people. We've been more trouble than we're worth, she thought.
"I told you, I don't regret anything I've ever done. Maybe I should have told you sooner about your people. But since you've known, all you've done is worry. I've noticed.
