The One You Feed × Brandrew AU

VIII

-Brandon's POV-

I couldn't tell if the king was distraught or fuming with rage when he returned from the chase. All we knew was that the man who shot the arrow had escaped, and that Charlotte hadn't survived.

We laid her body on top of a velvet blanket, moved her to a cart, and covered the corpse. I felt horrible, even though it hadn't been my fault. The cart was taken with Onys when he left, so that Charlotte could be buried in her home town.

It was a week since that. The weather was awfully cold, and it was pouring down rain outside. Thunder echoed through the castle every other minute, scaring anyone who wasn't used to the weather.

Today was yet another boring, depressing day for me. I was awfully sick, but the king wouldn't let me stay in bed unless I was vomiting or physically unable. I could barely breath anymore.

I was currently standing in the royal library, sorting all the books by name. It wasn't a usual task, fortunately. It must have been one of the more boring things I had done in my years here. Hayden and Brent were cleaning the throne room, which was something we did almost daily.

I spent over four hours sorting the books, almost falling asleep a few times in the process. I was relieved that I was finally finished, but stressed in the sense I'd be assigned a new task in a few minutes.

Instead of following orders to report back to the king as soon as a task was finished, I picked up a book with a bright yellow cover, and made my way to a table and chair in the corner. I was breaking the rules, yet not getting any adrenaline rush from doing so. Hayden and Brent must have been used to it.

I made myself comfortable in the chair, opened the book, and began reading the contents.

•••

"Brandon."

I stirred, awakening slowly at the sound of someone calling me. My eyelids were heavy, and it dawned upon me that I had fallen asleep on accident.

King Andrew was standing right in front of me, frowning. Surely he was too upset to do anything. "Did you not sleep last night?" He asked me. That was unusual. He never asked questions until after he threw a few punches. "No," I whined, laying my head back down on the table. It was true. Last night, I was absolutely restless, only thinking about the events of the week before.

Before I could close my eyes, a cold hand wrapped itself around my wrist. I groaned softly, lifting up my head. I caught only a second of the king smiling down at me. "I need to talk to you, Brandon," he said to me. I stood up, straightened my back, and rubbed my eyes to clear my vision. "What about?" I asked. Our conversation was so casual, as if we were friends.

King Andrew didn't respond to me. He only tightened his grip on my wrist, and pulled me from the library. As we exited the door, we turned the corner, leading to the back door. The king opened the door and pulled me outside. We were standing in the middle of his garden, which may have been one of the more beautiful things he had created.

"I don't know where to start," the king confessed, taking a seat on one of the stone benches. "But I think I'll start with those friends of yours." I took a seat next to him.

I felt my heart sink. I knew how much hatred he held for Hayden and Brent, and how much he restrained himself from executing them. "What about them?" I choked out. A cold breeze swept through the garden, and I pulled my vest tighter. He was going to talk awful about them.

"I despise them," King Andrew snarled, looking to me. "They never listen to me, and then I have to hurt them, and they still don't listen. I don't see how you stand them."

I wanted so badly to tell him why. If I could just make him understand, these two years of pain would be worth it. Suddenly, I had no care in the world what would happen, all I felt was the courage to say the words.

"You took them from their homes and expected them to work for you, to adapt that quickly. They don't work like that, you know?" I said. I couldn't even process the fact that I had just said that. It had taken years for me to find the words. 

While I was expecting a harsh slap to the face, King Andrew only looked at me. His eyes weren't angry like they had been. They held some emotion I'd never seen before. Pity? Mercy? Forgiveness?

Our eyes were locked, and I was at last able to identify that feeling in the king's eyes. It was none other than regret. He actually felt sorry for us. "I-I'm..." he trailed off. He broke eye contact, and looked away into the garden. Though he had seemed sorry, his voice was monotone.

"I understand," I said, sympathizing him. "Life must be full of pressure when you're a king." The king looked back at me, raising a brow. He didn't seem pleased. "There is no pressure to do anything but run this place," he said to me. His hand gripped my wrist, and pulled the two of us off the bench. Great, I upset him.

"I meant there must be social pressures," I corrected myself. Maybe he wouldn't get too angry. King Andrew's face still held that same enraged expression. "It's not about power, or friends, or wives," he hissed. He pulled me out into the field where the horses were often released in the day. However, they had been kept in their stables due to the weather.

The king proceeded to drag me to a tree in the corner of the field, then finally let go of me. We were both standing under the sagging branches of the tree, which contained a fruit I hadn't seen before. "It's about balance," King Andrew sighed, his voice far softer than before. He extended his hand upwards, and yanked a fruit from a low branch. He took a large bite from it, with his eyes still locked on me.

"What on earth is that?" I asked him. The king swallowed the fruit, and laughed, as if I said something humorous. "A peach," he responded. "They grow in surplus here." His eyes glanced upwards, and he saw another one of the peaches. His arm extended yet again, but just as he was about to grab it, he stopped.

"I'll give you a peach, one day," the king said back. I smiled nervously, as it was the only response I could produce.

The king then grabbed my wrist again, and led me back to the garden. Night was falling already, the moon moving slowly into view. We stopped in the garden. It took me a while to take the serenity of the scene in, but once I had, I was at ease. Never before had I felt peace in this castle.

I just hadn't realized this day was the start of something far bigger.