Not an April Fool's joke. This is a real chapter :)
Minor warning for language this chapter.
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Chapter 165:
Dishonor
"What the fuck!?" Stomping into the room of the two intimate lovers, the entering mercenary yelled out in a startled voice, expecting a runaway elf. The man's eyes fell on the naked bodies with a jolting pause before he stared to the point of awkwardness.
Clarence, having prepared himself to address the intruder, yelled in response, "Who are you? What are you doing!?"
With nothing to lose but his pride, Silas clutched onto Clarence's neck, nearly digging his nails into the skin of Clarence's shoulders as he stuttered in a milky voice, "Honey, make them go away~"
Honey… The anger Clarence had accumulated by being pursued by the hired mercenaries lowered by Silas's sweet call in his ear. "Get out!" He yelled, hugging Silas tighter to his figure, as if protecting him from the eyes of the greasy mercenary men who still stood intrusively in the hall. "How dare you try to peep at my wife!"
Having been yelled at by Clarence, the man could only sneer, his eyes passing over the two figures one more time to confirm they were not the elf he was looking for before he cursed, turning away with heavy steps, screaming aloud to his comrades to keep searching, until they had quickly continued their search outside the inn. The breath the two men were holding on the bed was released at once, and Silas pulled back from Clarence's neck, still hanging in the air with Clarence's hand on the small of his back.
"There's not much time… Are you alright, Silas?" Lowering Silas back to the bed, Clarence spoke gently, his face still red as he attempted to calm his heart, feeling his blood rush to his lower body. Laying on the bed, Silas's hair was hanging partly in his face, strips of hair hiding parts of his red face, his nervous breaths rapid as he closed his watery eyes, his heart still drumming aloud.
No, stop looking. Staring down at Silas, whose disheveled appearance was enough to stir more than Clarence's heart, the prince swallowed his desire to pepper kisses along Silas's face as he moved back, giving Silas some space to adjust his clothing. If I keep staring, I might do something… more than intended.
Feeling the prince's embarrassed gaze on him, Silas moved back as he lifted his back off the bed. "That will never happen again." Fixing the collar of his shirt, Silas quickly covered his shoulders, holding the tunic shut with a flash of red over his face. It had been a long time since he had had such intimate contact with someone, particularly with Clarence, who he was still sorting out his feelings towards. "At least, not like this."
At least, not with an audience. Stepping off the side of the bed, Clarence adjusted his own clothing, feeling as though they had just had a clandestine love affair and were caught in the act by a stranger. Seeing Silas's own tunic was still open, he walked to Silas's side, lifting his hands to fix the loose strings of the tunic. "Now that we're narrowing down Malcolm's location, we can stop the imperialists in their tracks." He murmured in a low voice, trailing near Silas's ear as he finished knotting the tunic tightly shut. "Meredith's safe now. We should hurry and get out of here too. The rest of our group is waiting at the checkpoint."
Wrapping themselves back in their hoods, Silas and Clarence surveyed the halls, walking as swiftly and naturally towards the side exit, avoiding the trailing, aggressive mercenaries as they kept their heads lowered, their little luggage stowed on their backs. The aggressive men from before had moved on to another area, their heavy footsteps still audible in the distance. Even using the power of the gems, it was still too risky to be seen by them again.
Avoiding the trailing mercenaries, Silas and Clarence dived into a nearby side path, watching as the bustling main street had nearly diminished into nothing, surrounded by closed doors and shuttered windows.
"They haven't all left, it seems." Clarence whispered, standing next to Silas as the pair stepped further down the stone pathway. The area was dark, shadowed by the tall buildings covering the clouded sun from above. The smell of dirty water and smoke was strong, but the two men ignored it as they stepped forward, the ground under them rigid, some parts wet from the past rain. "How much further do we have to go?"
"Not far." Silas answered, his mind trailing to the map they had memorized before their arrival. "If my memory's right, we should have two more short turns up ahead. Just short of the waterway, there's an abandoned home near the end of town. We can escape those mercenaries near there."
Nodding along, Clarence lifted his hand to hold Silas's, smiling gently as the other man indulgently let him hold his free hand. Walking briskly, they never failed to keep pace with each other, still holding hands like young lovers.
Nearing the end of the long, twisted alleyway, however, they found their luck had run dry.
"Wait-" Hearing the sound of a muffled grunt, Silas and Clarence stopped, removing their linked hands as they began moving closer to the edge of the nearby jutted alley wall. To their surprise, they found a group of the familiar mercenaries grouped together in the narrow space. A figure laid hunched on the ground, wrapped in fabric as they screamed aloud, attempting to escape, but to no avail.
"They grabbed someone-" Silas whispered quickly, holding his arm against Clarence's chest to keep him flat against the wall. Using his mana, Silas attempted to probe the figure, but there was no trace of any mana on the man. He was a human.
It's not Meredith. Is it someone else? He looked over the corner of the wall, but he could only vaguely see a man with long, silver hair being dragged away by the mercenaries. The man was older, a human man that could pass as Meredith at a distance. The mercenary men, most likely desperate, were willing to grab anyone they could, so long as they were similar enough, it seemed. Those bastards. Watching the violence, Silas bit his bottom lip, knowing there was nothing else he could do to stop it.
Watching the old man being dragged by the wrists, Clarence moved around Silas's arm and attempted to step forward, his desire to save the man clouding his judgment. Before he could step past Silas, however, Silas grabbed Clarence and pulled him back, pushing him against the wall as quietly as possible, holding his hand over Clarence's mouth to stifle the pained grunt he attempted to release.
Holding his breath, Silas let out a single, quiet line. "Clarence, there's nothing we can do."
Stay here. Don't try anything. It may implicate us too. Those words were hidden in Silas's own, drilling into Clarence like a knife. From his position, he could not see what was happening beyond the corner of the wall, instead, all he could see was Silas staring out, holding him in place with his arm raised, his warm palm covering his lips.
They may have not been able to protect the old man, but they still had each other to protect. Knowing the consequences of getting involved, the pair had to keep themselves hidden in the shadows, their expressions filled with disgust and bitterness as the muffled screams and violent sounds fell to an eerie, abrupt pause as the sound of feet rustling filled its place.
"They're moving." Silas whispered, his voice carrying to the prince's ear as they stood still, unable to move.
With a heavy expression, Silas watched carefully, watching as the old man was dragged from the ground, bloody and beaten, towards the far alley exit into a hidden, less visible area to escape the scene. As the men cleared the alley with the old man, one of the men shoved a piece of paper in his pocket without much care, unable to hear it fall out of his pocket as he ran down the path and towards his comrades, who had already threatened to leave him behind.
They listened against the wall until the voices completely dimmed, and then, they surveyed their surroundings before hurriedly running forward, interpreting the paper before the man could return to find it.
"Hey… take a look at this." Grabbing the fallen paper off of the ground, Clarence leaned closer to Silas, nearly resting his chin on his shoulder as he held the paper in front of Silas, having the man hold the other end of the paper in front of him.
On the page was a short note, written in a nearly unreadable human scrawl. Squinting his eyes, Silas could barely make out the words on the page. Bring the long haired man to the southern river docks. Keep them in the shed and torture the information out of him. Leader will come soon.
"Finally!" Silas hummed in thought, reading over the words with a trace of excitement. They had finally found a direct trace of Malcolm. "We should report this to the group as soon as we get back." Staring at the notes, vague and hastily written, it was easy to tell the men were in a rush to complete the orders, but how long did they have until Malcolm found his men missing. "We don't have a lot of time. If we hurry, we might be able to save that old man too..."
Tapping the corner of the page, Clarence spoke his thoughts aloud. "-what if we were to go track them down ourselves…"
"Clarence-" Silas protested.
The prince sighed, staring down at the paper before his gaze fell on Silas, who stared at him with a note of anxiety of apprehension, understanding his feelings while disagreeing with his line of thought. Sighing, Clarence withdrew the parchment and tucked it inside his shirt, securing it as he said with a pause, "If it were just me, I would track him down and kill him without a thought, even if it meant I wouldn't return… but now-" He turned to face Silas, "There are people I want to return to. I can't be foolish anymore."
Feeling a trace of emotion of his own, Silas lifted his arms. "Of course," Wrapping his arms around Clarence for a moment, Silas patted the prince's shoulder, saying with an indulgent sigh, "The most important thing is finishing this mess."
Clarence savored Silas's hug before he stepped back, his smile dim, "Let's get out of here before those men return."
Staring towards the end of the alley, where the wet blood streaks had yet to fade, Silas responded faintly, "Okay."
The pair lifted their heavy feet and ran in the opposite direction of the alley end, ducking into the small crowds outside in the main strip of the city. Malcolm's trail could only last so long, and Clarence's reign was too short to be ended again.
…
Within the Yursinean forest, the figures of Eva's group fell to a standstill as they stared towards Beau and Holland, who stood together in a strange sense of comradery, causing Jasmine to speak up, her words sharp and distant.
"I should've had them kill you in Calith, you evil son of a bitch." Jasmine spoke with an eerie sneer, exposing the sharp edge of her teeth, her words barely audible to those around them. "What are you doing here, huh? Are you trying to redeem yourself after killing so many of our men? Tell me… what, in your fuckin' mind, made sense to come here?"
"Jasmine, lay off him. He's with me." Holland responded, smiling, but the biting chill in his words was enough to make the surroundings fall still.
Stepping forward, Jasmine looked up at Holland, her nose pointed upward, but her glare fixed on the man in front of her with fire. "What the fuck are you protecting him for, huh, Holland?"
The carriage, filled with the foreign nobles, was nearly leaning, full of the people inside attempting to lean as close as possible, straining their ears to listen.
"Our mission is to get the nobles back to the palace, safe and sound. Whatever happens to this jackass is none of our concern!" Jasmine spat, pointing towards Beau. "If you decide to side with him, we have no choice but to leave you here with him!"
Attempting to stay quiet could not save him from Jasmine's wrath, as suggested by Holland before their arrival. Instead, Beau stepped forward once, speaking his own mind, "My only goal is to assist Holland in his mission to escort the noble guests. Otherwise, I have no business with you."
Gritting her teeth, Jasmine had already began to reach for her weapon, "You think you-"
"Jasmine," Vaan cut her short, abruptly stopping the argument from growing any louder. "Now's not the time. We need to ensure the princesses and the duke are safe from harm."
Basch, having been monitoring the altercation carefully, opened the carriage for a moment, speaking in a low voice to the group inside. "You four, wait inside. This will be handled shortly." Theo, prepared to step out, stood up to speak before the door was slammed in his face by Basch. "Stay there."
Rubbing his nose, Theo grumbled but remained in the carriage, listening as closely as he could to the outside. "I wasn't planning on getting involved." He muttered to himself, feeling nosy.
On the other side of the open area, the caravan trailer brought by Jasmine's group was quiet, but the occupant had already made their way out of the carriage with help from Neema and Saoirse, unseen by Jasmine, Holland, and Beau, who stood in deadlock. "This has gone on for long enough."
"Yulia-" Jasmine opened her mouth, but Yulia lifted her hand to the side to stop her.
"-While Eva is not present to express her own thoughts, I will say mine." Yulia smiled, her eyes clouded as she let out a breath, her words loud in the silent space, clearly stopping Jasmine's complaints in her tracks as she stepped forward, following their voices. "I think Beau's presence is worth adding to our team. Holland, keep watching over him."
"If he steps out of line, Jasmine, you can take care of him as you please." Yulia finished, her smile unreadable, but her words firm. "Is that agreeable?"
Standing beside Holland, Beau swallowed as he replied directly, "I have no problem with that." He thought to himself, So long as that jackass keeps her hands to herself. His eyes wandered towards Jasmine, whose eyes had already long since dimmed, nearly spitting fire in his direction.
"Neither do I." Jasmine frowned deeply, her eyes full of bitterness.
"We're fine with that too." Neema, staring towards Saoirse with a nervous frown, finally spoke her own mind, staring towards the stray carriage with a raised brow, "While I'm relieved we were able to sort that out… we still need to get the rest of our new members to the palace. Standing here and fighting isn't going to get us anywhere safe anytime soon."
The awkward pause in the air was enough to get the group moving somewhat, having been pulled out of their continued argument by Neema's voice. Taking initiative of his own, Holland spoke first, waiting only for the nobles to leave the carriage before he began speaking, much to Basch's impatient glare.
"This is Jasmine, Yulia, Neema, Saoirse, and Vaan." Holland directed, pointing his finger at each member of the party like a line, giving the group a short amount of time to absorb their names before they were swiftly led into the caravan carriage with Yulia, who was assisted by Neema and Saoirse. "Follow Yulia into the carriage for now. We need to hurry back to the palace before more mercenaries show up."
With their menial luggage handled by Vaan and Basch, the nobles were led into the carriage, having help from Theo to help them into the back of the carriage. "Keep your heads low and try to be as quiet as you can. If anyone gets too close, Neema, Saoirse, and I will keep you three safe, okay?"
"Thank you, Theo." Alywin thanked Theo, taking his hand as he jumped into the carriage, smiling back at his companion as the other man sat on the end of the caravan's carriage, sitting on the lip of wood jutting out the back comfortably. Alywin sat not far away, keeping Theo within an earshot.
Charlotte and Philomena sat close to Yulia, who welcomed them warmly into the carriage as the bickering between Jasmine, Beau and Holland continued. "Your name was Yulia, correct? My name is Charlotte Dupont. It's a pleasure to meet you." Charlotte curtseyed lightly, greeting the pale elven woman with a small smile.
"My name is Philomena Lambros. It's a pleasure." Philomena added nervously, curtsying in a similar fashion. She turned to the side, glimpsing towards Alywin, who was sitting by Theo, speaking in a hushed voice, before she looked forward, "Our other companion is Alywin Cyneric."
Laughing gently with a soft voice, Yulia stared forward, listening attentively to the two young women. "It's a pleasure to meet you both. I'm sure you've had a tiring day, traveling for so long. You should rest for now." Patting along the side of her chair, Yulia grabbed her satchel and pulled out a small, decorated bag. Pulling the string revealed a bath of nuts and berries. "Have some, please."
Charlotte and Philomena, feeling somewhat peckish, were happy to accept her offer. They shared a water canteen to rinse their hands before taking a small handful each. Nibbling quietly on the fresh snack, they felt their nerves lower a bit, finding it comfortable enough to speak casually with Yulia. "If you don't mind us asking, how old are you, Yulia?" Charlotte asked.
"I'm thirty two." Yulia smiled, "I've been told I have quite a young face considering my age. It's most likely from my elven genes."
Philomena, unable to hold back her words, said in awe, "You look no older than me!"
The girls' laughing was contagious, even Alywin laughed lightly, staring over his shoulder at the three. "It seems the elven genes missed a generation, Theo." He poked fun, taunting Theo.
Theo, in response, flicked Alywin's forehead gently with his fingers. "I'm only a quarter elven. Besides, looking young isn't to my benefit in our line of work." Alywin rubbed his forehead, muttering curses towards Theo as the pair continued their conversation unperturbed.
A sense of peace fell over the group, hiding some of the tension still felt by Beau as he walked with Holland towards the back of the carriage, thinking of answers to the many questions he was preparing himself to face once he returned to the Yursear palace.
If I had half a mind, I'd pack up and run, but… Beau's thoughts trailed off, staring towards Holland. He put his trust in me. It's about time I did the same.
…
Unknown to the above parties, a group had begun travels of their own to ensure their political interests were held in the Yursear Kingdom. Having sent letters of their arrival to the host shortly before their departure, they ensured they would have a warm roof over their head to warm them, at least. Only a short distance was left, and their fatigue continued to grow with their desire to change the direction of the Yursinean royal family's fate.
"You look surprisingly dashing in those clothes, dear." A purposely lowered voice said, riding atop a large horse, carrying a light set of traveling luggage on the back of their sattle.
"So do you." Another voice smiled. Sitting on the horse was a familiar figure, a particular princess that had not graced the Yursear Kingdom since her departure after losing the Princess selection for Prince Clarence. Now that Clarence had resumed his position on the throne, preparing to once again be king, it was time to prepare their political interests and set them in stone.
Additionally, they both had people they had wanted to meet. Friends that they had made, wishing to ensure their safety. I can only hope Charlotte and Philomena are safe. All that's happened in that place… what a mess.
Sagara's riding suit made her form look boxy, broadening her shoulders with natural padding to fill out her riding jacket. With her long, dark hair braided and placed into her hunting cap, she appeared handsomely masculine, a trace of sharpness in her features aided by makeup.
Similarly, Olicia, a fan of men's riding garb, enjoyed her own riding suit, ensuring the practical garment was dressy, but not rich looking to avoid the attention of road bandits. With their young faces, it would be difficult to not attract bandits, but their servants were well prepared for that.
"I don't know how we were able to make it this far." Olicia said, smacking her forehead with her right hand as they were trailed by two of Sagara's loyal bodyguards. The large men, riding the three horses behind them, appeared to be paid mercenaries, but they gave far more piece of mind to the two girls than any mercenaries could. "Thank goodness for your knights."
The three knights, thick as they were tall, wore what appeared to be light armor, but the two girls were well aware of the hidden safeguards disguised under the garments. Just the large weapons resting on their backs was enough to ward away most of the petty thieves that had threatened to taint their peace during the trip. No one else had attempted to harass them, fortunately.
Seeing Olicia somewhat at ease, Sagara smiled, "At first, you wanted no part in this, considering how dangerous it would be. Look at you now."
Puffing up her cheeks lightly, Olicia responded, "I don't know why I was foolish enough to agree to this. I blame you, Sagara. I truly am a fool."
"Come on, now." Sagara smiled, lifting the reins in her hands, "There's not much longer to go. Let's hurry along."
The mercenaries following around them hastened their pace at their lady's request, tapping their horses' sides to urge them forward, the sunlight beaming down on their energetic figures.
…
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The feeling of wrapping to a nice close is finally starting to emerge. Trying to wrap up my favorite character's loose ends in the main story while we're still here. Side stories will definitely be an order, but I'm not sure where to start on those. We'll get there when we get there, I think. And I'm not done with Beau yet either. He, like Clare, will have his full, painful redemption.
I've got a killer headache, but my lovely boys definitely have helped >y< I'm currently adding a bookstore portion to my studio, so it's been very stressful lately. Sourcing used books is a pain in the ass, but it's lovely to be surrounded by books. I've been listening to quite a few audio books to help with inspiration for YMtK as well. I'll share photos next week, since I have today off ;u;
Until my anxiety calms a little, I'll continue to be a cockroach of anxiety for YMtK. Thank you all for the warm and continued support!
EDIT 4/15/24: Apologies for the repeated delays. I don't want to ping, but I've been dealing with interviews/ repeated work emergencies that have me working hella overtime. Hoping to be back next week. I'm sorry! ;n;