The Warlord's Deceit

Confessions & Library Rendezvous

A week had come and gone since that terrible day when Caspian was so ill with a high-grade fever. It had taken but one day for the fever to break, but almost three full days for the young prince to fully recuperate.

All his anxiety, stress, lack of sleep and eating and the overall slave situation had finally just crashed down on the young boy. Surprisingly, Caspian had not seen the king since the day he had passed out in the bed after laying in the ice bath. Instead, it seemed as if all previous restrictions to the young prince had been altered...he was free to come and go from his room, escorted by two guards of course, eat whatever he wished and even dress himself in what attire he wanted! The boy felt more freedom here, ironically, than he had in Enkira where everything was decided for him.

Currently he was in the private garden courtyard of the king, running barefoot on the plush grass as he tossed a hovering tennis-ball against one of the marble walls and hit it skillfully with an air-tennis racquet. The boy had always excelled in all sports, especially air-tennis, and it was a great release for all his youthful energy, especially after being in bed for almost five days straight.

Cas was unaware that the king was observing him, as a maid suddenly appeared with a cold glass of kiwi juice and freshly cut pineapple slices. Caspian indulged in the refreshing and fruity treat, and before the maid retreated, he clasped her shoulder.

"Would you like to try?" he asked the young maid who was shocked at interacting with any royal so informally.

"I...I really should not. I have other chores and..." she glanced nervously over her shoulder.

"Oh please," Cas pleaded, "I haven't spoken or interacted with anyone but guards or older servants for days! Someone so young is a rarity to talk to...please," he asked, green eyes entrancing the maid.

"Sure..." she finally ceded, not wanting to offend the king's newest guest.

Caspian showed her how to hold the racquet and soon the two of them were talking and laughing, as young people tend to do and hitting the ball as well. One time the maid, named Alicia, hit the ball too fervently with the racquet and he bounced back straight towards her face. "Watch out!" Cas cried as he tackled her to the plush ground before the ball smacked her in the face. They both laughed at the situation and were atop one another...innocently enough, but quite a precarious position for any royal.

The warlord had been swamped with work and barely had the spare time to inquire about the Enkiran princeling, much less speak to him face to face. He desperately wished to, though. Lucian yearned for Caspian's company and often found himself dreamily thinking about the youngling while tackling his daily tasks.

It was peaceful enough in Draconian's Peake, but Intel informed him surrounding nations were whispering the songs of war. One such place was the small kingdom of Enkira. Through his networks, Lucian was informed Malik had botched a summit meeting with a nearby chieftain and now the kingdom of Tőrkín was threatening to invade Enkira. As it stood right now, Lucian would be forced to intervene in order to save Enkira. Otherwise it very well might be decimated. It was decided earlier that afternoon that he would travel to the small kingdom to meet with the Tőrkín chieftain and Malik in hopes of ratifying a peace treaty to calm the waters of approaching war, and he hoped to have Caspian accompany him.

During a free moment, which were now too infrequent and far between in his opinion, he ventured out to search for the princeling and was informed he was occupying his time on the tennis courtyards. An odd sensation of excitement bubbled within him as he proceeded to Caspian's location and when he arrived he remained hidden after overhearing the boy and a female speaking. He did not interrupt. Instead, he admired the way Caspian's slim body fluidly moved. The boy certainly had skills. When the maiden was almost struck by the ball and the princeling tackled her to prevent her from being concussed, he decided to slip out of his hiding place and stepped up to stand over the pair. He waited for Caspian's eyes to travel up his imposing form and Lucian had to hold in the chuckle at the boy's expression of fear. "You two appear to be having fun. Air-tennis, huh? Do you mind if I play?"