Chasing The Cure

Chapter 9: Revelations

"You knew?" Archie whispered, getting off the bed as he let out a bitter laugh. "You knew and you did not think to tell me?"

"I did not want for you to worry unnecessarily," Kenric explained, following Archie as he paced around the room. He tried to hold the stable boy's arm, but Archie shook it off harshly as he scoffed.

"Why would I worry?" Archie questioned, his tone sarcastic. "If you wish to marry some princess then just tell me, Kenric. You are free to do whatever you goddamn please, but I would appreciate some honesty up front. I think I have earned at least that much, have I not?"

"I do not wish to marry anyone!" Kenric sighed. He made a mistake not telling Archie the truth the moment Godric told him about the letter, and now he was paying the price for it. "I have reassured you time and again, Archie. I neither want to nor will I ever marry a woman. Or even look at another person the way that I look at you."

"Then you could have just told me what was going on! What was the point in hiding this from me?" Archie asked.

"I was going to tell you, my love. I swear it on my life that I was. But I just..."

"You just what?" Archie snapped.

"I was just waiting for the right time. I knew the news would upset you and I did not want to distract you from your work or training. But I swear on everything that I hold holy that I was going to tell you before her arrival," Kenric explained, his voice desperate. Archie was still not looking at him, and that was killing the prince. He did not wish for Archie to be upset, and that is exactly what he ended up doing.

"Why would I be upset if you are not interested in the proposal?" Archie raised a challenging brow as he finally faced the prince. "You are a prince, you are one of the most, if not the most eligible bachelor in the entire kingdom, so it is not a surprise that you will have fathers wanting to marry off their daughters to you. Hell, everywhere I go I hear women gushing over you and dying to have your babies. Did you think I was not mature enough to deal with this?"

"That is not what I think, Archie," Kenric exhaled tiredly as he ran a hand through his hair. "I know you are smart and that you would not have made a big deal about this and I know these proposals are nothing new but this one, this one in particular is a little complicated. I just needed some time to sort my thoughts."

"Complicated how?"

Kenric licked his lower lip, now that the cat was out of the bag, he might as well tell Archie everything. So that was what he did. Archie already knew about King Alfred and his nature. Princess Eleanor was his daughter, and he was the one who initiated this entire ordeal which was why Kenric had to be careful in how he navigated the matter. He could not outrightly say no to her, not without raising questions and potentially worsening their relations with their already unhinged neighbor.

Archie listened to the prince with undivided attention, nodding occasionally. Once he had a clearer understanding of the whole thing, he sat on his bed. He was looking down at his feet, his shoulders sagged and his lips curled downwards.

"It is complicated," Archie muttered. He looked disheartened, and the sight made Kenric's heart ache. He took a seat next to the stable boy, wrapping an arm around his shoulder, which thankfully Archie did not remove.

"You do not need to worry, okay? Godric and I have a plan. I am going to be the worst potential husband in the entire world and the princess will run the moment the ball is over. Trust me, she would not want to marry me in the slightest," Kenric spoke.

"I cannot imagine even your worst being undesirable," Archie said with a sad smile. "But I hope it works out the way you have planned."

"It will," Kenric stated. "How did you even find out about this?"