Blood Magic's Bond

Ch 15: The Prince's Plea

As Errant and Tasha disappeared into the woods, Calder tried to rush after them, but the young blonde witch who had stayed behind, wove her hands about and a wall of silvery water laced through the air, blocking his way.

"I'm sorry your highness, but I have strict instructions to keep you here until the traitor is locked away." There was something in her voice, almost a sick satisfaction, and it made Calder's blood boil.

"You would do well, sorceress, to remember your place."

"As it would have done you to remember yours when you consorted with a witch. If you truly wanted to save her, you should have stayed away from her in the first place.”

The b***h had some nerve speaking to him that way, even though he knew she was right. It was his fault Tasha was going to be stripped of her power and banished, or more likely killed in the process. But there had to be something he could do to stop it.

"I suggest you let me pass." He said coolly.

"I’m sorry, but I cannot allow you to leave here, your majesty."

Calder brought himself to his full stature, his dominance as Prince towering over the little witch. “As I said, you would do well to remember your place. Attempting to bar the Crown Prince from an audience with the King has repercussions that I will personally make sure are executed to their full extent."

He could see the battle within her; on the one hand, her desire to defy him, and the other, her fear of crossing the royal family. "Fine,” she said at last. “But I will escort you to him personally. Wouldn’t want the Crown Prince to face repercussions from the High Council for attempting to do something foolish."

"Fine," he said through gritted teeth.

With another wave of her hand, the barrier of water fell, splashing to the ground, but she stayed as close to him as possible as he rushed out of the clearing and back toward the Royal quarters. Her proximity made his skin crawl for a reason he couldn't quite determine, but he would suffer it if it meant the possibility of saving Tasha. He only needed to reach his father.

But when they arrived at the King's quarters, they were informed by a guard that he had been called to the Prisoner's Tower, and that Calder was prohibited from joining him there and should await the King’s return in one of his anti-chambers.

The anticipation was unbearable. Calder paced and his heart broke at the thought of his love locked away in a cold, stone cell to await her death. The blonde said nothing, watching him, no doubt ready to cast whatever spell was necessary to stop him should he try to make a run for it.

Finally, voices echoed outside the room, and Calder's heart raced.

The doors opened and the King strode in, his eyes glancing briefly at the sorceress before locking onto his son.

"Leave us." Calder couldn't read the tone in his father's voice as he spoke to the witch.

"Your majesty--" She tried to protest, but Josnen turned his hard gaze on her and she bowed her head. Only Errant dared to oppose the King. "Yes, your highness." The tone she had used with Calder was gone, her eyes downcast as she quickly left the room.

"Father--" Calder stepped toward the old man but Josnen turned away from him, walking toward the table in the center of the room.

"I have just been told the most sensational story, about a Prince and a witch."

“A witch who is being persecuted for saving my life!" said Calder as he followed after him.

His father finally turned to face him. "A witch who I warned, there was nothing I could do to protect her if she was caught!"

The Prince’s fists clenched. “What do you mean, you warned her? You knew? You knew what she was going to do, what the risks were of doing it, and you still let her? Why would you–”

The King’s hands came slamming down on the table. “Because I didn't want to watch my only son die, damnit!"

"And now I shall have to watch her die!"

There was silence as the two stared at each other.

“So it is true… my son, the heir to the throne, and a witch, a member of my Advisory no less.”

There was no hiding the truth anymore.

"I love her." It was a simple phrase, but it held the weight of the world as it hung in the air.

Josnen shook his head. “Calder, you are the Crown Prince! You can’t just go falling in love with a witch and think the rules won’t apply to you!"

“It isn’t something I f*****g chose, Father. I fell in love with her the moment I saw her and have loved her more deeply every moment since. My love for her brought me back from the dead, and her love for me freed me from the grasp of a demon. I don’t give a damn what laws there are. No f*****g law can stop something like that."

Josnen stared at his son. There was a sorrow and a pity in his eyes. "When I lost your mother, I thought I would never be able to go on. But I did, as will you—“

"Don’t you dare!” Calder remembered what it had been like, watching as the illness took her, his father doing everything he could to save her. “You of all people should know why I can’t just sit and watch the woman I love die. I won’t do it. Not if I can stop it." The Prince turned and strode toward the door.

"Calder, stop! Please."

He slowed, and eventually halted in his place before his father’s hand gripped his shoulder.

"My son, love is a painful thing, and what you are facing, I understand the hopelessness of it. But you cannot let it control you."

For a moment, Cal refused to face him, but at last, he turned, making his final plea. "Please, Father, just, spare her. Convince Errant to let her leave our kingdom and live in peace, somewhere far away from here, in the empire across the sea, or the wilderness beyond the mountains. I can go on if I know she's out there, but if I am forced to watch her suffer and die..."

The King studied his son for a moment before letting out a deep sigh. "I will try. Perhaps if I tell him that I was the one to encourage her to perform the ritual, it will sway him on that matter, but I doubt he will see past her indiscretions with you. And you know as well as I that I cannot overthrow Errant’s ruling when it comes to the laws of magic."

Calder shook his head. This truly was all his fault. The day he had seen her in the market, he should have just kept walking. He could have simply moved on, been left to wonder what it was about the beautiful woman with the red hair and eyes of gold that had made his heart ache in a way he couldn’t describe. But he had been selfish. He had thrown caution to the wind, and now, she was paying the price.

“Thank you.” was all he could manage to say.

"There is one other thing," The look on the King’s face did not bode well for what little hope was left in Calder’s heart. "The demon, it must be destroyed. Errant was willing to perform this ritual on the heir to the throne to see it done. I do not think he will hesitate for a sorceress who has been marked as a traitor. Even if I convince him to forgive her transgressions, Sorceress Astasha will still face the ritual stone at sunrise if another way isn’t found."

Calder knew nothing of magic, but he knew the demon, and the ritual used to release it. If Tasha had found a way to save him, then he would find one to save her. "I guess I should start looking for another way then."

As he went to leave, the King called out to him one more time. “Calder,” He looked back at his father. “I hope you know how grateful I am to her for saving you. I will do all I can to convince Errant to see it that way as well. And I am sorry that this was to be our first true conversation in five years, but I am glad to have been able to have it.”

He hadn’t really considered it until that moment, but this truly was the first time he had spoken with his father since the morning of his departure all those years ago.

Stridding back, he embraced him. “Me too, Father.”

Josnen returned the hold on his son, before pushing him toward the door. “Now go figure out how to kill a f*****g demon.”