A Fairy Tale With Two

Chapter 20

     Kaizen wiped the blood from his nose, then raced down the hallway. He tore up the stairs, meeting Adeline and Alden with Kaden and Aliyah just outside of Rowan's room. Quinn was standing in the corner, wiping her nose on a handkerchief.

       "Kai," Kaden gave him a startled look, "What happened to-"

       "One of your men," Kaizen panted, wiping his bleeding nose again as he pointed a hand at Alden, "tried to kill me!"

       "What?" they all withdrew, shocked.

        "I saw the crest," Kaizen jabbed a finger at the symbol that rested across the king's collarbones as part of his uniform, "All of your men have it on their armor right below their collarbones. And this one had it. He came at me with a knife! Who ordered him to kill me?"

        "People have their own intentions, you know," Adeline commented coldly, "He could have been doing it with his own will. Besides, how do we know you're not making this up for another reason to start a war?"

        "What, you think I punched myself in the face and bruised my own throat?!" Kaizen roared, looking only seconds away from attacking her, "I threw a man over the edge of one of your balconies, and he was wearing your symbol! This was no assassin either, he had no clue how to use a knife of that style!"

        "And how do you know that?" Adeline snapped.

        "Because I would be dead!" Kaizen shouted, and Aliyah grabbed his arm.

       "Hey, easy! I know you're shaken up, but you can't attack anyone yourself," she told him in a calming voice, though he could see she was just as furious at the Queen's sheer denial as he was.

       "I know nothing of any man sent to kill you, I swear," Alden seemed appalled, "But none of my soldiers would ever-"

       "If I were you, I'd shut up," Kaden advised as Kaizen's eyes blazed, "Give him a moment to calm down before you lay on any more denials."

        "If they wanted you dead, why not have done it last night?" Aliyah asked, keeping a hand on Kaizen's arm to ensure he wouldn't surge forward in an attempt to strangle them. "It would have been easy just to slide in through the window."

       "Exactly," Kaizen began pacing, the adrenaline still pulsing through his veins from the recent battle. He found he couldn't stand still, "Which means, they couldn't have had an incentive to kill me then. The only thing that has changed is Rowan. Maybe they tried to kill me because they thought I might awaken Rowan..." His eyes flicked to Adeline, though no accusations left his mouth.

       "Or they didn't know you were here until today," Adeline pointed out.

        Kaizen looked down at her, and his hands curled into fists, "Possibly," he consented, his voice calming. He let out a relaxing breath, turning towards the king, "Forgive my outburst. But if you have ever been attacked by a soldier from a country you're trying to make peace with, and their leaders completely deny knowledge of such event, you would understand how I feel."

         "If you think we're trying to keep you from saving our daughter, you're welcome to go do it," Alden gestured towards the door, "Please. If you can bring her back, we'll give you the border that you want."

       "I can try," Kaizen said, looking to the door, "But I'm not expecting to do it. I doubt she looks at me as I look at her."

       "Then don't bother," Adeline snorted, "There's no one who can awaken her. Unless we can persuade Maleficent to lift the curse, I'm afraid there's nothing we can do."