Hazel swallowed back her nervousness and turned around together with Eddie to the stern face of the headmaid.
"Eddie? What are you doing here?" The headmaid asked as she took two steps and now stood directly in front of them.
"Uuh… nothing much," begun Eddie, trying his best not to stutter because he knew how perceptive the headmaid was. "I just came to watch the fight then I thought about paying Ford a visit."
The headmaid didn't seem convinced. She stood almost at the same height as Eddie, with a busty figure and a cold look that she used to intimidate others. Her lips curled downwards as she seized up Hazel, slight mockery evident in her eyes.
"And this is?"
"Oh… this is Hazel, my good friend. Hazel, this is Giselle, the headmaid," Eddie introduced with shaky hands. By now, his confidence had started waning and by the tight grip on her hand, Hazel didn't have a good feeling about this Giselle.
"It's nice to meet you, Giselle," she forced a smile, outstretching her hand in an attempt to get this over with quick. Sure enough, Giselle just stared at her outstretched hand and sneered.
"Alright then, we'll be going now," Eddie said and turned around, crossing his fingers for Giselle not to call them back. She didn't.
****
Darkness shrouded the entire of Kragon like a heavy blanket, the gloominess in the palace seeming to affect the entire land. The King had just returned from his journey to visit Hawksley and was so furious after receiving the news of the attack.
As the rumours claimed, there was nothing more precious to King Tobias than his two sons and his current agitation was proof of it.
After ranting to the guards and the commander for failing to keep the crown prince safe, his wife, Queen Lisbeth tried to calm him down and finally succeeded.
By the time he called Leo to his study, the man was calm and collected and the only evidence of his inner turmoil was the deep frown on his face.
Leo walked into his father's office looking tired and haggard, his jaw set like his father's and and a slight frown on his forehead. When he walked in, King Tobias was quietly pacing the office and he stopped when he saw his face, his frown deepening some more.
He seemed to want to say something but in the end said nothing and just pursed his lips.
Leo had also intended to try and pacify his father because he could fall ill when he was angry but he also felt tired and had no energy left in him.
"Son," Tobias's soft voice called out after Leo sat down, worry etched on his face.
Leo looked up, swept a hand over his face then sighed. "It's not that serious, father," he assured, his voice sounding as it normally did. But his composure only made Tobias more restless.
"Is it true what they are saying?" He also sat down on his chair, his anxious eyes searching his son's stoic face. "You caught three–no, four arrows! How could you catch four arrows aimed at you from such a long distance!? It's not normal!" He half-yelled as he tried hard to control his voice. His fists clenched and his chest heaved up and down.
Leo stared at his father, his calm facade faltering as his mind registered his father's concerns. He never mentioned the attack and only asked about how he caught the arrows. He was the only one, apart from Sebastian who had been sitting next to him and saw everything, that asked about that.
"How did you do it? How did you even see the arrows coming? And where did you get such speed to stop THREE flying arrows?" His father's questions persisted, leaving a bitter taste in Leo's mouth despite having not said anything.
"I–I don't know, I just… felt it," he tried to explain, shutting his mouth when he felt he wasn't making any sense. He looked back at his father to find his stern eyes now softening. The candlelight cast a shadow across his face and his brows remained knitted together.
"I really can't explain what happened. I was absentminded even before the tournament begun and it was like I could sense the danger even before it came. When the arrows were shot… my body seemed to act on its own."
The room fell silent for a while, then Tobias sighed deeply. "I didn't think it would start this soon. I still have no leads to the person we're searching for," he confessed to Leo, feeling a heaviness in his chest. "Let's just hope nothing too drastic happens. That's the only thing we can do for now," he said helplessly, feeling his throat suddenly tighten.
As a King, he carried the weight of the entire kingdom and that of his family so he was deeply attached to both. His sons were the most important in his life and he couldn't bare to watch something happen to them. But now he felt helpless and there was no worse feeling than that.
Leo could read his father's emotions clearly and reached out his hand to hold his across the desk. "Nothing will happen to me father. I've lived this long with the curse looming over me and nothing has ever happened. You shouldn't worry too much," he comforted. King Tobias eyes welled with tears and he coughed lightly.
He had secretly made the journey to Hawksley himself because he couldn't trust just anyone with this kind of issue. His son's life was at stake and he had to do something, anything at all to save him. He had travelled the previous night, and having returned within one day meant that he had travelled with no rest. Yet his search was unfruitful.
"Do you have any idea who tried to kill you?" He finally asked, but the question wasn't laden with anxiousness like it should. As if that was the least of his concerns. "Wait, was the attack on you both or just you?"
"I think it was just me and I know who it was," Leo said, scratching his eyebrow with the back of his thumb.
His father was taken aback by what he said and looked at him with wide eyes. "You do?"
"Yes."
"Then why didn't you tell Harry to commence the search and arrest? They have been searching aimlessly the entire day."
Leo was silent for a second, then cleared his throat. "I want to deal with this myself. Not even you are allowed to interfere," he said, again surprising his father. Tobias was also silent for a few seconds, trying to process his son's request.
For such an offense, the sentence was clear. Beheading. He wasn't too keen on killing people in front of the entire kingdom and preferred imprisonment where criminals could be given a chance to change their ways, but on matters concerning his family, it was different. As soon as he received the news, he was ready to behead the perpetrator, but now Leo wanted to spare them?
"Alright. I trust that you know what you're doing," he finally conceded and Leo sighed in relief.
"Thank you, father."
"Go get some rest. It's been a long day."
Leo stood up and straightened his clothes. "You should rest too. You don't look too good." He left his father's office and walked to his own room on the west wing where he and his brother resided.
He didn't know how, but even from the distance where the arrow was shot, he saw the faces of the attackers and he had sworn to kill them instantly. But his anger had died down and he had thought things through, deciding that the woman was more interesting than dangerous, so he thought of another way to pay her back.
A sly smirk slowly curved his lips as he thought out the events for the following day.
When he passed his brother's room, Leo felt something strange and stopped. He looked back and his eyes searched the hallway, but there was nothing. But he couldn't just ignore the feeling at the back of his mind.
He knew it was part of the curse, but ever since he started showing the signs, he couldn't decide whether it was a curse or a blessing. It gave him certain abilities that no normal human could have.
*Knock! Knock!*
He waited for Sebastian to tell him to enter, but there was no sound from the other side of the door. His eyebrows furrowed.
Was he asleep?
He pushed the door open, and immediately spotted the empty bed despite there not being any light in the room. He didn't even realize he could now see in the dark.
"Sebastian?" He called as he walked in, but there was no one.
Without even searching the bathroom, he walked directly to the open curtains and saw a thick rope hanging from the window.