Moon Drunk: Origins

Problems without Solutions

A mournful howl rises into the dark night, and Julien recognizes the voice instantly. This sound comes from Felicite. 

He does not, however, recognize the other howl that joins her sorrowful song. This one is distinctly male, and a growl erupts from his throat before he can contain it. His horse whinnies and shies, and it takes him a moment to calm both himself and his mount before he can continue. He is angry now; if she were merely out in the night alone, he might worry for her safety, but he would not be angry. For her to have left the castle into the dark of night to meet another male, however, is completely unacceptable. 

His fury masks the pain of her betrayal. 

He rides on toward the river, searching for a shallow crossing. His anger clouds his judgment so that he nearly misses the gray blur as it streaks past him, an enormous wolf he does not recognize, but the scent is one he knows. 

Gabriel.

If Gabriel is chasing after Felicite, then she is in danger.

He digs his spurs into the flanks of his horse and speeds in the direction of the gray wolf, acutely aware that he is now accompanied by another horse. The scent tells him that his new companion is his brother, Lucien, and a new sense of apprehension takes hold of him, but he cannot worry about that now. Now, he must find Felicite.

Mariusz's free hand falls to the hilt of his sword, using his other arm to push Felicite and Dulce to safety behind him. 

"And I am the one called traitor," Lucien says with a smirk.

"Felicite!" Julien's voice is harsh, commanding, his king voice, but this alone does not cause her to flinch; her flinch comes from the pain of betrayal she can see burning in his narrowed eyes. 

"I...I meant to tell you," she stammers, lowering her eyes to the ground. "But I had hoped to convince him to leave. So you could see that he was no threat to your reign, or to Fionn."

Lucien snorts with laughter. "No threat."

"I did not want you to kill him, like you did my father," Felicite says, sufficiently angered by Lucien's mocking to draw herself to her full height and lift her chin defiantly. "Right, Julien? Because my father is dead?"

"Your father is not dead," Julien replies.

"So you admit it," Felicite says, and this time, it is her own eyes that are filled with the pain of betrayal. "You allowed me to believe you executed my father on the battlefield, and instead, you've held him in the Tower as your prisoner this entire time, keeping me from him, allowing me to grieve his death. All while he remained across the river from my own home!"

"Yes," Julien replies. There is nothing else he can say.

"I told you, Felicite," Mariusz says. "I tried to warn you. Jolis agreed to your marriage to Julien to keep you alive, but he did it reluctantly. Promising you to this monster was what killed him. He truly died of a broken heart."

"Jolis truly died from the sword my brother plunged through his heart," Lucien contributes. Julien shoots him a a glare, but Lucien merely shrugs, unbothered. "What? Would you rather have them believe the great King Jolis died honorably?"

"I was on the battlefield that day," Mariusz protests. His eyes flash fire. "I saw what happened. It took four of Julien's men, Felicite. Four. Four of them stabbing and slashing with daggers and Julien with his sword, and yet Jolis would not go down. He would not die."

"He was not dead when you took his crown," Felicite accuses, turning horrified eyes from Mariusz to Julien. 

"He was," Julien insists. "You must believe me."