Horatio, Tim, and Eric exchanged looks as they sat in the common area of a cosy, well-appointed inn. The floors were richly carpeted, and they sat on chairs with seats of cushioned leather and cutlery made of real silver was laid out on the table in front of them. Rows of shelves lined with expensive sounding liquors stood behind a well-polished bar on one side of the room, and a crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling.

The trio were alone in the common room and stared at one another uncomfortably as the sounds of passionate lovemaking came from upstairs. It was late morning and they had booked out the inn the previous night, as they had done every night after the first on their journey. It had been done at Horatio’s insistence to protect the prince and princess’ reputations.

“They’re up early,” Eric remarked, wanting to break the awkward silence more than anything. “It must have been just before dawn when they stopped last night.”

“Today is the last day,” Tim observed wearily. “We’ll reach Aroden before nightfall, won’t we?”

It was their fifth day on the road now, and both the boys’ parents had only been too happy to permit them to travel with Horatio to the capital when they discovered how much Arthur was paying for their services. Tim was looking forward to seeing the capital and had focused on their destination over the last four long, sleepless nights.

“We should, if they allow us to depart before noon,” Horatio observed. He looked up at the ceiling irritably and shook his head. “No, we must be understanding.”

“Haven’t they been married for a while now?” Eric wondered out loud.

“King Storian wants a grandson,” Horatio sighed. “The couple are under a lot of pressure.”

“They’re still young,” Tim pointed out. “They have plenty of time.”

Horatio took a deep breath. “King Storian’s father started his family late, and his parents and his wife died young, so Arthur is all he has. He is eager to see his family grow.”

“The King’s still young, isn’t he? He could remarry and have more children if a bigger family is what he wants.” Tim shrugged. Arthur was around twenty, so his father couldn’t be that old. Old Mister Potter had a son around that age and had remarried. It had set the women’s lips flapping for sure, but who would question it if a king remarried at that age?

Horatio looked at Tim and shook his head slowly. “Have you heard about the Dragos legend, Timothy?”

Tim nodded. It had been taught at their weekly religious education that the first Dragos kings had helped the Divine Three defeat the ancient evil while it still roamed the earth. As a reward, they were given Carthus, the bastion of the faith in the West, to rule, and blessed with greater strength and speed than the average man.

“Then you should know that the Divine Three decided that each Dragos king should only ever have one child, a son, so as not to create succession crises,” Horatio said.

“That part seemed a little farfetched to me,” Tim remarked.

“And do you think that the legend of the Dragos line being faster and stronger than the average man is farfetched as well?” Horatio ventured.

“I did until I saw the prince in action,” Tim conceded with a sheepish smile.

“Isn’t having only one child putting all your eggs in one basket a little?” Eric ventured.

Tim raised his eyebrows in surprise. “That’s a pretty intelligent question, coming from you.”

“Oi,” Eric snapped. “Shut up.”

“They say that it was also to discourage the Dragos Kings from instigating wars,” Horatio said with a wan smile. “At any rate, the Dragos line has never failed to sire a son, so you can appreciate the pressure those two are under.”

“Say, speaking of the princess,” Eric began. “How come she can conjure fire?”

Tim leaned in closer. He had wondered the same but hadn’t dared bring it up. Horatio turned melancholy and lowered his head. “I think she should be the one to tell you that.”

“Come on,” Eric begged. “You know we can’t ask her something like that.”

“Ask her what?”

The boys jumped and turned to see Arthur and Emily coming down the stairs, dressed for travel, and Tim guessed that they must have been going at it fully clothed for them to come down so quickly.

“We were just wondering if you’d like some breakfast,” Eric said quickly, as he pointed at a basket filled with fresh bread, honey, and smoked meats on a nearby table. “The innkeeper left it at the door this morning.”

Arthur looked at it briefly and shook his head. “Tempting, but I’m afraid we must be off if we want to reach Aroden before dark.”

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“It seems a waste,” Eric breathed as he looked at the full basket forlornly. They hadn’t dared touch the contents until the pair came down.

“You can bring it with you if you like,” Emily smiled.

“Oh bless you,” Eric cried with tears in his eyes.

Tim’s excitement at seeing the kingdom’s capital overrode his hunger, and he hurriedly got to his feet as the prince and princess walked towards the door.

“Come on, Eric,” he hissed as his friend looked longingly at the fresh, crusty loaf of bread.

Tim walked out the door and paused on the threshold. The inn opened up onto the small town’s main square and gathered there were at least forty soldiers. Their well-polished armour gleamed under the morning sun as they stood in two neat rows under two banners. One depicted a man kneeling before another crowned man, and the other was a gold dragon’s head on a black background. A square jawed young man with short cropped brown hair strode forward from their ranks and knelt at Arthur’s feet.

“My Prince, I came as soon as I heard you were here.”

“You could have waited in Aroden, Erwyn,” Arthur said, and Tim noticed that the prince’s ears had turned red.

“Your father is anxious to see you, My Lord,” Erwyn said without raising his head. “My meeting you here was a compromise.”

“How are things?” Arthur asked, his voice tinged with concern. “And how is Father?”

“I believe that is a conversation to be had in private,” Erwyn replied. He raised his head and looked pointedly at a man standing under a red banner depicting a white wolf’s head.

The prince glanced at Emily, who had turned pale. Her eyes had locked onto the man almost as soon as she left the inn and hadn’t left him since.

“Darling?” Arthur said softly as she touched her on the arm.

Emily blinked and looked at her husband quizzically.

“Do you want to speak with him?”

Emily sighed. “I suppose I don’t have a choice, do I?”

Arthur nodded at Erwyn, who stood and gestured brusquely to the man. He gave Erwyn a defiant look before stepping forward indignantly.

“Lady Emily,” he said haughtily. “I have been instructed by your father to deliver this to you.”

The man produced an envelope that had been sealed with the face of a snarling wolf and handed it over to Emily, who hesitated before taking it from him. Her hands trembled as she read the letter, and when she was done, she looked up to the sky and sighed.

“What does it say?” Arthur asked at length.

Emily passed him the letter without saying a word. Arthur’s face turned red as he read it and crumpled the letter before hurling it at the messenger’s feet.

“I will have no part of this,” he snarled.

“This letter was addressed to Lady Emily, My Prince,” the messenger pointed out serenely.

“Oh but your master ensured it was to be delivered to her in my presence,” Arthur spat. “Knowing that I would find out what it said and knowing that I couldn’t let my wife travel unattended.”

“You are free to speculate, My Prince,” the messenger said. “But I was given orders, and one does not question orders from his liege lord.”

Arthur grunted derisively.

“Now, with my job complete, I have been instructed to report back to my Master.” The messenger bowed low and took his leave.

Once he had left the square, Arthur turned to Emily. “What will you do?”

Emily shuddered as she took a deep breath. “I have no choice but to obey.”

“But,” Arthur began.

“I know you cannot be associated with this, don’t worry,” Emily said with a wan smile. “I’ll find a way to get to Estport with our honour intact.”

Erwyn cleared his throat. “My Lord and Lady, if I may.”

“Speak, Erwyn,” Arthur sighed tiredly.

“The truth is, I expected something like this to happen when that messenger insisted on accompanying me to greet the two of you,” Erwyn began and gestured to one of his men.

Soon, a young dark haired lady was brought forward, and Emily’s eyes lit up. “Nina! What on earth are you doing here?”

“I brought your handmaiden with me from Aroden,” Erwyn replied. “Your mother sent her there from Estport.”

“Well, that’s one problem solved,” Arthur mused. “Now, there’s the matter of your escorts…”

“I could spare some of my men,” Erwyn offered.

Arthur shook his head. “I’m afraid House Framond cannot be implicated in what Lord Ferdinand has planned either.”

Erwyn blinked. “Is it that bad?”

“I’m afraid it is,” Arthur confirmed.

“Then why don’t you send the boys with her?” Horatio suggested.

Tim’s heart sank. He had been looking forward to seeing the capital and was petrified of parting with Horatio. “But…” he began.

“This is a good opportunity for you,” Horatio said as he put a hand around the boy’s shoulder.

“I suppose that’s acceptable,” Arthur began.

“These two boys?” Erwyn asked, looking at them as though they were something unpleasant that he had stepped on.

“They were trained by Lord Carver himself,” Arthur pointed out. “And I’ve seen them in battle. They are… competent.”

Erwyn blinked. “A battle, My Lord?”

“I’ll tell you about it when we have some privacy,” Arthur grinned and turned to Emily. “Will you be leaving at once?”

“It is what my father ordered,” Emily sighed.

“I will tell the king about his instructions,” Arthur promised. “Hopefully there is still time to stop this madness.”

Emily laughed bitterly. “This is pushing the limit, but Father is still within his rights to do such a thing within his own lands. Besides, I’m sure he has taken great care to make himself unreachable until the deed is done.”

“Tread carefully,” Arthur warned. “I hate that you are being used like this.”

“Oh, I’m used to it by now,” Emily said sadly. “At least I will be able to meet my mother while I’m in Estport.”

“Say hello to her for me,” Arthur said as he embraced his wife.

When he pulled away, Emily wiped away a tear and turned to the boys. “Now then, shall we be off?”

Arthur stepped between Emily and the boys. “Before you go, I should tell you that I am placing my wife in your care.”

“We won’t fail you,” Eric declared quickly.

“Yours is an easy task,” Arthur continued. “So long as you do as she says.”

Arthur paused and Tim’s pulse began to race as the prince moved his hand to the hilt of his sword. “And I should warn you that if either of you so much as looks at her the wrong way, I will castrate both of you.”

Tim squirmed and resisted the urge to touch his jewels. In the corner of his eye, he could see that both Horatio and Emily were struggling to keep smiles off their faces, but Tim could see nothing funny about the threat that the prince had just made.

At length, Emily placed her hand on her husband’s and caressed his cheek. “Come now husband, you’re scaring them.”

“That’s the idea,” Arthur grunted irritably.

“I’m a big girl and I can take care of myself,” Emily smiled. “Have some faith in me.”

“But,” Arthur began.

“I will see you soon, my love,” Emily promised before pecking the prince on the lips. She then turned to the boys. “Now then, shall we be off?”