Four days had passed, and she was still nowhere to be found. Achilles was perplexed and worried sick that he refused to do anything until she was brought back. He started to blame himself.
If he hadn't asked her to leave if she wanted to, then she'd still be here. If he had said he loved her too, maybe she would've found comfort in his words and stayed. His ego always got the better of him in situations he needed to be vulnerable and always ended up hurting others. That was his alter ego.
He didn't want to talk to anyone unless they had information about her whereabouts. His parents had returned from their trip but didn't want to talk to them either. He wanted to go out himself. However, since he didn't want to talk to his parents, they also didn't want to let him go out.
His coronation was only two more days away, and during this time, enemies tried their best to eliminate the successor thus, he had to stay indoors.
He wanted to be stubborn, but he knew better than to wander off outside, knowing full well that someone might try and kill him.
_ _ _
"Zale, is there anything we can do to let him talk about what's going on?" The King asked. Zale knew exactly what was happening but didn't say a word.
"I have no idea, Your Highness." He answered. The King sighed in disappointment.
"Maybe you can try and talk to him, Zale. You're like his brother, and I'm sure he'll tell you something," King Cyrus suggested. Zale bowed in agreement and headed upstairs to Achilles's room.
He noticed him standing on his balcony, looking down. Zale walked slowly to him and placed his hand on his shoulder.
"Are you okay?" he asked. Achilles turned to face him. "What do you think, Zale? Do you think I'm ok?" Achilles asked, too. Zale shook his head.
"That's right, I'm not ok. They took her, Zale. How do you expect me to be ok? I'm dying on the inside." Achilles said, completely broken.
"I'm sorry, Achilles, but we've looked everywhere, and no one seems to have found her."
He looked shattered. His eyes said it all.
"If you can't find her, then I'll go."
"No, you're not going anywhere, Achilles. It's way too risky."It's been two days, two excruciating days that she's been gone, and there has been no sign of her. I feel like I'm gonna die, Zale,"
"I know how you feel, but we need to act with precaution."
"She's probably being tortured. We need to go find her." He cried out.
"Ok, if you want to go, then I'll go with you. We'll go tonight, and we're not coming back till we find the love of your life." Zale said, expecting a reaction from Achilles. Achilles smiled and hugged him.
"You're like the older brother I wish I had," Achilles said.
"I am your older brother, you knucklehead. Remember, all gods are related by dynasty." Zale replied. Achilles realized that Zale was his brother. Maybe not biologically, but when their lineages are traced, they had one ancestor.
"I guess so, but don't call me a knucklehead," Achilles said again.
Zale pulled out of the hug and looked at him. He placed his hand on his shoulder and said, "Sure."
"So what's the plan...?"
* * *
Late at night, both Achilles and Zale snuck out from the balcony like a bunch of teenagers sneaking out to go to a party.
They were stealthy and quiet enough to not be seen or heard by any Palace guard. Even though Achilles was going to be King in just a few days, he was still a prince, and the guards had direct orders to not let him leave the Palace walls.
They successfully made it out safely.
"Where do we go from here?" Zale quietly asked.
"The lake. That's the only place I can think of." Achilles answered.
"Should we take the car?" Achilles looked at Zale as if he had said something cursed. "It's in the middle of the night, and you want us to take the car?" he said, utterly amused and shocked.
"I was kidding," Zale laughed. "No, you weren't. If I agreed to take the car, you'd rush in mindlessly."
"But, can we, though?"No! we're walking."
Zale let out a huge sigh.
They walked to the lake, and Zale kept nagging the entire time. Achilles felt like he was babysitting his little brother. They finally got there after half an hour.
The place was quiet. You could only hear birds chirping, the burble of the waterfall, and the sound of trees moving in the direction of the wind.
"Why are we here, Achilles?" Zale whispered directly into his ears.
"I don't know, and why are you still whispering?"Oh, sorry. I forgot we didn't have to whisper anymore." He then said in his normal tone.
"Let's look around for clues. It happened further in the forest the last time, so there has to be something that could lead us to Helix and his pack."
"How are you so sure that Helix took her? Maybe she just got lost and couldn't find her way back." Zale reasoned out. Achilles shook his head, disagreeing. "I highly doubt that. She is a werewolf now, and so that means she has an impeccable sense of smell. She could've easily found her way back if she was only lost. She's probably being locked up somewhere and being tortured. We need to move fast."
Zale nodded when he realized that Achilles was making complete sense. Usually, he's the one with the brains, but today, Achilles said something really smart.
Not that Achilles was dumb. He was pretty tactical and precise when it came to other things. However, reasoning like this was rare.
With that, they headed straight into the forest in hopes of finding some sort of clue that would somehow lead to Kristen.
Achilles was brewing on the inside. He was eager to see her, to kiss her and to hold her in his arms again. He was wrong for how he treated her. He was wrong for letting her leave and not caring about it, and he was wrong for letting her hate him.