The Puppet Prince

Brothers not Bound by Blood

Gwynne's chest burned as he made way for the castle. Stupid, stupid, stupid, Gwynne agonized over how easily he'd been manipulated. Blindly trusting someone to care for his parents' land. But he hadn't really trusted blindly. This wasn't some stranger, but a lifelong friend who became a brother that day. Someone Gwynne confided in and trusted wholeheartedly. The wind whipped and howled, whilst heavy hoof fall kicked dust into the air. The sun began to set over the horizon and in any other situation, the sight may have been considered mystifying. But there was no time to take in any sights, it was time to live up to the title king.

He swung the door to John's office wide open and bellowed, "HOW COULD YOU!" Storming up to the pedestal desk, Gwynne slammed his hands on the table and his eyes were aflame. 

John looked at Gwynne bewildered, "What are you talking about?" 

"Everything, John, I'm talking about everything!" Gwynne began to pace around the room swinging his arms to assist in explaining the severity of the state his kingdom is in, "Children on the streets, buildings burned and raided! My parents' kingdom in ruins," he growled out the last bit. 

Suddenly John's dark skin turned a grey shade and he sunk further into his chair. Similar to that of a fish stuck on dry land, he opened and closed his mouth. 

Moments passed before his voice returned weakly, "Gwynne-" 

"It's your majesty to you" Gwynne retorted.  

John's face showed pain and he was glad because that is exactly what he wanted to do. Hurt him, like those living in the towns outside the castle walls. 

"You're majesty," he drew out cautiously, "Please listen to my reasoning before jumping to any conclusions." 

If it had been anyone else Gwynne would have already had them locked in a cell to rot, but John was the closest thing to family he had. "You get one chance at making this right," he crossed his arms, "If I were you I'd choose these next few words wisely." 

Cogs began to visibly turn in John's head and Gwynne bit his lip, hoping there really was a rational answer to everything and that John wasn't the traitor he seemed to be. 

The room fell silent for what felt like hours, leaving nothing but two still figures at an impasse. 

John's eyes glossed over as he stared into space blankly, "I lied... I withheld information from you and instructed everyone inside the castle to follow suit, those who refused were threatened and dealt with." 

Gwynn's fists clenched as he began to shake, eyes starting to burn. "But why? What-" 

"Please, just let me finish" John interrupted, now focused on Gwynne with one hand in the air to halt him. That familiar look on John's face now replaced the distant mask he wore moments ago, deep care. "Ever since your parents died you've been," he thought for a moment, "different. It's as if you're moments from going over the edge and the only thing keeping you from cracking is the façade you've put up. At first, everything was under control and I was able to maintain the people but soon, they grew suspicious of your disappearance." 

He stood slowly and walked around the table to stand by Gwynne, closing the seemingly endless gap between them. 

"Riots erupted and groups began to revolt with false claims of your laziness. They couldn't possibly understand the endless hours you've spent training, studying, and ruling behind the scenes." 

he rested his hand on Gwynne's squared shoulders and the prince tried to pull away but John just held tighter. 

"You weren't stable or ready enough to handle any of this so I hid it," he sighed, "What I did was terribly wrong and my punishment should rightfully be severe but please know, what I did was never ill-intended." 

A sob escaped and Gwynne realized tears now spilled from John's eyes, which he had never seen before. The man had always been strong as a mountain, unmovable and stubborn. 

The world spun around Gwynne as he processed the information lain before him, picking it apart as if it were petals on a flower. Once again the room fell silent and Gwynne was left searching for what to say. No matter how badly John deserved to be punished, he just couldn't do it. This was not only the man he had confided to or the man who saved his life but he had also become family. There was nothing that could change that. 

Hating himself for betraying his kingdom like this, Gwynne gritted out, "Leave. Leave this room and know it is no longer your office." 

John's eyes closed, waiting for him to call the guards. 

"You are no longer the advisor but no matter how much I hate you right now, I could never hurt family." 

John jerked at the word family. 

"I will be running this kingdom now and I will be the one to find a solution to everything you screwed up," Gwynne stated, as he walked to the door opening it for John to leave. 

Deflated he left with nothing but a quiet, "I will do everything I can to regain your trust." 

Just like that Gwynne stood alone in the book-filled office, feeling defeated and foolish.

Valeigha - Hi! this is my first time trying this bottom note thing and I wanted to try it :D. Now the story is really getting started and I can't wait to share everything I have planned for the prince. this is my first Wattpad story so I will be experimenting quite a bit so please be patient and join me on this journey. Hopefully, I'll see ya in the next part! <3