Dan's POV
The sound of high heels clicking on stone announced his mother's arrival with his younger siblings, it wasn't like them to be late it was usually just him and his brother that would be late or skip altogether, one of the few things they had in common but for entirely different reasons. His mother's face looked quite angry, and he wondered if word had already gotten around about what had happened.
"I want that ruffian you call a guard gone at once!" she exclaimed firmly, yelling only with her eyes rather than raising her voice in anger. "And I want my guards replaced with ones that obey the chain of command, their loyalty should be with the crown and not some random mercenary you adopted like some sort of lethal watchdog." Six guards trailed behind her and Donavin's younger siblings, their heads hanging in guilt.
Confused he asked, "What happened?"
"I told you all it was a bad idea to let him hire a mercenary to act as a guard." his brother muttered.
"These guards refused to let us leave the princess's room, we were being held hostage in our own home!" she explained her voice wavering at the fear she must have felt. "And they did so at the orders of your guard, who isn't even in the chain of command."
"Is this true?" the commander asked suddenly enraged. The soldiers looked at their feet before one, stealing himself said, "He did not want them to go to Donavin's room and worry, or have to see what he was going to bring here. He said looking nervously at the servant who'd frozen mid-scrub on the floor, he quickly began scrubbing frantically.
"What is going on? Donavin… why are you so pale?" she asked keenly picking up that something wasn't right, and he was at the center of it all.
"Is that blood?" his little brother asked pointing to a small dark red droplet on the floor in front of him.
Oh no…
His mother gasped and pulled her two youngest children away from it like it was a viper preparing to strike her children.
"Mark may have gone about protecting you in the wrong way, but his intentions were good," Donavin assured, "I'll have a talk about it with him later, but I won't dismiss the man who saved my life again last night." Donavin defended.
"May have?" His older brother asked incredulously. "You think him dragging dead bodies around the castle scaring everyone and locking up half the royal family may have been the wrong way to approach things?"
His father slapped his brother across the back of the head as his mother paled.
"Everything is fine now," Donavin assured to counter his mother's and sister's panic. It wasn't working.
"Someone better fill me in right now." She commanded.
There was a long silence as Donavin thought about where to start, but it was the brave soldier who began to explain.
"Mark killed the assassin that tried to kill Prince Donavin last night and he didn't want you all to see the mess in his room or go to the dining hall right away…"
"And why did he bring him here?" she asked the royals at the table who'd remained silent.
The commander spoke, "I believe he wanted to see our reactions because he suspected an inside job." he said as if that were a perfectly acceptable thing to do. Donavin couldn't help but glare at his brother, they likely wouldn't find any proof and even if they did, what would they do? His brother was practically untouchable, and he knew it.
"And was it?" she demanded.
"No conclusive evidence has been found yet but I will make sure the matter is investigated thoroughly." his father assured her. Yet he doubted his brother would receive anything more than a stern talking to even if they found undeniable evidence of his brother's involvement. Parents weren't supposed to have favorites, but his father and uncle had always seemed to favor his older brother, maybe that's why his mother seeded to favor her younger children who got less attention.
She was most distant to his older brother who was to someday rule and closest to his youngest brother who had no traditional legal responsibility and was therefore often referred to as "the spare" by many heartless nobles. He had the responsibility of the army handed to him by order of birth and his sister was seen as a political tool for marriage alliances.
Maye that was why there was always a bit of distance between them that he knew his sister felt too. She was kind and always willing to give advice but it was almost as if she was afraid to get too attached because they would both be taken away from her someday forced into a life she despised and yet could not protect them from. It was no secret his mother hated war and violence, so it made sense that she would not approve of him being the future leader of the nation's army. What was less known was that she'd never wanted to marry his father but was forced to in order to put an end to the last war. she hated the Idea of her daughter being forced into a marriage like that.
His parents got along well enough now, although they weren't particularly close or happy in their marriage, they'd learned to respect each other to some extent. After his younger brother was born and she was given more freedom in her involvement in his future their relationship had seemed to improve. His mother finally seemed more content, though he still fought her staring longingly at the paintings of her homeland that hung throughout her rooms.
The rest of breakfast was an uncomfortable tension-filled affair, and Donavin left as soon as he could, after assuring his mother he was ok by forcing himself to eat at least a little, now he felt sick and hoped he didn't throw up while riding; that would not leave a good impression with the Harnizians.
His uncle and two palace guards he didn't know that well trailed him all the way to the royal stables where Bret and Mark stood waiting with their horses already saddled. The commander quickly followed suit with the horses that had been prepared for his father and brother and their personal guards but there had been a change in plans...
Hopefully, he could somehow manage to ease any worries at his uncles, the great war commander, and kingslayer's, unexpected presence. And ease the insult that the king and the crown prince had decided against wasting their time riding around with the warlords as if they weren't important enough to warrant their time.
This was not the best way for negotiations to begin. To top it off his Great uncle's mere presence tended to put him on edge and his ribs still hurt like hell where he'd been stabbed. the chain mail may have saved his life by preventing him from being skewered but the impact had still done some damage.