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After the news was delivered that there were children on the march for the castle, in the middle of the night, Eamon sprang into action. Alik saw the commander for the first time, giving out orders to his men, sending them on different errands to prepare rooms for the children, and then following Willhelm and Nicolin to the last of the men and wolves that were marching in, guarding the children. Alik wasn’t given an errand and he was almost certain that Eamon forgot that he was there.
The only time that Eamon seemed to realize that Alik was accompanying them was at the stable where they were getting fresh horses and Eamon ordered that anyone coming with him must also bring another horse. Alik did as he was told, quickly saddled another horse before mounting Jericho.
Eamon finally registered that he was going and he looked like he was going to say something but he stopped himself and nodded.
And if Alik hadn’t seen it with his own two eyes, he would have thought it was exaggeration on the part of the narrator of the story.
But this was no story told in the dead of winter in front of a warm fire with a full belly. This was the beginning of war, what his older brother kept from him.
The soldiers were scattered around the group of children at strategic points, to see each other and keep the children safe.
Alik wished he had never seen the children before. He wished, with all his heart, that he went back to his room and told Issat all that transpired and they sat up all night whispering possibilities of leaving Grayhaven. He wished, with every fiber of his being, that he was anywhere but where he was.
There were close to three dozen children. Most were wearing ragged bits of clothes, offering little protection against the elements. They were lucky, perhaps, that it was still warm. The four of them stopped a short distance from the men and children and Eamon dismounted before his horse was even at a complete stop. He led his two horses by the reins closer to the first man who was carrying a small girl in his arms.
Alik did not want to get any closer, did not want to hear the words exchanged between the two, because the little girl was very still in the soldier’s arms. The man took the horse from Eamon and pulled himself up and was gone in the dark before Alik could see too closely and for that, Alik was grateful.
Then the children were upon them.
Some walked past Alik like he did not exist, like he was a ghost from a long forgotten place. Others looked up to him and others whispered words of thanks.
Alik wanted to tell them to say nothing, he had done nothing to help them, to prevent this.
Then a girl, a young woman really, stumbled and fell against him. He stumbled as well and let go of the reins of the two horses and righted her.
“Your Highness, I apologize-” she mumbled. For a heartbreaking second, she looked so much like Paige, from the Cerith kingdom, that he felt his heart stop.
“No need,” he finally said, finally getting his throat to work. Then he saw the small child in her arms, squirming and in pain, but not making a sound despite the tears on his cheeks. “Here, stop, take my horse,” Alik said.
The young woman blinked and there was the visage of Paige again; green eyes, dark hair, olive skin.
“Go on,” Alik encouraged. He took the child from her arms and Jericho remained still as she climbed up. He handed the small child up to her.
“I can take one more,” she murmured.
Alik turned and saw a young boy limping slowly towards him, one arm around a wolf, Titan, if Alik was correct. His face was set and his eyes were forward but like the child in the girl’s arms, there were tears on his cheeks anyway.
Alik went to him and without a word, hefted him up in his arms, wrapped the thin arms around his neck and carried him to the girl.
“Titan,” he murmured.
She padded alongside him and after Alik had the boy situated on Jericho, they were off, Titan at their side.
For a brief second, Alik watched them ride away, and when he turned, he saw Eamon watching him. There was a child in his arms and more on the horses he had brought with him. Alik turned, took the reins of his remaining horse and hurried to the back of their sad caravan.
There was another soldier there, guarding the rear. Godfrey, if Alik was correct.
“Your Highness,” he said flatly. There was no anger, or if there was, it was hidden behind a mask of perfect control.
Alik nodded and once more, he began scooping children up and putting them on the back of the horse, before he handed the reins to the oldest, a boy this time, with instructions to head for the castle.
Alik fell in step with Godfrey behind the rest of the children.
“Were you attacked?” Godfrey asked.
“We were. But the Prince was with me. As was Kane.”
Godfrey ground his teeth together. “I pray that Kane was hungry and had his fill.”
“I do not believe he was hungry but he did get to play.”
“Good.”
They were silent for a short time before Godfrey said, “We think it was coordinated.”
Alik nodded. That much was clear.
“I don’t want to presume, Your Highness, but-”
“You think that there is someone in my court that could have given that information away. It would explain the men that attacked us at the castle, that punished these children, and held you at bay.”
Godfrey remained silent. He was a large man, just like all the others, and his hair was pulled back in a low ponytail. He pressed his lips together and his hands clenched in fists at his side.
“I would say that you aren’t wrong but I don’t want to presume that the spy is in my court, though the possibilities are much greater that they are from Grayhaven than your Isles,” Alik murmured.
“If they were willing to do this, to our Prince-”
“They weren’t just after Eamon. They wanted to take any of the royal family but they mentioned specifically a princess,” Alik said quietly. He would never talk so frankly with his own knights but Eamon’s men engendered more of a feeling of confidence and security in Alik.
“I would dare them,” Godfrey muttered.
Alik looked over at him.
“Ask yourself if you think any sister of our Prince would be helpless,” Godfrey said.
Alik shook his head. “I do not think I need that question answered.”
The walk was longer than Alik thought possible and by the time they reached the castle, most of the children had been ushered into an unused state hall. Alik followed numbly, unsure of what he should do with himself.
“Your Highness, I can escort you to your room,” a servant murmured from his side.
“No, I’ll stay,” Alik heard himself faintly as he stared around the room. The soldiers and some of the priestesses from the orphanage were milling around the room. They were in various stages of dressing, feeding, and washing the children. “What can I do?”
And that’s how Alik found himself helping to lace up the tunics of the smallest children, doling out food, washing the silk bandages and laying them out to dry, until his hands felt like they were numb, mere hours after proposing to Crown Prince Eamon.
***
THE NEXT DAY DAWNED bright and beautiful and Alik hated it the moment he walked into the arena. After everything that had happened-
Alik thought he deserved a sleep in.
Instead, Eamon insisted they go about their plans exactly as they normally were going to and that included sparring. Together, they decided to keep their decision of marriage a secret.
Alik wanted to keep the memory of sparring with the others a repressed one. He didn’t stand a chance against any of the Ataton court and they all knew it.
Had he his bow, it could have been a different story.
When Alik limped out of the arena several hours later, Issat, Eamon, Edmond, and a number of men from both courts were still there. He slumped over against a wall and began to peel off the leathers that had been strapped to his legs, chest, and forearms to protect him.
"I thought I was here to look for a future spouse," he muttered to himself, "Not to be tortured within an inch of my life, beaten like a piece of meat," he threw off one of the leathers from his legs and groaned when his leg fully relaxed, "And thrown from the ring so that the real practice could begin."
From across the field, where the castle led out to the various yards, he saw Lissandra and Avelina coming towards him with a bucket heaving between them. It was big enough to require both of them to carry. He had to wonder why there was no one helping them.
Finally, they approached him and he eyed the bucket warily. "If you are here to finish me off, do it quickly. Your brothers have tortured me enough on my final day."
The women shared a look and smirked. "Who knew that the north produced such delicate men?" Avelina said as both she and her sister upended the bucket over Alik's head.
The water was ice cold and Alik gasped and hurled himself into a standing position.
"Amazing," Lissandra said flatly. "He lives."
Alik opened his mouth to complain but then he realized he felt remarkably better since he had been doused.
"We've been doing it for our brothers since they were small," Lissandra said and laughed at his face when he blinked at them. "They too looked like drowned rats."
"Thank you," Alik said and pushed his hair out of his face.
"Come have lunch with us," Avelina said. "Everyone is too busy."
"There is a bath and clothing waiting for you in your rooms," Lissandra said. "We'll take lunch in my rooms," she said, as though the matter was closed and linked her arm through her sister's and they turned back to the castle.
Alik dragged himself to the castle and up the stairs. He thought briefly of his parents and remembered Issat telling him that they were sailing for the day. In his room he found a bath waiting for him and a servant there to help him with a chiton and a sleeveless tunic. Being wrapped in fighting leathers all morning made him more amicable to the Ataton style of dress and he didn't feel as exposed with the tunic on.
The same servant showed him to Lissandra's rooms and his personal guard stayed a respectful few feet behind him. The doors were open and the sisters were sitting on a large open balcony. They were looking out towards the cliffs and the ocean beyond when Alik approached. They both turned at the same time when they heard him.
"Ah," Avelina said when they saw him, "You have given in to our scandalous ways of dressing, I see."
"I wouldn't say scandalous," Alik said.
"You nearly fell off your horse when Avelina curtsied that first day and you looked to Lady Issat when I curtsied. You barely look at my brothers in the face," Lissandra said, "Believe me when we say, we have noticed such things."
"Issat has tried to help me with such things. I am afraid I am a poor student," Alik said as they seated themselves. "I was also afraid that I might overheat and die from your sun that day."
"It is your sun as well." Avelina reminded him.
"Hardly. There is hardly anything like this in Grayhaven. Maybe for a fortnight but nothing like this. Our skies are filled with rain and snow and sleet."
"Sounds dreary," Avelina commented and plucked a few berries from a platter in front of them. Alik tried to picture either sister in the layers and layers of clothing that the women of his court wore or tried to picture them in his castle at all and his mind rebelled. These two were sun blessed and needed to stay that way.
"It can be tedious and wearying, that is for certain. But the winter solstice is something to behold. The snow, the lights, the fires, the trees," Alik paused and said. "There's a clarity to the cold that I haven't seen anywhere else."
"That sounds magical," Avelina said.
"I suppose," Alik said softly.
They were silent as the servants brought out a light meal of lamb and greens. Lissandra opened her mouth to continue their conversation but something seemed to catch her eye on the horizon and the three of them turned to watch a group of wolves pacing with a horse and its rider along the coast. From the opposite direction, the direction of the yards, Eamon and Edmond came riding, hard and fast.
They three riders circled each other, their horses unable to hold still.
"I hope you didn't have plans for the afternoon and evening," Avelina said to Lissandra when they saw Eamon and Edmond whirl around on their horses and head for an entrance.
"I was hoping to wine and dine our visitor but it looks like that might be put on hold," Lissandra said and met Alik's surprised look with a smirk of her own. It seemed to be a family trait. "Since word has it that he has passed on both my younger siblings."
"I find it distasteful to force someone into marriage and neither one was interested in ruling beside me," Alik said but his eyes remained on the riders below them. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to speak of the marriage promise in front of the princesses.
"Brace yourself, my friend, for you are about to see a side of my brother that few witness," Lissandra murmured. "And also, do not be afraid."
"Afraid of what?" Alik said.
But neither woman replied. Instead, they turned to the noise in the hall that signaled half a dozen men heading for Lissandra's rooms.
***
WILLHELM'S NEWS POUNDED in his head. Eamon should head to his father's war room, to find the old man somewhere, but he knew that Therris would wave him off, tell Eamon to handle it. Then he remembered that neither one of this parents were even on land that day. They set sail early that morning and now Eamon would be forced to handle it anyway.
As Eamon handled most things these days.
"Your Highness, perhaps they send their ships for a treaty," Hann, a Grayhaven knight, said as he and five others struggled to keep up with Eamon and Edmond as they stormed up through the northern towers. Eamon had no idea where they were going, only that he had to get to someone who could make sense of what he knew.
"Only a fool would believe that," Eamon growled.
"We haven't the proof that they push into the lands for the purpose of a takeover," Sir Renier added. Another from Grayhaven. Eamon would have to have a frank discussion with Alik sooner rather than later.
"When was the last time that Vresal army brought ships and men into this land for the purpose of not killing and plundering?" Edmond snapped.
"Should we not try, at the very least, to confer with their leaders before we ready the ships and the men?" Hann asked as they reached the landing that led to the top of the stairs.
Nicolin saw them and stood aside to Lissandra's rooms. He opened his mouth to say something but the constant questioning had grated enough on Eamon's nerves so that he picked up a small table that was near the door and threw it into Lissandra's rooms. It hit her desk and broke into a dozen pieces, creating a mess on her floor and work area.
Nicolin closed his mouth.
Eamon whirled around. The only one who mirrored his fury was his brother. The others looked worried, or in the case of the Grayhaven knights, frightened. "He has taken three villages, plundered them, burnt them to the ground, created orphans, and taken the men and women there as slaves. How many of you were there when the orphans stumbled into our castle last night? Carrying their brothers, sisters, barely more than infants themselves? Did any of you stay up with them and soothe them?"
There was silence from the men.
These men had not known of the children that had stumbled into the castle's keep in the early morning. They hadn't witnessed the injuries that still oozed blood or bandaged the feet of a child who should have never been aware of such aches. They had not tended to them, soothed them as Nicolin, Eamon, Edmond, and even Alik had.
"You wish for peace but it is not peace if we get down on our knees for them," Eamon hissed. "I will greet death before I hand one more orphan over to the priestesses, before I see one more person enslaved by this army."
"Your Highness-" One of the Grayhaven knights started. "If we could just-"
"Shall I take you to the priestesses so that you can see the marks their whips left behind?" Edmond picked up. "Shall they tell you the stories of how they walked through days and days, how they were forced to eat nothing but grass until they found our men and the wolves that helped guide them here? What more does it take to convince you fools?"
Someone behind Eamon and Edmond cleared their throat and they both turned to see their sisters and Prince Alik standing there.
"Leave me," Eamon snapped at them but kept his eyes on Alik. "Send for Lady Issat."
"I'll send for lunch for you two," Avelina said and signaled to the servant that had tucked herself into a corner of the room. The servant bowed and quickly left.
"Are they safe?" Alik asked quietly.
"Who?" Eamon asked.
"The orphans," Alik said. He had fallen asleep while reading to some of the orphans the night before and Edmond had scooped up the sleeping children and taken them to the orphanage and priestesses. When Alik had woken, he was under Eamon's cloak but otherwise, all alone in the stateroom.
"As safe as any of us are now," Edmond muttered and looked out to the balcony. He stalked over and speared a bit of Avelina's lamb into his mouth.
"Let us speak plainly, Prince Alik," Eamon said and stalked over to him. Alik had to fight his instincts to take several steps away from Eamon. All the warmth and friendliness of the previous night were gone. Now stood the warrior prince who killed three men without another thought the night before. "Where does your father stand on the Vresal army and their encroaching moves on the Ataton empire?"
Alik looked away and smirked. "He makes no stand. He wants this marriage so he can stand behind your army."
"Far behind the army," Issat said when she entered the room and closed the door behind her. She raised an eyebrow at Alik when she saw the remains of the chair at their feet. Alik pointed to Eamon who still stood too closely to him. "King Therris has an interest in war but he knows that his army, or what is left of it, will be easily overtaken if the Vresal army comes to his shores."
Alik took a step away from Eamon and towards the desk. He pushed aside the remains of the desk at his feet. "It's no secret that while we have the funds of a profitable nation we lack the leadership necessary to create a military such as yours," Alik swiped a glass of wine from the table. "That is my fault, in the end."
"It is said that your army adores you," Edmond pointed out, sharing a look with Avelina.
"They do. My people are-" Alik swirled the glass in his hand, "Faithful. Loyal to a fault. And the fact that they profit during these times helps that loyalty along."
"But what my Prince has in love and loyalty he lacks in specific military training and tactics. Unlike the good fortune of the Ataton royal family, the Grayhaven royalty was only blessed with one living child and though the army listens to me to an extent-" Issat's mouth twisted in a near frown and Alik and Eamon exchanged a look. "It would be an easier thing to command them if I were royal blood and not a commoner like the majority of them. Alik was trained in statesmanship, not war."
Eamon turned from them and a flurry of servants entered the room with fresh food and refreshments, more chairs, and more guards.
"Send for a map," Edmond told one of the knights in attendance. The man turned and left them.
Eamon paced by the balcony and finished Avelina's wine and then Lissandra's. He glared out at the cliffs and sea. He knew his father was out there, somewhere, hiding from his responsibilities.
"What are your thoughts?" Lissandra asked after a moment.
"My thoughts?" Eamon said and paced by Alik and took the wine from his hand and finished it in a swift drink. He laughed and left the goblet on the table. "They come too close. Father cares so little."
"What would you have us do?" Edmond asked after a moment.
Just then a knight entered with a map and spread it out on the table. The servants followed close behind and spread everything out on the table on the balcony. "Is there anything else, sire?" She asked softly.
"That'll be all for now," Eamon said and led them to the doors. Outside he said a few words to Nicolin and then closed the doors after a moment.
When Eamon turned his face was still closed off but his shoulders were just a little more relaxed. He appeared to be deep in thought as he crossed the room and moved some carved ships to the edge of the coasts. "These coastal towns that are being taken, I believe they are a test of our strength. I believe the Vresal army is going to invade sooner rather than later. And at every turn, I am bombarded with questions of marriage, questions of contracts, questions of almost everything except the impending war."
"Settle the question of marriage first," Lissandra said and risked a look over to Alik who was studying the ocean in the distance. She took a deep breath and turned to Eamon, "I will-"
"The question of marriage has already been settled," Eamon said but kept his eyes on the map and repositioned a few other pieces. He seemed ignorant of the reaction around him. Everyone looked around, Issat seemed alarmed, and no one moved.
"It has?" Edmond asked and looked at Alik and then Edmond.
No one said anything.
"Would you care to share with the rest of us?" Edmond prompted.
"Alik and I will wed. We will have the funds and they will have their men," Eamon said slowly. "A marriage between the two Crown Princes will create a stronger alliance than-" He sighed and gestured around to the room.
"But-" Edmond said and stared between the two of them and then to Lissandra and then back again. "Eamon-"
"It'll be fine," Eamon breathed out, the first sign of hesitancy that Alik had seen. It worried him, since Eamon had seemed more than fine with the marriage agreement the previous night.
"We don't have to-" Alik started.
"Yes, we do," Eamon said and turned his eyes on Alik. "There is no other way. We will do this, you and I, and our kingdoms will prosper from it. Our lives are not our own. Not on this and not on much else. Both you and I knew that this is a prince's burden."
Alik stared at him and then turned to Issat. She was staring at him and she looked slightly betrayed.
"I apologize," Alik started, "Many things have happened since last night-"
"Should you wish, our marriage will not interfere in your..." Eamon cleared his throat and looked between the two of them, "Relations."
Alik and Issat stared at one another and then back at Eamon.
"You would sooner have relations with one of your siblings than I would with Issat," Alik said and watched as Eamon paled.
"But- You- I heard the two of you last night-" Eamon sputtered.
"I can't let him go off alone without telling me where he was going," Issat said and stared at Eamon as though he had grown another head. "What kind of guard would I be?"
Eamon had nothing to say after that.
"So!" Lissandra said clapped her hands before she turned to Alik and Issat. "Let's plan a wedding, shall we?"
***
ONCE THE NEWS OF THE impending wedding was made known, all chaos broke loose.
By the end of the third day, and somehow the fourth feast, Eamon almost wished for the Vresal army. He crawled into his bed and when a servant stuck her head in and asked if he needed anything, he ordered a bath and two jugs of wine, no goblet necessary. A half hour later found him soaking in a large tub and a jug of wine on a nearby stool.
There was a knock at the door and Eamon groaned and let his head hit the back of the tub. "Go away!" He shouted.
"If only it were that easy," Alik said and walked in. He had scrolls in his hands and his fingers were ink stained. His formal wear that he had insisted on for the day was loosened at his throat and wrists. He did not look up as he dragged a chair over and sat down. "We need to discuss lands and titles."
Eamon groaned and sank lower into the water.
"Believe me, Your Grace, I would love to be in my own room, in my own bath, with my own jug of wine. Be that as it may, I have six days until we are wed and we need to figure out the fine details of where we will live, how we will both govern when we are away, and what holdings will be governed by which lord or lady," Alik said and put an inkwell on the ground. "Tell me your thoughts."
Eamon's thoughts were not on the wedding, or titles, or holdings at all. His thoughts were only of the men and how they improved daily, but Eamon was worried that the Grayhaven court was not up to the task of fighting and leading, even their own people. His thoughts went to his wolves that now daily led orphans to the castle walls and how sometimes Kane skipped the middleman entirely and took them directly to the priestesses. His thoughts were on the Vresal army, and how they approached with more open boldness than ever before.
"Isn't this improper? To see your husband in such a state of undress before the wedding?" Eamon asked, still trying to get out of making any more decisions having to do with the nuptials.
"I have seen you blood soaked, sweat stained, shirtless, swimming, asleep, awake, pretending to be happy, unaware that you were making a face of fearsome displeasure, bored, furious, and now underwater. That chiton of yours does not hide as much as you would like to think, either. Nothing surprises me anymore. Tell me what you think of Lissandra being given the University," Alik demanded.
"She would love it. Give it to her," Eamon said and waved his hand.
"Avelina has requested that she pick the music for the wedding."
"Excellent. Let her," Eamon said and leaned his head back against the lip of the tub. He felt around for the jug of wine and tipped it back against his lips. He put it back on the ground and did not miss the way that Alik nudged it out of his reach with his foot.
"Edmond would like you to be pulled in to the chapel on the backs of your wolves while they and you wear gowns of silk and tulle."
"Fine."
Alik sighed and looked at Eamon.
Eamon sank lower down into the water until it covered his mouth and glared up at Alik.
"I would have thought it beyond a man of your size and experience to be childish and yet here we are," Alik said and rubbed a hand over his face.
Over the past few days he had seen Alik in his element; meeting people, smiling, shaking hands, and making conversation. Alik had been taken aside by a few people to discuss the minutiae of very mundane things and Eamon was seeing how that was taking its own toll on him. Constant exercise with little rest and less food was not good for either the mind or body. That was when things began to fail. That's when mistakes were made.
"When did you last sleep?" Eamon asked.
"Last night," Alik said and dipped his pen in the inkwell as he began to scrawl on the paper on his lap.
"For how long?"
"Sir Malcolm and I spoke until after midnight last night about the islands near his home and the income they could provide. Then there was the dawn devotional, so I'll let you do the math on that one." Alik snapped. He rubbed his face and there was a smear of ink on his cheekbone when he pulled his hand away.
"And when was the last time you had a meal? A real one, not those little sandwiches that were at the dinner tonight."
Alik furrowed his brow and shook his head. “I love those little sandwiches.”
"You need to eat."
"We need to get this done," Alik snarled.
Eamon wondered how much time Alik had been spending with Kane.
"Ok, that's enough," Eamon said and took the pen from Alik's hand and stood, purposely getting the documents wet as well. He reached for his robe and slapped Alik's hand away when he tried to take the documents back. He broke the pen and tossed it away. He opened the door and gestured to the servant that was standing there and ordered food from the kitchens. "Real food, bread, meat, cheeses, nothing left from the feast."
When he turned around, Alik was glaring at him. But there was no missing the paleness that wasn't his natural color or the dark smudges under his eyes. "That's not necessary. I'm fine."
Eamon snorted. "Hardly."
"I'm not fragile, I would have you know," Alik said and stood.
"Never said you were," Eamon said and belted his robe.
"You seem to think so," Alik said and crossed his arms over his chest.
"It is part of my job to know when people under my care are exhausted. And you most definitely are. You push yourself too hard. I want you to know that you aren't the only one to take care of everything. Lissandra and Avelina-"
"Are not the ones that people look to to make decisions," Alik said. "That is you and I and if you are otherwise preoccupied, as you have been with the upcoming war effort, then it falls to me."
"Lissandra and Avelina are just as schooled as either one of us are and they know this court. Let them help you when you need a moment's respite. There is no shame in it," Eamon didn't back down from Alik's attitude, despite this being the first time of being on the receiving end of it.
Alik bared his teeth for a second and Eamon had to make a note not to let Kane sleep in Alik's room anymore. Alik seemed to be picking up too many wolf mannerisms.
Then his shoulders drooped and just like that, the tension from the room was gone and the fight fled from Alik's figure.
"I am throwing a fit like a child who missed their nap," he muttered and rubbed his eyes.
"An apt description, Your Highness," Eamon said. "Even the charming and persuasive Crown Prince from the North needs his rest. If you need a moment all you need to do is find one of my sisters. If it is truly a moment of desperation, find Edmond. I will try to ease some of the pressure myself-"
"No, you have enough-" Alik started.
"Nonsense. In all honesty, I believe you have the harder job. People who try to smile and make nonsense claims to me in the arena know they will end up on their ass, probably with a bloody lip and none can say a word about it. But you- with your backhanded compliments and sly words-" Eamon shook his head, "I am not made for it."
Alik sat back down and looked down at his hands. "Truly, it is a task."
There was a knock at the door and a servant bustled in with a tray and set it down. She bowed once again but Eamon saw the delight in her eyes as she scurried out. A love match for their beloved warrior prince was more than his people could ask for.
It was more than what Eamon could ask for as well. So he settled for friendship.
"If you truly cannot get away, use me as an excuse. None will fault you for wanting a moment alone with such a dashing fiance-" Eamon said and puffed up his chest.
Alik snorted, but did let his gaze linger on Eamon’s naked chest. They were to be married. It should be something that he got to do.
"And thanks to your late night visit and my state of dress, the kitchens will be filled with all manner of inappropriate talk in the morning and the rumors will be flying fast," Eamon added.
Alik shrugged off his words. "What does it matter? In a few weeks, we will be sharing a bed and I have it on good authority that neither one of us are exactly blushing virgins."
Eamon's mouth dropped open and he searched for the words to properly reply but Alik didn't seem terribly worried as he fell upon the food at the table like a hungry dog.
"You- who told you?" Eamon said and Alik's eyes flickered up to him.
"It does not take a genius to learn of it. For one thing, look at you," Alik gestured to Eamon's near naked appearance and Eamon felt his cheeks heat in embarrassment but Alik went on, "At some point, you would have visited a brothel with your men. For another thing, we were both terribly young and curious and have come to find ourselves in this betrothal without protestation on either party's behalf. It is only logical."
Eamon blinked at Alik and then blurted out, "It wasn't a brothel."
Alik, his mouth full, only looked up at him and raised his eyebrows.
"I was with my men but-" Eamon shook his head. "He was among my men."
Alik chewed slowly and swallowed, giving Eamon a moment to go on but he didn't. This was certainly news to Alik, that Eamon preferred men. He knew that Eamon would sacrifice anything for his family and country and did not put it past him to sacrifice even this much for either one.
"It is love then, is it not?" Alik murmured and looked down at his bowl. There was always the chance that one of them might be involved with another. It was part of their lives, learning to live with their spouse loving another. The hope Alik had only seconds ago fell away quickly.
"Was. Might have been," Eamon said and looked away. Eamon’s words were turning tight and clipped and it was a memory that pained and humiliated him.
"Can I ask?" Alik said.
Eamon glared down at his hands. "He was a traitor. Used me for information. That was how the Vresal army almost won the Battle of the Sons. He seduced me, I fell in love with him, and he used that to take back information that only those among the highest ranked of my men and advisors would know. It was not hard to figure out who the betrayer was. Sir Willhelm killed him for me as I was unfit to do so."
Eamon waited for the platitudes that he had heard a dozen times over, a slightly different echo of what Alik had no doubt heard when his own family had been murdered.
"I wish he hadn't," Alik said slowly and Eamon looked up, startled when the words registered.
"You wish Willhelm hadn't... killed him?"
Alik shook his head and dipped his bread in the thick broth at the bottom of his plate. "No. I wish he hadn't. I would have like to have had my time with such a man."
"What-" Eamon said and closed his eyes. The man he was set to marry proposing such a thing was incomprehensible to him.
"The northerners have perfected a way of... carving the truth from someone." Alik murmured and his voice was silky, low, and dangerous. He didn't look up from where he was delicately cutting a large hunk of meat with his knife. He looked comfortable with it in his hand, more comfortable than Eamon realized. "It takes... time. It's often bloody. My father and brother taught me all the secret ways to break a man. I showed my cousin and while he would happily slice a man like that into pieces, I think someone like that would deserve my personal attention.”
Eamon regarded Alik in a new light. No longer the sweet, snappy prince from the north who Eamon was feeling more and more protective and possessive of day by day, Eamon was... impressed.
"You and I are more than an alliance," Alik said but the dangerous note was now replaced by something more thoughtful. "We are the foundation of this new kingdom that is thousands of miles and just as many people. As such, we need to be a unified front, fortified by our families. I want you to know that I will have your side on matters unequivocally, no matter what the issue."
"And I yours," Eamon said and he felt a weight ease off of him. He hadn't realized how much he still feared another betrayal. "Until, at least, I can get you in private and question you relentlessly."
"Fair enough," Alik said and grinned. They held each other's eyes for a moment and then Alik cleared his throat. "We have the land dispute tomorrow."
"I want real food tomorrow if I am to be stuck at a table for the better part of the day," Eamon said.
"Of course," Alik said and stood. He glanced at his scattered paperwork and bent to grab it.
"Leave it. I'll bring it to you tomorrow." Eamon said. "Otherwise you will continue to work on that tonight and forge my signature and not sleep."
"Noticed that, did you?" Alik said.
"Lissandra and I did, yes. Avelina did not, so it was most impressive." Eamon said and smiled.
"Well then, I'll wish you a good night, husband-to-be," Alik said and made for the doors.
"You as well," Eamon said and walked Alik to the door.
At the last second, Alik spun and Eamon looked down at him, though not far. Eamon probably was only two inches taller than Alik.
Eamon waited for Alik to say something and if his eyes drifted down to Alik's mouth, it was unavoidable.
"In the morning," Alik murmured and patted Eamon's chest affectionately before leaving swiftly.
"Indeed." Eamon murmured to Alik's retreating back. He watched Alik walk down the hall and close his door before he went back to his own room. "The morning," he muttered.
***
AFTER THE LAND DISPUTE was settled, Eamon stood and announced his intents to be at the sparring arena until dinner. Alik couldn’t blame him, after all the tense talk of the morning and the fact that they had to remain seated at a table, stuck in a stuffy room. After the third hour, even Alik was getting antsy.
Before Eamon left for the sparring ring, he waited for Alik to leave the meeting room.
“I will come for you before dinner,” Eamon said and Alik was able to glimpse the man he saw the night of their proposal.
“I will be waiting for you,” Alik promised.
“What will you do with your time?” Eamon asked. He looked like he wanted to be out on the fields more than anything else and even Kane paced impatiently behind him. But he did not rush Alik, did not shift impatiently from foot to foot to hurry his answer.
“I have letters from my Chancellor that I need to read. Perhaps I will get a moment to myself,” Alik said.
“I will leave orders that you are to be left alone,” Eamon said and Alik almost jumped when he felt Eamon’s fingers drift over his knuckles. Then he was gone, Kane following him.
Alik stared at him as he left, trying not to memorize the shape of his shoulders or the play of muscles in his back. It was far too late for that, though. Alik imagined he could trace the valleys of his skin blind.
“You’re staring at my brother. Please stop, it’s very strange,” Edmond said.
Alik blinked a few times and turned to Edmond who was clearly mocking him with his sisters beside him. He felt an ache for his own siblings all of a sudden.
“Yes, but I will be marrying your brother soon and then we will have our wedding night. I believe I have earned the right to stare.”
It was Alik’s turn to leave, with all the royal siblings in his wake, with varying looks of respect and disgust on their faces.
***
EAMON’S ORDERS WERE clearly set and for once Alik, was left to his own devices. He was reading the letters from Chancellor Yvonne that were sent to both him and his father. The ones sent to King Alexios were less detailed than those sent to Alik. It seemed like Chancellor Yvonne saw his father’s retirement and was simply choosing to take fewer issues to him.
And, oh, the Grayhaven Court had their issues.
Alik chose to ignore those and read on about how his people fared. He was deep into a conflict over grain when there was a knock at the door and Alik could only guess that Issat would be bold enough to get past the guards positioned at his door.
“Come in!” He called. His desk was positioned so that he could look out on the ocean but not directly at his door. “Chancellor Yvonne informs me that the nobles are snapping at each other’s necks and she is tempted to leave them to it but she fears that Lady Sexton would come out on top, which I agree with. The good news is that the people fare well with only the smallest hint of conflict over grain. Shall I write her and tell her to do what she thinks best or do you think it’s a waste of time? I know she already has, perhaps even before the letter was written-” Alik turned to the door to see what Issat would have to say only to find himself staring at Queen Christenne.
Alik stood up so quickly, he nearly knocked his chair over and barely caught it. Behind her, he saw two gray and white wolves, prowling the hall.
“Your Majesty, I apologize, I thought you were Lady Issat. I wouldn’t have spoken to you so casually-”
Queen Christenne smiled and shook her head. “It’s fine, Prince Alik. I appreciate your candor and ease with your Lady. It gives me insight how you will treat my daughters when you are King of both our lands.”
Queen Christenne was clearly where her children had inherited their tall stature and startling blue eyes. Her hair was piled high atop her head and Alik was surprised to notice for the first time that she did not wear her crown. It was tradition for the royal family to wear their crowns at all times, at least in his own land.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but what do you mean?” Alik said and offered her a chair. She took it and Alik went to the guards outside.
Willhelm and Nicolin were outside his doors and looked at him as he glared at them. They only shrugged back at him.
“Can I get you anything?” Alik asked and sat at the same table with the Queen.
She shook her head and Alik sat, waiting for the reason of her appearance to be revealed.
“I worry,” she finally confessed.
“What might I do to help ease your worry?” Alik asked.
“Well, I am the mother to four children, queen to a country on the verge of war, with a son about to marry a foreigner who will then have the final say in all my other children’s lives. There are a few things for me to be concerned about, wouldn’t you agree?” Queen Christenne asked. Her tone was rounded at the edge by concern and love, not the icy coldness he was used to from his own parents.
And if that was asked by any other, Alik would feel as though he were being accused of being simple or stupid for not having seen it for himself. But Queen Christenne asked it like she was discussing the weather.
“Your Majesty, if you are concerned for your other children that I might- might use them in an unseemly manner, please let me assure you that I would rather shame myself. I adore all your children,” he swore.
She gave him a small smile and nodded. “I have heard of you before, of the man you became after your last visit when you were but a child. One would expect that the loss of your siblings would have left you bitter but I see that is not the case.”
Alik swallowed hard and looked out the window and to the sea. He remembered that his brother crossed that very sea in search of their little sister or the enemies that had ended her life so brutally.
“I wasn’t always so level headed. I had- I had more than a few losses since I last left here. I don’t want to say that I am used to it, but I suppose one learns how to live,” Alik said. He tried not to think of the Grayhaven Court and the cold, hard place he had grown up in.
“I can see that. Life teaches us what we have to learn, I think,” Queen Christenne said and she cleared her throat.
“I would have to say that I agree.”
Queen Christenne went quiet again and she studied the scarred table beneath her. “My son is not an easy man to live with and he is even less easy to understand. He runs hot and cold, sometimes without warning. Eamon is guarded with his feelings and feels the responsibility of every life in this land. He will be a good king, possibly even the greatest this land has ever seen. He is smarter than he lets on and rarely lets those around him see it.”
Alik waited for the Queen to continue. He could not disagree with her assessment either. He had seen it all in Eamon himself.
“Eamon forgets himself. When he is in the thick of battle, when he plans for a war, he forgets himself. He forgets those around him. It is hard to say, a man like him, but he needs to be taken care of. He-” Christenne frowned for a moment and traced a scar on the table. “He will not be easy to love.”
“I fear that makes two of us,” Alik said.
“But you are aware of it. You need to remain aware,” Christenne said and reached across the table and gripped Alik’s hand. He looked up at her and realized that she was on the verge of tears. “It is a mother’s worst nightmare that she will leave her children behind without the means to navigate this world. I hope that you will be the one that will protect my daughters and love my son and watch over his brother.”
Alik stroked her knuckles and let her words settle before searching her face. “Is there something on your mind that you need to share with me, Your Majesty?”
Christenne shook her head. “A mother worries, is all.”
“I will do what I can, everything that is within my power, to take care of your family. I swear it.”
Christenne was silent and nodded. “Then come with me. It is the real reason for my visit.”
She stood and Alik stood with her. He opened the door for her and when Nicolin and Willhelm tried to follow them, she ordered them back to Alik’s room sharply. They hesitated but there was a silent look from the Queen that sent them scurrying.
“These men-” she shook her head. “Some of them have resided in this castle since they were boys. We had a fever race through this town and it killed so many adults. The children remained untouched, thank the gods, but they were without homes.”
“I have seen the orphanages. They seem to be very well taken care of,” Alik said and followed her down the hall.
“It was my personal project. I was pregnant with Eamon and Lissandra when it began. When they were old enough, they took over and maintained them. I hope that in the future generations they will eventually close and there will be no children without a home to call their own.”
“I can tell you, Your Highness, that sometimes what they have, the love of the priestesses and their royal family and from one another, is better than what others have. I don’t think that a family necessarily means that you will be loved.”
Christenne looked over at him and she nodded. “Perhaps not. Perhaps you are right.”
They went up a flight of stairs and then another. At the second flight, Christenne pulled a key from a chain around her neck and unlocked the door. There was another flight of steps and then another locked door. Another key and then Christenne was stepping into a darkened room. She opened a window and the light streamed in.
There were alcoves lining the wall, dozens upon dozens of them. In each alcove there were three shelves. In each shelf, there was a nest of velvet, and upon the velvet sat a crown.
In the middle of the room there was a table. On the table were six crowns. Two sat above the other four. One clearly belonged to King Therris while the other was most likely Christenne’s.
“Each one of these crowns sat on a member of the royal family. Our crowns are precious to us and only worn on exceptional occasions. Your wedding day, we will wear them. Your coronation day and the birth of your children as well. The crowns here are sacred and therefore, only one person ever knows the location and has access to them. Well, now two,” Christenne said and she traced the a raised edge of her own crown. “Eamon has only seen his own crown a few times and worn it even less. He has a very plain crown that he wears into battle but this one,” she paused and tapped the table next to the largest crown of the four, “Will be the one he wears on your wedding day.”
“At home, we wear our crowns constantly,” Alik said and touched the velvet of Eamon’s crown lightly.
“I know. It will be a change when he goes to your lands,” she said.
He snorted. “I wish to remain here and to govern through my chancellor. Perhaps my future brother in law would like a job. One of my future sisters?”
“Oh to tear my children from the sun and the water would devastate them. You might have to sweeten the deal,” Christenne said.
“Whatever they want, so long as I don’t have to return to Grayhaven for a long time,” Alik said, trying to sound as though he were teasing but failing miserably.
“Does it pain you so much? That place?”
“After here and your family and your guards and your court and your friendship? So much, my lady. I wish never to return,” Alik muttered.
“Then as King, you can make it so,” Christenne pulled out a box from a drawer hidden below the table. It was wooden and she flipped it open. In it, there was a mirror image of Eamon’s crown. The only difference was the emeralds that were inlaid in Eamon’s crown were replaced with sapphires in this second crown. “We have waited for who Eamon would choose to marry. Plans for both crowns had long been in the making. When it became clear that it would be you-” Christenne gestured.
“This is mine?” Alik asked.
“It is. Do you like it?”
“I do,” Alik breathed. The crowns from his own country were not quite as ornate, simply because they were worn so often.
Christenne smiled and raised her hand to Eamon’s. “Do you think he will look very handsome in it?” She asked.
Alik wanted to snort but Christenne was waiting for a genuine answer. He imagined this crown on Eamon’s head, golden and arrogant as the man himself and he couldn’t help but smile.
“All of your children are beautiful, Your Majesty, but if my biased opinion must be heard, Eamon is by far the most breathtaking,” he replied honestly.
The Queen’s smile was blinding and she handed him the two keys from around her neck. “I am glad you think so because he is your responsibility now.”
***
WHEN CHRISTENNE LEFT Alik in the halls outside his room, he couldn’t help but raise a hand to the chains around his neck. He felt a little blank, as though he were truly understanding what kind of responsibility was laid at his feet.
“Where is the Prince?” He asked out loud, though his voice was faint to his own ears.
“I believe he would be at the arena still, Your Highness,” Willhelm said.
“Thank you,” Alik said and turned for the stairs.
The two knights ran after him, unsure of what was going on.
Alik led them outside and to the sparring arena but paused outside the actual ring. He didn’t want to interrupt Eamon’s time with his men, especially after all that Eamon had done for him.
But it was too late. Edmond spotted him and waved from his spot high atop the fence. A moment later, Eamon’s head appeared next to him.
“I thought you were going to take time for yourself!” Eamon called. His joy was obvious and he was sweaty and his cheeks were bright with color. This was how Alik wanted to always see him; wildly happy.
But he must have seen something on Alik’s face that gave him pause and he pulled himself up and over the fence and dropped over the side.
Alik laughed, a little hysterically, and then put a hand over his mouth. Eamon approached him slowly, like he was a wild animal, and pulled his hand away from his mouth. “Are you feeling well?” He asked.
Alik nodded but didn’t trust himself to say the words.
Eamon glanced behind him to Willhelm and Nicolin.
“Your mother came and spoke to him and they went for a short walk. When he came back, he was in the state you see him now,” Willhelm said.
Eamon still did not seem like he understood what was happening, but he nodded anyway. Alik didn’t want him to pull away or let go of his hand because it felt like the only thing that was keeping him from shattering into a million pieces upon the ground.
“Should we go for a walk?” Eamon asked.
“No- I’m being ridiculous- I should not have-” Alik started.
“Then let us go for a walk,” Eamon said, like Alik agreed with him. He looked back to Willhelm. “You two have drills.”
They murmured their agreement and headed for the ring. The last thing that Alik saw before Eamon pulled him away from the ring was Edmond’s worried face watching them. Eamon pulled him away and down a small path. As always, Alik could hear the ocean crashing against the cliffs.
“I love it here,” Alik said quietly.
Eamon nodded. He didn’t seem too concerned with getting Alik to talk but he didn’t move his hand from Alik’s back either. It was warm and grounding.
“I don’t ever want to leave here.”
Eamon smirked. “I have no argument. I do not wish to leave here either.”
Alik nodded. They fell silent again until they came to the edge of the grassy cliff and looked out on the sea.
“I know, vaguely, of your history with the Vresal nation,” Alik began slowly. It was easier to talk about something that was not on his mind than to be concerned about what was on his mind. It quieted his thoughts.
“I think most people do,” Eamon agreed.
“Would you- why? Why has it always been like this?” Alik asked.
Eamon looked out on the sea. There was no crown, no guards, no one calling him by his title, but Alik had never seen such a king in his life. He knew, without a single doubt, that Eamon would be a king, a leader, no matter what kind of life he led.
He was silent for so long that Alik was prepared to apologize when Eamon started to speak.
“Did you know that we are related to the Vresal royal house?” Eamon asked.
Alik shook his head.
“Distantly, but you are able to trace the blood easily. The king of Vresal, Roule, is my cousin. He is older than me by twenty summers at least, but he is a cold, angry man. Our grandfather’s grandfathers were brothers. King Bartrem, my grandfather, ruled over the Isles and the land that now belong to the Vresal. His brother, Prince Ourri, was his closest advisor and friend, and when Ourri came of age, he wed a beautiful princess and as a gift, Bartrem gave them the Vresal lands. The plains, the mountains, Ourri and his beautiful wife would rule over them in Bartrem’s name.”
Alik nodded.
“But Bartrem was like us, I suppose. He didn’t wish to leave the Isles. The Vresal lands were supposed to have their own beauty, but Bartrem preferred his sea. So he ruled from here, with his own wife and his two sons and two daughters.”
“Like your family,” Alik murmured.
Eamon snorted. “My father is barely a fraction the man that King Bartrem was.”
Alik smiled faintly.
“As time passed, Ourri grew tired of asking his brother for permission for any reason. He grew greedy and then named himself King of the lands and renamed it the Vresal. King Bartrem tried to reason with him, tried to treat with him but refused to call him king. At such a meeting, Ourri attacked and killed Bartrem and threw his body into the sea. Upon hearing of her father’s death, his eldest daughter, Princess Evalyn, rallied the army and invaded the Vresal land.”
“A woman led the army?” Alik asked, in awe.
“Princess Evalyn was more than a woman. She was a Queen, a warrior, and her father’s favored. She fought like a lioness, laid waste to everyone who stood in her way. The army was like her very own spear. She desecrated their land, salted it, burned it all down and when she finally met her uncle on the killing fields, he begged for mercy. Before she was done with him, he begged for death. But she let Ourri’s Queen keep the land. Queen Evalyn said that nothing would grow there, that it would rot and the earth would have its own revenge. And so it has. Their land refuses to give anything back to them. Their people starve. The royal house hates their people as much as their people hate them.”
Alik turned back to the sea, thinking of Queen Evalyn invading their lands and laying a curse there that would haunt them for generations.
“I suppose it’s revenge but I suppose also that their land is so far gone that they need something else. The lands that we have, to the south of the islands, are plentiful. There is room for farms, for lumber, for any manner of things. But the man who calls himself king, Roule, wants to rule over it all as he has his whole life. I will not let him enslave my people. Not as long as I can fight him.”
Alik nodded.
“I fought and killed Roule’s oldest son at the Battle of the Sons. That was my crowning achievement,” Eamon said quietly.
“You are more than your battles,” Alik said, the words out of his mouth before he could weigh his words.
Eamon smiled. “But I was never supposed to be.”
“And I don’t suppose that we were ever supposed to be what we are now,” Alik noted. He kept his eyes firmly on the sea. Their conversation seemed to be drifting into dangerous territory.
“And what is that, my Prince?” Eamon asked. The possessive note in his voice made Alik shiver and he wanted to hear it again and again.
“I’m not sure, but I am happy to hear what your thoughts are on the subject,” Alik said and finally looked up and over at Eamon.
Eamon stared down at him and then turned to him. He was silhouetted by the sun and he was but a shadow in Alik’s eyes. Eamon raised a hand to his cheek and cupped Alik’s face gently, so gently that it surprised Alik. He closed his eyes to the soft touch and tilted his head up.
It wasn’t supposed to happen this way, Alik knew. It wasn’t supposed to end on a happy note. Alik was never supposed to get what he wanted and to get it so easily.
“My Prince,” Eamon murmured, his lips brushing over Alik’s own.
“Hm?” Alik asked.
“You seem to be in need of something.”
Eamon was right. Alik needed more than what he could properly say but he knew that he found it on this island, with this man that he thought was nothing but a brute, but who haunted his every thought and who Alik thought of in the middle of the night when he couldn’t sleep, restless for the touch of someone who wanted something as much as he did.
“I would have to agree, my King,” Alik whispered and opened his eyes to see Eamon’s eyes studying him.
Eamon smirked. “We do not use such titles until they are given to us.”
“But you are, are you not? My King? My protector? Even before I came here and we agreed to this, you protected me in Cerith.”
Alik thought of that single move, when he taunted Evander’s father in Cerith, how Eamon stepped in front of him to stop Serlo from harming him. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world for Eamon to come to his aid.
“I suppose I am,” Eamon agreed and traced Alik’s lower lip with his thumb.
“How can I ever repay you?” Alik breathed.
“I don’t seek payment for what I do.”
“Then shall I show my gratitude?” Alik raised his hands and slipped his fingers in the belt around Eamon’s chiton and pulled him close. “My appreciation?”
“If you so chose, my Prince,” Eamon said and ducked his head down and pressed his lips to Alik’s.
It was so sudden that Alik gasped and Eamon pressed even further and Alik could swear he grew weak when Eamon’s tongue swept over his lips and then into his mouth. He raised his arms so that he could entangle his fingers in Eamon’s hair, loosened it from the leather strap that held it back, and Alik felt the groan from Eamon when he tugged lightly on the strands.
Alik would have let this tryst go on as long as they dared, out here in the open, under the sun, before the ocean and the waves, if someone had not cleared their throat from the path behind them.
“Someone seeks their death,” Eamon said when he pulled away from Alik.
“So it seems,” Alik agreed.
When they turned, Avelina stood there, her hands over her eyes.
“They sent you because they knew I would not reprimand or attack you,” Eamon said.
“Yes,” Avelina said.
“We are needed back at the castle,” Alik gathered.
“Yes,” she said, her hands still over her eyes.
“A moment, sister, and we will be there,” Eamon said.
Without another word, Avelina spun away and hastily made her way back up the path.
Alik risked a look back at Eamon. He didn’t know why his heart tripped when he did so, like he would be in trouble, or perhaps Eamon would say that it was a fleeting thing.
Instead, Eamon kissed him again, sweeter this time.
“My Prince, would you care to finish this later?” Eamon whispered in his ear.
Alik closed his eyes and smiled. “I would like to finish this now, my King. But I will certainly make myself ready and available at your leisure.”
“You are a menace,” Eamon swore and backed away from him.
“I am. But I am your menace to do what you will.”
Eamon huffed and turned back to the path that Avelina had disappeared down. “If this is not a matter of life or death, someone will be in the sparring ring with me before the day ends.”
“But not tonight!” Alik called to him.
Eamon paused and turned. He looked at Alik from head to toe and there was that shiver down Alik’s spine again. “No, not tonight. I am previously engaged.” And then he was gone.
***
THE PRESSING MATTER concerned wedding attire and which sword Eamon would wear for the ceremony.
It had been Edmond and Willhelm’s suggestion to consult with Eamon immediately, instead of waiting like the tailor wished.
They paid for their trickery dearly, just like Eamon swore they would.