The sound of the rain crashing on the carriage roof filled the silence that prevailed as soon as Gordon gave Duncan the peice of advice as a warning.
Duncan looked in Gordon's eyes, and he knew that the reason why Gordon was warning wasn't just because it was his duty as a Kalsa knight, but because he could sense the dark lurking danger truly.
He could see the person standing there as well, and perhaps he wasn't quite sure himself, but there was this feeling that crept in.
Hesitation, maybe fear or maybe it could've been even defeat, but it came and wrapped around around his muscles restricting his body movements. His lips frozen and eyes fixated at the person standing across the red carpet that was laid out from the carriage to the palace entrance.
That person -
He was on the taller side, close to the similar height as Duncan's. And had grey eyes piercing through Duncan's amber ones.His smile draggeed across his face and it seemed like it never left its place, even though it was clear that he was sick and weak, his eyes told a different story.
His body seemed fragile to even move around, his skin as much as it was visible through his clothes was pale as the moon on a dark night. His face was powder pale as well. Delicate frame and yet pretending to stand straight without any hesitation, Gordon was amazed at how good he was at acting.
"If he is really sick and affected by some terminal illness, then standing so tall and firm will definitely be more hurting." Gordon scoffed at the pretentious face the person was putting on.
"But if he is not sick and is pretending to be sick to gain good will and sympathy from others, then that evil plan of his will soon need to come in front of the people." He thought deeply.
"All in all, Desmond Amalde is a really good actor." Gordon mumbled to himself.
His gaze was intimidating and so was his evergreen smile. The smug smirk on his face showed how he owned everyone and everything and there wasn't anyone who would disregard him, ever.
Standing there in nothing but an ordinary suite, along with a servant holding an umbrella over him, his eyes only projected one emotion - AUTHORITY.
Both Duncan and Gordon took turns to get down from the carriage and as soon as they got down the guards approached from behind the carriage and held red umbrellas over them.
They both walked towards towards the palace entrance. And stopped where he was standing.
"Good evening your highness. I hope you are doing great." Gordon made a formal bow to the person in front of him.
Not willing to bow it, but a job that needs to get done. Gordon didn't mind showing how annoying it was to even coincidentally meet this person.
His body language spoke louder than the words coming from his mouth.
But he just looked down on Gordon without even responding to him. Instead he was looking behind him, looking for the person walking towards him from behind Gordon's back.
"Good evening, I hope you are having a good time." Duncan made a bow as well.
And all the guards bowed their heads. It was a sudden reflex that everyone followed.
'The king bowed to this person, so we should too.' Was the feeling that was projected through the immediate actions.
Time stood still for sometime since no one looked up to say anything.
Gordon was frozen for a moment.
"Hey you stupid Duncan." He immediately looked at Duncan and signaled him to not bow his head since there were people around looking at them.
Duncan couldn't make out what he was trying to say. "What?" His eyes frowning to make out the lip gestures Gordon was throwing at him.
But then he realised.
Duncan looked at Gordon and, in that fraction of a second, comforted by the panic Gordon was having. "Don't worry, I've sorted it out." That is what Duncan's eyes said so did his lips mumbled.
"Umm... I don't see the bride. Where is she?" The man standing in front of them said, still looking behind them and waiting for someone to get down from the carriage.
The rain was heavier than ever that day, making it difficult to look at anything beyond a certain range. The crashing sound of the harsh rain drops covered the words that they were trying to say at some point.
They were still standing under the dome shaped entrance of the main palace building with the door in front of them and the carriage behind them.
The wind helped them in getting drenched beyond the level they wished too. But that wasn't the point of concern for Gordon or Duncan at that point.
The sudden question that was thrown at Duncan made him feel as if someone had put their finger on the sore point he was trying to hide and ignore all that time.
"Ah! Oh your highness..." Duncan was dumbfounded by that question and immediately stood right up. "I am... I dropped her at..." He was stuttering in front of that weak and sick man.
Gordon, still standing in the bowing position was almost close to slapping his hand on his forehead since his king had clearly lost his mind.
"This idiot. What exactly did you sort out then?" Gordon was thinking as he was questioning his entire existence standing right there.
"Why are you so scared of him? You are the king." Gordon wanted to scream in Duncan's ears.
All of them, had guards holding vibrant red umbrellas over their heads. To think of it, it wasn't an odd situation to have an umbrella over someone who was there for an official visit but their umbrellas particularly stood out even in the blurring rain.
Three red umbrellas were right in front of the entrance of the Central Palace which made it look like a very official meeting in the middle of the pouring weather.
And somehow Duncan wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. He was struggling to even put a sentence together.
Silence at this point, became a fourth member in their conversation.
And after sometime of silence and the man staring at him for a moment ,there was a burst into laughter.
"Oh my dear brother. How are you still so naive? I was just kidding." He said clapping his hand together sarcastically. "Ha ha ha ha. What are you even thinking?" The person laughed hard as though he was satisfied looking at the king being scared by his presence alone.
It must've been indeed satisfying. The person looked unconditionally happy.
"And why are you still bowing down to me, Sir Gordon Van Heath? Do you want to make this situation any more awkward? Stand upright this instant." He was still using his sarcastic tone and casually trying to make this situation a blame for both Gordon and Duncan.
That's what he is good at. Shifting blames. Gordon thought and stood upright.
Duncan's expression relaxed a little but still he had a crumpled feeling inside his guts. He wasn't exactly happy to bump into someone he didn't want to bump at all.
"Don't make this obvious anymore you guys." Said the guy as he tried hard to stop laughing.
"Let's get going Desmond, shall we?" Said the guy.
Both Duncan and Gordon were alarmed by his words and stood vigilant, their expressions changed as if they were now looking at their enemy.
He noticed it. And smirked.
"Oh sorry, you are Duncan now, right? I can't get used to it, honestly. I was used to being called Duncan all the time you know." He said, giving a very honest expression and a casual shoulder shrug.
"Hmph. Once a snake was always a snake." Gordon thought to himself with a smile.
"Sir Gordon's expression doesn't seem to appreciate my honesty though." Said the guy, and immediately his guard pulled a sword and pointed at Gordon.
Gordon stood there unflinched even at the face of danger, knowing very well that his guard wouldn't hesitate to move his sword. But still he wasn't scared of the sword, since that would be the last thing he would be scared of.
"Tsk, tsk. Stop it Mateo. Don't do this." The guy put his hand on the blade of the sword and pushed that sword away slightly and slowly.
"You must keep your dogs chained it they bite, your highness. Otherwise they would get harmed by anyone, your dogs." Gordon said fearlessly.
"Is that so? So you mean you got scared by my dog to advice this to me, right?" He snickered thinking he could win that conversation.
"Pff. These things don't surprise me let alone far from scaring me, your highness. Kalsa is even more of a curse, it's the worst, who would know better than you." Gordon said with a very sharp tone.
The smile on his face disappeared as his grey eyes glared at Gordon's face.
"I guess that is enough. Let's head inside. Shall we?" Duncan tried to calm the atmosphere but Gordon was still glaring.
"Sir Gordon, I appreciate you as my subject.", the guy said with a calm and polite tone this time, but Gordon interrupted and said, "I am not your subject, Duke Duncan. Oh I am sorry, honestly, Duke Desmond." Gordon smirked.
It was a straight cut to the pride he was possessing till that moment. But Gordon was sure that these words would definitely make him even more angry.
Thus Gordon was happy.
There was a bit of a silent moment until -
"My goodness Sir Gordon. It's saddening that you still don't know whose dog you are. But don't worry, you'll know very soon." The guy said as he walked towards Gordon.
"You can't do his talking for him all the time." He whispered in Gordon's ears.
"I think you should be the last person who should worry about that Duke Desmond." Gordon said as his sharp blue eyes told Desmond to back off.
"Let's head inside, now." Duncan said in an authoritative voice.
The guy immediately stared at him, Duncan flinched a little.
Desmond had an instant sympathetic smile looking at Duncan being a scaredy cat but then he gathered his words and said - "Oh! definitely you should. You must be exhausted as well. I am going to take a stroll in the greenhouse garden since it is raining." He smiled.
"What a psychopath." Gordon looked at him with an apathetic gaze.
He started to leave in the opposite direction as them.
But as he was leaving he whispered to Duncan, "You should've brought Rachel D'Azure here." Duncan's face lost all it's colour as a shiver ran down his spine. He knew this was coming.
It felt as though someone drained every last remaining emotion from him. He stood there with a blank expression.
"I never ordered you to drop her off at the Eastern Palace, did I?" Desmond's words weren't just mere questions, they were warnings. "By now you should've known what you can hold onto. She was mine to begin with. She was decided to become the wife of the king, anyone who would become the king." His grey eyes looked exactly like those of some predator's.
Duncan's expression was submissive. He was angry, and infuriated but still he nodded.
"Nice, good boy. Now I'll take my leave." So he said and slipped a note into Duncan's hands as he was leaving. Duncan turned around and Desmond shrugged his shoulder as a sign saying - 'It is something you do all the time.'
Duncan took a deep breath and looked ahead of himself. The grand entrance of the Central palace stood there.
"I am not a servant anymore. Don't treat me like one, brother." Duncan bit his lips as he grinded his teeth.
"You are more powerful than you think Duncan. Stop being scared of him." Gordon told him as he placed a hand on his shoulder to assure him.
Duncan nodded his head.
Gordon and Duncan both walked inside the palace. It was lively inside. Servants and guards constantly occupying the floor walking from here to there, rushing from a room to go to some other room with some or the other work to do.
Bustling crowd inside, people with uniform and officials trying to make room for themselves and talk in the middle of the premise was the daily geography of the Central Palace.
It was just like this every day.
Duncan looked at the little drenched note in his hand and opened it.
It read like - 'It's your responsibility to close all the eyes that have watched us today, brother.'
Duncan read that note and took a deep breath.
"When did he have time to write this?" Duncan thought.
"Hey! You know why he is behaving like that, right? Why don't you just give him some punishment now that you are the king?" Gordon started asking Duncan out of nowhere as they were walking.
Duncan looked at him with an expression that clearly screamed - "As if you don't know?"
Gordon ate all his next upcoming questions since he knew Duncan wouldn't answer. He just quietly walked behind Duncan until he stopped abruptly in midway of the lobby.
This lobby was comparatively less crowded and there were fewer ears around.Duncan suddenly turned around to look at Gordon.