By midmorning, there was no doubt that the princess was well and truly gone. When the sleeping draught had worn off, Caitlyn had brought the note directly to the king's chambers. Surprisingly, Rhodri did not see to blame the lady-in-waiting, but Borit certainly did.
The commander was sitting, nursing his injury in his usual spot and casually conversing with the king when the lovely woman had entered.
"Dear lady, to what do we owe the pleasure?" He asked as Caitlyn handed the king the note.
The soldier's pleasant demeanor towards the lady's entrance was short lived. Although Rhodri remained completely calm, when Borit heard the news from Caitlyn's lips, he flew into a rage.
"What do you mean, 'she left'? How can we keep the princess safe if Her Highness can just leave whenever she pleases? King Rhodri will have order in his palace, both from his family and his servants!" Borit was so livid, he threw a plate against the wall of the king's chamber.
The metal charger hit the wall with a loud clang. Caitlyn's eyes widened as fear of the man gripped her for the first time. The plate had only nearly missed her head.
"This is all your fault!" he screamed at the beautiful woman. As charming as he had always been before, he was twice as terrifying in that moment.
With his cane to aid him, he rushed towards Caitlyn and grabbed her by the arm. She cried out in pain. "Commander, please!" she begged.
"Where is the princess?" the soldier squeezed the two bones in the lady's forearm together. The Commander was much stronger than she had ever realized. He was going to break her arm and not give it a second thought.
"She left," Caitlyn answered with a whimper. She turned her gaze on the king. "Please, Your Majesty," she pleaded, "I would never want to hurt Her Highness."
At the mention of his name, Rhodri glanced up from the note left by his adoptive daughter with pain in his eyes. He had been so engrossed in the words on the page that he had not seen or heard what transpired. Seeing the Commander's violence, he quickly intervened.
"That is enough, Borit! Release her! I will not have you attacking my nobility. Do not forget your place." Rhodri was older than the commander, but still quite strong.
The king would have ordered the other guards to stop him, except they had been dismissed for this private conversation. As such, the king himself stood up, ready to stop Borit forcibly if needed.
Borit's family had small estate, but they had no title. Injuring Lady Caitlyn without cause was a punishable offense. She was far above his station.
"My place..." Borit repeated with a low growl. The fury in his eyes faded, and the normal, charming façade returned to its face. He released Caitlyn, and smiled apologetically.
Caitlyn rubbed her arm and backed away quickly. She hurried behind one of the sofas in case the commander should try to harm her again.
She looked at Borit warily. The lady genuinely thought that were the king not present, the commander might have instead strangled her with his bare hands right then and there. She was immensely relieved when the crazed man shifted his gaze back to the king.
"My apologies, Your Majesty. I am just beside myself with worry for the princess." Borit tried to explain, but Rhodri cut him off.
"I expect better of my officers. Putting your hands on a lady! I know you are barely a gentleman but I still gave you a chance and raised you above others that were nobility. Did I make a mistake?!" Rhodri's voice was full of passion.
"No, Your Majesty," Borit bit back his anger.
Rhodri glared at his subordinate, then looked at the poor woman now gripping the back of the couch. Already a dark bruise was forming on her arm. Caitlyn was truly frightened.
The king's heart clenched. The lady-in-waiting had always been kind and courteous to both him and his daughter. It was why he had selected her to serve the princess over any of the other options. There was not a malicious bone in her body. He took the slight against her personally.
The king's sympathetic attention calmed the beautiful brunette. She inhaled deeply. "I am alright, Your Majesty. I forgive the Commander. I do not think it will happen again."
Rhodri relaxed the wrinkles in his brow as he turned sullenly back to the note. Seizing the opportunity, Borit directed the conversation back to the lost princess.
"Shall I send out the army to retrieve Her Highness?" He inquired.
Shaking his head, the king sighed. "No, I will not alert my enemies that my daughter is gone nor will I let the nobility know about this indiscretion. You may send a few trusted scouts to look for someone fitting the Princess's description, but that is all."
"You would leave the princess completely undefended?!" Borit's could not believe his ears.
"No, Rose says she has an escort with her. And she says that she will be back soon. I will have to trust her…"
"Why did she leave at all? You have been far too good to her for her to treat you in such a manner!" The commander used his cane as he limped toward the king.
"She went to visit someone…" the king answered vaguely with a wave of his hand. His eyes were still glued to the page.
"Let me see it." In frustration, Borit made a swipe for the page. Rhodri did not let it go, and the paper tore in half. The commander let go of the strip in his hand. "My apologies, Your Majesty!"
Rhodri was eerily calm as he stared at the ripped page. "You are dismissed to do as I have asked, Commander. I do not want to see your face again today unless you have news."
Borit bowed and left, his fists clenched as he swept out of the room.
Caitlyn was relieved the commander was gone, but a new tension filled her as she realized she was alone with the king.
Would he punish her now that he no longer felt the need to protect her from Borit. Would he bombard her with questions that she could not answer? Or would he simply ignore her and force her to stand there until her knees gave out?
A thousand thoughts ran through the lady's head, but none of them prepared her for what Rhodri did next. He held up the torn paper to the young lady.
"I assume you read this," he raised his eyebrows.
Unwilling to lie, Caitlyn nodded tentatively. The king sighed and hung his head.
"Then you know this is not your fault, my lady. It is mine."
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Borit stormed all the way down to his secret office in the dungeon and let out an infuriated scream. He wanted to punch or destroy something, yet he knew that it would not help his fury. The commander would exact his revenge another way. If only he could have seen more than that small portion of the letter…
"You called?" Ingrid pushed open the door with a smirk hidden beneath her somber expression.
"You are very brave coming here just now. I assume you have some news, or I might be tempted to make use of the chamber next door…" Borit's eyes looked like bubbling magma.
Ingrid pretended not to notice his fury as she bowed. "I did not mean to disturb you, but I thought it might interest you that a new stable hand was entrusted with the Princess's horse this morning. She left and has not returned. Rumor is that she has stolen it."
Borit opened his mouth to reprimand his secretary when he realized the meaning behind her words. "What did she look like?" The commander asked.
"According to the stable master, she was blue-eyed and had yellow hair, at least he thinks so. He hasn't officially reported the theft because he still hopes she will return. I also spoke with the sentries. They say the horse and its rider headed west. There's a few things that way, but…uh, you don't think she is heading to Lakyle, do you?" Ingrid asked cautiously.
"Doubtful, but I will send some men to make sure the problem is taken care of…" Borit's voice trailed off. Although he did not think the princess was aware of the papers that had been taken, something about the whole situation bothered him. There was only one solution. Stop her by any means necessary and discover what she knew.
"Which soldiers do you want to dispatch? I will alert them," Ingrid looked forward to ordering some men around.
The commander gave a sly grin. "No soldiers, Ingrid, I have better men to dispatch…"