Lessons for All

[Sky]

OOC: A few days after the events in the "Tragedy" thread.

Standing in his chambers at the palace, Demetrius set down his bags with a heavy sigh. It was strange how quickly things in life could change. Just a few days earlier, he had been standing in this very room preparing to travel to Linphea and now . . . he was back. But the life he had possessed had been replaced with the one he had now. He'd still have to go through the same motions - he'd still have to go on duty and he'd still have to swear to protect the lives of the royal family even at the cost of his own - but it wasn't the same. Now when he went on vacation, he wouldn't have a wife to go home to. Now instead of celebrating Mena's birthday at home with their boys, they'd all have to pay a visit at her grave. Now things would always be different. Now things would always be defined as something that happened either before or after Mena's death.

Moving deeper into his room, Demetrius slowly opened up his suitcase and began to unpack. Yes, it was true. Life had finally decided that it was time to shake up his once relatively stable world. That it was time for him to see things in a new light - a new perspective. That it was time for him to learn a few lessons. And the only way that could have been accomplished was through Mena's death.

Sinking down onto his bed, Demetrius rested his arms against his knees as he wearily closed his eyes. He wished that things hadn't had to end like that, but perhaps it really had been the only way to have his eyes opened to the fact that he had been living his life all wrong. He had never been a religious man, but now he just couldn't bring himself to discount the idea that there wasn't some great force at work that he had no control over. That that force had done what it had to teach him that he needed to learn to appreciate the things he had-

At the sound of a knock on his door, Demetrius raised his head before he said, "It's open."

[Sky]

Entering the room, Sky slowly made his way over to where Demetrius was sitting. Not entirely sure what he should say to his old friend, Sky lowered himself into a chair and allowed himself to lapse into silence. Mostly because he had a feeling that nothing he could say would take away the hurt of what had happened. Demetrius knew that he was here for him and so perhaps it was better to just sit. To wait until Demetrius was ready to speak.

As he waited, Sky's thoughts flitted to his friend's marriage. Sky knew that Demetrius and his wife had had troubles in the recent past, but he also knew that he had loved her very much. And that it had to be tearing him apart to have to live with the fact that she was gone. Silently shaking his head, Sky wondered how Demetrius managed to remain so put together - he himself couldn't even begin to fathom the thought of what it must be like to actually lose someone he loved. In fact, even thinking of it sent cold chills up and down his spine.

As the silence continued for many long moments, Sky finally said, unable to bear the quiet any longer, "I came as soon as I heard that you were back - mother wrote me." Shifting uncomfortably in his chair, he continued softly, "You know, Demetrius, I consider you to be family. I . . . I just want you to know that if you need anything, I'm here. We're friends. I know that you think that you have to protect me and that you have to act like you're just a bodyguard and not a second father to me . . . but you are. You're that and you're my friend. And friends talk. So . . . yeah. I'm here. To talk. To listen. To just sit. Whatever you need."

[Sky]

At this Demetrius fixed Sky with a long, hard look before he said firmly, "You're young; you don't need to be burdened down with my troubles-"

"But-" Sky began to interject before Demetrius shook his head, indicating that it wasn't his turn to speak.

"I'm a grown man, Sky. I can handle my grief on my own. I can learn how to deal with these changes to my life. But you're right; we are friends and you are, more than that, like a son to me. Perhaps more of a son to me than my own boys. I've been serving Eraklyon since you were just a little kid and I've seen you grow and I've seen you make mistakes and, in reality, I haven't been able to observe that in my own children because I'm always here and not there with them. I hate that and you know, Mena's death has taught me that that's got to change. But that's not what I want to say right now. What I want to say is that in the past I've given you advice and I've taught you things the way a father would and now, I have another lesson that I want you to learn from me. That is, if you're willing . . ."

"Yes, yes, of course," Sky replied hastily.

"It's a simple lesson. Perhaps you don't even need to hear it from me - perhaps you've already learned it. But in case you haven't - in case you are just like the person I was only a few days ago - here goes. People die. People die and when they do, there are no second chances. That's it. There's not ever going to another time when you'll get to hug them or tell them that you love 'em. And the thing is, you never know when someone's going to be taken away from you. And so what you've got to do is to make every moment count with that person. To let them know exactly how you feel. To not let stupid things get in the way of your love. I let that happen with Mena and now I'm suffering because of it. So I want you to learn from my pain, Sky because I don't ever want you to have to feel what I'm feeling. The guilt - and worst of all, the questions of what if. What if she was still here? Would we be happy? Would we have grown old together? Had more children? Managed to work things out and to fall back into love? Those kinds of thoughts eat away at you until there's nothing left but regret. And regret is an ugly, ugly thing. I know that now. Whatever you do, Sky, don't let yourself fall into that trap."

[Sky]

As Sky listened to Demetrius speak, he felt his heart tug painfully. Because everything Demetrius was saying was true. Regret was ugly. People did die or at least, go away. And often, you never get those second chances to say what you should have said in the first place.

Missing out on love. It had happened to Demetrius and it was happening to him with Christine. He was keeping her at arm's length because he didn't want to allow himself to be vulnerable - to open himself up to hurt. Even though he loved her, he couldn't say the words because he doubted them - he doubted their ability to beat the obstacles that stood in their way. He was afraid. But all this time he had been okay with being afraid, with shying away from anything serious with Christine because he had always believed that if he wanted, there would always be another chance to tell her what he felt.

But that wasn't the reality of things. Demetrius' situation proved that. It was very likely that a day would come when it would be too late for him to find the happiness he wanted with Christine.

His stomach twisting, Sky shook his head. But what could he do? Run to Christine and tell her that he loved her? What then? She would expect things of him. Would expect that their relationship would last even in the midst of all the opposition. And the truth was, he wasn't sure which would be worse: telling Christine that he loved her only to be forced away from her or to never have told her at all. Yes, he most certainly had some serious thinking to do.

Feeling heavy-hearted, Sky slowly rose to his feet as he said, "You always give me something to think about, Demetrius. Thanks." Shoving his hands into his pockets, he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet before he said, "I guess you want to be left alone, don't you?"

At this, his friend gave him a faint smile and slowly nodded.

Respecting this, Sky gave him a comforting pat on the back before leaving the room. Demetrius was one of the best people that he knew; even in the midst of his own pain, he was still watching out for him the way he had always done. Glancing back over his shoulder at the closed door to Demetrius' chambers, Sky spoke a silent wish that things would turn out all right for him in the end.

[Sky]

Seemingly only moments after the prince had left, Demetrius heard another knock on his door. Answering it the same way he had answered Sky, he heard the door glide open and then the voice of a servant saying, "Sir Demetrius, Her Majesty would like to have a word with you. She is waiting for you in the throne room."

Nodding his head, Demetrius rose heavily to his feet. As always, duty called.

As he entered the large room, with its stunning marble floor and high glass domed ceiling, Demetrius approached the throne where Her Majesty was seated and then bowed respectfully, waiting for her to speak before he resumed his normal position.

Clasping her hands together, Riannon said in a soft voice that very few people had been privileged to hear, "You needn't be so formal, Demetrius. It is just us - two old friends, hmm?" Pausing for a moment, she then continued, "I just wanted to speak with you in person to tell you how sorry I am for your loss. I know that those words seem trivial, but . . ." trailing off Riannon sighed. She had never been good at comforting people. It just wasn't in her nature. Or if it had once been, it had been beaten out of her in her years as an adult. Shaking her head, she finally finished as she reached out and lightly squeezed Demetrius' hand, "If you ever need time off, do not hesitate to ask for it. You have been the best guard that Eraklyon has seen in many years and it is only right that you take this time to reclaim your personal life."

Quietly meeting the queen's gaze, Demetrius nodded simply and said, "Thank you." But as he stood in her presence, listening to her give her sympathies, Demetrius vaguely felt himself wish that other people could see this side of the queen. That she would allow others to see this side of her. The side of her that was sincere and warm and selfless. Perhaps someday she would. Perhaps someday she would learn as he had learned that she had been living all wrong. That if she just tried, she could live a more fulfilling life. He just hoped that she wouldn't have to go through a painful experience to learn it. Because, despite what others tried to make her out to be, she was a good person and she didn't deserve any more heartache.

After another twenty minutes of idle talk, Demetrius excused himself with a smile and the claim that he was tired from travel and wished to lie down. As he finally made his way back to his room, Demetrius shut the door behind him with a firm click, hoping beyond hope that he wouldn't have any more visitors. He appreciated everyone's words and he was glad that they cared enough to share them with him - but it was still draining. Extremely draining.