Yuzuru knelt on the icy stone floor, the chains around his arms and legs rattling. He stared up at the three figures sitting on their thrones, not able to believe what he was seeing.
“This is the traveler you want freed?”
On the middle throne, the Queen sat clad in a tight silver dress. The fabric shone in the blue light and its neckline was cut deep, showing off its wearer’s cleavage and the string of blue diamonds hanging from her slender neck. On her head of pale white hair sat an intricately designed crown, adorned with a single bright sapphire in the middle.
“Yes, Queen Kathryn.”
On the Queen’s left was Gweyn. She didn’t have any sort of cape on but was instead dressed in a fur-laced gown with baggy sleeves embellished with laces. Her wings were tiny dark things, poking over her shoulders. She had no status on her head, but her hair had been washed and combed into a shiny black rope, running down one side of her collarbone.
“I’m impressed,” said the Queen. “Crossing the Corridor on your own is not a feat easily accomplished by many.”
Yuzuru cleared his throat. “Actually, your Queen… ness, it was a tiny portion of the Corridor. I literally just-”
“SILENCE!”
The Prince, who sat at the Queen’s right, suddenly burst into proclamations. “How DARE you address royalty in such an idiomatic manner? I shall have your tongue cut out and fed to the pigs! Guards!”
The armored knights standing at the base of the throne moved forward.
“Wait,” Gweyn said. “You agreed not to hurt him!”
The knights seized Yuzuru. The Queen sat watching. Only when Gweyn got to her feet and looked like she was about to leap from her throne, did she raise a hand.
“The traveler will get his due. Before that, I shall have a word.”
Yuzuru was dropped back down.
“He deserves to be hung, Mother,” the Prince said. “It’s the least a filthy traveler deserves for the destruction they bring to our realm.”
Yuzuru kept his words to himself. He could see the prince wore a bigger crown than the Queen, and it was fitted with kingly jewels of crystals and emeralds. Dressed in fit leather garments oiled to a shine, the prince also had an unsheathed sword in his lap, its hilt shimmering with sapphires.
“And he shall be,” agreed Queen Kathryn, “if he was any of the other travelers foolish enough to wander within our borders. But this one is different. Isn’t he, Gweyn? Or else he would not have been able to bring you here.”
Yuzuru didn’t know what to make of that. Surely, they didn’t think they’d meant to come here?
Gweyn seemed to sink into herself as she answered. “He is special. But… not because my mother told me so. He’s special to me, too.”
Yuzuru let out the breath he didn’t know he had been holding. He gathered himself up the best he could, which wasn’t easy given his clothes were hardened from grime and sweat and crackled as he moved.
“Permission to speak, your royal highness prince and queen and… Gweyn?”
The Prince frowned. The Queen said nothing.
“Okay, uh. What the hell is happening?”
The Prince leaped to his feet, sword in hand, but before he could say anything the Queen chuckled.
“I would think it obvious, seeing as you find yourself before the rulers of the Red Nation.” She waited for Yuzuru to speak. When he didn’t, she continued. “Your quest is complete. You have successfully escorted the only surviving child of House Stryde to us. This endless war will finally come to an end. Of course, your treatment on arrival was a misunderstanding most unfortunate, and you will naturally be compensated before we send you back to the hole you crawled from.”
Yuzuru took a step back to digest the new information. Over on her throne, Gweyn was staring at him intensely, her red eyes unblinking.
Go with it, she seemed to be telling him. Don’t make a scene like you usually do.
And she was right. Unless he had a way to break Gweyn out of a fortified castle using nothing but his bare hands, Yuzuru didn’t have a choice. He bowed to the queen and said, “It’s my pleasure, my queen. Everything I do, I do for the uh, realm.”
The prince scoffed. Queen Katheryn rose, her robes flowing over her bare legs.
“Take him to the guest room in the tower. Make sure he is never alone. I want him gone by the morning.”
That night, Yuzuru sat alone on a feathered bed. It was such a delightful change from sleeping on hard ground or surrounded by insects. But he couldn’t rest at all. He bathed, dressed in fresh clothing, and even asked for a pitcher of milk and a sandwich. But even after finishing everything, he couldn’t get his body to lie down without his muscles spasming with anxiety.
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He paced around the room, going over to the windows time and again to look outside.
The sky was starless, bruised with patches of purple and blue. From the elevation, he could see the tops of the mountains making up the Corridors.
Down below, the icy walls of the Tachelm’s castle shone black in the dying light. Yuzuru wondered what might’ve happened if they made it east. Maybe he’d be looking at Gweyn’s castle now.
Voices sounded outside his door. Yuzuru tiptoed over and pressed his ear to the keyhole.
Gweyn’s words were lost through the wooden door, but she sounded scared, nervous.
Some guard spoke something in return, which caused Gweyn to respond curtly.
There was a soft jingle as coins passed hands, and then the lock of Yuzuru’s door clicked.
He leaped onto the bed, bounced off and crashed to the floor.
The door opened.
Gweyn stood on the other side in the same dress she wore in the throne room earlier. She stepped inside and the guard closed the door behind her. Looking down at Yuzuru, then at the messed-up bed, her eyebrows raised in question.
Yuzuru shrugged, smiling through his pain and embarrassment. He looked away, then at Gweyn, and then they were both rushing towards each other. They embraced, crushing their bodies together. Yuzuru gripped the back of Gweyn’s neck, fingers lost in that thick braid.
They stood there in silence, rocking to the rhythm of their combined heartbeats. When he felt Gweyn pushing away, Yuzuru let her go.
Gweyn stepped back. She was smiling, tears brimming silently over her eyes. They trailed down her face and made little raindrops on her dress.
“I tried to get them to take you up sooner,” she said. “But Kathryn didn’t want you to… to… die in the castle, because for a day or two it really looked like…”
Yuzuru reached out and cupped Gweyn’s cheek. She stopped talking. Slowly, he drew her in, feeling her arms wrap around his waist.
Their kiss was brief, but when they separated they didn’t. Gweyn clutched at Yuzuru’s shirt, her fingers bunching the fabric. His hands were tangled in her hair, wanting so much to undo all the binds and let it loose. He opened his mouth to breathe and Gweyn’s tongue darted inside, gliding across his own.
A fire surged inside him. Yuzuru grabbed Gweyn’s thighs and lifted her up. She gasped, breath sweet and hot.
The bed seemed to almost be too far. Yuzuru dropped Gweyn onto the sheets and climbed over her. Looking down, he took in her disheveled state. Her dress was hitched over her legs and strands of black hair fanned across the pillow.
He leaned back suddenly.
“We can’t do this.”
Gweyn’s chest rose and fell with her rapid breath. “Why? Why not?”
“Because,” said Yuzuru, closing his eyes. “You… you’re Honoka’s…” He clasped his hands over his face and groaned into them.
“You’re being ridiculous, Yuzuru. I’m old enough for this, and we share no lineage.”
Warm hands took Yuzuru’s, gently lowering them.
The sound of knocking made them both jump.
“Open up!” someone on the other side of the door commanded. “The Prince of Skulls wants to see you!”
Yuzuru sighed. “What does that asshole want?”
“I know you’re there, Gweyn.” It was the Prince’s voice this time, calling in a tone that offered no room for compromise. “I’ve come to talk with you.”
Gweyn slid off the bed. She frantically smoothed down her dress, shooting Yuzuru a panicked look. Her hair was a mess. He stepped around to help wrangle it back.
“It’s fine,” he whispered. “Make him wait. We’re all in the business of experiencing new things today.” He gave her a look that hopefully said, I expect a very long explanation after this.
Gweyn nodded, her face grim before breaking out in a tiny smile. She stood up on tiptoes and planted a kiss on Yuzuru’s cheek.
The door swung open, the prince marching in. He was followed closely by two burly guards dressed in leather vests. On their waists and backs were strapped so many swords they could hardly fit through.
The prince clapped his hands on his hips. His gaze flickered around the room, barely registering Yuzuru before settling on Gweyn.
“Princess.”
Gweyn curtsied. “Prince.”
The prince shooed his guards away. “I wish to speak to the princess in private.”
“We cannot do that, Your Lordship,” said one of the guards. “The Queen gave instruction not to-”
“My mother does not have my interests in mind,” the prince snapped. “And need I remind you two that you are standing in the presence of the future king and possible queen of Arcadia?”
The guards looked at each other, then squeezed themselves back out the door.
Once they were gone, the Prince strolled over to Gweyn. He pulled off his riding gloves and tossed them onto the bedside table. He wore a different set of armor than the black leather he had on in the throne room. The gear he had on now was white-painted metal, with red highlights on the buckles and belts. A flowing gold cape hung from his shoulder pads, which were fashioned in the shape of skulls.
“My princess,” he said, taking Gweyn’s hand and kissing it. “I must say, two days ago when I heard my men captured five travelers on the outskirts of our kingdom, I did not think my future bride would be among them.”
Gweyn stayed where she was. “My prince is most humorous,” she said.
The prince rose with a smile that was as chilling as the halls of his castle. “Ah, but we mustn’t get ahead of ourselves. You are not a full-blooded Stryde so much as a halfling, like those wretched succubi prowling the streets of Bronzehaven.”
Yuzuru sat on the window ledge and crossed his arms. He didn’t know all of what the prince was saying, but he had a nasty suspicion it was as rude as it sounded. He didn’t need to voice his opposition, however, because Gweyn beat him to it.
“On my journey here, I happened to make the acquaintance of a so-called halfling, Your Grace, and I must say, she has a bigger heart than any human and more sense of responsibility than even a king.”
The prince waved her away dismissively. “You still have the mindset of a traveler. I suppose that’s to be expected, given how you were stolen off your rightful place in Cold Castle by your crazy traveler of a mother.”
“Hey!” Yuzuru got down from the window and strode across the room. He grabbed the prince’s shoulder, spun him around and stuck a finger between his eyes. “Listen here, you little shit. I don’t give a fuck who you’re supposed to be. You don’t bad mouth Honoka.”
The Prince shoved Yuzuru away with a scoff. “Why not? What’s the White Witch to you?”
“She’s…” Yuzuru blanked. “My… once-girlfriend-childhood-sweetheart.”
Gweyn’s face reddened and she looked away. The prince just shook his head.
“Now, that’s a barrel of a relationship I do not think we ever need to go into.”
“Agreed,” Yuzuru said quietly. “But that’s not the point. You need to watch what you’re saying. I’m not going to let you just marry Gweyn. Because, news flash, that’s not what we came here to do.”
The room was silent. “Is that so?” the prince said. “Because as I understand it, both the Stryde brothers are dead, which means Gweyn is the last person with even a drop of the Blue blood inside her.” He stared hard at Yuzuru, golden eyes locked with dark ones. “Which also means that, after the Mad King is dead or captured, unless Gweyn marries me to bring our two kingdoms together, we will have no choice but to wipe her homeland off the face of Arcadia forever.”
Reaching behind her, the prince slipped his arm around Gweyn’s waist. A sickening smile flashed across his face. “Am I mistaken? Princess?”
Gweyn looked between Yuzuru and the Prince of Skulls. Then, dropping her gaze to the floor, she whispered, “No, Your Grace. You are correct.”