𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊// 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐨 𝐑𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐔

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟕// 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤, 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭

The deserted graveyard was eerilly silent. Fog cloaked the graves and dying bushes. Bare trees clawed at the dark sky.

Prince William picked his way through the graveyard, blue eyes narrowed to see through the fog. With his white clothes gleaming in the mist, he looked like a phantom, just another lost soul.

Will pulled his ermine-lined cloak around him as he walked, boots crunching in the dirt. The grave was around here somewhere. He leaned down and gathered a handful of pebbles, mud staining his hands, and forged ahead.

At last, he found the grave. He crouched down and smiled. "Hey, Michael."

He hadn't been able to visit the grave for months; it had simply been too much. But now he was healing bit by bit, enough to see Michael's grave and not break.

Will studied the pebbles in his palm, then plucked up the two largest and set it in front of Michael's grave. One for the funeral, and one for now. Already, countless stones had been placed there by mourners.

It was Aureole tradition to bring small stones to a loved one's grave instead of flowers. Stones were eternal, flowers were not.

Will clenched the remaining rocks in his fist. "It's... it's been a long time. I'm sorry I couldn't visit earlier." His voice was muffled, as though he was speaking into a pillow. "It was too hard to come here, with... everything that happened."

Quietly, Will told him what had happened, whispering his secrets to the earth. He murmured of the death of the Shade King. The fragile promise for peace. The laughter and tears. Everything. The words spilled out of him, tears slipping down his face, loosening a burden he hadn't known he'd been carrying.

"I miss you." Will wiped away his tears. "We all miss you." He took a deep breath and smiled. "You were my friend for so long."

Footsteps. Will whipped around, heart racing in his chest, then relaxed upon seeing a familiar mop of dark hair. Austin Lake gave him a weary smile, stepping out of the fog. "Can I sit with you?"

"Of course."

Austin crouched next to him, brown eyes gleaming. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Will was silent for a moment, peering into the fog. "How are you? We haven't talked since... everything. All this madness."

Austin was silent for a moment, then said, "I never thought that I would escape the Shade palace and be back here. Not in a million years." He rubbed at his wrist, where the brand used to be. "When I'm not helping Fletcher, I walk around the city a lot. It's good to take your mind off everything sometimes."

Will hesitated, then quietly asked, "How long were you stuck in the Shade palace?"

Austin frowned, running his fingers through his hair. "About.. three years? Four? It's all blurred together at this point."

Austin was fourteen. He was only ten when his village was burned down? The thought left Will unable to breathe. "What were your parents' names?" he asked. "I can send a royal declaration and we can find them--"

"They're dead." Austin's voice was barely above a whisper. "The Shades killed them while robbing our house."

Will stared at him. "I'm... I'm so sorry." His words felt empty, and he cursed himself. "If there's anything I can do--"

Austin held up a hand. "You helped me escape. You gave me a position in Healer's Tower and a bed to sleep on. That is all the payment I need, Prince."

The two fell silent, listening to the sounds of nature around them. Austin leaned over, plucked a stone from Will's hand, and set it on the pile in front of Michael's grave. "General Yew was a great man. Fierce and loyal." He paused, then frowned, squinting through the mist. "Is that the masoleum for your family?"

Will didn't bother looking. "My grandparents were laid there to rest. They died when I was.. four? Five?" He blinked, struggling to see through the fog. "I will be put there too." The thought of being encased in stone sent fear coursing through me. "If I die, I want to be cremated."

Austin grinned. "If you die?"

Will laughed. Austin grinned, and for a moment, Will forgot his worries.

☀️☀️☀️

Lou Ellen stared around the room, gloves hands clasped in front of her. She didn't allow her fear to show.

The two hooded people had taken her to some abandoned military base that the Shades had stopped using decades ago, in the desert between the Shade and Aureole kingdoms. She now stood in the meeting room, awaiting the leader to show their face.

One of the figures turned to her, as though sensing her unease. With his claims of his magical abilities, he very well could. "At ease, Blackstone. Our leader will be here soon enough."

As though on cue, slow, deliberate footsteps echoed from the hall, and a man materialized in the threshold. He looked roughly nineteen, maybe twenty-one, with dark hair and pale skin. His gold eyes gleamed with cunning. He wore dark, simple clothes, but carried himself as though he was royalty.

His eyes found Lou Ellen, and he smiled. A predator that had found its prey waiting in its den. "Sorceress Blackstone, what an honor. We've been waiting for you."

"You promised me power," she said, eyes never leaving his face. "More power than what I had as Head Sorceress. How could I not resist?" Lies. All of it. Hopefully, the Black Hand's alleged abilities didn't count lie detection. "Who are you?" she asked, before the leader could respond. "Why did you want me here?"

The leader gave her another viscous smile, extending his hand. "To answer your first question, I'm Jalgan. As for your second question, that will have to be revealed with time."

Lou Ellen raised an eyebrow at that response, but shook his hand anyway, green eyes meeting gold. "Very well."

"Come." Jalgan placed a hand on her shoulder, steering her out of the room and down the dark hall. "There's much you must see."

☀️☀️☀️

Lou Ellen was introduced to countless people, enough that their names jumbled together in her head. The military base was fairy large, and the number of members the Black Hand boasted was impressive-- much more than Queen Levesque had originally thought.

She knew why Jalgan was keeping her in the dark. He didn't trust her with the information of why she was here. Most likely he believed that Lou Ellen was still loyal to the Shade royalty-- a belief that was indeed true.

These thoughts raced through her head as she was escorted to a dining room. It was massive, with a long rectangular table in the center of smaller, circular ones. Already the circular tables were being filled with soldiers. She was seated at the head of the long table, with Jalgan on the other side. The spaces between them were full of lieutenants and teachers and the like.

Trick. Now that she was behind enemy lines, she must trick them, must deceive them into believing she was on their side. They had to believe that she trusted them completely.

Trick. Deceive. Trust.

Jalgan called the room to attention. He raised a goblet, and the others mimicked him. "A toast to Lou Ellen Blackstone, former Head Sorceress of the Shade Kingdom, who has joined to assist us in achieving our goals." He lowered his goblet, eyes gleaming over the rim. "May our alliance be... unique."