#Kastion 👀👀

[amethystpath-writes]

A Gentle Blade Part 20

Part 19 here

Can't believe there are 20 parts/chapters to this series. So insane.

Quick history fact before we get started. The word 'vile' was used to refer to commoners or those of a very low rank, hence why the word morphed into a definition that more closely means 'disgusting' or 'wretched'.

Okay, onto the story!

@tears-and-lilies

******

The guests walked in in no particular order. The two generals mixed with the kings and Dogars was actually the first to walk in. There was no battle of priority until they all noticed the different seats. Some were wood, others were throne-like. It was obvious that their host, the queen was implying a difference in stature.

"Royals will sit in the coloured seats. Non-royals will sit in the other seats provided." Rennera smiled, welcoming the company as well as she knew how to. "I am thrilled to see you all arrived safely."

Should have started with that, Sir Guard thought. He would have whispered as such to her if he were allowed. Unfortunate- for her- that her rules limited what help he was willing to offer.

It wasn't much longer that the prince averted his gaze from the crowd. They were all situating themselves, deciding which seats to take, and across whom. Before he looked away, Sir Guard watched his friend sit in the wooden chair at the foot-end of the table.

Gods, how would Dogars react when he saw it was his prince tied up against a fancy seat?

Leera Psst'd at Sir Guard while he faced the other way.

He shook his head, holding his index finger out though he realized the assassin wouldn't be able to see it as his hands were out of eyeshot.

Psst!

Sir Guard shook his head again.

"Is there a problem over here?" His head lifted, finding the queen's eyes staring into his own. They flicked over to Leera. "You two are making it difficult to speak. I believe she is trying to get your attention, my future king."

A muscle in his leg twitched. He swallowed with a quick nod. Taking a deep breath, he turned to Leera, but not before he snagged a glance at Dogars, whose eyes became squinted. He doesn't recognize me yet. Sir Guard praised the gods for giving his friend a short sight of vision. It was for that reason Dogars never picked up a bow by choice.

"What?" the prince spit out quickly to Leera. He whispered it, of course, as to not interrupt the queen as she continued speaking.

"Rennera-" She glanced up at the queen, then looked at the floor. The side of her mouth quirked up as her eyes narrowed. The assassin looked at Rennera again, then shrugged before grabbing either edge of her chair and throwing it to the left, getting closer to Sir Guard.

His eyes went wide with caution, though no one seemed to pay mind. She kept coming closer until their chairs almost touched.

"Her Majesty-" Leera rolled her eyes. "-wants me to find out where you come from." She continued their whispering feud, one that would probably last the rest of the night. "Where you, the bounty hunter, comes from," she specified. "I haven't told her anything."

Well at least that much was going nicely. "That's a difficult answer to come up with."

"How?" Her nose scrunched with her confusion. "You came from somewhere. Just tell me what kingdom you...rule? Or I guess you don't rule if you're only a-"

"I am not giving her any shred of truth," the prince said. He went silent, thinking. He needed a back story for his bounty hunter persona. The only development that man had was that he hated torture and was supposedly poor enough that he couldn't afford the streets.

"Then throw out a random city name. It's not like she'll know the difference."

"Maybe not, but when she tries to confirm it on a map and finds the name exists nowhere on it, she'll take it out on you."

"His Future Majesty," someone said across the table.

Sir Guard's attention found one of the generals staring at him. His eyes darted towards Dogars again. At the same time he wished his friend not to recognize him, it was also all he wanted.

The general wasn't continuing, and the prince wasn't allowed to speak, so he nodded, urging the man to continue. He did. "The queen says you are a bounty hunter," The prince nodded in confirmation. "She also says you were the one that brought the former king's assassin back when she ran away. Where did you find her?"

Was this an interrogation?

He looked to Rennera who closed her eyes and gave a slight nod, giving him permission to speak. Now that he was allowed to speak, he had little time to decide on a lie. The prince would have to give the truth or else his thinking too long would look suspicious. "A few miles into the woods from this palace." His eyes fell onto Dogars for the millionth time. He swallowed as the emissary's own throat bobbed and his mouth fell slightly open. Sir Guard just barely shook his head, hoping Dogars would get the message.

If he did get the message, he was deliberately deciding to be stupid when he piped in and asked, "What were you doing-"

"I wasn't done yet," the general who spoke before tried to interrupt. It didn't work.

"-so close to the palace?" It was a personal question, one that Sir Guard should have expected coming from his friend. He was making this situation more difficult by asking such a thing.

After just a short moment of gaining yet another permitted nod from Rennera, the prince answered, "I'm a bounty hunter. I was hunting the face on the bounty posters."

"Hunting bounties is a dangerous job, as I see you've found out, as you should have already known, as I'm sure someone told you," Dogars returned. He was speaking too quickly, Sir Guard noted. His friend was going to lead the others to believe they knew each other if he didn't calm his tone and speak slower.

Maybe the prince was over-analyzing. The others probably weren't noticing what he was, but he couldn't help it. If the queen learned Sir Guard was the prince of Thharewood...he didn't want to think about what might happen. Rennera said she would punish Leera for his mistakes. Perhaps rather hopefully that would change. Otherwise she might hurt Leera more than usual.

"I'm curious, Your Majesty," Dogars continued, "why you've made a bounty hunter, who you've clearly had problems with, your betrothed."

Rennera hummed, picking up a glass which contained red wine. She swirled the liquid before explaining, "He brought my husband's killer back. I took a liking to him for that reason, but it was all a rash decision and apparently he thought so, too. He tried to sneak the assassin back out in the woods."

Sir Guard felt the urge to defend himself, to say it was a lie, but what would it matter? He was only the queen's captive at this point. The others wouldn't care whether or not the claim was true. Dogars might. Might call him foolish later when he returned home, if he ever did. The thought he might never return to Thharewood never crossed Sir Guard's mind until now. It made him feel sick.

"Would anyone else like to contribute?" the queen asked, taking a sip of her wine.

No one said anything for moments. There was only the sound of heavy breathing and chewing. One king commented on how lovely the feast itself was. He'd been a quiet and old man, one who was timid, and was only present because he feared the consequences of not showing up. Sir Guard read this all in one easy comment.

The rest hadn't spoken yet, but the general, presumably from Harcose based off of the fish shape on his leather vest.

And, of course, Dogars had spoken plenty. Sir Guard could tell he was pissed by how quickly he shoved food in his mouth. If the prince were free to speak and was sat beside his friend, he would have quietly joked that he should watch his weight. It was something Dogars scorned himself for often, overeating anytime something relatively stressful happened. It was a habit he admitted trying to quit which was the only reason Sir Guard felt okay teasing about it.

Leera leaned over for a second time this night, whispering, "Have you thought of anything yet?"

"Honestly, Leera," he said, "I can't think about anything beyond my nerves." The prince shook his head. "I've never been this frightened before." He hated to admit it. His trainers always told him as a boy that fear was a ridiculous thing to let control you. They said you should only shake from overexerting yourself. Fear was, to say it most simply, stupid.

The assassin sighed, thinking to herself now. Sir Guard knew the consequence if she didn't get her answers for the queen; he would be hurt, maybe tortured. He would be okay with it, but he knew there was no way Leera could handle watching him in pain. He swore he would come up with a story by the end of the night, but for now...it was just too difficult.

"Is it something you can talk yourself out of? My uncle always said I was a good listener."

"Your uncle?" Her eyes saddened as she nodded. "Was that who took care of you after..." he trailed off.

"After my parents both died, yes." She nodded then took a deep breath. "I miss them," she said. "All of them."

Sir Guard's brows knitted. "Did your uncle pass, too, then?"

"No. No, he didn't, but I- uh- haven't seen him in years, much less spoken to him." Leera reached for the tankard in front of her. Her hand paused mid-reach and the prince watched her gaze turn towards the queen. After a short minute, her hand continued to reach out, grabbing the cup and bringing it to her lips. She asked, "Are you thirsty?" He shook his head, but because he licked his lips, the assassin moved forward, rear-end on the edge of her seat. She didn't have to reach very far for the cold edge to meet her prince's lips.

He turned his head. "Leera, the queen didn't say I could eat or drink."

"She didn't say you couldn't either, and that's what you asked her earlier, isn't it?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"If she has a problem with it, I'll tell her you forced me to give you a drink, that you...I don't know," She shrugged. "Threatened me or something."

Sir Guard gave a look that said, Right. She would believe I threatened you.

The assassin shrugged again. "You haven't seen a man starving or dehydrated, then."

In the blink of an eye, the prince saw chapped lips barely visible passed blond hair and sand. Sir Guard had been around...8 years old, he guessed. He didn't miss having blond hair, and was quite pleased that it'd darkened. It was at least one less reminder of the days he had trainers. None of them were kind and they put the prince through the worst of situations, saying it was only to 'toughen him up'. It was cruel was all, but 'tough' was what Thharewood needed since the current king and queen didn't 'have the guts' to stand up to opposers.

"Sir Guard?"

The fog in the prince's brain cleared away at hearing Leera's voice.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm alright." He eyed the tankard in front of him. "I think I'll have a drink of that now."

Leera proceeded to tilt the cup until she could see the water pouring out slowly in a jerky stream. She didn't want to pour too much, so she was careful.

The prince grunted and she pulled the tankard away, setting it down on the table. As she did so, she found the queen's head directed at her.

"Thirsty?" Rennera asked. Her gaze moved from Leera to Sir Guard. A single drip of water ran to his chin from his lip.

He nodded.

"Yes, it has been a while since you had anything to eat or drink." The queen took a sip of her wine. "Guards, one of you untie him. And take the rope to my chambers. You may toss it on the bed."

Sir Guard's mind went to the worst place possible. He hoped her bed was only the place she kept the gilded rope stored, and that she wasn't implying anything else. The most she'd done was kiss him. Rennera wouldn't do more than that, would she? She hated torture, she admitted that. Would she consider...that...as torture? The prince certainly did.

Before Sir Guard could suck himself into a further pit of dread, he felt relief. The final coil of rope fell away from his wrists. He sighed and brought his arms around front before raising them up, allowing the two guards to unwrap what rope had also been around his chest. Sir Guard took a deep breath. It was the first one he took that he actually felt reach his lungs.

On the other end of the table, Dogars watched, releasing a small and pitiful growl. Never would he have imagined seeing his best friend like this. And never would he have imagined he couldn't help. The emissary wondered how long Kastion had been tied up like that. He looked sore, but fine otherwise- or at least as far as Dogars could tell. The prince was mostly blurbs of colour. He only truly knew it was Kastion by his voice when the general asked him a question.

A bounty hunter, the emissary thought and shook his head. He didn't doubt Kastion fulfilled his role after seeing the poster. His real question was what was the prince thinking going to Ecksthnie? What was his plan before he found the bounty posters? Just go in and demand they release the assassin? That would have worked great, Dogars scoffed mentally. Kastion was lucky he found a bounty poster.

Gods damn him. I told him that assassin wasn't his responsibility. Of course telling Kastion that didn't mean anything. If he felt responsible then nothing- no words or actions- would ever succeed in changing his mind. The prince was stubborn when it came to faults. Dogars supposed it had to do with his training. They blamed him for every mistake when truly it was them not teaching him how to do anything. They'd throw him in a- a gladiator pit with an adult man without any previous lessons then expect him to know what he was doing, and when he failed, they'd tell him he was too absent, made mistakes too easily. You are a humiliation to this kingdom and you will continue to be unless you can fix all of your mistakes, they would say, and they would never say what his mistakes were. Dogars watched it all unfold firsthand, everyday.

So, the emissary understood perfectly why his prince ran off. He blamed himself now, for not knowing where Kastion went off to. As often as he spoke of Leera and how 'It's my fault she was captured. I was the one who asked for her name, begged her for it. And for what? She's in Ecksthnie because I thought praising a name would keep her from harm.' Kastion talked about the rumours as well, about a destroyed throne room and coffins. About nail streaks down a cheek. All about the assassin, of course. He spoke so often of his fault. Dogars should have known when the prince went missing that it was to save the assassin- or do whatever it was that he wanted. He clearly wasn't saving her right now.

"I think the emissary has gone deaf. Someone splash their water on him, will you?"

"No need," Dogars blurted. He was surprised to see as he looked around that no one was jumping to fulfill the order. Though maybe he shouldn't have been. The emissary could tell the generals were ticked off about the queen's unsaid statement; royalty was above all else. Generals were vile. Anyone who wasn't a king, queen, prince, or princess was of low and poor blood. Dogars didn't mind the status he received. He liked when people underestimated him, particularly queens who held his best friend captive. "I have a question for the assassin," he said.

The queen bade him permission to ask.

"You are unbound, have been since the beginning, unlike the...soon to be royal. Why's that?"

She, the assassin, thought for a moment. "Her Majesty...treats me better than I deserve," she said, and that was all.

Dogars nodded, running his tongue along his top teeth. His mouth remained closed, though, until he spoke to Rennera. "So you treat her well despite it being her who killed your husband? Yet, this random bounty hunter is being tied to a chair despite being your supposed betrothed?"

"I broke the assassin in," the queen replied. "She behaves the way I ask her to. My future king deceived me. I believed he was incredible for bringing back the girl who killed my husband. He was a fairytale character. He proved the other day that he is not what I thought. He is a great actor-" Better than you think. "-but I will break that trait down soon enough. In less than a week, all he will want to do is marry me."

Now it was the other present general, one from Eliaph, that spoke up. "Sounds risky, Your Majesty. A bounty hunter who managed to bring in an assassin? If I were you, I wouldn't have unbound him."

"You live by fear?"

At this, Sir Guard could have laughed. Only the food occupying his mouth stopped him.

A hypocrite, he thought. The queen was mocking a general for being scared when it was her who was terrified. She wouldn't be having this dinner to prove herself if she weren't nerved by the rulers of the lands.

"I live cautiously," the Eliaph said. "Intelligently. You would be wise to do the same."

"In Harcose," the prince whispered to Leera. When she gave him her full attention, he continued. "I came from Harcose. My family was granted a lake by the lord of our region, but because we weren't allowed to plant more trees, hawks and eagles were stealing the fish we bred and sold. I became a bounty hunter as a last resort as we couldn't afford the lord's rent prices."

Leera's eyes had grown wide halfway through the made up back story. "I guess you only needed time, huh? To come up with a story?"

"Food, actually." He smiled. "I only came up with it just now. The general- not the one who just spoke, but the other one- comes from Harcose. I could tell by the patch on his clothing. Anyway, that's what you can tell the queen. Is that all she asked for?" Leera nodded. "Good. Good, that's settled. Now I only have one other thing to worry about during this dinner."

"What's that?"

"See that man on the opposite end of the table?" Sir Guard nodded his head down the long dinner table Very end, not on the sides."

"Yes."

"That is my best friend, practically my brother. That is Dogars."

The assassin gave a small, delighted gasp. "The name you used in the story."

"Yes." The prince took another drink of water then leaned back in his 'throne'. "I'm surprised he hasn't launched a knife at me yet."

Leera blew a puff of air from her nose. "Sounds like a great friend." It was sarcastic. At first she'd been excited to meet Sir Guard's friend. Now he didn't sound so pleasant.

"He is. Dogars only worries for me. I have...large tendencies to throw myself in harm's way. This was the biggest toss." The prince looked the assassin in the eyes. "It's been a fine fall, one I would take all over again if needed."

She said, "You don't have to fall for me." Leera paused, thinking, Did he just confess he had feelings for me? "In fact, I encourage you not to. I'm more danger than I'm worth."

"You're right," Sir Guard said. "You are not worth a thing. That's why I poisoned myself to prove I was on your side, that I would never hurt you."

"I hate you for that," Her voice was soft, didn't hold any wrath behind it at all. Either way, the prince's point was across. She was worth everything, he was telling Leera. She still couldn't bring herself to believe he might have liked her romantically, though. It just seemed so impossible.

"I'm alive," Sir Guard returned. "Didn't know it would almost kill me." Then he admitted, "Even if I'd known, I wouldn't have done any differently. I deserved an almost death."

With a sigh, the assassin shook her head. "You'll never stop blaming yourself for what happened to me, will you? I shouldn't be a prince's concern, you know?"

"Why shouldn't you be when it was my fault?" He dragged a hand down his face. "Leera, I told everyone your name. You wouldn't be here if it weren't for that."

"I. Was the one. That gave you my name. That was my fault, not yours."

"You wouldn't have given it if I didn't-"

"Stop!"

The room went silent. All eyes were on the assassin, who was now standing at her seat, fingers flayed on the table. Her breathing picked up when she realized she'd drawn everyone's attention. Leera didn't mean to have an outburst. She just...she hated how much Sir Guard hated himself, how he blamed himself no matter what evidence there was against it. She wasn't mad at him for it. She was mad at whoever made him like that. Who blamed him in his life? For what? Why?

Leera swallowed. "Sorry. I'm so sorry, Your Majesties and- and generals." She sat without another word, stared at her lap with her chin tucked to her chest.

Sir Guard didn't say another word, afraid he might upset her again. He wasn't entirely sure what set her off. The prince still felt correct. He was to blame for Leera being here. He asked her for her name, and instead of moving on when she said she didn't give her name to people, he'd asked another time. Again and again, he'd asked, telling her he wanted to know the name of his hero. And when she finally gave, he spread it around like wildfire.

Of course, it was never Sir Guard's intention for it to harm Leera. He thought it would offer protection. She killed the King of Ecksthnie, and she escaped. Anyone would be right to be fearful of the assassin. But this wasn't what happened and it was his fault. He should have known what would happen, should have thought of every possibility. This was his fault. Nothing would change the prince's mind.

Rennera stood quite suddenly, announcing that dinner was over and everyone should return to their rooms. If anyone wished to know more, they could consult the guard standing in the throne room. If it required the queen's direct answer, they would be escorted to the queen's room, where they could consult with her at ease.

Dogars wouldn't go to the queen, but he would talk to Kastion. He needed to know what the hell had gotten into him, and what needed to be done. He'd go to his prince's cell tonight, even if it meant sneaking passed enemy guards without a weapon. He would get there. There was no choice.

******

Part 21 here