Kingdom Dawning

Chapter Ten

~Aleta POV~

I stalked out of the room and whipped open the doors. How dare he not take me seriously! I was just as much a general as Zydan, yet he looked at me as inferior to them all. I grew up with Arksel, and there were many times in training where I kicked his privileged ass! I leaned against one of the windows and attempted to calm my breath. 

"Fail again to gain the approval of the Prince? Does it suck to be in your brother's shadow?" A deep voice said, his words echoed through the empty halls. I didn't need to turn around to know exactly who it was.

"No, not the time Abele" I hissed through clenched teeth. I felt a hand on my waist before I was spun around and pressed against a wall. Dark hazel eye bore into mine, a giant smirk on lips that I knew all too well. 

"When are you going to give up on him ever seeing you as more than a weapon," Abele said, running a strand of hair through his fingers. 

"When are you going to give up the act of being the kingdom's idiot? Oh, wait I seemed to forget it was never an act. You're just an idiot," god how I hated him. Loathed the ground, he walked on. 

"You didn't seem to mind that when I was in your chambers," Abele's smirk spread. I found years ago that lust and hate were very similar feelings. Both intense and searching for a release. I hated Abele, but when I was alone, and my only companion was my reflection; sharing my bed with him seemed better than loneliness. He reached for me again, but I grabbed his arm and slammed him into the wall while I held his arm firmly against his back.

"You will not touch me unless I give you permission," I dropped his arm and turned my back to him. I had more important things to do than deal with him. I had a prisoner to interrogate. I walked down to the dungeon where we placed him. No matter how many times I came down here, the cold, wet stone walls and dirty floors gave me an eerie feeling. This prisoner would unlock the answers to the terrors known as Majiey. I needed to know what that soulless king Harmony was planning before our people suffered. I would do anything I could to this prisoner to get information; I wasn't afraid to get my hands dirty. I walked over to his cell and kicked the bars with my knee-high leather boots. 

"Wake up scum," When I spoke he didn't move. He laid still on the floor, but I could see his chest rise and fall, so I knew he wasn't dead. 

"I said wake up; If you're good maybe I will take the chains off your ankles," 

"Aww, why? I thought the shackles gave me an edgy look," His voice was tired and hoarse. The healers had come through and fixed the head wound he got from the crash and the few crack ribs. That sort of magic took all the energy out of anyone. 

"What not excited to see me?" I leaned against the bars. I loved the fiery ones. The banter was the best part.

"You know when I was getting stomped on I was definitely thinking, I hope I could get a moment alone with that red-haired beauty," I attempted to hide my smirk from him. He was quick-witted; this would be fun. 

"Are you going to tell me what I want to know Prisoner, any secrets you want to share before I bring out something that will force you to tell me something," I slide a finger down the cold metal bars. The prisoner slowly stood up; he was in the shadows, so I was hard to see more than an outline. He began to limp over to me — one leg dragging behind him slightly. 

"My name is Quillian, Quillian Tolon," He got near the bars then leaned forward, so we were eye level. His ginger hair was now thick with blood and dirt. His face looked so tired, and the stubble on his face made him look rough, yet his dark blue eyes were bright and hopeful. Hopeful of what? I was not sure; hope was something I haven't felt since I was younger.