The Prince of Aragon

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: THE REPRIEVE

“Your Royal Highness?” Carter called from across the garden the next day as he spotted the Princess with a thick pile of papyrus. “I trust that your training with my mother is going on well?”

“Excellent,” she answered with her prefect accent, but she kept her expression carefully stoic. Novak was surprised. From the report Alice had given him, the woman had been totally duped by the fake story. Why was she still so wary around him then?

“Great!” he exclaimed, pretending not to have noticed the way she stiffened when he came closer. “She will meet you again this afternoon,” he announced with a friendly smile, no longer purporting one of his mocked ones.

“I understand you took a beating the previous night?” she queried politely, although Novak had the impression that she was still testing him.

He grimaced boyishly. “Aye, your Royal Highness. I did. She was livid with rage that I had dared challenge the Emperor. Ever since childhood, we’ve been taught to respect our King, and the likes of us are not allowed to dally with his Majesty.”

“What made you do it then?” she asked curiously, shutting down the papyrus to give him her full attention. His eyes raked over her for a moment, appreciating the female beauty in front of him. She was pretty excluding her garish complexion, but she stirred nothing inside him. Blame it on her lineage most probably.

Once again, he provided a calculatedly cute scowl. “You did, actually,” he admitted, eyes cast downwards which would be toned as shyness. “I despised the way you seemed to underestimate me.”

As expected, Princess Freya seemed flattered to have been the reason of his ‘dereliction’ – a moment of pure madness to have defied the great Emperor Salvatore. “Did you now?” she battered her eyelashes coquettishly.

The cat was in the bag.

“I can only offer my most profound apologies. It was never meant to go that far. I was just hellbent to prove that I was worthy of being the Emperor’s right-hand man.”

Freya let out an unbridled laughter. “Understandable. I have to admit that I wasn’t very amenable at first,” she said in guise of apology. Royals would barely lower themselves to apologize openly, even when they’d made a mistake. In that particular case, though, her hunch was bang on.

Novak smiled charmingly. “I hope that I’ve managed to deter your mind?” he flirted outrageously, and the princess blushed at his not-so-subtle double entendre. Blushing damsels meant that half of his job was done.

“My mother said that you’re showing lots of potential,” he commented casually, and as expected, the princess beamed at him cheerfully.

“She did?” she asked the rhetorical question inordinately pleased at the compliment. Flattery was a very efficient tool to pamper the ego of the conceited fools. “That’s very kind of her.”

“My mother’s anything but kind, especially when it comes to praising someone’s fighting skills. So, my opinion is that you should take that as a compliment, not just some benevolent act. There’s just one thing though,” he frowned hesitantly, contemplating whether he should go ahead with the sentence or not.

“Go ahead, please,” the princess urged.

“One week won’t be enough to start with the real techniques. She’s saying that she will barely cover the basics during your remaining time with us.”

A dark shadow fell over the princess’s face, casting the brightness of her face into a dull gloom. “I know. I tried to talk to my father about it, but he’s not willing to let me stay here on my own. Especially not after I defied him and left the main realm unattended.”

Novak’s interest was piqued. They had a main realm? All he knew about Salvatore was that he’d acquired nine kingdoms over the years and had stopped his ruthless destruction with Aragon. However, that was the first time he was hearing about one realm being superior to the others.

He pursed his lips, pretending to muse over the problem while actually calculating how to westle information from the woman.

“I heard that you met Midnight crawlers on the way here?” he asked instead.

She shuddered in disgust. “We did. They were horrible creatures crawling towards us. Everything happened so fast.”

“That was so brave of you. I heard that their sting transforms you into one of them?” Novak queried. He’d never encountered one himself, but he’d heard enough stories from the sailors and travelers.

Freya’s mouth hung open in surprise. “I didn’t know that. That was why they were attacking us?”

“Most probably,” Novak replied serenely. “From what Sir Gregory was saying, only a few of them attacked, so they were able to fight back with the help of fire. Usually, they treaded in huge armies, and crawl on humans before they can even react.”

Freya frowned. “My maid said something about them evolving? Is that possible?”

“What do you mean?” That caught Novak’s attention.

“Well, according to her, there’s a new species which can bear the dusk light for Midnightcrawlers were supposed to come only during midnight. Plus, they were not supposed to be in that part of the region.”

“Hmmm,” Novak replied absent-mindedly. “What about Gargoyles? Did you happen to see them as well?”

“No!” she exclaimed with obvious relief, and they both shared a conspiratorial look before bursting into laughter.

Watching them from afar, Isla threw a punch into the wall as they bent their heads close to laugh at something the princess had said.

“Why are you so bothered, Isla?” Connor asked with a severe frown towards the older woman he’d grown to love as a sister.

“He’s turning the charm’s meter on!” she protested, hands thrusting in their direction as though it was obvious to anyone but Connor.

“He shouldn’t?” Cameron asked amused.

Isla huffed, the hot breath blowing the strands of her short hair off her face. In order to keep up with the revenge, she’d never bothered about prettying herself for anyone. She’d seen corpses at the age of six to last her a lifetime. The first time she’d felt something stir inside her, other than the need to avenge her Kingdom was on that famous day when he’d met the boys.

Carter Sommerville was handsome, there was no argument about it, but she’d met other gorgeous male specimens before, but none had had any effect on her whatsoever. Milwaukee wasn’t the first time she had lain eyes on Carter – she had followed him there.

The first time she’d seen Carter was during a sword fight in Azamara against the great champion of the region – Jinn Ansel. At that time, Carter had seemed so young in comparison to the swordsman. Twenty-four was still a tender age to master the skills of the sword. Carter had been shirtless under the scorching sun, his blue eyes focused like two laser beams, while he gracefully paced the fighting arena.

Ilaria could only stare at the lithe body with the fascination of a young innocent girl who’d never been introduced to the pleasures of the flesh. Those sinewy muscles so well-defined on his frontal and back were dancing with his every sleek movement, and for the first time in her life, Ilaria Ashbrook was more enchanted with the man than the fight.

That was not a given for she’d spent a lifetime training with the best warriors, with the best techniques. She’d been even more captivated when the man who called himself Carter Sommerville had won the match. A most impossible victory to predict, everyone said.

However, she’d known that it hadn’t been only luck. Carter Sommerville was not what he wanted others to see, there were layers underneath him that he kept buried. Intrigued, she’d followed him for days, until she’d overheard the Sommerville brothers openly praise Emperor Salvatore. Curiosity had turned into bitterness.

How could they admire such an atrocious man? When she looked closer though, it felt like something was off. Like they were desperately trying to make it seem like they were fervent fans of the Emperor.

Her inquisitive spirit had heightened, and she’d kept close to them to gather enough information that something really fishy was going on. Excitement had followed. They were planning something big – she could feel it. That was why she’d decided to expose herself in the wrestling match.

Until now though, she’d managed to keep her fascination for the man under tow, there had never been anything or anyone to deter Carter from his mission. Following him had been the natural course to take since they were on the same sides. But now, seeing him grinning and unleashing a part of himself hat she’d never had the privilege to see was rendering her furious.

“Oh my God!” Connor exclaimed, making her jump out of her reverie as she veered her fury towards the younger boy. “You like him?”

“Shut up!” she hissed urgently at Connor’s question.

Two pair of identical green eyes rounded with pure mischief. “You like him?” they repeated in perfect unison.

“Isla likes Carter. Isla likes Carter. Isla likes Car…. oucchhhh!!” Connor cried out when Isla banged his head against the wall with enough force to hurt, but not too much. “What the…?”

“Will you please keep your mouth shut? We’re supposed to be brother and sister, remember?” she hissed in annoyance, but not for the obvious reasons.

“Alright then,” Connor muttered rubbing his head where it had collided with the solid rocks. “Isla loves Carter. Isla loves Carter,” he deliberately taunted but in a much lower tone, and Isla placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.

“Guys, stop it!” Cameron warned with a chuckle and a shake of his head.

“I’m going to kill you!” Isla cried out in pure rage, even if she knew no one could hear them. It was still mortifying to be teased in such a grotesque fashion.

Connor grinned impishly, removing his sword from its place too – an indication that he was more ready to confront her. “Isla nananana…,” he sang in that same annoying tone which made her roar in fury as she struck forward with a diagonal cut, Connor dodging in pure reflex.

“Hey, careful You would have cut my face!” he cried in indignation, and in answer Isla swirled her sword skillfully in circular motions.

“Cam’s right. You’re such a wussy. Come on!” she challenged cockily, and Connor always swayed by emotions cut forward blindly missing his target. Isla attacked in perfect timing, cutting forward aggressively but not with full force.

“One!” she cried, keeping count of her scores like she was used to during their training sessions. “Come on Con. Fight me like a man!”

Outraged, Connor again jumped forward without thinking, and Isla parried in perfect timing without even blinking an eye. Then, she freed her sword, and whirled her body to cut to his diagonal left, catching the novice Connor off-guard.

“Two!” she said with the tip of her sword on his leg but without hurting him.

“What’s going on here?” a severe voice sounded at their back, causing al three to jump and stop their funny banter.

“Cart…,” Connor said sheepishly, avoiding the warning glare that Isla was sending him. “We were just having some fun.” All three cringed at how puerile it sounded, certain that they were to get a scolding from the older comrade. For one feeling moment, they had forgotten about their mission, and such negligence were not allowed.

“Fun? Or were you getting your ass kicked by your sister?” Novak asked with a teasing glint in his eyes. Cameron chuckled, visibly relaxing when Carter was in a good mood.

“I was not!” protested a mortified Connor with vehemence.

“Uhuh?” Novak teased. “Let’s see. Isla, kick his ass.”

Isla bowed in mocked curtsy to her King, belatedly realizing her mistake, but it all felt part of the little charade that they were enacting. Without being asked twice, Isla surged forward to thrust again and touched Connor’s chest once again.

“Three,” Cameron counted cheerfully. “Naught.”

Connor frowned in consternation at the palpable entente against him. That time he parried just in time that attack raining his way and started huffing when Isla showered her attacks on him.

“Alright stop!” he relented forcefully, pushing Isla back with his sword.

“Say sorry,” Isla advanced again.

“Sorry, sorry,” he raised his hand in surrender, knowing well that he was beaten. Isla grinned and grabbed his hand for a hug.

“What did he do now?” Novak queried with a twist of his head towards the most mischievous of them with a fondness that had been conspicuously lacking before. Isla didn’t doubt his affection for them, it was so rare that he allowed emotions in that it was a feast to watch him unguarded.

“Nothing,” she replied quickly, and grunted when Cameron and Connor chuckled.

Once they were inside their room, Novak’s eyes glazed over, the mirth disappearing in a jiffy as he took on his trademark serious expression. “We need to make a move tonight as well. I don’t think they’re extending their stay.”

For a moment, Isla had really wished for them the possibility to let go of their quest and behave like they were supposed to. But it was wishful thinking on her part. Carter was the only one who kept his head and was not swayed by the momentary happiness lured by the deceptive world.

With a barely perceptible nod, all three snapped out of their zestful stance to gain back their morose moods. They hardly needed reminders why they were on such a fatal mission.

“We need to ride back to the Sommerville mansion to get a set of the accessories we usually need. Last night, we dumped everything to Owen.”

Carter showed them the sack from underneath his bed. “No need. Alice has brought the materials with her. She’s with the princess right now, training her. I need to attend a counsel of the ministers and we might finish late. Can you make sure that everything is ready by the time I come back?”

Understanding that it was a great responsibility he was handing them, all three nodded in perfect synchronization. Usually, Carter insisted on being around to watch everything with his own eyes. But that was when time was in their favor. Now, it seemed that they would have to rush through with the remaining murders.

That night, however, it seemed like fate was in their favor. When they entered the Emperor’s chambers, there was no extra person. Novak figured it was because the counsel had finished late, and the Emperor was sound asleep. A glance to the wine told him that the Emperor had drank the laudanum.

Without hesitation, the Prince of Aragon stabbed the sleeping form with the sword and proceeded with the clinical cleaning of the place.

As per Isla’s calculations, the ruby was supposed to flash the number two thousand and sixteen, and Novak double checked to make sure it was the same number and nodded affirmatively to Isla.

Which meant that the Emperor’s lives had become twenty-two thousand, nine hundred and ninety-two. There was no way they could confirm that fact, they were basing themselves on assumptions to figure out the calculations.

Novak could only hope that their hypothesis was correct – having to double check the number was too great a risk, especially after he wasn’t even sure that he’d managed to discard the princess’s suspicions.

Either way, he had a bad premonition – tonight had been too easy. It felt like a moment of reprieve before the brewing storm struck again.