The King & the Stable Boy

XXIX: Preparations

I just had the most amusing thought. It had William dressed as Anna from Frozen singing For the First Time in Forever.

Also this chapter is dedicated to @simplystoned because I wasn't ready to read the comment "William is serving us some Medusa realness henny."

Also in honor of that comment, once this book hits 50k, I will post some albeit shitty art of a sassy William with snakes for hair.

Also, bonne chance to those of you in exam season at the time of reading this.

~Jessie

••••

Noah

XXIX: Preparations

"I haven't seen the castle this busy since the festival." I comment, standing behind William, peering at the maids decorating the ball room.

"Except for this time you won't be trying to not die of heat, while managing the stables. Today you manage the entirety of the castle decorating process with me." He pulls me from behind him to his side and I laugh at his antics.

"Have decency, there are maidens around." a voice sounds behind us.

"Malick, kindly, fuck off." I say in greeting, earning a grunt from the medic.

"He will be doing no intercourse of any sort without me." Roman says, approaching as well.

"To what do we owe the pleasure?" William asks.

"We wouldn't both come and speak to you two during the day if we weren't going to take each other's heads off or if some other guard's head came off. It's one of the latter cases." Malick states, expression becoming solemn.

I glance around at those around us and wave the group into a more reserved area, with less prying ears. I didn't want panic to rise if there was no need.

"What do you mean a guard's head came off?" I question.

"Well no one's head has actually come off, Malick was being dramatic. I was watching patrol shift changes and one of my men was unaccounted for. I went looking for him, fearing we had a slacker, and rather than finding him sleeping, I found him cut bloody hanging from a tree, a hex glowing on his neck."

"I checked over the body, and did as best of the little healing magic I could on him and Ronny, a rookie with a seeing gift, told me that the guard's moments before being killed weren't wild or frantic but the approach was known. I doubt that it was a symbol to threaten us, but clearly this guard pissed off some witch."

"Samara would be knowledgeable about this." William suggests.

"Why would she, forgive me for any disrespect. She seems like a witch who practices for personal pleasure rather than magical gain." Roman questions.

"Her mother was a leader of a coven back in Hazelwrenn. Samara moved here because her mother came under fire after the person to come after her slandered her name. She's a powerful witch when she wants to be, and I prefer not to keep tabs on her practice that much, but her main affinities are time and dark magic. Figuring out a simple hex should prove easy for her, so take the hex bag to her when she comes to visit her immortal lover tonight." I tell them.