Blue

Six

Blue was in the middle of eating his lunch, bread and cheese just as he had every day, three times a day. He was sorely missing his parent's cooking now, stomach growling at the thought of a piping hot meal with farm-fresh ingredients from their backyard. He could almost taste the golden broth of his favorite soup his mother makes, liquid gold sliding down his throat and caressing his insides as it slithered down to his stomach. 

But now all he had was the stale bread, having to swallow it down with water in fear of choking on the dry loaf. 

The day had certainly dragged on forever, Blue counted each second of the day, heart racing as he tracked the time blindly, waiting for the moment when Rhys would walk through the door. 

What would they talk about? Would Rhys want to get to know everything about Blue? Would they talk about their hopes and aspirations for the future? 

Blue wanted so badly for Rhys to be different than Cyprian. He wanted Rhys to be the perfect mate that would sweep him off his feet and carry him away from this mess. But he knew better than that. This was a dangerous situation, not a fairy tale. Rhys would most likely be coming in to interrogate him on where his loyalties would fall. Perhaps talk about Blue bearing him children when the time comes. Cyprian and Rhys were both alpha's of course, they would both need heirs to continue on their bloodline. 

The door to his chamber opens slowly, and Blue startles, back straightening as he thinks Rhys is finally here to visit him. 

Though his mood is deflated as Farron slips into the room, the door closing behind him with a soft click. 

"Rhys wanted me to talk to you about the rebellion beforehand so you two would be able to talk about more than that during your first meeting." 

Farron hands Blue another water-skin, this one much bigger and filled with freezing cold water. Blue gulped down half of the contents right then, not wanting the glacial water to go to waste and warm while they talked. He was so used to having warm water that he forgot how refreshing it was to sip on a cold beverage. Of course, living in the Northern Isle, he was used to sticking his water cup outside of his window to get it nice and cold at night when he woke up with an unquenchable thirst. 

Blue still woke most nights so thirsty that it felt as if he were trekking through the desert with how cotton-mouthed he became. Though he often drank most if not all of the contents of his water-skin by the time he was ready to sleep, so he had to will himself to fall back asleep with an aching throat. 

Blue gets comfortable against the ground, wrapping the blanket around his body and propping the pillow underneath his backside to protect it from the hard floor. 

"Rhys first approached me around two years ago," Farron says, sitting close to Blue so they didn't have to speak loudly and risk someone overhearing them. "At the time, I was nothing but a lowly foot soldier. But he saw something in me that no one else did. We spent time getting to know one another, he showed a special interest in me. One day, Rhys blurted out his plans to overthrow Cyprian. I suspect that he was getting tired of my inability to see what he was subtly asking of me. He was desperate and alone, in fear for his and his people's future. But he still took the chance of confronting me with his plans. He said I was the only person he could trust in the kingdom. I, of course, had my suspicions. Could this be a trick to trust my loyalty? To see if I would be quick to join him? At first, I rejected his proposition. However, later on, I came to my senses and sought him out on my own. This was for a good cause, even if it meant going against my king. 

"Rhys was determined to take down Cyprian at any cost," Farron continues. "I do not think he anticipated the process to be a long, drawn-out one. It would take lots of planning to pull this kind of objective off. He wanted to kill Cyprian so he could gain control over the kingdom and weed out the ones who were dedicated to supporting Cyprian. He started by secretly recruiting staff members so that he would have more access to parts of the castle that he was forbidden from. More specifically, the war room and the library where they keep all the tomes on war strategies and formations.