Chapter Sixteen


Alexander

Even with the stress that yesterdays events have evoked, I can not forget about my duties as this Kingdom's ruler. I have said to my people that there will be work to be done, so I will see to holding up my end of the promise, even if my head is not quite done spinning from the events of the past two days. Bellamy was right to ask about the progress of my plans at dinner last night, unknowingly reminding me of them. It is not that I truly forgot about my intentions, however, so much that I had become very distracted from them and set them aside in my mind space. I decide to use this day to check up on the advancement and make certain that the hands I have requested are prepared to begin working. Once everything is arranged, I will begin forming the document that will finalize my decree to officially begin the extensive farm work so that I may give the orders to set the plan in motion. 

Since Mabon's arrest, he has not received a single visitor. The only alliances that he kept were on my Council with him and he has no family left alive who would call after him and his well-being. No one on the Council is brave enough to visit him in the dungeon, either, or perhaps they are proving their loyalty to me by refusing to communicate with a man who betrayed me. 

Judging by the tenseness of Goderoy's shoulders, I can assume that the reason for Mabon's lack of visitors is the latter. He is afraid, though whether of the Dungeon or of me, I cannot say for certain. I called for the new Head of Council to meet me at the entrance of the castle, using the free time that I have while waiting for Bellamy to return from washing up to question the progression of the orders I have given him. 

Goderoy does a fair job of masking the tremble in his hands by clenching them tightly around a ledger that he carries. He holds it in front of him like a shield as if the book would be able to keep him safe from my wrath if he were to accidentally elicit it. I do not think that he is aware of his body language, though he does seem to notice himself glancing too often at Sage and decides to forcibly keep his gaze on my left shoulder, where it will meet neither the Chimera's or Illius' eyes. It would seem that he feels quite a bit of pressure in his new position, having seen the punishment for betraying me first hand. As long as he has done nothing to cross me, however, he will remain unharmed. It crosses my mind to voice my reassurance, but I decide to keep it to myself. Having the Council wary of me may become useful; it makes them more mindful of my thoughts, at least. It is a welcome change to see that they will take me seriously with their antagonizing leader removed.

"Have my workers been made aware of the project?" I inquire,  casually resting a hand between Sage's shoulder blades; A comforting gesture, though one that is not without reason. In addition to the tone of my voice, I allow the seemingly harmless motion to fill the silence that briefly lapses after my question to serve as an implication to the weight of my query. I am also questioning his competence in his new position, and he seems overly aware of this. 

Goderoy swallows dryly, trying to keep his eyes from glancing to the movement of my hand, refusing to acknowledge the beast that burns holes into his robes with her stare. The nervous eyes of the older man stay assigned to my shoulder as he finally speaks, managing an even tone. "Yes, Your Highness. Those who meet your requirements have been notified and await your proclamation." 

I regard him quietly for a moment, which seems to make his anxiety increase as he undoubtedly thumbs through a mental list of the things I may be noticing about him at the moment. After the display of my deductive skill with Mabon, it is not surprising that Goderoy, along with the other members of my Council, would be much more vigilant of my adroitness and act accordingly.  

The grip on Goderoy's ledger tightens, even more, turning his knuckles white. Despite his best efforts, his gaze drifts over my shoulder to Illius as a single drop of sweat forms from the perspiration on his forehead and trails down his brow. Though my Captain does not feel particularly attentive, let alone as forbidding, as usual, Goderoy looks away quickly and licks his dry lips, holding the book closer to his chest. Without the rest of the Councilmen flanking him, he looks less sure of himself, more timid. Perhaps he is not as worthy of my commendation as I once thought. He does not lift a hand to wipe the sweat away.

"Very good," I eventually say, freeing Goderoy from the prison of my silence. "Is all well with the finances?" I incline my head, gesturing to the book in his grasp with a raised brow. I must have interrupted him when I called for his presence before me, as I assume that he did not simply lug this heavy tome with him for comfort. 

Goderoy seems to realize his tight grip on the ledger as he follows my attention to it. He offers a quick nod and hurriedly explains, "Yes, of course, Your Highness. I was simply making certain of it; it would be a shame if Mabon were stealing more than jewelry. I wanted to be certain that your funds were still secure."

I offer an approving smile, which seems to surprise the Councilmen, as the quirk of his brow suggests. "Well done, Goderoy. It is an unimpeachable decision to keep account of the Kingdom's finances. You act well on your own. I have no regrets of promoting you." 

Goderoy bows hastily at the praise, seeming unaware of how to handle it so suddenly. He becomes flustered by it. "Y-yes, certainly, Your Highness." 

I raise a hand and motion for him to leave. "Your work is appreciated, Goderoy. You may leave."

Goderoy bows again and turns so quickly that his gray robe billows like a skirt as he strides away, practically jogging to get away as hastily as possible without being rude. I cannot help but feel the slightest bit smug at the change, enjoying the overdue respect. 

When my father was still present in the Kingdom, Mabon never served to be problematic. He had always done as instructed and never made any attempts to obstruct the King in his decision making. Mabon even respected my mother to a similar extent, knowing what the punishment for treating her the way that women were, previous to her reign, would be. I noticed a change in him, however, when my parents began to allow me into their meetings when I was eight years old. It was when my mother and father let me speak and offer my opinion that Mabon truly began to show his colors, though my parent's seemed oblivious to the sneers that he would give me after I disproved something that he or one of the other Councilmen had said. He detested that I was more clever than himself, though as everyone has seen, his envious acts of treason did not end well for him.

I turn to face Illius, noting his silence throughout the morning. His lack of attention is not unusual given the circumstances, though I am surprised to find his eyes already on me. His stare is blank, however, so I raise a hand and wave it past his face, gaining his attention. As difficult as it would be for anyone to adjust to discovering their identity is not at all what they originally thought, it is strange for Illius to allow himself to be so distracted. 

"What is it?" I ask, looking up at him as his eyes focus on my face. 

Illius gives his head a slight shake and smiles a bit guiltily. "I apologize, I am immersed in my thoughts. I am pondering over something that Bellamy said this morning."

"Is it about your dark side?" I recall the conversation we had the moment that Bellamy excused himself, in which Illius confessed to something that he was anxious to tell me about. The black mass of unbridled fury, the demon-like creature that Illius became in my dreams, was not simply a dream. He admitted to the unnerving, nightmarish version of him is true.  

My Captain nods his response with a rigid stance. We stare deeply into each other's eyes for a very long moment, as I search for any sign of the dark and horrible creature that lurks inside of him. I see nothing but the liquid silver that I have always known, the eyes that have always been a calming salve to my fears. I hope that Illius finds nothing out of the ordinary in my own as he gazes back, and watch the tension slowly melt a bit from his expression.

"I am not afraid of you," I say, voice as calm as the sea on a spring day. I may be lying the slightest bit, but it remains undetectable in my words. It is not Illius that I have to worry about, I remind myself. Whatever that demon in my dreams is, it is not my Captain. It is only a small part of him, one that I can learn to cope with. If it is something that he must deal with every day, then I will assimilate it as well, even if it does cause the slightest bit of trepidation deep in my bones. His burden is my own, just as mine are also his. We vowed to stay this way, so I have no intention of breaking my word now. "I have already told you," I remind him of the day that we promised our loyalty to each other as children.  

Illius reaches to grab my shoulder, but hesitates, as if he worries that his touch my cause me some sort of physical pain. In response, I grab his hand and forcibly place it on the side of my neck, giving him a serious look to prove my point. 

"Believe me, Illius," I command him, releasing his hand. He passes the silent test by keeping it there, despite the pained look on his face. 

I wait for a long moment before he closes his eyes and hangs his head, sighing in defeat. A fond smile creeps across his lips before he speaks, voice gentle now, less afraid. "How are you so trusting? You have just been informed that your closest friend is a monster, yet you remain so resolute. You are so endearing, Sandy." 

"I promised you, did I not? Not even something such as this will change my word. What burdens are yours..." 

"Are also mine." Illius finishes, tilting his head up to show me the small smile that he wears. He drums a finger against the pulse in my neck, tapping along to the steady beat of my heart. After the fourth tap, he drops his hand, casting Sage a worried look.

"She is fine," I assure him, but notice and follow her gaze down the corridor when I go to look at her. Surely enough, Bellamy comes strolling towards us, far enough away that he was out of earshot of the intimate conversation, but not so far that his quick eyes missed the physical exchange.

I have half a mind to order Illius to forcibly wipe the smirk off of the Prince's face, but hold myself in check. As much as it irks me that Bellamy is aware of my Captain's sensitive secrets, I remind myself that I need the aid of his Kingdom, which was so graciously offered to us. I force a polite smile and press a warning into Sage's mind, urging her to stifle her growl. It is my own fault for allowing her to sense my animosity, so I scold myself mentally and smother my annoyance at the arrogant look on Bellamy's face. He is well aware of how much I need his alliance, and I have no doubt that he will ride this horse as hard as possible, exploiting whatever he can to amuse himself. 

Illius stands tall beside me, offering an impassive expression as Bellamy approaches. 

Bellamy gives each of us a look as he fixes the collar of his shirt. "Why do you both look so grave? We are having a chat, not going to a funeral." 

Illius and I exchange a look, and I fix a polite smile back into place. "It is a funeral, of sorts. Are you ready? We would be more than happy to offer you a guided tour, in payment for information." 

Bellamy gives my body a quick scan before responding, deducing whatever he can from my body language. I realize the fist that my hand makes and quickly uncurl my fingers, ashamed that I have allowed my emotions to show so easily. 

The other Prince smiles as if he has won some sort of victory by seeing my distress. "Certainly. Shall we be going? I expect this should take quite some time and it would be lovely to return in time for dinner." 

-

Author's Note

I apologize for the short chapter, but I wanted to get something out to you all before the days end. It would be rude to ghost you for a second week in a row and I also don't want to throw off my rhythm too badly, I'm actually pretty proud of how far this book has gotten already and I hate to neglect it. 

I'm feeling a little bit better since the last time I updated for you guys, though I am still very stressed. I have plans to go see BTS this May, so I am very excited and anxious about buying my tickets and about saving up for the trip. Considering this, my headspace is a bit cluttered and I am very distracted as of late.  Please bear with me, I will try to keep up with the scheduled chapters once a week, though the quality of my writing might lower a bit due to my lack of attention. Chapters may also stay between two to three thousand words because of this, so I apologize in advance. Hopefully, I won't completely start to butcher this story since it has been going so well... Your patience is appreciated, and I hope you stick with me! As always, any feedback that you may have is welcome and greatly appreciated. 

I hope everyone is doing well and that you aren't too stressed out by your work or school. Please, look after yourselves well and get enough rest! 

Until next time, 

-A.

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