Chapter 75:
Trouble and Strife
Standing in front of the wooden fence surrounding the paddock, Silas lifted himself onto his toes as he rested his hands on the top rung of the fence. Towards the far side of the field were two young figures, heads full of light blonde hair. They ran back and forth, jumping around the village’s horses that were standing with lax postures, calmly eating grass as the two young elves bounced around them. Hearing their laughter was enough to remind Silas that they were there, safe and sound.
Grabbing onto the top rung of the fence, Silas stepped onto the bottom rung and nimbly jumped over the fence, landing on the long grass in the field with a soft thud. He stood tall, the wind pushing back his long hair with a gentle breeze, turning towards the young twins with a nostalgic smile on his face. He lifted his feet and began to walk towards them, stepping down on the high stalks of grass with lifted steps.
As he approached the twins, only a short distance away from the two distracted children, he called out to them with a loud voice, holding in his emotions as he yelled, “Cirdan, Aurelia, I’m here!” As his voice reached the pair, they stopped running around the horses and turned to face him, still maintaining the appearance he remembered. Their faces changed quickly from surprise to joy as they stumbled across the grass, holding their arms out as if they were waving back to him, running towards his open arms.
“We missed you!” Aurelia was the first to reach Silas, latching onto his left arm, shortly joined by Cirdan who grabbed onto his right arm with an equally wide smile.
“We thought you’d never come back!”
Lifting up his hands, Silas patted the tops of their heads with a gentle laugh as he said, “I missed you two.”
After their short reunion, the twins took each of Silas’s hands and walked with him out of the paddock and back towards the center of the village. The three chatted like they had in the past, laughing and smiling as they greeted the various villagers ambling around the village, all in good health and vibrant as they were before. The sense of calm and peace was never broken here, and Silas felt there was no need to stay alert and aware. Rather, he could feel safe once again, surrounded by those he cared about, unbothered by the war, unbothered by the fear of death awaiting them at any minute.
With Silas being dragged by the twins, it only took them a short while to reach their home, and as they approached the tall tree surrounding their home, Silas found himself stopping abruptly, almost causing the twins to trip as his feet were planted in the ground, as if something had begun to weigh down his body. His eyes were full of joy, seeing that person that had visited him not long ago in his dreams.
It seemed like the Gods had truly answered his pleas to see her again, Silas could only think to himself. Standing in front of the door to his home was a short, curly haired figure. Her face slowly turned to face the three, her long, pale pink skirt fluttering in the warm air as she smiled brightly, holding back her curly brown hair with her hand as she said in her familiar, warm tone, “I’m so glad that you’re back.”
The twins had already approached Emmeline, the twins long since removing their hands from Silas’s grasp, but Silas could only stand frozen for a moment, taking in the scene that had left his memory so many years ago. While the twins ran towards the house, Silas was only a short start behind them, his eyes red as he ran, his breath catching in his throat as he ran towards Emmeline, just as he wanted to when they laid together in the field together.
The short figure stood with her arms open, welcoming Silas’s messy embrace as he wrapped his arms around her, holding onto her back as he pulled her to his chest. The smell of fresh flowers and elven herbs flooded to his stuffed nose, and he held onto Emmeline like a lifeline, placing his head on her shoulder in a forlorn fashion. As he stood, holding her to his chest, Emmeline reached up her petite hand and gently patted Silas on the back, her face filled with gentleness as she consoled Silas with a familiar pat.
After a long, sweet reunion, Silas finally pulled back, his face flushed. The smile on his face, however, was full of joy as he asked Emmeline, “I know it hasn’t been long, but it still feels like it’s been forever since we’ve last seen each other.” He said rhetorically, feeling the sourness burn his nose.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Emmeline laughed, “The important thing is the time we’re spending together now.” She moved her gaze to the young twins, who were standing beside her with frowns on their faces, wishing to spend more time with their big brother now that he had returned. “Cirdan, Aurelia, why don’t you help Maeir inside? I’m sure she would appreciate your help while Silas and I are talking.” Her tone was gentle as she spoke, maintaining her gentle atmosphere as she directed them inside, allowing her and Silas some privacy.
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While Silas reminisced, Emmeline grabbed his hand and said to him, wrapping his calloused palm with her warm hand, “There’s not much time, but I wanted to come see you. The rest of the village will be celebrating your return later today with a festival, so I wanted to see you before then.” Her eyes were bright, holding back excitement.
Silas smiled, but his head dropped to the side in confusion, “Why is everyone celebrating my return? I didn’t go anywhere?”
“Oh, Silas! Listen to you, teasing me!” Emmeline said with a light, gentle laugh, squeezing Silas’s hand, “But, you know, everyone’s so glad you returned, I’m surprised they haven’t all grabbed you yet. They’re probably waiting for the festival tonight!”
Silas’s smile faltered a little as he listened to Emmeline, confused, “There’s a festival tonight? I’m sure Cirdan and Aurelia have been talking incessantly about it, so how did I forget?”
Emmeline let go of Silas’s hand, her pale arm lifting up as she rested her cool hand on his face. She wiped a smudge of dirt away from his cheek with her thumb as she said, “It’s probably, because you’re so tired. It’s been a long journey for you.” Slowly, Emmeline lowered her hand, “Go get some rest, and I’ll see you tonight!”
“Uh, Emmeline! Wait!” Silas said, reaching out his hand to grab her as she slipped away from him. He looked down at his closed fist in shock, “When did you get so fast?”
With a mischievous smile, Emmeline stuck a finger to her lips, as if asking Silas not to say anything more, “It’s a secret!” Emmeline then skipped a few steps away from Silas, waving and laughing, “I’ll come pick you up tonight before the festival! Wait for me!”
Silas laughed awkwardly and smiled, watching Emmeline disappear into the horizon. As a cool breath blew gently around him, he looked down at his closed fist with a quizzical expression. Silas felt oddly out of himself, as if he was looking at a stranger’s fist. He opened it slowly, looking down at his long, familiar fingers. Suddenly frustrated, he clenched his fist and shook his head, turning on his heel as he mumbled to himself.
“Emmeline’s right. I’m just tired. I should rest before the festival. Then,” Silas paused his spoken thought, looking around his familiar surroundings, “Then I’ll feel like myself again.”
…
Days had passed inside the palace, and the pace of the palace had increased again, leaving the servants to bustle back and forth, finalizing the preparations for the upcoming hunt, the hunt that had been planned completely by the queen herself. The previous rumors of the bridal candidates had all been snuffed out by the queen’s formal hunt announcement, but there were some servants still curious if the prince had truly given up on his plan. The palace garden and forest had been cleaned and prepared by the servants, but there were still many other tasks that needed to be completed before the final ceremony.
Stepping down the main hall to the prince’s sitting room, Beau was dressed in his formal suit, appearing even more well-dressed than usual. His hair had been pushed back, styled to the side. His sword rested to the side of his waist, resting against his hip as he walked past a group of servants holding materials, completely unaware of his presence as they quietly trailed away down the side stairwell of the hall. Beau looked over his shoulder for a short moment, watching the servants trail away before he approached the prince’s room, knocking with the tip of his knuckles.
“It’s Captain Laurent.” Beau said, announcing his presence. The other guards had been temporarily sent away, most likely by the prince himself to keep the meeting between them private. There were too many eyes and ears in the palace already, including the ones targeting the Faelfierian Marchioness Olicia Hallan. With Clarence’s past poisoning, more and more problems were falling on Beau’s lap, but there was a pattern between the incidents Beau had become aware of, a pattern he had been closely following. Now was the time to report to the prince.
There was a momentary pause before a voice responded, “Come in.” There was only the sound of the prince’s voice, no other movements. Having been called into the room, Beau released the stiff, annoyed breath he had been holding and grasped the doorknob, shooting a look around the hall before he swiftly opened the door and entered the room, closing the door behind him with an audible click.
The prince was sitting in the arm chair in the empty room, holding a porcelain teacup in his hand as he read over a spray of documents, lining the small table in the sitting room. His eyebrows were momentarily furrowed, staring down at a particularly large document, but as Beau entered the room, his expression lightened and he wordlessly gestured for the captain to sit down on the couch to the side, the smile on his face unreadable.
“Good morning, Your Highness.” Beau bowed formally before he sat, resting his body at the edge of the seat, anticipating a difficult discussion. “I have gathered the intel we had discussed previously, and I noticed someone suspicious, causing some concerns. I came to report it to you.” There was another tea glass and other confectioneries prepared, but after the previous incident involving the prince and the teapot, Beau had no intention of touching the items. Instead, he rested his hands in his lap as he sat straight, holding the stiff aura of a trained knight.
Clarence rested his teacup soundlessly on the saucer resting on the table, his shirt sleeve lifting as he stretched his arm, which revealed white bandages wrapped up Clarence’s arm. Beau shot a quick glance over to them, “What did you find, Captain Laurent?” Clarence asked directly, a smile resting on his playful face as he listened with his full attention, leaning forward slightly with some interest, as if he already knew what the man would say. Clarence let his sleeve sag on his arm, revealing more bandages to Beau, as if trying to indirectly punish Beau for failing to protect Clarence from burning himself.
Beau stared at the prince undaughtingly and said, maintaining his steadfastness, “After the poisoning incident, I completed an interrogation on the suspected servants. We found two suspects in the kitchen staff, who, after interrogation, admitted to poisoning Your Majesty’s meal. They would not say who had hired them, however, and afterward were deemed unnecessary. With Your Majesty’s approval, we executed the two suspects-”
“I remember my own poisoning, Captain Laurent.” Clarence said with an amused smile, “Please tell me what I don’t know. What have you done since?” Beau nodded in acknowledgement.
“Since the poisoning, we doubled security all across the palace and terminated your previous food taster. My team and I have also interrogated all essential palace staff. It has been silent since your poisoning, until Marchioness Olicia Hallan brought to my attention that one of the candidates, whom she has a strong suspicion is Duchess Cordelia Bernard, and a fellow accomplice are planning to frame another candidate for a crime at the upcoming hunt. She believes this is because of the Duchess’s recent fall from good standing with her incident at the ball. At your request, I hand picked guards to secretly protect the marchioness and Marquis Cyernic. They will continue to do so, until you deem it no longer necessary.”
“Good,” Clarence said with a nonchalant nod, “And what did you find with this investigation?”
“We found that there is merit in the marchioness’s accusations, so we are proceeding with the utmost caution.”
Hearing this, Clarence laughed to himself, looking up at the captain with a capricious smile as he said, “Attempting to frame one of the candidates? So they’re trying to usurp the position of queen. How sneaky of them.” His words trailed off as he picked up the tea cup again, taking a sip as his smile faded lightly, showing the irritation in his gaze. “I guess that means it’s time to smoke out the traitor, Captain Laurent.”
Beau nodded his head, “I have begun preparations to search the servant’s quarters and palace rosters. All suspicious persons have been noted and will be investigated.”
“Good work.” The prince said with a smile, “There’s something else I would like to do to tempt that traitor, Captain Laurent, something only you can do for me.” Clarence looked at the captain, his arm resting on the back of the couch while his other hand rested on his bent knee, looking unbothered by the current going-ons of the palace. There was no trace of anxiety on his face.
“What do you propose, Your Highness?” Beau questioned, cautious interest lining his words.
“It is easy enough to command a group of servants to complete tasks for you, so much so that they could use an endless supply of them to keep up their antics. But that won’t stop the root of the problem. And we can’t simply arrest that Vartien snake, since it would ruin relations with our countries. We need to catch her, and her hidden little accomplice, in the act. We need to catch this person by surprise, grab that traitor by their own neck, and snap it before they are aware of their own demise.” Clarence’s ever changing emotions shifted with his dark words, leaving a chill to run down the captain’s back. “That is why I propose we make a small change to the hunt.”
The hunt again? The queen had already announced the itinerary for the hunt. Changing it will not be easy. What is he thinking? Beau thought to himself, feeling he knew where the prince’s thoughts lay, “What changes would you like to propose?”
Clarence grinned maliciously, “This is what I want you to do.” Reaching into the stack of papers on his desk, the prince grabbed a small piece of parchment. The prince’s neat handwriting was written compactly on the paper, detailed with a map of the Yursear palace garden and surrounding woods, prepared by the queen’s attendants for the hunt. Captain Laurent’s eyes trailed over the notes on the map, his eyes narrowing in understanding as the prince directed his thoughts, moving his finger across the detailed, hand-drawn map.
“Burn it once you have it memorized.” Clarence said, directing his gaze towards Beau, whose eyes were focused on the map. He nodded, but continued to look it over, his eyes taking in every line and turn. Once he felt confident, Beau grabbed the papers and burned them under the thin fire of a nearby candle, holding the papers until they were burned into charred flakes of parchment, no longer recognizable.
Just as the discussion between the two began to slow, there was a knock at the door. The familiar voice of the young Marquis Cyneric resonated through the door, and, hearing the familiar young man’s voice, there was no hesitation from the prince to send the captain out. Clarence waved his hand with a nod of his head, sending away Beau with a short, ceremonious, “I have faith you will do the right thing, Captain Laurent.” Hearing those words, Beau could only bow once more as he departed the prince’s sitting room, quickly passing the young marquis with another short, formal bow as he continued on his way towards the southern stairwell.
After the door had been shut by Alywin, he turned to Clarence and asked with a puzzled expression, “What was Captain Laurent doing here?”
“Just some boring reports. Nothing you’d be interested in, Alywin.” Clarence responded nonchalantly, patting a spot on the couch as he smiled and said in a doting tone, “Sit and join me for some tea. I have some new ideas to discuss with you.”
…
Just a note, “trouble and strife” is a Cockney rhyme slang for “wife“, but I like the double meaning it has here for both Clare and Silas. I found this while researching for another title, but I really liked this one. Researching titles and words has always been something I’ve enjoyed. If you wonder where we get them from, it’s mostly from online dictionaries or through synonyms of other words I am looking for C:
Thank you all for reading, and again a huge thanks to Hunny for her help helping me finish this monster, as well as editing and working with me for the past two weeks. I finally got around to writing again, so this week may sound a little different writing wise. If you don’t notice, that’s good, actually ♥ ahaha
Our next update will be Christmas. Instead of a special chapter, we will post a regular chapter and maybe a small surprise if I can get it done in time. I’m actually working on a drawing commission, so we’ll see! I’ve been working hard! >y<
