Each year the Kingdom of Khearia throws a festival in remembrance of one of their most beloved kings who had tragically perished along with his wife and second son. His first son, Prince Fabian, was the only one to survive. Witnesses claimed his cro...
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James got distracted.
ㅤAlex stopped, Fletcher limp in his arms. "James?"
ㅤOn the other side of the courtyard, Harrison and Duke Straton lingered by the armoured carriage encasing the prisoners. Arrows stuck out like jagged traps, the wood splintering where its weak points had been hit. Harrison had the key in his hand, huddled in discussion with the duke.
ㅤ"You go on ahead," he told Alex. "You'll find me here."
ㅤ"Don't hurt anyone."
ㅤJames smirked.
ㅤSplitting off, James approached the carriage, his silent steps serving nothing to the already edgy men. They spotted him almost immediately.
ㅤ"You're not going to reveal our other prisoner so openly, are you?"
ㅤHarrison chuckled. "Of course not. She's a problem, though. She screams her identity to any person who touches these doors."
ㅤThat woman was too tenacious for her own good.
ㅤ"My men already know," Duke Straton admitted.
ㅤ"I heard you're the one who started this mess," Harrison said to James. "You've put us in a difficult situation. You shouldn't have let her identify you."
ㅤ"Isn't that why you let me walk around, though? I thought you and King William wanted people to recognise me."
ㅤA silent beat passed and Harrison smiled. "You figured that out, huh? Why do you think we did so?"
ㅤJames hadn't realised it at first since he'd been so swept up in his delusion of fleeing and forgiveness that it never occurred to him to work out King William's intentions. They hadn't mattered before. He'd always planned to run away regardless.
ㅤNow, though, after being forcibly woken up with a slap in the face by Alex, James could see the strings King William had laid out. Every twist, every tangle, every intersection, James knew what would happen if the king tugged on each one.
ㅤ"Well, you thought I was going to run."
ㅤIt was bitter. James had read the situation wrong. He'd been so predictable that King William had been a step ahead of him the entire time. He'd believed he'd played them like idiots but the joke had ultimately been on him.
ㅤJames was too arrogant.
ㅤ"You probably realised it right away, hm?"
ㅤ"Naturally."
ㅤIf James had realised this a little sooner, he could've better prepared for this situation. King William and Harrison were out to control him, sewing the necessary seeds to do so. James, on the other hand, had wasted his time by being idle.
ㅤHowever, knowing what they wanted from him gave him some potential advantages.
ㅤ"That was reckless of His Majesty," James commented. "What would he have done if the wrong person saw me and told King Fabian?"
