Alexander

He does not seem very amenable to leave me alone again, so I go with Illius to the kitchen to tell the chef where we will be taking our supper, and how much food to make without being wasteful. Not wanting to cause any unnecessary stress on my workers, I hover just outside of the doorway while Illius ducks into the room. He is only gone for a moment before returning, and he presses something into my hand on his way out. 

I stare down in disgust and make a correlating noise in my throat, mistaking the red skin of the fruit for another pomegranate. After a moment of closer inspection, however, I realize that it is an apple. 

Illius does not bother to hide his amusement at my immature reaction and takes the snack from me for long enough to rub it clean on his chest. He watches me take a bite, then nods his approval that I am eating it before we make our exit through the Dining room. 

We tried Bellamy and Bethany's adjoining rooms before heading down, but they seemed to be absent. Since we have a while before dinner will be ready, we decide to wander the grounds until we are able to find the twins. Making the assumption that they may have helped their uncle prepare for his journey back to Arinal, I lead the way to the stable. 

Illius hesitates at the entrance of the castle,  apparently unsure if he should allow me to be exposed to the open. I give him an exasperated look and toss the half-eaten apple at him in response before giving a nod in Sage's direction. She has her ears alert as she scans the area, but she remains relaxed. Finding nothing particularly threatening, she turns her amber gaze to me in approval. 

Illius watches the exchange and makes a noise that sounds like begrudging consent. He takes a bite from the apple that I threw at him, unruffled by the present teeth marks that I left in the flesh of the fruit. My Captain keeps a vigilant eye on our surroundings as he follows me out into the dying light, his silver eyes flickering to everything that moves. 

We do not walk so closely that our shoulders bump, though Illius takes an obvious step closer whenever we come across a member of the Court or a servant that is tending to the grounds. No one that we cross paths with is willing to risk a conversation with me, so they give a wide birth and polite bows before leaving us in peace. 

I decided that our guests do not seem to fit the Rider category, so we take the path towards the stable that houses the land horses. We are greeted by the smell of clean hay as we enter the smaller accommodation, and I take in the gently curved wood of the interior. The building was constructed long before the people of Nordic domesticated the Vann-Hest, so the craftsmanship is no less impressive than that of their carnivorous counterparts. 

The ceiling seems to reach the clouds the moment that you step out of the sun, and the roof is held up by hundreds of sturdy, hand-carved rafters. Each block of wood ends with the immaculately sculpted head of a horse, each with a different expression. The floors are made of stone, and the aisles are always kept spotless from debris. The stalls are big enough to keep two draft horses and one of average size contently, but each equine is assigned their own. Unlike the holding cells at the Vann-Hest stable, they are not barred with iron but are left open so the animals are able to stick their heads into the walkway. 

Stablehands who are mucking out the row of stalls pause to see what had made the horses restless, filling the rafters with their nervous whinnies as Sage stalks by at my side. She does not look at them, but she does not need to turn her amber eyes their way for them to know what she is. Unlike the Vann-Hest, horses are prey animals, and they have very acute senses of self-preservation. 

Becoming a bit annoyed as someone kicks their stall wall for the third time, I pause my treck down the aisle to turn and face them. The horse pins her piebald ears and rolls her eyes at me, flaring her nostrils. I reach out to her without moving a muscle, aware of Illius' eyes watching me in engrossment. 

Unlike most of the horses in here, this mares mind is a scattered mess, setting her apart from the calmer animals. I hold one of her wide blue eyes, wondering what made her so nervous. The image of a wooded area flashes behind my eyes, and I wait for the trigger. After only a moment, the mare's senses scream at her to run, but her rider foolishly pulls her reigns in tight enough to stop her in the middle of the trail. Her mouth is nearly bleeding with the struggle against her bit, but by the time her rider is aware of her strange behavior, movement catches her peripheral vision, directly behind her. Her rider is suddenly absent and she makes a maddened dash forward, but her mount's weight is replaced by that of a large predator. 

I blink, not wanting to make the poor animal relive her trauma. The connection breaks, but I reach a soothing message out to her consciousness, offering it some amount of peace. All of her muscles quiver, but she stops kicking and lowers her head with a snort. The other horses surrounding us also fall quiet, having received the same message and taking comfort in it. 

Illius makes a sound of approval, apparently impressed by my actions. He reaches to offer the core of his apple to a stocky, calm minded draft horse, who nibbles at it, grateful for the treat. It does not take long for one of the stablehands to make their way to us. 

The young man turns his eyes over each of the suddenly soothed horses with a questioning look but does not say anything about it. He bows to me but seems to address Illius, keeping his eyes on his recently polished boots. Judging by the tremor in the boy's hands, he finds my Captian easier to talk to, afraid to even look at my feet, let alone at my eyes. 

"Your Highness! Captain Illius! Can I offer you my assistance with anything? It is rare for you to come here." 

Illius flicks his eyes to mine for permission to speak for me. I incline my head and turn on my heel, taking an interest again in the piebald mare. 

"We are in search of someone, actually. Princess Bethany of Arinal, or her brother, Prince Bellamy. Would they happen to be here?" Illius asks from behind my shoulder. 

I fold my arms and tilt my head as I run my gaze over the visible parts of the quivering mare. Sure enough, I notice a trio of scars on her shoulder, where whatever predator had been chasing her in her recollection of the traumatic event had attempted to hold on. I am curious to know how she managed to rid herself of it and escape, and wonder what came of her rider. She may be damaged and scarred, but this horse is a survivor.

I smile a little as Illius comes to my shoulder, following my line of sight to the black and white animal. "Did you learn something interesting?" He asks more curious about my interest in the horse than about what I discovered about her. It is rare for me to take a liking to an animal more than what is necessary. 

"Not particularly," I admit, finally shifting my gaze from her scars. I glance over my shoulder, expecting the close proximity of my Captain's face to my own. Neither of us moves away. "Have you sniffed them out yet?" 

Illius takes a step back and stretches his long arms above his head like a cat. "Yes, I found one of them," He offers, stifling a yawn. The quirk of his mouth is pleased with the accurate deduction that I made."Bethany is here. You were right, of course. They do not ride the Vann-Hest." 

I offer an equanimous look at his amusement before gesturing for him to lead the way to our stray guest. Illius takes a few steps forward before hesitating, debating if he should turn to face me as he decides to ask an apparent question. 

"You may as well ask me," I prompt him, raising a brow. 

Illius' profile is a tense expression, atypical to his jovial self. His mouth works as he tests the words out on his tongue. He places a hand on his sword, worrying his thumb over the golden hilt as he decides if he should voice what is bothering him or offer me a cover story.

My brow furrows at his indecision, coming to the conclusion that it is something serious if he is having second thoughts about asking me. I rack my brain, trying to figure out what could be bothering him badly enough to consider keeping it from me. 

As if sensing my mounting distress, Illius looks over his shoulder for anyone within earshot, then turns to face me fully. His eyes graze over my concerned frown, finding it immediately. His eyes soften at the realization that his troubles have become my own, and for a moment, he looks like he will trade his pending question for a light-hearted joke to erase my current expression. 

He reaches to touch my shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. "Do not make that face, Sandy, it is nothing so dreadful that it is worth your frown."

"Then explain why you hesitate to tell me. You do not hide good things from me." I wonder if it has anything to do with the strange behavior that he displayed earlier. Considering how he only decided to bring it up when we are about to meet one of the twins, I concluded that it must have something to do with whatever Bellamy must have said to him. Could it have any correlation to the strange looks the twins have been sharing?

Illius gives a  guilty smile at my accusation. "I should have known that you would pick up on it. You are really too brilliant," He takes his hand from my arm and averts his gaze, preparing to voice his query. "I did not want to cause you any more distress, though it seems that attempting to keep it from you caused more worry than telling you would have. I am sorry, Sandy."

I touch his sleeve, asking for his gaze. "There is nothing to forgive, Illius. Just talk to me. There is nothing to keep from me, you know this."

Illius' smile returns, and he nods his head once. "Yes, I do. Would you happen to know who found me?" 

I give a confused look at the unforeseen question, wondering what crevice it had crawled from. Not once throughout our childhood had he ever asked about how he came to us. He was always content to just be with me, to be my brother. It was all he needed to feel like he belonged in my family. "I believe that it was my Uncle and mother that came across you. What prompted this?"

I was not even born yet when my mother found Illius, so I have only heard the story relayed. They never went into great detail about Illius' discovery, so all that I remember them saying is that they found him in the woods while out for a hunt. They must have assumed that a woman had abandoned him there with the hopes of being found by someone since the place that Illius was found was not far from a well-traveled trail. 

Illius breaks eye contact to stare at a point over my shoulder, thinking. 

"Why is it of sudden importance?" I ask, removing my hand from his arm. The action is enough to draw his attention back to me. 

Illius' smile is small a tight. "Your guest seemed to suggest that there is something abnormal about me. He told me to find out the truth behind my discovery as an infant." 

That would explain the strange looks that the twins share in my Captain's company, though it still does not come together. What missing piece is supposed to fall into place by digging into Illius' past?  I set my jaw as irritation seeps into my veins. What does Bellamy expect to gain by picking at old wounds? All that he is succeeding in is making Illius and myself angry.

"You are making that face again," Illius observes, reaching to run his index finger between my eyebrows where they are furrowed together. 

I swat his hand away, though not in vexation and relax my expression. "After supper, we will call on Lance and have him relay the story of your discovery. He will be able to bring more clarity to it than me." 

Illius smiles more fully than he has throughout this entire discussion, and nods his head in agreement. "Thank you, Sandy. I am sorry for burdening you with this trouble." 

I had begun walking in the direction that Bethany is supposed to be in, but I pause to cast a warning look over my shoulder. "There is no burden when you are involved. Never say such things in my presence."

I hear the smile in his voice as he follows close behind me. "Yes, Sandy." 

The stable is quite vast, and Bethany is near the very last row of stalls in the third aisle. She has a large mare in the cross ties, and she looks up when we have the horse's attention. She pauses the stroke of her brush against the animal's neck as she follows her horse's ears to Illius and I as we stop a few feet away.  I make quick work of the gray horse's mind, soothing the frightened look in her eyes the moment that she catches sight of Sage. Bethany gives the horse a quick look before glancing down at Sage as if she is confused by her steed's lack of reaction to the predator. A nearly accusatory sheen is present when her gaze finds Illius.

"Oh, hello," She greets, cerulean eyes darting from Illius to me. She does not step out from behind her steed but instead stands on her toes to look over the animal's back at us, perhaps not trusting us enough to stand directly before us without her brother present. "My Uncle has left, I am sorry that you missed him. He wanted to say goodbye himself, but he did not wish to disturb you and was in a bit of a rush to return to Arinal. I hope you understand." 

"Yes, of course," I offer a polite smile, gesturing to the horse that she hides behind. "What a beautiful mare. Supper should be ready soon, would you and Bellamy join us in the Dining hall? It would be an honor to get to know the son and daughter of such a gracious man as King Kaladin." 

Bethany swipes a hand through the hair that has come loose from her long plait, pushing it from her eyes. Now that I have a clear view of her features, it is surreal to see just how alike she and her brother look. If it were not for her voice and body, which obviously belong to a woman due to her smaller stature, it would be easy to decide that she could be Bellamy in disguise. I wonder what it must feel like to have someone so similar walking the world beside you. The realization that the possibility of two siblings existing closer than even Illius and myself to each other strikes me like a blow. Would that be suffocating, or reassuring? 

 "Thank you, that would be lovely. I will be finished here shortly, but in the meantime, Bellamy should be about exploring if you wish to track him down. He always was the adventurous one."

"Thank you for the clue, Princess. We will see you soon," I bow and make to leave her to her work, but Bethany clears her throat to grab my attention, stopping me. 

She resumes brushing her mare, keeping herself busy to avoid having to look us in the eyes. "Has Bellamy said anything about..." She glances up to gauge our reactions, then bites her lip, deciding not to continue with her question. Her gaze is more intent on her grooming than ever. "Nevermind me, I apologize. I will be up shortly to wash for supper."

Illius and I share a look before leaving the stable and its irritating dust behind. 

"It is of no surprise that she knows," I mutter, taking a deep breath of the fresh air outside. The warmth that the day brought is stolen away by the retreating of the evening light, and though it feels refreshing on my skin at the moment it will not be long before it feels too brisk without a coat. 

Illius says nothing but scans the area with his eyes that glint in the dying sunlight, then casts a look to me when he senses that I wish to speak again. 

I tug at the cuffs of my sleeves, surveying the area. From the direction that we are coming back to the castle, there are two options to follow other paths to the outdoor garden or to the courtyard. "He would likely discover the outdoor amenities first since it was early in the day when he started out on his venture. His time today was limited, so it is unlikely that he will wait to brave the city until tomorrow. I suspect that our missing Prince is somewhere inside the castle."

Illius' smile reaches his eyes, though his lips are tight. He must be mulling over whatever question Bethany hesitated to ask. Perhaps she decided it was not a polite discussion to have before dinner. "As you wish, Sandy. Let us go then, I cannot allow you to catch your death out here." 

I give him a look and we start off towards the castle, side by side. It does not take nearly as long as expected to find Bellamy, as we come across him in the second place that we look. The Prince has his back to us and is standing just inside the doorway of the Training room, watching a pair of sparring gentlemen in the center of the room enthusiastically. He does not notice our arrival beside him for a long moment, engrossed in the skilled display of swordsmanship. 

"Oh, hello." He gives the same exact greeting as his twin, and I feel the hair on my arms raise. 

I cast a glance to Illius to see his reaction, but his attention is anywhere but on Bellamy. Judging by his cold, stony expression, he has not forgiven our guest for the trespass he committed. I feel similar ice flowing through my own veins in the presence of the other Prince, though I cannot simply brush Bellamy or his sister aside after the aid they have just offered my people. I force a smile and smooth my expression to match my tone of voice, turning my attention back to him. 

"Hello. Have you found something to amuse yourself with? I am sorry to have had to leave you so suddenly."

Bellamy spares a glance to look me over, taking in my rested appearance before quickly returning to the spar in front of him. He sounds distracted as he watches my Uncle knocks Abby onto his arse with a training sword. "It is quite alright. Are you feeling well?" 

"I am, thank you. I would like to extend an invitation to you and your sister to join me for supper this evening. We have already met with Princess Bethany on the matter."

Bellamy nods in agreement. "Of course, I accept. Do all of your Guardsmen have this level of training?" 

I turn to watch Aigor pick himself up from his fall, taking on a ready position for Lance's next flurry of advanced attacks. "Certainly."

My easy response draws Bellamy's eyes to Illius, who stands aloofly against the wall behind me. I am surprised to see the impressed look on Bellamy's face when he looks at him. "Really? What of your Captain? I assume that his training is even more exigent than this."

"Of course. He is my strongest line of defense, after all. I have yet to meet anyone more skilled than him with a sword. Besides, Abigor is still in training; he is not yet qualified to join my Guard." I admit a bit flippantly, following the sparing pair as they battle towards the edge of the grand room. I do not consider myself a proud man, however, I certainly am confident in my Captain's competence against my adversaries, and have no qualms about voicing my faith in his abilities.

The training required to earn a position on my Guard is incredibly difficult, and it is considered a major accomplishment in one's life if they manage to succeed in securing a place on it. Many of my young subjects have dreams of becoming a part of my Guard, or of any other member of my family's. 

Bellamy turns his attention back to the sparring for a while, carefully observing every movement and tactic, no doubt analyzing them and tucking them into his memory for future reference. He doesn't look to me as he makes his request, as simply as if he were asking me if I fancied the boots on his feet. "You must be decent with a sword, assuming that Lancing was your tutor. Why not spar with me until supper?" His tone switches to a taunting one, finally sliding his eyes to mine with a provocating simper. "Unless, you are worried that I may win." 

-

Author's Note

Hello, all! 

I'm sorry for missing my deadline last week,  I have been recovering from a cold and am dealing with quite a lot of stress lately, so I haven't been writing as avidly as of late. I hope everyone is doing well and that you stay healthy! Look after yourselves, if it is cold where you live, please dress well for the weather to avoid coming down with sickness! I hope that none of you are too stressed with school or work and that you take time to look after your mental well-being, as it is just as important as your physical health. I hope January has been kind to you so far, and pray for your happiness in the year to come. 

I will try to keep up with new updates every Wednesday like I have been since I would like to have this story completed by next January. However, If I find myself too overwhelmed by events in my life to continue as scheduled, I will be sure to write a message to my followers on my message board to keep you updated. 

I hope everyone is eating plenty of tasty food and getting enough sleep, and that you find reasons to grace the world with your beautiful smiles every day! Please don't be afraid to go after the things that you want, and keep moving ahead without fear. 

Until next time, My Loves,

-A.