Chapter 4 Willow

The Ritual establishes the bravery and honor of the Chosen. I’m so excited I can hardly stand still. Can you even imagine being part of something so important? — Prince Eater #34

Holy King Harrison had sunk into a coma within an hour after the funeral, and from experience, Gil knew that the king would be unresponsive for hours. Someday he would figure out how to prevent the Most Revered from controlling the king that way, but after years of research, he was no closer to an answer than he was the first time he had witnessed her putting Harry into a coma. He could see that the power to do so resided in the Most Revered’s bracelets. Thanks to his research and the time he spent studying with experts in SnakeIn, Gil understood that they controlled electrical current, but since the jewelry was either on her wrists or locked in a box she kept next to the head of her bed, he had never had the opportunity to examine them to determine how. Gil inspected the horns on Harrison’s back regularly and suspected the horn at the nape of the king’s neck to be more than the other horns. Once, in an effort to relieve some of Harrison’s distress, he had tried to saw off one of the smallest horns on his lower back, but the action had caused so much pain that Gil lost hope of finding a physical remedy and focused on research.

After ascertaining that Harrison was definitely unconscious, Gil stationed a team of Grays nearby in the unlikely event that the Kings Guards needed assistance and then went to check on the two younger princes who had locked themselves in their private apartments to cry alone. Gil assigned Grays to discreetly watch over each of them also. Once satisfied that the royal family was protected, Gil saddled his stallion and rode out to investigate the situation with Alec Mulrian. Of all the places Corporal Mulrian could have been, Gil did not anticipate finding him lounging beneath this particular willow, where the remains of Ava’s and Harrison’s daughter rested among the tree roots. Furthermore, he hadn’t expected to find Mulrian under a punitive guard ordered by MacDonald.

Eventually, Alec set aside the tedious task, stretched out with his hands folded behind his head, and closed his eyes. He didn’t know how long he’d napped, but a sudden jolt to his legs jerked him awake. His eyes flew open, and he sat up abruptly. Prince Jon stood a meter away, laughing despite his sad, drained face.

A glimpse beyond Jon showed Alec that the low-ranking archers stalking him were moving closer, and the Grays Commander had directed his horse to walk forward as well. Alec leaped to his feet to bow deeply and formally to Prince Jon.

“Your Royal Highness,” he greeted Jon in a booming voice. “I apologize for my laziness. If there is anything I can do to help you, sir, please let me know. Again, I apologize for falling asleep.”

“Alec?” Jon reacted. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing’s wrong, Your Royal Highness,” Alec said loudly. More softly he added, “I’m under strict orders to not interact with you. Sergeant MacDonald has threatened to have me flogged and imprisoned if I do. She all but guaranteed that I won’t live through it.”

“That is unbelievable. She grew up beside us,” Jon commented, incredulously. He shifted his stance so that he blocked the view of the sentries.

“I’ll have Captain Brady transfer her to Thuaidh in the north. In the meantime, does that mean I can’t even talk to you?”

“If you need me, it’s my duty to comply,” Alec responded, trying not to grin openly.

The two archers quickened their pace. The Grays Commander urged his horse to a trot resulting in the archers colliding with the stallion. As they stumbled and regained their footing, the Grays Commander said sternly, “His Majesty has need of both of you. Report to his chambers immediately.”

“Sergeant MacDonald sent us to keep watch on Mulrian,” one of the archers complained.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Are you disobeying Holy King Harrison?” the Grays Commander asked as he leaned forward to loom over them.

“Ah, no, no, sir,” the archer backtracked and the pair scrambled toward the castle.

The Grays Commander turned his attention back to Jon and Alec and then dipped his head to them as if to reassure them that it was safe for them to talk, but while Alec wasn’t sure if that was his meaning, Prince Jon dipped his head in return.

Jon plopped on the ground next to where Alec had been asleep. He picked up one of the feathers and studied it casually.

“Alec,” he began. “I…I don’t know what’s going to happen. With us, I mean. I want the cottage and the moonflowers, and a simple life together. But I’m the next in line. I…I just don’t know.”

Alec sat on the ground again and sighed. “I understand. We’ll have to take it day by day until we see what’s what.”

“Let’s run off,” Jon suggested. “Tonight. You and I together. We can go to New East Anglia. My cousin Edward will take us in and protect us. Or we can go to Midhe Thiar if we have to. Maybe we could find a little place in the wilderness beyond SnakeIn to make our own. I don’t want to be the Chosen and become king. I want to be with you.”

“I feel the same way,” Alec agreed as he resisted his desire to trace the outline of Jon’s lips with his fingertip. “But how can we escape our destinies? If we run and are caught, they will force you to witness me be summarily hanged, and then you…you know what they’ll do to you.”

“Yes, I know,” Jon said. “But we can at least slip out tonight and pick moonflowers for our garden. I promise you, wherever I end up, I’ll plant a moonflower garden for you.”

Alec laughed and said, “I can’t. MacDonald shifted me to the night watch. I think she wants me idle enough in the wee hours that I’ll start to worry too much about being banned from the funeral and forbidden to see you in the hope that I’ll misstep. She’s doing her best to get me court-martialed. Every day, she makes another threat. It’s only a matter of time before she gets her chance. That will be the end of me. If she can’t get His Majesty to order my execution directly, she will drag out the punishment, so I die anyway. You know she can do it. As it stands, my future as a Royal Archer is already over, thanks to MacDonald.”

“Figg’t her,” Jon bit out.

“I don’t have the rank to get around her,” Alec continued. “Not yet anyway. There’s a commission for captain opening up that I’ve been promised. I’ve been saving up to pay for it. Once that happens I’ll be out from under her abuse.” He exhaled in frustration, and then suggested, “I’ll try to switch watches with someone. She still might not like it, but at least that way it wouldn’t be a dereliction of duty.”

“No, don’t risk it,” Jon said. “I’ll go on my own. And I’ll think of you with every baby plant I find.”

Alec smiled, leaned farther back onto his elbows, and said, “Tell me how you are doing. I’ve been worried about you.”

Jon shifted his weight, and then slowly, softly talked about all the things that had occurred, how troubled his sleep was, how empty and pointless everything seemed without Reggie and Ethan, and how the only way his father seemed to be able to cope was to spend most of his time unconscious. They talked until First Sun started to set and Alec had to prepare so he could report for duty.

Alec was well into his watch when Jon tip-toed out of his own apartments in the castle. One of the Royal Guard stationed directly outside the prince’s rooms had dozed off leaning against the wall and Jon heard the other Royal Guard down the hall laughing. As he went by, he saw the guard and two Grays gambling with a pair of dice. He didn’t draw attention to himself but crept down the stairs.

Jon relaxed as he moved along the ground floor hall leading to one of the castle’s side entrances. When he caught movement from the corner of his eye, he turned guardedly. Novitiate Ainsley was hurrying in the same direction as he was, so he smiled and held the door for her. She thanked him softly, then hastened toward the Tara Citadel while he continued on his way to the castle’s outer walls.

Ainsley reached the door of the citadel and pulled it open with a sigh of relief. She wasn’t authorized to be outside her sleeping quarters at night, and she feared that she would be severely punished if her Mentoring Priest learned of her excursion. She closed the door tightly behind her and slid the bolt into place. As she spun around to hurry upstairs, two Magi Soldiers grabbed her arms, one also clasping a hand over her mouth to ensure her silence.

“You’re coming in late, Novitiate,” Ava Most Revered commented, her voice cold and her hands folded in front of her.

“Yes, Most Revered, I apologize,” Ainsley stammered when the soldier dropped his hand. Thinking quickly she added. “I thought I saw something but didn’t want to worry anyone until I was sure.”

“And are you sure?”

“Yes, Most Revered, it was…it was nothing.”

“What kind of nothing?”

Ainsley knew that she could never tell anyone about her rendezvous or betray who met her. She searched through her brain for something plausible to say, something harmless but convincing, then her face brightened and she said casually, “It was only Prince Jon leaving.”

©2022 Vera S. Scott