It's been a week since Xandria moved into the palace. She had still not gotten used to the bowing and greeting of the maids and the soldiers. No one wants to be friendly with her except from Anaya.
She laid on her bed with her eyes wide open. She could not sleep. She had another dream. This time it showed her a statue, and from what she could remember the statue was on the roof of this palace.
She had avoided Maltherion all week, apart from the breakfast they always have together and dinner on some nights, she had never crossed part with him. He was always busy. Either in court or he was out of town.
She decided to go and take a look at the statue that was up in the roof. Maybe it had a significant meaning.
She picked up her robe and wrapped it around her body, securing it with the rope, she picked up a candle that was beside her bed. It still had a little bit of fire left.
She carefully opens the door, trying not to wake Maltherion who was in the room beside her's.
She stepped out of the room, using the candle as her guide through the dark hallways. She climbed up the staircase that led to the roof. She had discovered it one time, while she was roaming through the palace.
As she carefully opened the door that led to the roof, she let out a surprised gasp as she saw a lone figure standing in the darkness close to the edge of the roof.
As she turned around and was about to go back down, she heard his cold voice through the silent night.
"Where are you going?"
She stopped and slowly turned around. The fire in her candle extinguished, leaving the both of them in darkness.
"Your majesty." She greeted mockingly.
"Come forward." It did not sound like a command, yet she felt compelled to obey him. She took slow, steady steps towards where he was standing.
"What are you doing here?" She decided to ask him.
"The same reason you are here." He replied simply, leaving her more confused.
"What do you mean?" She asked
"You had a dream didn't you? About this statue" he pointed at the statue that was right before him. It was not like any other statue that was in the palace. Most of the statues in the palace where about gargoyle and ancient beast, but this statue was different.
Perched high upon the palace roof, where only the wind dares linger, stood the statue of the grand gias. A solemn figure cloaked in stone. It was neither man nor beast. It is no guardian nor god. It is simply there, timeless and unmoving, carved in the shape of a royal draped in flowing robes, arms extended as if in offering or surrender.
No one remembers who sculpted it, nor when it was placed atop the highest spire. It is not mentioned in any royal ledger,yet it had always been part of the palace skyline. Legend says that during certain nights, when the moon is full and stars burn bright, the statue glows. Ever so faintly with a golden hue - just for a moment - before fading back into stillness.
Whispers passed down through generations say it represents the first king who had received the grand gias, frozen at the moment he accepted his bond to the soul he was destined for. The statue is said to mark the beginning of the Gias - the moment when duty, desire and fate first collided.
Those who believe in the old tales say that whenever the Gias awakens in a new king, the statue warms ever so slightly, as if remembering.
Maltherion and Xandria stood in front of the statue of the Grand Gias. If one did not look closely, they won't notice that it was different from the other statues that were around the palace.
"I have had the same dream for the past week now." Xandria whispered, it was as if she did not want the secrets of her dreams to be out in the open, yet she felt the urge to tell Maltherion.
"What was the dream about?" He turned his head, now facing her as he stared into her brown eyes that shined through the stars.
"It was about this statue. I felt a strong connection calling me to it. That is why I'm here. But all I can see is you." That was when the realization of her dream hit her. The dream led her to the statue of the grand gias, that symbolizes the bond of the king to his queen, and she met Maltherion with the statue.
" Don't you get it, Xandria. You are my queen. " He could see the realization in her eyes.
Xandria stared into his red eyes as she heard him say her name for the first time this night. It gave her a different kind of feeling whenever she heard him say her name. Feelings she never thought she could feel for him.
"It's not about being your queen, it's about what I want. I don't want this life. I had never wanted it." Xandria cried out, for the first time expressing what she truly felt.
Maltherion wrapped his hands around her shoulder and pulled her closer, her face resting on his chest.
" I had no other choice. From the moment I saw you, I felt the pull towards you. It was destiny that we met Xandria, I had tried avoiding it for the longest time but it could not work." Maltherion spoke with so much emotion. That was the first time she had ever heard him speak with emotions laced in his voice.
" I don't think I can be a good queen to you, Maltherion." She hesitated before she said his name.
His name sounded smooth, like it was made for her to say. She had the urge to say it again. She loved the way it sounded.
"You are destined to be the queen of Alderyn, and no one can take it away from you." He assured her.
She stayed in his warm embrace for what seemed like hours. He felt warm, warmer than usual, but it wasn't a feverish warm, the warmth held power, aura, the one she felt in her dreams when she dreamt about the king when she was just ten years old.
And the thought of her dream compelled her to ask Maltherion a question, the question that had left her wondering for years - what the king truly is -.