The Witch's Cursed Daughter

56. Receiving Confirmation

Assured that he could not do anything, nor did he want to, Wen walked to the door, which had remained open since his entrance due to the unsavoury stench within. Crossing the threshold, he peered through the darkness at the girl. Her surreal appearance reminded him of the dead he had seen during the battlefields he had lived on between the ages of twelve and fourteen.

His father had always been a cowardly yet clever man. His fear made him strong instead of weak; he had wanted Wen to be free of those fears and thought to toughen him in battle. However, when Wen returned skilful and successful, the King's fear turned to his own son. In order to protect his crown from the greedy hands of his eldest child, the King placed the talented boy behind a desk where paperwork doesn't end, with no time to practice the sword. Memories of endless periods of ink and paper clouded Wen's vision, blurring with images of bloodied soldiers and his painful awakening as a Blade Master.

Now at seventeen, the first prince had begun to pave his way to freedom. He did not care about the cost to others; he wanted to feel alive for a least one day rather than suffer a monotonous existence controlled by his greedy, anxious father.

Tilting his head back, he focussed on the cobwebs above, bringing back his sense of self. Forcing a large sigh, Wen quickly shut the heavy door to the cell and headed back towards his office.

*****

Julian's heart thundered as he stared at the box send by the first prince. His surprise when a Guard had arrived so soon after Wen's departure was equal to the weight of the object thrust into his grasp. Upon receiving the first prince's gift, Julian moved through to his study, carefully placing the square container on the desk. Having called on Romile and Voster to examine the contents, not one of them had had the courage to lift the lid of the well-crafted wooden box.

"Did he include a message?" Voster asked after several minutes of heavy silence.

"No, just the box," Julian replied without removing his eyes from where they sat.

"Maybe there is a letter inside to accompany whatever else is in there," Romile suggested.

Voster spoke again, "Your Highness, you need to check the contents. There is nothing dangerous; I cannot detect any type of poison or weapon."

Sighing, Julian ruffled his coal-coloured hair with both hands as if he were trying to scratch his mind, "Alright."

Placing his hands on either side of the wooden box, Julian felt for the lid. Finding the seal, he slowly lifted the top. A light popping noise sounded as the top was removed; hesitantly, Julian placed the lid beside the box before observing the package's innards. As his silver eyes landed on the jewels, he experienced emotions rise and fall without the time to identify them all.

Romile joined his side, his eyes and mouth forming the same circular shape, "By the Myrde..."

"That's rather out of character for you, Romile," Voster half-chuckled as he peered over at the rat-like formation of hair.

"What are they doing to her?" Julian growled softly.

Voster's hand shook wildly as he sent waves of magic to encase the once golden-hued hair, "There are traces of blood, muck, and faeces, Your Highness."

"How dare they!" Julian boomed, bringing both fists down onto the desk, splintering the joints of the legs, slicing his skin with the strength of his nails. "The crown that Illea brought, I knew how she had made it, but this type of barbarism... How dare she call herself a princess!"

As Julian spat his words like the fire of a young dragon, Voster caught sight of a green envelope attached to the inside of the lid. "There is a note, Your Highness."

Calming his breathing, Julian snatched at the letter. As he read, Romile watched with an odd sense of foreboding tapping at his shoulders.

Finishing the message, Julian looked up, "As you might have guessed, it is now my turn to produce results," a twisted expression worked its way onto Julian's face, which set both Voster and Romile on edge, "I'm going to see the Chancellor."