The Summer King and His Winter Bride-Chapter 50: Elope

The news of Casmir’s escape from the dungeons, reached Violet as she stood by the window, looking out at the castle grounds.

Her first concern was not the retribution of the Summer Court or the political implications on her own court, in fact it was the future she could secure in peace with Theron by her side. She wondered now if that future was still a possibility.

Theron entered her room quietly, his boots heavy against the stone floor, but his presence was too large to go unnoticed. Violet didn’t turn around, instead her posture stiffened.

"You’ve heard?" he asked, his voice tight.

Violet nodded, her fingers gripping the windowsill. "I’ve heard, what does it mean for us?"

Theron hesitated, unsure how to answer. He had always been the one to make the hard choices, to command his soldiers and keep his emotions buried deep.

But now, as Violet’s eyes met his, he saw all the choices he had made flash past his eyes and all of them because he loved her.

"Casimir is free," he said, his voice lowering. "It changes everything." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

She turned to face him then, her gaze sharp and unreadable. "It changes everything for you, Theron. What about me? You made a choice. A dangerous one. You knew what would happen if he got out."

Her words stung and he felt guilt twist in his gut. He had promised her safety, a future without the shadow of Casimir, and now that future seemed was no longer certain.

He stepped closer, his expression earnest.

"I did what I thought was right. For you. For us. But I didn’t think he would escape so soon. I thought I would have more time to....."

"To do what?" she interrupted, her voice rising slightly. "To plan, to solidify your position? To continue serving my mother’s ambitions at the cost of your honor? At the cost of ours?"

Her words cut deeper than any blade. Violet was no fool. She had known, even when they’d shared quiet moments together, that he was bound by more than just his love for her.

He was tied to Queen Arabella’s cause, to a loyalty that had become entangled with their growing relationship and now that Casimir had escaped, Violet saw how easily that loyalty could turn into betrayal.

Theron’s throat tightened. "Violet, I...."

"No," she said, her voice steady but cold. "You made a choice, Theron. Will you still stand by it?"

The room seemed to close in on him. He had always feared this moment when Violet would see him not as the man who loved her but as the man who had betrayed his own court.

His hands balled into fists at his sides, as he fought against the desperation for her to choose him.

"I don’t want to lose you." He said hoarsely.

She took a step back, her gaze unwavering. "Then why did you choose this path?"

"I chose this path because I loved you and I had to earn your mother’s trust." He replied simply.

The truth was, he didn’t know why he had chosen to betray Casimir, to side with Arabella in the first place. Was it for Violet? Was it for ambition? Or was it just the cold, calculating necessity of war?

The lines between love and duty had blurred. Now with Casimir free and the threat of war growing, everything was poised to pull them apart.

"Violet, I swear to you, I only want you," he said, his voice softer now. "But I need your trust. If we are to survive what comes next, we need to stand together."

She closed her eyes, a pained expression crossing her face as she weighed his words. She wanted to believe him. With the threat of war looming above them again, she could no longer be sure if he still chose her and that uncertainty gnawed at her.

"I can’t promise you that," Violet said quietly, her voice tinged with sorrow. "Not until I know what you really want for yourself."

Theron’s heart sank for she still had cause to doubt his loyalty towards her.

But there was one thing he knew for sure: the political game had only just begun and the stakes were now higher than ever for him since Casimir would be out for his blood.

He stood near the window, his gaze distant, lost in thought as the weight of the decision before him threatened to crush him. The walls, once comforting and familiar, now felt like a cage. He knew it would be Violet’s face, her trust and her love that would haunt him more than any battle ever could.

He had always been a soldier first. His loyalty had once been to Queen Arabella, to the cause, to her ambitions to rule supreme.

But now? The world he had once fought for felt hollow, its meaning slipping through his fingers like sand.

He had played his part for so long but he could no longer ignore the truth that had burned in his chest since the moment he first saw Violet. She was everything he wanted, everything he needed and the choice had come down to her or nothing at all.

He had stayed loyal to Arabella for so long that each day that passed, each moment spent under her command, felt like a lie.

Arabella was a queen with a vision of power, yes. But she was also a woman of manipulation and cold ambition. She didn’t understand love; she only understood control and in that, he had lost himself.

"Theron," she said, her voice soft, but it held a weight he could never ignore. "I don’t want this life for you."

Theron swallowed hard, trying to push down the bitterness that threatened to overtake him. He didn’t want to hear this, not when everything he had been building up, was crashing down around him.

"I know you don’t," he said, his voice raw. "But this is all I know, Violet. This is who I’ve been. A soldier. A servant. I’ve lived my life by the sword, by the commands of others. I’ve let them tell me what to do, who to serve... and I’ve lost sight of what really matters."

Her silence lingered as she stepped closer her presence anchoring him in.

"You don’t have to do this anymore," she said quietly, pressing her hand flatly against his chest, where his heart beat. "You don’t owe my mother anything."

The pain in her voice made him feel like a failure. But there was a fire inside him now that had been lit by her warmth, her spirit, the way she looked at him like he was more than just a soldier or a man with a past. She saw him. She had always seen him.

His heart raced as he turned to face her, the turmoil within him threatening spill out.

"I can’t stay on to keep serving Arabella when I know she’s never been anything but a means to an end. She’s used me and I’ve let her. But I won’t let her use me anymore."

His words were a declaration of freedom. "I won’t serve her. Not anymore, now that I know what matters."

Violet’s eyes softened and her face was full of understanding. "What matters to you, Theron?"

"You, Violet. I’ve spent too much time trying to justify my choices, trying to live up to something that isn’t real. But this between us is real."

Her breath caught and for a moment there was nothing but the two of them standing in the middle of a whirlwind of what they both feared and desired.

"What are you saying?" she whispered, her gaze searching his, as though she wanted to be sure she had heard him correctly.

"I’m saying that I’m done," he said, his voice steady, despite the conflict within.

"Done serving her, done serving anyone but you. If you would still choose me, Violet, I’ll leave all of this behind. The war. The betrayal. Everything. Start life anew with you away from the past."

Her eyes searched his face for any trace of doubt, any hint that he might pull away. But there was none. This was it. There was no more hesitation just one way forward.

"I will go with you," Violet said softly. "But are you sure? This path won’t be easy. Arabella will want your head. Casimir will want to destroy us both."

"I know," Theron said, his lips pressing into a thin line.

"But I’m willing to face whatever comes as long I have you with me."

She took a step forward closing the distance between them and her hand found his.

"Then let’s go. Let’s leave this place behind and start over. Together."

In that moment, Theron had made his choice once again. He was no longer a soldier of war. He was a man fighting for the woman he loved and nothing else mattered except that.

As they turned to leave the room, the weight of his decision felt lighter as though the chains that had bound him to Queen Arabella and to duty had finally been broken.

There was only one road ahead, uncertain and dangerous, but it was theirs to walk along together.