"What you had told her back there, was it the truth?" Amadeus asked and they all fell quiet. They didn't think of that possibility too, they had thought that Robert was just cooking up stories but knowing Robert, he wouldn't say something that is wholly a lie. There would always be some fact in it. No matter how ridiculous it may sound, there might be a possibility that what he said was the truth.
"Amadeus is right Robert, was it the truth? What if his highness finds out about what you just said? We're all doomed!!" Lucas panicked.
"Well, that isn't a problem. If we're all doomed right?" He said and chuckled.
"Get serious Robert!" Lago said.
"Fine, fine. I'll talk." He said raising his hands in defeat.
"Good." They all said.
"I'm sure you guys must have known everything about me by now. I would never say things that isn't partly the truth. So, yes. It wasn't a lie. Everything I had told the princess was the truth." He said and they could only hail him in their minds.
'You really are amazing though! No matter how annoying you may seem, you still have some little sense left in you.' They said silently.
"Okay. But how did you find out about it. We all didn't know about it so how come you knew?" Amadeus asked.
"It's because I'm the genius here. This guy has something up his sleeves." He said jokingly and they gave him a hard glare.
"Get serious Robert!!" Lago and Lucas simultaneously said.
"If you guys keep yelling at me like that, then just forget about it. I ain't telling y'all a thing anymore." He said and noisily dragged his feet to leave but Amadeus stopped him.
"Wait." He said.
'As expected of this leader. Good. Now no one would dare raise their voice at me. This is so much fun, I can't believe I'm threatening these people!!' He exclaimed in his mind and turned to face Amadeus.
"What is it?" He asked pretending to be displeased.
Amadeus heaved a deep sigh and looked up at him. 'Good lord. Please can you instill some maturity in Robert?' He said silently.
"Just say whatever it is you want to say. Don't mind these people." Amadeus said and Robert chuckled.
"I do mind. If they can't apologize then y'all should forget about talking to me about this matter." He said and Amadeus clenched his fists and jaws.
He turned to Lago and Lucas and with that simple glance they knew he wanted them to apologize. But what on earth did they do? They can't possibly apologize to this brat!!
"Apologize to him. Now." He said and they clenched their fists and glared at Robert who was at the brink of bursting out in laughter.
"Sorry." They said and Robert just nodded. He wanted to tease them more but he refrained from it.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Since you both are my closest comrades, I'll forgive you both but had it been those two guys...." He said pointing at Finn and Amadeus. " I wouldn't forgive them so easily." He said.
"They've apologized now, so tell us. How did you find out about this?" Amadeus asked with a serious tone and Robert was forced to go back to his serious mode.
"Before he got married to the princess. Remember the time his highness used to go out late at night without informing anyone?" He said and they nodded.
"Yes, I remember those times his highness would go out and return the next day or the day after and when we asked him he would usually say 'I went out for some work' or 'get out'." Lucas said and they nodded meaningfully.
"Well, I was getting suspicious because he had been leaving for three months in a row and especially at night. So I secretly followed him and that was when I found out he always went to Bianca's grave." He said and they heaved a sigh and nodded.
"How did you follow his highness without him noticing. I've tried that a few times now but I always ended up being caught and chased away by him." Lucas said as he looked downward like some child who was upset that he didn't get any snack.
"It's a secret." He said and they all shook their heads. It would be pointless reasoning with this guy at this stage so they just took their leaves.
"Hey! Wait for me!" He screamed as he walked behind them.
*****
In a dark room....
"Are you sure about this?" A man wearing a dark coat and his head was covered with a hood spoke.
"Yes. I'm sure Beowulf used those people. I want you to investigate more on who his ally is and report back to me." Alexander said.
"I think I have a clue about who his ally is. You said that he sent countless of troupes right? Only one person I know would have that much number of minions to sacrifice." The man in the black coat said.
"So I guess we're thinking the same then. But I still want you to investigate more on it just to be sure." Alexander said and the man nodded before he left him alone in the dark room.
"You dare use dirty tricks to win this game huh?" Alexander said.
"Well, I'll show you who the boss is in the game of chess. I'll use your soldiers to my advantage and you'll end up being on the losing end!" He said, talking to no one in particular.
"You'll pay for this Beowulf. I'll make you pay." He said before leaving the dark room.
*****
Elen had been crying to her heart's content. She didn't know that her husband had been suffering silently!! And here she was, always getting angry at him. How could she be so cruel?!! What could she do to help him?? She wants to desperately heal his heart but the question's 'how'? How can she heal him when he barely opens up to her. Now that she thought about it. She doesn't know a single thing about her husband. She just knew that he has a family and a past love whom he's still sulking over. Apart from all that, she doesn't know anything more. His childhood, his friends, his likes, dislikes, favorite foods. Nothing, she doesn't know anything!!! Why had she not tried to talk to him? Why had she not tried to initiate a topic about himself?!! 'Helena how could you be so ignorant?! How could you?!!' She mentally screamed at herself while streams of tears flowed down her cheeks.
No! She needed to get a hold of herself. She just can't simply break down!! She needed to be there for him. He's her husband and she needs to stand by him. She would never leave his side no matter how he pushes her away. Never!! She thought and a wave of determination flashed in her eyes. She wiped her tears away and pulled herself together. Her eyes that were filled with sorrow and hopelessness were now replaced with determination and new hope.
....
"You called for me, your highness." Robert who was now feeling uneasy spoke. He thought that the princess didn't believe the words he said earlier and that was why she called for him. He couldn't help but feel anxious. He couldn't possibly tell her the truth. He had told her some believable excuse so why does she have to call for him now?? Wait, why is he always the answering machine?!! Couldn't someone else do the answering??! This is definitely unfair!! Why does it feel like the princ....
He couldn't finish his thought because the princess had already spoken. "Uhm...can you please take me out of the palace for a few minutes?" She asked.
"___"
"We won't go far. I promise." She said.
"I'm sorry your highness, but you're not allowed to go out." He said and Elen creased her brows.
"Why??"
"Uhm...cos we were attacked earlier and we can't afford letting you get attacked again." He said and Elen's brows creased even harder.
"It's not like they'll attack us though." She said and he scratched his head nervously and Elen narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Now tell me, what are you hiding." She asked and he was forced to return his gaze on her.
"H-h-hiding? Why would I hide something from you. I just want to ensure your safety." He said.
"Well we're not going that far. It's just for a few minutes." She said with a firm tone.
'Princess, how do I tell you that your husband's very own brother was the one who countered that attack?? How do I tell you that he's planning to use you to get at his brother? How do I also tell you that he might attack at any moment and that's why you're not allowed to step outside of his highness's quarters.' He said silently.
Elen noticed that Robert's mind seem to be far off from earth and she clicked her fingers in front of his face. Thankfully, that action seemed to have brought him back to life.
"Are you okay?" She asked and as if a lightbulb lit in Robert's head, he started grinning inwardly. He could use this situation to his advantage. Thus, he activated his acting mode.
"N-n-no....I mean yes, I'm alright. I'm just having a slight fever. It's nothing serious." He said and as expected the princess's expression changed.
"You're definitely not alright. You should treat your fever. It shouldn't be taken so lightly." She said.
"Don't worry about me leaving the castle anymore. I'd just instruct some maids to get me a book to read. So you should treat your fever fast." She said and Robert's heart almost burst with excitement. 'Thank you gods! Thank you for bestowing in me perfect acting skills! Thank you once again!' He could only exclaim silently.
He resumed his hundred percent acting skills and spoke again. "Thank you princess....achoo!!....I'll go meet the doctor. achoo!!....thank you." He said and hastily left before the princess could say a word.
"Hmmm. He's acting strange." She said to herself and lay on her bed. After thinking about Alexander for a long while, her eyes became heavy and even though it was not dark yet, she closed her eyes and finally succumbed to the sleep calling for her.
.....