All eyes were instantly turned towards Ea and Allias stared at him with a saddened expression. The small elf averted his gaze, feeling embarrassed as he couldn''t stand being the center of attention. Theseus was not looking at Ares anymore but Ea, dumbfounded as he had never realized that the elf felt this way.


    "Is that true?" Theseus asked him. Ea did not answer though, he didn''t know what to do or what to say. He felt as if he would have failed at his job by admitting that he was tired of it, of everything. He didn''t wish to leave Allias'' and Theseus'' side. All he wanted was to spend some time away from the brooms and the paper work. Especially the blood. He had been trained to kill, he knew how to do it perfectly and not leave a single sign, his knowledge and the skills that he acquired at troubled and dark times though did not mean he enjoyed this chaos. This feeling that death was always at their doorstep. He was scared of it, greatly so.


    "Ea say something!" Ares told him, raising his tone and the elf flinched. His eyes wondered on their faces, Allias'' expression sticking to him the most. He looked so saddened, his green eyes were clouded, darkened as he took a few steps forward, coming close to him.


    "I think that''s enough for now, don''t you think? There is no reason for us to shout. Ea, would you like to come with me for a while? Let''s take a walk." He said with a faint smile and Ares looked at him suspiciously.


    "Where are you going? I will come too." He said and the moment he started walking, intending to follow them, his brother yanked him from the collar of his shirt and stopped him.


    "No you''re not. You did your job now shut up and wait." Theseus told him and Ares sighed. Ea turned around and looked at him. He gave him a shy smile, making his angry heart speed up and he nodded, realizing that Ea was fine with this. Ares knew how much he admired Allias, he didn''t believe that he wouldn''t want to go with him, it was just that, he knew Ea well. He would never want to disappoint the king, so he would probably end up lying.


    Allias though would never allow that. He had taken the younger elf away to help him relax, he walked slowly next to him as they exited the palace and followed the narrow path with the shiny stones that led to the garden. Now that the king had brought spring back the scenery was quite beautiful, a sight Ea hadn''t seen in so long, the vibrant green, the colors of the fruits and blooming flowers, their bewitching sweet smells and the sounds of birds, their singing.  None of them had had the time to enjoy this, the calmness and beauty of the world around them. The ice had melted but as it seemed their hearts were still cold.


    The older elf looked around, carefully choosing a tree that had the thickest shade and led Ea towards it. He sat on the grass, crossing his legs and patted the space next to him, telling Ea to sit. At first he was shy, he wasn''t so used to be in the king''s presence while they were alone and a lot of things had changed from when he was a child. Allias was different as so was he.


    "Oh, come on. Don''t think of me as the King for a second please." Allias told him with a smile and finally the elf gave in, seeing his charming face. "Ea, I want you to tell me the truth, right now I am not your king okay? I am the one that looked after you when you were a child. Remember when you visited me back home? You wouldn''t let go of me." Allias said, his eyes reminiscing of the old times, peaceful and gentle, bathed by the bright sun. "So tell me, is what Ares said true? Are you tired?" he asked him and Ea stood silent. He was looking at his lap thinking how he should answer. He didn''t want to disappoint anyone but at the same time lying to Allias seemed completely wrong, he was always so kind.


    "Yes, it''s just that, sometimes it''s hard doing everything in the background. I know that it''s my job and I shouldn''t complain. I am very thankful that you and Theseus accepted me into the palace after my parents died and that I should pay you back somehow but…"


    "Is that how you think of us? As your boss? Is that all we are to you? Theseus and I?  Ea, you used to talk to me about everything. You were such a cute child so tell me why, why would you think I would ever need you to repay me? I see you as my family, that would remain the same even if you just lazed around all day. I don''t want you to repay us anything." He told him and caressed his cheek. Ea seemed to be in the brim of tears.


    "I…I just thought everyone hated me. I was a burden. Ares didn''t want me at first, you were gone, I had no one to talk to and Theseus, he, he rarely smiled. He trained me, he spent times with me trying to get me to be of use and I wanted to work hard. I wanted to have a meaning, a reason to be here, I wanted to be proud of me when you returned." He told Allias with tears in his eyes. The king sighed, looking at him, his eyes filled with nostalgia as he remembered the young shy boy he used to hold in his arms such a long time ago. He wiped his tears carefully and pinched his nose.


    "Theseus didn''t train you so you could be of use to him, he trained you so you could be independent. So you wouldn''t need anyone and I…I am always proud of you. No matter what you do Ea, asking for a little break or asking for help when you''re down is never bad. I am currently trying to convince myself that too." He said and Ea chuckled with his words. "Honestly if I ever had a child I would be honored if he was even the slightest bit like you. Don''t be scared to speak your mind, we are family, no one will hate you or despise you. I know I never will." Allias told him and Ea felt as if a huge weight had been lifted of his chest. He nodded, with tears of joy creeping in and the king patted his head. "So now tell me, do you want to come with us? You won''t have to if you need to rest but I will make sure you don''t have as much to do. The decision is yours."


    "I want to come." Ea said.


    "Are you sure?''


    "Yes, definitely just please, no more brooms. I hate swiping the floors. The dust makes me sneeze." He told Allias and the king began laughing loudly. He looked at Ea happily and nodded.


    "No more brooms. I swear. But I do think you should talk to Theseus too."


    "I know" Ea agreed with a troubled expression.


    "I think we all need to be more open with each other. That''s what families do after all." He advised him, reminding that to himself too and the elf nodded eagerly.