I need that map

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

| The Kingdom of Glacier ~ The Bakery |

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leaning on the wall, Allen stared at the piece of paper which laid on his desk, he had not gotten the courage to open it's content.

°Open it!° His impatient thought rang.

"No! What if I wasn't accepted?" He argued with his inner thought.

°You would never know if you do not open it. It begins in three days time if you're to be present for the occasion anyways° His thought reasoned.

"Uhhh!" He sighed in frustration.

Propelling himself upright, he slowly walked backwards, making the distance between the letter and himself more pronounced.

°I need some time to think. I need to see father° He pulled off his apron, tossing it aside, heading up the stairs.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Father!" He called, the room eerily quiet.

"Father!" He barged in, the door making a hard slam on the wall.

"Allen." He turned on his bed towards the entrance, his eyes brightened upon sighting his son.

Allen released a sigh of relief, "I thought-" He gritted his teeth at the thought of thinking that way. "Never mind that, how are you feeling?"

The old man stared at him in confusion, disappointment clearly evident on his face, he could not fully comprehend what his son had said, the movement of his lips and facial expression, the only clue leading to a conclusion he asked a question.

"You didn't quite hear me father, am I right?" Allen's hands balled into fists, he couldn't continue on like this, he would be driven on the edge of being called crazy if this persisted.

°Camille was right, why was I so worried he would be disturbed by the noise at the bakery?°

Pulling a chair from the bedside, he sat down, taking a deep breath, he released it slowly him, "Alright, let's start again," He picked up a note and a pen on the beside table, ~Are you...~ He scribbled as he pointed to his father, ~Alright?~ He turned the paper towards his father.

"Yes, I am son." His father replied amidst teary eyes.

Reaching out, he caressed Allen's cheeks, "You've grown into a fine young man, your mother would have been proud."

"I hope you're right." Allen replied, engulfing his father's hand with his.

"Was your application accepted?" His father asked.

Moving closer to his father's ear, he spoke, "It's uncertain, but I got a letter, so that's still good news." Allen affirmed.

"Please assure me you won't do anything reckless." His father's tone fell.

~What could I possibly do that would be reckless?~ He penned down again, showing his father, he folded his arms, not pleased at the direction the conversation was going.

"You know what I mean, do forgo all the bitterness in your heart, only then can I rest peacefully." The old man responded.

"How could you say that father?" Allen backed away, standing up, an untold rage boiled in him, "You of all should know why I'm doing this, I'm doing this for you! For you, father!" He yelled with all his might.

°There is no way he couldn't have heard that!° Allen hoped.

"I appreciate that son, but do you think your mother would have been pleased if she were here?" The old man's voice sober.

"Wouldn't mother have been here if she was spared on that night?" Allen couldn't hold in the pain anymore, as tears trickled down to the floor.

Throwing the note on the floor, some it's pages flying off, he yelled: "We shouldn't be living like this, you shouldn't be like this," he pointed an accusing finger at his father, "don't make him the victim here, 'We' are the victims, and they need to pay for what they did."

"Back then, I was proud, overly confident." The old man began, "I was hell-bent on carrying out my duties to a fault even though we didn't need to, our family forsaken because of that. Never trusting those who tried to help me back then. We rarely got to interact then, and I'm thankful for your mother holding her part while I acted foolishly." The old man closed his eyes in despair, "Is that the father and life you wanted?" He queried.

"I- " Allen was hesitant, he had always looked up to his father, in awe as he was assigned a honorable role by the King's side, he did miss his father, as his frequent absence from home persisted and despised the King for that.

"Is that the life you wanted?" He asked again.

Picking up the remnants of what was left of the note, he scribbled ~No!~ Allen reluctantly flashed the answer to his father.

"I miss your mother as much as you do, but never continue a cycle of vengeance, I beg of you." He pleaded.

Tearing out a clean sheet, he wrote again ~But you were betrayed, you were unjustly stripped of your title and dishonorably discharged, they tried to kill us! But what about mother? Was she as fortunate as we were?~ Allen raged on.

"Allen, the current King had nothing to do with this." The old man said, coughing in the process due to the effort he exerted to clearly hear his son, at the same time speaking.

~Then why was your family, mother and I, made a target? Why would they go after defenseless, innocent citizens like our family.~ Allen punched his fist to the wall.

"An eye for an eye, a life for a life." Allen murmured. If there was anything that could make him glad about his father's situation, it would be that he couldn't hear what he had just said. The less he knew his plans, the better.

"You're planning something, I can feel it." His father eyed him suspiciously.

~Father, I need that map.~ Allen penned down, holding onto his father's shoulders, looking him in the eye squarely.

"H-how can you recall about that?" His father stammered in utter shock.

"Tch-" Allen scoffed, releasing his father, he retreated to the chair below him, ~Did you really believe I lost my memory that day?~ He flashed the question.

"..."

°He knew all this while?° His father looked on in shock.

~Fine, I do admit it, my memory is a little foggy but I would clearly never forget that day, never!~ Allen asserted, a smirk playing on his lips.

His father trembled slightly at the intensity of his words.

"You can't go back there, that would be suicidal." His father cried.

~Father, I need that map~ He pointed at the already penned word again.

"No I won't let you go back there, forget about your silly revenge and be serious with your life for once. You have a bakery to run." His father tried steadying his breathing.

°Silly revenge?° The word rang in Allen's head.

~I have never been serious about anything in my life, but mark my words father, you might not be supportive now, but you will be proud of your son one day.~ He rose to his feet, looking over his frail father. "You will get the honor you deserve, mother would be avenged." He whispered.

°I sincerely wished I could hear what he just whispered° The old man held his son's gaze.

The jingle of the bell signalling the presence of someone at the bakery.

~Well then, I would be taking my leave now, we have some customers who need my attention~ He bent over writing his final words, adjusting the duvet, he tucked his father in.

"Do take some rest." He laid a kiss on his forehead.

°Good thing I have a clue on where the map might be!° Allen reasoned as he closed the door behind him.

"All that's required now is to check the letter." Allen said to himself, determined to follow though with his plans. Walking down the stairs heading towards the bakery.

Pushing his thoughts aside for the moment, he rushed in a hurry as the impatient customer called requesting the presence of who runs the bakery.

"At your service!" He put on a big smile as he got to the counter just in time.

~~~~~~~~~~

| >> w << |

~~~~~~~~~~