Balisnor was so furious, he was pacing rather aggressively back and forth, his hand on his sword and breathing heavily. He was blind with rage, half of him wanting to cut Daniel down, the other half wanting to beat him to a pulp. Either one of these he knew were both wrong, but he did not care. He turned to the King and said through gritted teeth. “If he were a Varinian, he would be tried for treason and beheaded. What do we do since he’s not?’
The Queen snapped her head in his direction. “Beheading him wouldn’t be the best outcome,” the Queen said, eyeing Balisnor closely. “And under no circumstances are we beheading the only prodigal son who might be able to kill the Dark Lord for good.”
“Might.” Balisnor scoffed, his gaze now fixated on the Queen, his eyes crazy with fury. “There is a fine line between might and will.” He went to the enemy! He needs to be punished!
Princess Anya walked into the bedroom that instant and said, “He’s in the dungeon.” She was clearly distraught, her mind elsewhere as she dropped into a chair.
“Let me beat it out of him,” Balisnor said instantly. “I will find out the reason why he did—”
“With all due respect Balisnor, I believe I am the only one capable of talking to him.”
“Princess, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
The Princess scoffed. “I know him just a tad bit better than you, in some aspect. And, for the record, what you think is totally different from what I know I can do. I’m not a little girl anymore Balisnor. I was taught by the most excellent teacher. I can take care of him.”
She saw Balisnor walk out of the room, cautious to not slam the door.
Balisnor went to the top of the stairs, looking out at the beauty of the world around him, of the stars littering the night sky as the crescent moon shone upon the lake. He had come to be fond of Daniel; from wanting to pulverize him to a bloody mess the first day to cheering for him as he learned the basic techniques of swordsmanship, he was developing a soft spot for Daniel. He was clearly distraught about finding out the news about him going to converse with the enemy. Does he not trust us? What was the reasoning behind this? He looked up at the glittering sky and said in a whisper, “I’m doing my best to keep him safe, and I will continue to do so.”
He let out an exasperated sigh as he left the stairs and headed toward his room. It’s been one of those days. I need a drink.