I Like Kids

"Oh lord," Xion gasped. His eyes were wide with worry. "You... were you hurt?"

The distress in those deep blue eyes was so real that for a fleeting moment, Darius found himself baffled. Speechless even.

"Not really," he replied after thinking back to the incident. "Just got a broken arm."

Xion pursed his lips. How old was Rael at that time? Maybe six? Seven?

Gently, he leaned forward, taking two small hands in his own, "It must have been so painful," his voice brimmed with admiration. "Yet you endured it. Your Grace, you have courage and strength that even adults envy."

The child's hands were cold. Not the biting chill of winter but a soft, lingering coolness, like the surface of a marble stone that had been sitting in the shade for far too long.

No matter how the sun kissed the world around it, it remained untouched. Some shadows refused to let their prisoners bask in the light.