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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Something was off.
ㅤJames was doing his utmost to hide it behind that bland hollow smile of his but there was an intense and disturbed air about him. Hidden in the depths of his facade, his unwillingness to be honest about what deranged him unnerved Alex.
ㅤ"What did you change your mind about?" Alex insisted on asking.
ㅤThey stood in a common room by the entrance of the Curia, watching members of the Royal Committee gradually arrive from a window. Independent soldiers were posted in their generous numbers, patrolling each chamber, checking the identities as they passed. They scrutinised James warily from a distance, his clothes splattered in blood and his colouring clear to see.
ㅤIf it hadn't been for King William's explicit pardon, they would've tried to arrest him.
ㅤ"This isn't the best time to talk about it," James replied. "Your father is waiting for you, still."
ㅤ"I'm already late. Whether I turn up now or in an hour, the result is the same."
ㅤIt was only delaying the inevitable, Alex knew that.
ㅤ"Want me to come with you?"
ㅤThe question surprised Alex. James wasn't one to involve himself in other people's business unasked.
ㅤ"It's my battle to fight," Alex replied. "But, thank you."
ㅤJames nodded. "I thought you'd say that."
ㅤ"I'm that predictable, huh?"
ㅤJames' lip quirked. "Why read it that way? Maybe I just watch you a lot."
ㅤ"From anyone else, that would've sounded romantic."
ㅤ"And not me?"
ㅤ"James, you stalk and kill people for pay."
ㅤJames rocked on his heels, a playfulness alighting, his eyes dancing. "We've lots in common then, ey?"
ㅤ"You insult me," he accused, but he was smiling. He couldn't find offence in the statement where he would have a couple of months prior. James now knew Alex wasn't like that whilst Alex could no longer deny the reality that many of his colleagues were.
ㅤFinally, the deadline had come. The guards began their routines to lock the building down, bolting the entrance shut and boarding up the windows from the outside, cutting off all access from the outside world. Slowly, the Curia fell into secretive darkness, lamps dimly skulking with dark orange glows. Nothing could go in or out, not people, not words, nor meaning.
ㅤIt wouldn't be until the end of the inquest that it would reopen.
ㅤ"Fletcher will be upset he missed this," James remarked.
ㅤ"He's alive, though," Alex iterated. "He'll be alive to complain about it."
ㅤUnlike Riley.
ㅤAs if thinking the same thing, James said: "I told Mererid I would kill Prince Maurice for her."
