Chapter Four

The servants bowed as Prince Aldric walked into The Great Hall, Darian right behind him as always. 

Darian was his secretary, confidant, personal assistant, and his friend. Aldric didn't have many people around him. When you are someone in a powerful position as he was, thousands could surround you and you could have only one person who truly supports you.

Darian was that for him, a reliable shoulder to lean on.

He had a stressful day, and it was about to end terribly as well. The note Darian passed to him while he was attending to the ministers in the royal court weighed on his mind and they hadn't gotten a chance to talk privately since then, which put him on the edge. He was tempted to ask Darian about it immediately, but he just walked towards the dining table. It was a conversation they needed to have in secret.

The Great Hall was where the Royal family had their dinner, and he was eating alone once again. Princess Yara, his beloved younger sister, had travelled once again to visit their aunt and spend some time with her. Yara was hardly ever in one place. She was always travelling or visiting different people. It did not help that she was the only company Aldric had apart from Darian.

Only when he sat did the servants raise their heads from the bowing position. He was always tempted to invite Darian to the table with him, but Darian had made it clear that he didn't want that because only royals were allowed to sit there for their meals. As usual, Darian stood far back to the left, along with everyone else, all watching and waiting for Aldric to finish his food.

Once he finished, which he signalled by dropping his spoon, the maids scurried around to clear the table. He stood and beckoned on Darian. 

"The rest of you may leave. I shall resign to my quarters now." 

They all filed away in orderly lines, heads bowed, while Aldric and Darian made their way through the long, never-ending passageways in silence. 

As they got to Aldric's private quarters, he slowed their speed to a strut. "What did you mean by spies who work for The Anarchists have infiltrated the palace?" 

Darian held open his room door, "I know we're in your part of the palace, but the walls have ears, Your Highness. I'd prefer we have this conversation in your room." 

"It's that serious?" Aldric's heart was pounding.

"Yes, they might be here listening. Nowhere is safe." 

They walked to his room door and Aldric dismissed the guards there. As they closed the door behind them, Aldric started to bombard Darian with questions. 

"Slow down please, I don't want you to get too worried about them," Darian said with a calming hand on Aldric's shoulder. He'd switched to friend mode, as‌ he always did when they were behind closed doors. 

But how could he not worry about them? The Anarchists were a group of God knows how many and their focus was bringing Prince Aldric down from the throne because they believed he killed his brother King Galen to take over the throne and become king.

Which was so far from the truth.

He had become crown prince after his brother's death and was ruling before he got crowned.

"Okay, but what did you see?" Aldric asked. He needed to know what made Darian pass him that note.

"This morning I was at the pond near the palace walls when an arrow almost hit me. At first, I thought it was an assassination attempt on me but I think it was a mistake on the person's part, the person who shot the arrow I mean." Darian paused, put his hands in his pockets, and pulled out a piece of red cloth then he started pacing. " I noticed this was attached to the arrow." He held out the red cloth for Aldric to take. 

The red cloth felt so ominous. Aldric slowly unravelled it to see the message written with black ink.

Behold the whispers on the wind, carried by the spirits of the wronged. From the forgotten depths, we gather an assembly of shattered souls, bound by a common purpose: to tear down the veil of royalty and expose the Crown Prince's true face. With daggers poised and hearts aflame, we march towards a destiny, heralding a new era where righteous leaders reign and justice prevails.

Aldric's heart sank. So there were spies in the palace?

 The moment he took the throne, he became a shell of himself, something he had never been interested in. He never wanted to be king. Never saw it as a possibility until his brother King Galen died with no heir to the throne, leaving him to do the one thing he was glad to have escaped all his life.

Becoming king. 

He wasn't crowned yet, but he was going to be and that's what the Anarchists were trying to prevent.

Aldric sometimes resented his brother for leaving him and Yara all alone with all these responsibilities. Galen was an excellent king, so much that it was as though he was born to be king. Whereas Aldric was just on autopilot. He was scared for his life and the life of Princess Yara. He knew what rebellions could do to a nation and how bloody they were and no matter how much he tried to prevent one, The Anarchists just kept growing bigger and converting innocent citizens into haters.

"Are you alright, Your Royal Highness?" Darian asked, his face soaked with worry. 

"Yes… yes, I'm okay, as well as I can be in this situation."

"This must mean that their spies have infiltrated the palace and they could be anywhere," Darian said, stating the obvious, "So you have to be careful."

"I will," Aldric said, "But one can never be careful enough in the palace." 

As soon as Darian left, Aldric went to his closet to change into his sleepwear. He wanted to escape his problems by sleeping. Usually, it's the maids that set his sleepwear ready and all, but he sent them away for today. He wanted to be alone. 

The closet door was shut tight, and he pulled, but it didn't budge. Then he pulled on the door with more force and not only did the door open finally, he was suddenly staring into electric blue eyes.