I wonder where she had made her husband take her daughter to... or rather—to whom.
The prince stood atop the stairs, seems like he also didn't care about being concealed anymore. There were not any townfolk outdoors to notice anyway. His deadly red eyes in full display, making his way towards me, Inanov trailing behind him—I immediately tore my eyes away, feeling the shiver of embarrassment over my body.
The prince wore a black and gold tunic. Its colours similar to what my armour looked like. The gold as always, complimented him. However, the black made him look older, more mature—like a king.
"Couldn't sleep with me being next to you?" the prince teased slightly, as if we had not done anything sinful last night, but there seemed to be some genuine concern in his voice.
"I slept fine," a blush crept up my neck. "I just want to be out of this gods-damned land," I muttered and looked outside.
"On that, we can both agree," the prince answered and then looked to Agatha. "We thank you for your hospitality, innkeeper." He handed her a few more gold coins. "Our gratitude," he answered. This time, Agatha didn't bother checking to see if the coins were truly gold. Without a doubt, she knew who stood in front of her.
"No accent today, huh?" She wearily looked at him. She was nervous, her hand fisting her apron.
"To my delight, no." He gave her a plain grin that didn't meet his eyes. The prince turned to the exit and Inanov and myself followed.
"Wait," the innkeeper said at last, pulling out a crumpled letter from her apron. Something dark stirred inside me at the sight. The prince stopped, his back still facing the innkeeper.
"This is for you. From the Lord of Litara." She handed over the letter. The prince's jaw tensed as he took out the already open letter from its envelope and read.
"Seems like the lord has eyes in places that we were not aware of." The prince looked to the empty streets outside and then burnt the letter with a spark. The dark feeling inside medissipated as the letter burned to ash. “Once I am King, I will make sure that spoiled lords do not go unpunished for ruling their land inadequately,” the prince spoke with determination that had me admiring him without realizing it. The prince exited with Inanov behind him. I followed, until the lady grasped my hand and looked into my eyes. "Please save her."
I took my arm out of her grasp and rushed out the door, heart thundering.
Inanov had the horses stationed out front and relief went through me as I patted Fluffcake, the stallion that I had become familiar with. I mounted him, trailing behind the duo who led their horses through the cobbled stone village. The horse's hooves clicking loudly in contrast to how silent the village was.
"What did the note say?" I stared ahead. Dark clouds already beginning to form once again above us.
"The lord is aware that we are here. He invites me and all my men to a feast in his manor," the prince replied gravely.
"How did he know? Do you think the innkeeper...?"
"No, the innkeeper did not know who we truly were until today," Inanov confirmed which made the situation all the more mysterious.
"It seems the lord has many tricks up his sleeve," the prince acknowledged. This statement made me ponder.
"This doesn't sound like the lord of the land at all." I had not meant for my thoughts to be this loud.
"Enlighten me on that, warrior." The prince was now looking at me intently.
"The lord was said to be very closed off. Never attended performances and surely had no guests over at his manor. He was a very private man and seemed to be a good lord. He took care of his land, the last time I was here," saying this out loud had put an unsettling feeling in my stomach.
The prince laughed. "It does not seem at all that he looks after his people after hearing about the plague that spreads to the women in this land. He sounds like every other lord, my dear warrior, don't mistake the selfishness of a lord."
"Does that include self-righteous princes too?" I muttered softly.
The prince definitely heard that because his eyes narrowed at me, and Inanov cleared his throat in discomfort. "Whatever it is that happens, this land will fall under the Kingdom of Apollo before midnight," the prince spoke with determination. I couldn't help but feel it—with the wind in the air that swept past my cheek—that he spoke the truth.
***
The Kastell manor was gloomy and the grey sky gave it an extra effect of solemnity. The edges of the walls seemed to have dark leaking marks along it, almost as if this very manor was crying. The Apollon soldiers were here, along with Akiel, Hulin and most importantly Red. I had immediately jumped off my horse to inspect him, which made him laugh and tease me. His light-heartedness would have made me smile but a dreaded feeling sat inside me and it wouldn't leave. There were no guards in the manor that would have welcomed us in, instead it was women. Pretty women, who wore busty tight dresses. They had big smiles on their faces, ushering us all in and offering purple wine to all the men. Colfe was not sly in how he was touching and feeling the women who kept offering him wine. I frowned at the sight and I politely declined the amount of attempts they made to get me to accept their wine. Until I sighed in annoyance and took the glass, frowning at it. My arm felt hot and cold all at once. A hushed whisper brushed into my ears: "Don't drink thewine." I turned around startled. However, no one was near me. Not even the prince—
I whirled around to find him and sighed in relief when I spotted him next to Inanov, who gave me a stare of disapproval. Not liking how far away I was from the person I was meant to protect. I rolled my eyes at him and joined them. "There are a lot of women here," I stated, looking around.
"Gotten used to being the only woman around my men?" the prince teased.
"Far from that," I answered. And just then that dreaded feeling in my body increased a tenfold. Shadows were thrumming in my veins. I turned just in time to see the lord's entrance. He descended the steps with arms around two women, wearing a velvet purple robe that did little to cover his chest or legs. It looked almost disrespectful to be dressed like this in front of the royal prince. Like a spit to the face of Apollo.
"Welcome, Your Highness. I have been looking forward to your arrival," the lord exclaimed with a grin, making no move to bow.
