Normally, we are not ones to burst into Lace’s quarters. Knock on a window in the middle of the night? Sure. Steal her away when we have no business doing so? Sure. Never a break in— we are gentlemen after all. The circumstances we have found ourselves in, though, are not of the ordinary. I can’t trust a single soul here and although her father is something to be feared, I have the protection of my lineage there. I am the youngest child of the Ilksbrough family. One of the oldest noble lineages in Tikilium. We are the sole providers of high-quality grapes in Ptheryeth. My own father always had the saying:Where there is alcohol, there is coin to be made.Hence why I still have my head.The king does love his wine.Here, though? I have no such protections. Not that I truly care about them. Those who get in the way of my mission here will find themselves dead. Along with anyone who dares harm my Lace. The thing about those protections is with them comes restriction. I am now free of both of those things.
“The door!” Sam points to the door to the garden. It is cracked just slightly; someone must have forgotten to close it completely.
“Let’s hope Alaceandra is the one who forgot to shut it…” I mumble, her full name foreign on my tongue. It has been ages since I’ve called her by her full name, but you never know who is listening. Sam nods although the cracked door is not a great hint at her whereabouts it is the best clue we have. She could not have wandered too far. Her bed was still slightly warm when we checked it earlier. We approach the door. “We need to have a talk with her about wandering by herself,” I grumble, making my way back into this cursed garden.
Sam nods his agreement, keeping quiet. The grounds feel much different today. The magic laced within it is unsettling and rubs against my aura in an aggressive manner that makesme want to throw something. Nature is supposed to bring me peace but instead this energy does its best to amplify my ire. I pinch the bridge of my nose and huff out a breath, trying to keep myself calm. I will not find Lace if I cannot control myself.
Sam tilts his head up at a noise. “I hear her; she’s in the center of the garden.”
I storm over, not caring whether I damage any greenery in my way. Although it hurts me to pain nature, right now I could not care less. I will pay my respects to the mother later and ask for forgiveness, for now I must get to Lace.
“Here come your men.” I hear a voice drawl in the distance. As I part the trees with Sam I come upon a clearing. On the edge of it I see what looks to be the prince leaning against a tree and a red-faced Lace across from him, shooting him a confused look. If he has done something to her, I will deal with him accordingly. For now, though, my priority is Lace.
Chapter eight
Mysterious Gift
Alaceandra
Fadres and Credour come crashing through the trees into the clearing. They look quite frazzled, until their eyes lock on me. Relief fills their expressions, that is until they spot Prince no-name. Credour speaks first.
“Alaceandra, are you okay?”
I go to respond but am interrupted by the prince “Of course she is,” he states in exasperation. “How could she not be? She’s with me.”
“We are unsure of your intentions, sir,” responds Fadres. “We are tasked with keeping her safe.”
“My intentions?” The prince huffs. “They are of no concern to you.”
“To the contrary, actually, they are very much a concern of ours,” Credour bites back. “Alaceandra, come here please…”
I start to walk in their direction, but the prince pulls me to a stop. “Alaceandra, feel free to visit here whenever you wish, I look forward to speaking with you further. For now, I will finish my meditations in peace.” Releasing me, he smiles dangerously. His eyes are still closed, and his body is still relaxed against the tree. He crosses his arms, directing his voice towards Fadres and Credour. “But men, if you continue destroying my gardens, I will not hesitate to let them destroy you.”
Credour scowls. “Is that a threa-”
“Our apologies,” chimes Fadres.
I chose at that moment to scurry over to them, and we began to make our way, carefully, out of the garden. Before we successfully exit, I hear the prince’s voice on a whisper of wind “I’ll be waiting...”
I cross the threshold and cringe. All I have accomplished during this meeting is angering Sorin and Sam and ensuring the prince’s interest in me is piqued. To make matters worse, I still have no insight into what is next for me.
“Sooooooo…” starts Fadres.
“You really scared us, Lace.” Credour looks frustrated but the worry in his eyes is clear.
“You do not need to worry about me, I was just exploring.” I place a gentle hand on Credour.
“With tree prince over there?”
“Well, no, not intentionally.”
“Then….” Fadres prods.
“I stumbled upon him. I wanted to leave the garden, but he had already sensed my presence. They arehisgardens…” I emphasize. Credour shoots me a look of alarm and understanding before grunting.
A thought hits me. “Wait… Do you think it is possible to hear through plants?” If he could sense everything in the garden maybe he would have heard our conversation yesterday."
“It’s possible but unlikely he would have overheard our conversation yesterday,” Fadres supplies, answering my full question before I can ask it. “The shield I put up should have blocked that. He would have felt our presence in the garden though.” I guess he had the same thought.
