[IC] Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

[sukikyoufu]

Glad that he had said it felt fine she was thankful that she could do something right, she wasn’t a complete failure and that was something. It was a slither of hope amongst her dark thoughts. He must be in pain though and I don’t have any painkillers for him. I doubt he has ever experienced pain like this before. Another thing that’s my fault. As the silence lapsed over them her thoughts spiralled back into the darkness and despair, she felt for all that she had caused. It wasn’t just Cas that she had hurt greatly, but the fact she had also betrayed her father practically walked out on what little family she had left still played at her mind.

Iris wasn’t just worried over him finding her and killing her, it ran deeper than that. It was hard to deny the fact she loved her father, turn her back on him after everything because she did love him. He was her father; he had helped raise her. Somewhat looked after her after her mother passed, sure his parenting hadn’t always been ethical, but he still loved her. She believed that, she had to believe that and even though he wasn’t right it was hard to push that away. Regis may have strayed from the path, but what if she could have changed him?

His voice had pulled her from her thoughts, and she jumped at the touch on her forearm, the warm hand that she wished she could just hold once more. “B-But… I can’t fix it. This can’t be fixed, and you know that.” Feeling her own breath hitch as she tried to avoid his gaze but couldn’t, looking him in the eyes she felt her own well up again as she trembled. “How can you say that? H-How can you say I’m not a bad person.” Feeling the distress as she glanced around the room the despair in her voice evident, she could feel her heart pounding away as she lowered her gaze. “… A-After everything. A-After all I did…” Shaking her head as she tried to hide behind her hair that had fallen in front of her face, she was so upset and she didn’t want him to see the hurt in her own eyes.

Finally finding some bedding Maisie folding it neatly placing it on the bed, glancing around she looked for anything else that would make his stay a bit more comfortable whilst here. A part of her was looking for distractions as she knew they had to be talking, she knew her friend wasn’t the best at keeping her emotions in check when tired or on the verge. Maisie knew Cas liked her and she was certain he would at least ask or try to make her feel better, regardless of everything he seemed like a decent person.

Glancing to the door she approached it and placed her ear to the wood just trying to hear anything, she didn’t want to walk in like Cas had done. Biting her lip as she took the time she cringed as she heard Iris refer to herself as a bad person, she wanted to jump in and say don’t be stupid, but she knew it wouldn’t help. Not yet. Sighing to herself she looked over at the clock deciding she would give it a bit of time before returning.

[Rogue Sloth]

“Things can’t go back to the way they were before. That’s true,” Cas agreed, being logical. He wasn’t going to make her any false promises that everything would be perfectly fine again, because that would just cause more problems later on. “But you still stopped your dad from killing me, and you’re helping me get home. You don’t have to undo the past to fix a mistake, Iris. Just the fact that you’re trying is enough.” And he meant it. No matter what had happened before, he was sincere in his appreciation of everything she was doing for him now. At first, he hadn’t believed that she was actually helping him, then he’d been confused when he’d realized she was really sneaking him out of Tongsen. Today, he’d come to the conclusion that she genuinely regretted bringing him here in the first place and was doing her best to make up for what she’d done.

Seeing the tears form in her eyes, he gently squeezed her arm in a comforting gesture. The part of him that still longed to rekindle what they’d had in the capital tempted him to gather her up in an embrace, but he restrained himself. To hug her right now would be like offering a false promise without words, and he couldn’t do that to her. They were never going to be able to be as close as they once were, so he didn’t move, trying to sooth her in a more platonic manner than he wanted to on the inside. He had to remember that it was for the best that he maintained some boundaries between them, so they could eventually part ways without painfully breaking another bond.

His resolve wavered at her following question though. “I can say it because it’s true,” he said stubbornly, holding her gaze until she looked away. “If you were a bad person, you wouldn’t be feeling like this right now. A bad person wouldn’t care who they hurt, but you obviously do. Like I said, nobody’s perfect. Good people make mistakes too. Sometimes you think you’re doing the right thing, and you find out later on that it wasn’t the right choice. That doesn’t make you horrible, it makes you… well, human.” As he spoke, he absentmindedly stroked her arm without realizing what he was doing. The gesture was so natural with her that it was almost a reflex.

Pausing briefly, he reflected on how ironic it was that he was saying some of these things to her. It was advice he knew to be true but often found difficult to believe, himself. Of all people, he knew what it was like to beat himself up over minor mistakes. It didn’t help that his father only perpetuated the habit by accepting nothing less than perfection from him when he helped out with kingly duties. He understood in his head that mistakes were a normal part of life, but in his heart, he always regretted it whenever they happened. He also knew that meant that a few honest words probably weren’t going to make Iris feel much better. It was hard to argue with emotions.

“You may not believe me, but that’s what I think,” he finished firmly.

[sukikyoufu]

Iris knew she had stopped her dad from killing him, she knew she was trying to help him get home and as much as it was good of her to do that it didn’t fix anything for her. As much as he said she didn’t have to undo the past to fix it, that she was trying she just didn’t feel it was good enough. Nothing would be good enough, nothing she could do would ever change that. All it had taken was one choice, one action that had completely changed their lives and not for the better. “This never would have happened had you not saved me in the woods.” The words left her mouth before she could stop them, a dark truth of her emotions. That one sentence that had been on her mind for a while, how different things would have been had she not been saved from the forest.

Even though her head was bowed, her eyes downcast she couldn’t help but look at the touch of his hand, the stroke on her arm that stirred up emotions she was trying to fight against. The slither of hope that they could rekindle, that they could work something out but the minute she felt it she tried to squash the thoughts back down. Even though her heart raced at the touch. The fact it felt so inviting and she wanted nothing more than to just hold him and feel the comfort, she knew she couldn’t.

Cas was right though, even though all his words saying how it was true, how she wasn’t a bad person because she had felt regret, the guilt. A bad person wouldn’t care who they hurt, and she did. I just can’t see it right now and here I am letting him comfort me when I don’t even know what he could be going through. He’s suffering worse than me and I am just being so selfish. What is wrong with me? I am the worst. Flinching at her own thoughts, her own words that she was beating herself up over she clenched her hands curling them into fists.

“Hey.” Maisie spoke up as she finally returned to the room with blankets and pillows for Cas, “I think it’s high time everyone gets some rest. I know it’s early, but you’re both probably tired.” Placing the covers by the sofa she glanced over at Iris before looking at the tea and the pie that was barely touched bar a few bites. “I have an idea for tomorrow. To get you past those gates.” Changing the subject onto something else, something that her friend would be able to focus on she hoped it would give some sort of positivity to her.

Grabbing the plate and full cup of tea she moved them to the kitchen to clean up later as she continued on, keeping an eye on her friend. “I was thinking. Tomorrow you both leave, keep near the gate. I’ll contact Ethan say I’ve spotted you by your house. They’ll instantly go back to look giving you an opening to slip through. What do you think?”

[Rogue Sloth]

Cas blinked in surprise when Iris blamed their situation on the moment he’d rescued her in the woods. Does she seriously think I’d be better off if she’d died? He thought in disbelief. He’d known that she had been feeling bad about what she’d done, but he hadn’t realized just how deeply her pain had cut her. To hear her say that it would have been better for her to have lost her life in the woods broke his heart, and he bit his lip, fighting the urge to hold her. As much as he wanted to, he was afraid of opening the door too wide and getting too close to her again. He knew himself well enough to predict that if he let himself be anything more than an acquaintance to her, he was going to fall just like he had when they’d first met.

“Don’t say that,” he murmured, leaving his hand placed on her arm. “Neither of us knows what would have happened if I hadn’t helped you. Something tells me your dad would have found a way to get what he wanted whether it was you who did the dirty work or someone else.” He shuddered, certain that it was true. There were plenty of other rebels around who would have been more than happy to kill him in Iris’s place. Her kind heart was the only reason why he hadn’t been assassinated while he was still in the capital. “In a way, I think it was a good thing you were involved, because you’re the only one who would have realized that what he was doing was wrong and helped me get away. I owe you my life just like you owed me yours.”

At the sound of Maisie’s voice, he looked up, relieved to see that the other woman had returned. He desperately wanted to console Iris, but it wasn’t his place to do so when they already had a history that they needed to forget. Her friend would be a better resource for her to rely on right now, so he didn’t inadvertently pour salt on fresh wounds.

“Good idea,” he agreed with a yawn when she said they should get some sleep even though it was early. Honestly, he’d lost track of the time long, long ago. All he knew was that he was so exhausted, he was starting to develop a tremor. He had so little energy left that he could barely hold himself upright, and the thought of getting a full night of sleep was enticing.

When she mentioned her idea to get them past Ethan, he listened with interest, happy to know that she was still going to help them sneak through the gate even after they left. “I say that I’m willing to try anything at this point,” he expressed with a sigh and a shake of his head. “If you think that might work, then we should do it.” Turning back to Iris, he frowned concernedly and squeezed her arm. “Come on. You should get some sleep. You need it just as much as I do,” he coaxed her, hoping she would actually sleep when she went with her friend. They probably had a long and hard journey ahead of them tomorrow, and that meant they needed to build up the strength to handle it.

[sukikyoufu]

Even with listening to his words she couldn’t agree, deep down she knew he spoke the truth, but it was hard to push past how she was currently feeling. It was hard to get out of that kind of hole. Trying to smile at his words, how he put the ordeal in a somewhat positive light that had it not been her someone else would have killed him. There was truth to it, if it had been someone else at the task, he could very well be dead, but would they have been able to slip past security? They were all questions she had and answers she would never get because it hadn’t played out like that.

“Please, don’t say that. You don’t owe me anything.” She didn’t want him to think like that, he didn’t owe her anything not compared to her and what she owed him. It wasn’t just the fact she had betrayed him but everything he had done for her in the Capital, he had practically homed her, clothed her and fed her he had even paid for her hospital care. There was so much she wanted to do to repay him, but she knew she would never be able to repay him. Iris had no money to her name, nothing and she couldn’t very well pay him back with nothing. “I… owe you so much and I can never repay that… not like I thought I could…”

Sighing as she looked over at Maisie glad, she had come in because she didn’t know what else to say to Cas. Although he had said he forgave her she couldn’t forgive herself for what she had done. Forcing the smile, she nodded at Maisies plan, “I think that’s a great idea… but I don’t want him coming after you. Will he not blame you?”

“He won’t blame me; he’d be stupid too considering I run the bakery with one of the only food sources in this district.” Maisie scoffed as she moved back into the room, “We can figure it out tomorrow, come on you.” Grabbing her friends hand she pulled her to her feet to drag her to the bedroom to get some sleep, she was not taking no for an answer as she knew that rest was needed for the both of them. “Go on, go get yourself comfortable, I’ll make tea for us all and we can get some rest.” Grinning as she urged Iris to head to the bedroom.

Keeping the smile in place she turned to Cas placing her hand on his shoulder gently, “Thank you. Sleep well.” Turning her back on him she moved to the bedroom not feeling any better, she was so stuck in her own head. Spiralling over her thoughts of how she had caused this and the what ifs if he hadn’t had been around at that moment in the forest.

“Do you need anything else?” Maisie asked watching as Iris disappeared into the bedroom. Turning her attention back to Cas she smiled, “Did you also want a cup of tea? I highly recommend a cup before bed; it helps calm you.”

[Rogue Sloth]

As Maisie helped Iris to her feet, Cas took over the sofa, kicking his feet up and spreading out the blanket she’d brought out for him to use for the night. He was still a little unsettled by Iris’s concerning frame of mind, but he doubted that was going to have any effect on how well he slept. He was going to be a comatose lump on the couch as soon as he passed out. It was a good thing they were staying with Maisie for now, because he was about ninety percent sure he wouldn’t wake up if Iris needed anything before morning.

Smoothing out the blanket over his legs, he looked up as he felt a hand on his shoulder. “You too,” he said, returning Iris’s smile. He could tell she was just putting on a tough face to hide her inner turmoil, but if she didn’t want to talk to him anymore, there was nothing he could do to change that. He just hoped she would have someone to confide in after they parted ways at the capital, so she wouldn’t drive herself crazy with all the self-blame. Whether it was Maisie or someone else, she needed someone to tell her that she shouldn’t carry all the weight of everything that had happened. It wasn’t fair of her to do that to herself.

With another yawn, he settled down on his back and slipped the pillow underneath his head. It wasn’t quite the same as having a bed to himself, but couch surfing was still more comfortable than he’d expected. The furniture was long enough that he only had to bend his knees a little to fit on it horizontally, and it was much softer than anything else he’d slept on in the last few days. It was even better than the mattress in the bomb shelter, since it didn’t have any loose springs to dig into his skin. He closed his eyes contentedly, This definitely isn’t the worst place to spend the night.

“I might not wake up for a month if I get any more tired than I already am,” he looked up amusedly when Maisie asked if he wanted any tea. “But what the hell. I’ll have a cup if you don’t mind making one for me.” Knowing that he wasn’t going to be sleeping at that very second now that he had a warm drink on the way, he propped himself up a little higher with his shoulders leaning against the armrest.

While he waited for the tea, he contemplated her other question. He didn’t really need anything else at that moment, but there was one thing he could think of that he wanted to do. In hindsight, he was embarrassed that he hadn’t thought of it sooner. “Also, Maisie?” he called to get her attention without getting up. “Would you happen to have a phone I could borrow?” He assumed that she and Iris had to have been keeping in touch with each other somehow. If the other girl had a cellphone, he could try to call his father or Jacob or someone inside the capital who could tell him why no one had come to get him after all this time. It was concerning to him that after more than half a week, he still hadn’t come across any soldiers looking to bring him home. At the very least, he wanted to hear an explanation as for why it seemed like he’d been forgotten.

The crown prince goes missing, and the world keeps on turning as if nothing changed, he thought with a pang of annoyance. Although he wished it wasn’t true, Regis’s words had stuck with him more than they should have. The dark parts of his thoughts had begun sewing threads of doubt that the rebel leader was right, and that his life didn’t matter to anyone else. He needed to make the phone call for his own peace of mind.

[sukikyoufu]

Maisie boiled the kettle as she glanced over at Cas as he made himself comfortable on the sofa, a part of her wished she could do more but for now this was the best. A place for them to stay and eat, it was better than nothing. “Gosh I hope you don’t stay on that sofa for a whole month, no offence but this is a guy free zone.” Grinning to herself as she busied herself making cups of tea for them all, as much as she was a happy carefree spirit, she couldn’t help but worry for her friend. Not only that she was worried for the Prince because of the wound and being away from the Capital. There was a war coming and she could feel it.

“Huh?” Shaking her head as she brought over a cup of tea, she set his on the table listening to his request, “Oh! Wow, why didn’t we think of that before? We were so caught up in everything we forgot how to communicate.” Laughing to herself as she reached for her bag grabbing out her mobile, it looked like a brick phone. Nothing was fancy or smart about it, but it could call and text which was the most important. “I bet her phone died.” Contemplating the thought of what happened to her friends’ phone, “Or she left it behind.” Shrugging her shoulders, she handed Cas the phone smiling. “This could just be the call needed… but… all I ask if you don’t give away this address. Please. Only because I know what the soldiers are like, what destruction they can bring, and they will arrest before listening to reason whether or not you say we helped you.”

Moving back into the kitchen she took a sip at her own tea smiling, “You can say the residential district of twelve though. It’s not a massive district or residential area so they should know were you are with that information.” Using the kitchen side to lean against she would wait until the phone call was over, after all it could mean good news and she could use it to help Iris out of her slump. She knew how dangerous that mindset could be, and she only wanted to help.

The emotional roller coaster didn’t end, as much as Iris wanted to be happy and act strong inside, she was a complete and utter mess. Looking around Maisies room it felt familiar, she had been here before, and the warmth of the room gave her a little bit of comfort. Glancing at the bed she moved over sitting herself down smiling at the comfort, it was soft loads better than the bomb shelter she had stayed in the night before. Fingers touched the fabric feeling the rough cotton beneath her fingers her gaze dropped to the floor, she could feel how on edge she was. It felt like at any moment she would just break down and cry again.

Pathetic.

Thinking to herself as she curled up on the bed trying to ignore her emotions, she didn’t want to burden anyone with how she felt because to her it wasn’t important. Right now the most important thing in her life was getting Cas home and ensuring his safety, fixing the mistake she had made in the first place.

[Rogue Sloth]

“I hope not too,” Cas agreed with a tired smile when Maisie said she hoped he wouldn’t stay for a month. “You’re nice company and all, but I want to get home as soon as possible… Wouldn’t want to intrude on your ‘guy free zone’ any longer than I have to.” He winked at her jokingly as he added on the last bit. In all seriousness, Iris’s friend was more pleasant to be around than he’d expected. He had nothing against the amnesiac, but given her track record with Ethan, Regis, and whoever else she knew that was part of the rebellion, he hadn’t had the highest hopes that he would get along with anyone else she knew. Their hostess was turning out to be someone he could have seen himself becoming friends with if the circumstances were different.

When she brought over his tea, he laughed along with her. “Today’s been hectic though,” he shrugged one shoulder. “To be honest, I’m pretty sure I forgot cellphones existed for about twenty-four hours.” Going a few days without access to one had definitely shifted his priorities. He’d gotten so used to relying on things he could see in front of his face that the thought of finding more tools like electronics hadn’t really crossed his mind. He was just glad he’d thought of calling his father before he and Iris left her friend’s place tomorrow.

“I’ll just give them a meeting location to pick me up somewhere outside,” he assured Maisie as he took the phone from her hand. He didn’t really understand why she was so concerned about the soldiers when he’d already told her that they would listen to him, but he was too exhausted to waste time arguing about it. Instead, he dialed the number he knew by heart to reach the royal family’s residence and lifted the brick-like phone to his ear while he waited for his tea to cool.

It wasn’t his father or a servant who answered the phone though.

Who is this? An unfamiliar voice demanded through the speaker, masculine and hostile in its tone.

Cas blinked, thrown off until he realized that his call must have been intercepted by capital security, since it was coming from an unknown number in the twelfth district. His initial surprise was replaced with a wave of relief. He’d needed to get in contact with the military anyway, so this was much faster than speaking to the king first. “Oh, thank god,” he sighed. “This is Caspian. I’m stuck in Tongsen, and I need—”

Alright, I’m going to stop you right there, the soldier interrupted in a growl. I don’t have time for this nonsense right now. Do yourself a favor and don’t call this number again. The warning was punctuated with a dial tone as the other man hung up.

“Um, what the hell?” Cas stared at the phone incredulously. He hadn’t known what he was expecting when he’d tried to call home, but this grumpy guard definitely wasn’t helping. With a twinge of annoyance, he punched in the number again and lifted the device to his ear.

The same soldier answered: Listen, kid, if I have to tell you one more time—

“No, you listen to me,” Cas snapped. Under normal circumstances, he would never have lost his temper with a disrespectful soldier this quickly. However, right now, he was tired, achy, and didn’t have the patience to put up with anyone else who would delay him from getting back to the mansion. “You’re going to send an escort team to the gate between Tongsen and Bel Bicis to pick me up tomorrow morning. I expect them to be there no later than eleven. That should give you plenty of time to organize whoever and whatever you need to carry out your orders. Are we clear?”

To his bewilderment, the soldier just laughed. You’ve got balls to try telling me what to do, kid. I know you’re not really Prince Caspian. In fact, I’ve traced the signal of this call to your exact location, and if you call this number again, I’ll send a drone in to blow you to pieces. Just try me if you don’t believe it. I’ll enjoy proving you wrong. He hung up the phone again.

Cas gawped at the device in his hand, in disbelief about how certain the solder had been that he wasn’t who he claimed to be. “What the fuck!?” he squawked. “He thought I was a prank caller? When I’ve been missing for five days? How stupid can he be?” He moved to dial the number again and then froze with his thumb still hovering over the keypad. Knowing that the military actually had the capability to trace calls and send drones to strike enemies remotely, he couldn’t risk trying again and getting them all killed.

With a frustrated scoff, he set Maisie’s phone down on the table and picked up his drink. “Well, that was a waste of time,” he muttered, slouching down on the sofa and taking a sip of the warm tea. “Looks like we’ll have to go with your idea after all, because my own guards can’t recognize my damn voice.”

[sukikyoufu]

Maisie took her time enjoying her cup of tea, watching as he took the phone. It was hard not to feel relieved when he had mentioned he would give them a location meeting spot rather than her address. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust his word, she didn’t trust the soldiers not to ruin everything in their wake. Especially seeing as the crown Prince had been taken hostage it wasn’t going to end well; she knew it wasn’t no matter the result. There was no way the Prince could be taken and there not be some consequence because of it, someone was going to suffer, and it would be their people. Maisie knew their people would be the ones to suffer first as they were insignificant to the King.

“Yeah it’s been quite hectic, I can’t imagine what you are going through.” Maisie sighed to herself as she took her cup of tea and started to drink it relaxing in the kitchen as she looked at him making the call. Maisie felt somewhat guilty for his situation as the rebellion had gone too far, but as much as she knew felt it deep down she knew that there was barely anything she could do about it.

Hearing him speak down the phone she turned making herself busy, she didn’t want to just be stood there listening although it wasn’t hard to eavesdrop because it wasn’t that far away from the kitchen. Frowning as she heard him, she didn’t think that the call was going well, not by the sounds of it. Glancing down at the cup of tea she went to say something but already he had started to call them back and this time he sounded demanding. Maybe this will be the one? Thinking that the next call would do it, but moments late she could see his face drop. “Ah…” Finishing off her cup of tea she headed back into the room picking up her phone and placing it in her pocket, “I’m sorry… I didn’t expect it to go like that. I would have thought that they would know. You’ve been missing for quite some time… I don’t know why this would happen.” Shaking her head, she headed towards the bedroom, “Iris will get you home, we’ll work on that plan tomorrow. What’s best now is getting some rest. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.” Offering him a sympathetic smile before she headed into the bedroom where her friend was.

Walking inside she could see Iris curled up on the bed eyes closed, finally asleep. Although it didn’t look like she was having a pleasant dream. Sighing to herself Maisie moved the duvet covering her friend before getting inside with her running fingers through her hair trying to calm her friend. Maisie had a horrible feeling in her stomach, she was anxious on letting her friend go tomorrow but she knew it had to happen. As much as she wanted to stop it, she couldn’t, she knew by s topping her friend the guilt would only worsen and it was pretty bad at the moment. “What have you gotten yourself into.” Sighing as she continued to soothe Iris in her sleep.

[Rogue Sloth]

“You and me both,” Caspian muttered with a shake of his head. He couldn’t believe that for as long as he’d been missing, the soldier on the other end of the line wouldn’t have even stopped to consider that it was really him making the call. Something was off. At least, he wanted to think so because if it wasn’t, that meant that the military wasn’t in any hurry to bring him back. He grimaced at the thought, stung by the possibility that his disappearance wasn’t as big of a deal as he’d expected it would be. Is my dad even looking for me? He wondered dejectedly. He didn’t want to believe it, but as awful as it was, he wouldn’t have been entirely shocked if he found out that Atlas wasn’t prioritizing finding him while the war was still ongoing. It wasn’t like his father had ever shown much interest in him before.

Don’t go there again, he exhaled slowly, reining in his spiraling thoughts. All he knew for sure was that he’d gotten through to a particularly disagreeable guard when he’d tried to call home. That didn’t necessarily have anything to do with his father. For all he knew, the king was worried sick that he still hadn’t been found. He had to assume the best because if Atlas didn’t actually care if he came back or not, there was no point in trying to go back to the capital. After all, why should he bother if his own father wouldn’t even shed a tear over the fact that he had been abducted and could have died? For his own sanity, he had to assume the monarch was doing everything he could to bring him home.

Realizing belatedly that Maisie had left the room, he finished off the rest of his tea and set the cup back down on the table. Worrying about what was going on outside of his scope of knowledge wasn’t going to do him any good, so he laid down on his right side and pulled his blanket up to his chin, closing his eyes to finally give in to his exhaustion and get some much-needed sleep.

--

[Earlier the same day]

Jacob stifled a yawn as he walked with the warden down a long line of cells. He and the rest of the team that had gone to Tongsen had brought Regis Nox-Fleuret back as their prisoner the night before. Since then, he hadn’t had a wink of sleep, but he couldn’t take a break until they got the information they needed from their newest POW. Surprisingly, the leader of the rebellion had a mouth on him. Not in the sense of foul language—although that was part of it—but rather because he jabbered on and on about how he’d won and how the monarchy was doomed to collapse.

It was infuriating to watch him act so high and mighty, but luckily, he wasn’t in charge of interrogating the bastard. The men who questioned Regis were better trained in that realm than he was, so he had reduced his involvement to intermittent visits when the rebel was returned to his cell between rounds of interrogations. The use of Aproveset had been discussed to speed things along, but for now, they had been following the usual protocol of demanding answers and encouraging their prisoner to talk with other creative methods of torture.

He also hadn’t told King Atlas anything yet. Technically, he was supposed to report to the monarch as soon as they had brought Nox-Fleuret in, but he was reluctant. It was seeming more and more like the gutter scum had actually killed their country’s crown prince, and he didn’t want to tell their king about that until he absolutely had to. So, he’d decided to wait until he received word that His Highness had woken up on his own before he made the visit to the palace to tell him the bad news that his son was dead.

Approaching Regis’s cell, Jacob ground his teeth, simmering with anger. King Atlas wasn’t the only one who cared about Prince Caspian’s wellbeing. It took all his willpower not to barge in and beat the living daylights out of the man who claimed to have ended his life. He managed to hold himself back though, and merely growled through the bars, “Rise and shine, Nox-Fleuret. Are you ready to talk to me or do I need to call my buddies with the fun toys over to do a little convincing?”

[sukikyoufu]

Even with the excessive drinking Regis was a proud man, arrogant too but no one had dared tell him that as he led the rebellion to victory. Even though there hadn’t been a body and he knew that his daughter had something to do with his disappearance he had convinced himself the Prince was dead. Through his warped and twisted mind, he had fully convinced himself that the Prince had died in that cell, it was something he had believed in so much it became true in his mind. Sleep hadn’t been an option for him, not whilst he was dragged back to the Capital practically laughing the whole way because Regis was not in the right frame of mind.

Throughout it all Regis had kept his sickly smile plastered across his face, the cackles of laughter even throughout the pain because he honestly believed he had won this. Screams of how the monarchy was doomed, how nothing could bring back a dead son and the crown would die with the sick father was repeated over and over even whilst he was tortured. Nothing could break him; he was a man who had nothing to lose and that was dangerous. A man who had nothing to lose would often gain the most, would often be so reckless that it would cause the others downfall and that was Regis.

Glancing around his cell it was vastly different from his own, the makeshift one in his basement was nothing of this calibre, but then he wasn’t a King with a castle. He had no dungeon, no toys of torture to make his enemies squeal and he was okay with that because at the end of it all they would all die the same. If only I could have a drink, that would top everything off. Thinking to himself as he hummed in his cell clearly happy with what he had achieved.

It didn’t matter that he was bruised or bleeding; it didn’t matter he had been hurt with their creative ways of torture because nothing could bring him down from his high. Though now he had the shakes and sweats because he hadn’t had a drink in so long, that was the only downside to being captured by the enemy. Nothing to drink and his body was reacting to that, especially as the alcohol had been his life source a way of coping throughout his time in the district.

“Oh, you sound tired, didn’t get any sleep?” Regis smirked from his cell as he looked up at his new visitor, Jacob who had been the one to find him in the district and bring him in for questioning. “I’m ready to talk. Are you ready to listen?” His voice sounded hoarse; he had no water nor food whilst here but that was not what his body was crying out for. It wanted alcohol. “I don’t think you’re ready to here my tale of how I killed that spoilt little Prince of yours.” Laughter echoed throughout the cell as the malicious glint returned in his eye, it was clear he had lost his mind but was relishing in every moment of it.

[Rogue Sloth]

Jacob wrinkle his nose in disgust at the sight of his all too happy prisoner. When he’d first laid eyes on Regis, a part of him had wondered if this was just some elaborate joke. There was no way that a man with as many screws loose as Regis Nox-Fleuret could be capable of single-handedly leading a rebellion, right? If it hadn’t been for the fact that the intelligence team had gained that information through the use of their most potent truth serum, he wouldn’t have believed for one second that the madman in this cell was the one who had caused the crown so much trouble for so many years. It seemed impossible that he was even capable of holding a coherent conversation.

However, even in his lunacy, the rebel apparently had some wits left. Jacob narrowed his eyes as the other man pointed out that he sounded tired. Either Regis was just bluffing to try to act like he was stronger than him or he’d noticed the subtle cues he was giving off that he had indeed not slept for the last twenty-four hours. Either way, it irked him that his prisoner seemed to have noticed his weariness so quickly, and he folded his arms over his broad chest, holding his weight in a stern pose to tell the madman with his body language that his state of energy was inconsequential.

“You know that’s not the information I want,” he said brusquely, getting sick of repeating himself. Since Regis had woken up, he’d been all too eager to tell him and the other men what he’d done to their prince. However, they still hadn’t been able to get him to cough up the location of Caspian’s body. Objectively, he didn’t care if they found their future king’s corpse in one piece or ten. As long as they brought him back to the capital, where he could be buried alongside the rest of the deceased Maydestone family after a deserved funeral, that was all that mattered.

“I want you to tell me what you did with the goddamn body,” he reiterated harshly. Of course, there was other information the interrogators had been attempting to squeeze out of Regis as well. They wanted to know the names of the other high-up members of the Scourge as well as to find out how their enemies had been intercepting some of their shipments of supplies. Battle plans, lists of resources, base locations, anything that would help them squash what was left of the rebellion before it had a chance to recover from the loss of its leader. All of that information was vital to the military in the midst of the war, but Jacob was focused on finding out what had happened to the prince he’d been charged with protecting.

He glared at Regis poisonously. “Why even bothering hiding it from us? If he’s dead, there’s no more reason for you to hold onto him.” By the morning, they had learned by examination that the blood in the basement had belonged to Caspian, so he didn’t question the authenticity of the rebel leader’s claim. “Unless you’re so far out of your fucking mind that you want to keep a rotting corpse as a trophy, you’ll make your own life a lot easier if you just tell me where he is.”

[sukikyoufu]

Watching the irritation Regis felt nothing but glee, he knew he had been getting on their nerves with his consistent claims and crazed allegations but that was something that only fuelled him on. Eyes narrowing as he watched Jacob fold his arms over his chest showing power over him. Regis knew he was at a disadvantage, he was the one locked up at their mercy but the only thing he had over them was the fact there was no body and that was a secret he’d take to the grave.

“That’s a shame, it’s the only information I’m willing to give.” Regis spat out his words watching Jacob from the other side of the cell bars. Shifting in his cell her heard the rattle of chains that bound him to the wall, it kept him from being able to fight back or run. Ankles were shackled together alongside his wrists and it was painfully tight, so much so bruises had appeared around the bindings.

Sighing as if Jacob was bothering him, he looked away at the walls of the cell as if he was bored. As if he had the upper hand in this situation, but in his crazed mind he felt he had. “Why should I tell you were the body is? There is nothing in it for me.” Shrugging as he didn’t even look at Jacob, bartering as if he could under the current circumstances. Chuckling away to himself in his crazed stated as he couldn’t help but smirk, he had something they so desperately wanted, and he wasn’t going to give it to them. Not that he actually knew where the body was, but they didn’t know that.

Looking back over at Jacob he could see the poisonous look in his eyes, the glint in his own did not disappear. The fire in his own eyes grew just as the sick smile did on his face revealing his unkempt broken teeth. “Me? So far out of my mind. You don’t even know the half of it.” Cackling away to himself as he winked at Jacob only knowing it would further the guard’s anger, he wanted to get under his skin. “Well, he would make quite the trophy on a pitchfork. I could mount is head on it.” Considering that option as he paused, “Or maybe I could have him stuffed like some taxidermy animal…” Another pause as he let that option simmer with Jacob, “Shame I had him burnt to a crisp. That wasn’t dust you walked over in my house but the remains of your beloved Prince.” Spitting out the last of his words as the smirk did not leave his face, the look in his eye proving that he was a crazed man who had clearly lost his way in life.

“Pathetic, couldn’t even save him in time. Some military you have.” Regis laughed as he poked holes in the Capitals defence, “It was like you were begging us to do something. Now all I have to do is wait for the King to keel over and die. Maybe this break that cold heart of his and kill him off like he deserves!”

[Rogue Sloth]

What a sick bastard, Jacob’s upper lip twitched as he fought the impulse to curl it in disgust. Even if Regis had a sliver of intelligence left inside his head, it was obvious that his sanity was long gone. The way he spoke to his captors, as if he was the one in charge, was astounding. It was like every time he was returned to his cell after an interrogation, he forgot that he was going to be tortured again if he continued to refuse to talk. In a way, Jacob’s visits had been a merciful offering. If Nox-Fleuret would just confess to him the information they were after, he wouldn’t have to endure another round of beatings with the questioners’ tools of torture. Granted, once they had what they wanted from him, he was certain that King Atlas was going to have him sentenced to death, but at least that would be less painful than the repeated torment he was going through now.

“If you consider an end to your suffering ‘nothing,’ then yeah, I guess there’s nothing in it for you,” he agreed with a sardonic roll of his eyes. After putting up with the rebel leader’s attitude for a whole night, his patience had been whittled down to a nub, and he didn’t even pretend to put up with the cheeky comments anymore. If it wasn’t for the fact that the military had a set of protocol in place for dealing with prisoners already, he would have unlocked Regis’s cell himself and beaten the shit out of him multiple times by now. Everyone knew he deserved it after everything he’d done to the royal family—especially Caspian.

As Regis described the sick ways he would have liked to turn the prince into a trophy, Jacob eyed him with revulsion. Now more than ever, he was convinced that the rebellion was a plague upon Aspiria. If their leader was this deranged, it spoke volumes about the way the terrorist organization was being run. His stomach churned with the image of Caspian’s body taxidermied like the prize of a serial killer, but he knew Regis was lying about burning him. He’d seen human ashes before, so he knew what they looked like. The dust beneath their feet had been too fine of a powder to belong to any previously living creature. If it had come from a body, they would have been stepping on bits of bone and teeth.

“You’re a twisted son of a bitch,” he growled. It was hard to tell if Nox-Fleuret genuinely believed the prince’s corpse had been burned. Perhaps it had. Just because the bit about scattering the ashes in the house had been a lie didn’t necessarily mean the rebels hadn’t incinerated Caspian’s body. If they had, he was going to have yet another piece of bad news to deliver to Atlas. He cringed as he imagined how the king was going to react when he woke up to find out that his only son was dead and they might not have any way to recover his body.

Almost as if he’d summoned his own nightmare, his phone pinged with an alert. The guard glanced down at it and took a deep breath as he saw a message on the screen from one of the security guards in the palace. Atlas had woken up. “Shit,” he exhaled under his breath. Tossing one more cold look at Regis, he tapped into the military’s frequency on his com device, “The use of Aproveset on Nox-Fleuret is approved. Bring him in for interrogation as soon as the drug is ready. I want that information out of him before lunch.”

Directing his next words at the prisoner, he tilted his chin up, “I gave you a chance. Now you’ll find out what happens to dumb fucks who don’t do what they’re told.” With that, he turned and headed out of the prison, leaving Regis behind as he prepared himself to confront his king with nothing but bad news.

[sukikyoufu]

“End my suffering?” Regis scoffed, that was pathetic, and he knew that even if he gave away any secrets it wouldn’t end his suffering. There was no way that they’d just let him go like it was nothing. Regis knew he would not be walking out of here; he would not be leaving this cell alive and this man was potentially the last person he would see before he was killed. At least he could have his fun, he could continue to terrorize the Royal family until he was dead and that was his intention.

My name will be remembered in history as the man who brought down the monarchy.

A delusional smile crossed his face as he thought on how he would be remembered, the sole purpose of the rebellion had passed him by. The man couldn’t remember what the cause stood for anymore as he’d been so caught up in killing the boy, the Prince. He had finally gotten his wish, but a part of his mind was telling him that wasn’t true. A brief glimpse of his daughter, her pure heart and how that kindness ruined his plan. Shaking his head, he knew that was a lie, no. Reigs had killed the prince, the blood was everywhere he had done it. He had saved the people, saved his soul and gotten his ultimate revenge.

“How does it feel knowing you can’t bury him.” The cold words left his lips as he continued with the idea that he had burned the Prince alive. There was no body to bury, no proper funeral and it reminded him of his own wife. Clenching his hands into fists a memory of his own had pushed through the alcoholic state, that his wife was not buried. There were no such things as funerals, headstones, wakes in the district. The ground was dug, and a body was thrown in like it was any other day. A dark memory of his that he had pushed back for a reason.

As if coming from his delirious state he looked back at Jacob who had claimed he had given him a chance. “Sure, you did. All you’ll learn is that the Prince is dead and there’s nothing you can do to change that fact. Tell your King that it was I, I ruined his monarchy with great pleasure.” The words rolled off of his tongue naturally as he truly believed that bringing down the monarchy had been the answer.

Grinning to himself rather smugly he didn’t flinch as the cell of his opened up, a soldier holding some sort of needle. Regis felt nothing as the needle was stuck into his neck a substance being injected into him, that pain was nothing compared to not having a drink and that was his current priority. His age was starting to show, the pale wrinkled skin of his covered in various different colours from purples to blues signifying the beatings he had endured so far. Licking his lips as he watched Jacob leave he laughed in his cell throwing his head back in pure joy that he was causing absolute misery to the Capital.

[Rogue Sloth]

Jacob didn’t waste his breath with a reply when Regis continued to try to get under his skin. Every bit of the rebel’s behavior signaled that he wasn’t reasonable enough to speak with anymore. He already knew that Nox-Fleuret was proud that he’d killed the heir to the crown and that he was going to have to tell Atlas that his son was dead. He also knew that Aproveset was the most powerful tool the military had to get unruly prisoners to cooperate. No matter what the madman said, the soldiers would have what they wanted soon enough. They would find out what the rebels had done with their prince’s body as well as uncover the secrets they needed to finish off what was left of the Scourge. He trusted the interrogators to do their jobs, so he left the prison to do his own.

On the drive back to the palace, he silently planned out what he was going to say to King Atlas when he saw him. Telling a parent that their child had been killed was one thing; telling a monarch that his only heir had been taken from him was quite another. He didn’t know how Atlas was going to react when he found out. There was every chance that he would have a plethora of his guards sentenced to death—present company not excluded—but it was equally possible that the news would break him. As much as he loathed to admit it, Aspiria was in a dangerous place now that the royal line was hanging by a thread. Regis had succeeded in hacking off the last branch of the tree. If anything happened to their current ruler during this time, he didn’t have any idea what would happen to the monarchy as a whole. The entire nation could very well descend into chaos.

With that unnerving thought in mind, he climbed out of his car and headed into the palace, stiff with apprehension as he made his way up to Atlas’s bedroom. When he reached it, he knocked on the door, “Your Majesty, it’s Curry.”

There was a fraction of a pause before a servant opened the door, and he stepped inside. As always, Atlas was reclining on his bed, propped up with a small mountain of pillows. He looked worse every day, and this morning was no exception. The stress seemed to be taking a toll on his physical health, because he looked even frailer than usual, with pale skin and hardly any meat left on his aging bones. Even his voice was slightly raspy as he spoke: “So, tell me the news. Did you find my Caspian last night?”

Jacob shifted his weight. The last time he’d spoken with the monarch had been after the surveillance team had traced Regis to a house in Tongsen. He’d told Atlas that they believed that was where the rebels were keeping the prince, and the king had gotten his hopes up that they would bring the missing royal back to the palace. He wished he could have brought that news with him, but unfortunately, things had taken a nosedive for the worse.

“We did not,” he reported.

“What do you mean you did not?” Atlas’s expression immediately hardened.

Jacob took a steeling breath. “We closed in on Nox-Fleuret’s hideout and found him inside the building as expected. He tried to put up a fight, but he was alone, so we apprehended him without any casualties. However…” He faltered for a second before he continued: “Prince Caspian wasn’t there. All we found was an empty cell in the basement. Nox-Fleuret claims that he already killed him before we arrived, and sadly, we have every reason to believe he’s telling us the truth.”

As he finished the report, Atlas stared at him without speaking. His face was unreadable, but the guard suspected he was processing the news, so he remained quiet until, finally, Atlas asked in a murmur: “My son is dead?”

Jacob felt a twinge of pity of the king. “Yes,” he confirmed equally as softly.

Another moment of silence followed, just long enough to trick him into relaxing before Atlas suddenly picked up the plate of breakfast on his bedside table and threw it to the floor in a fit of rage. Jacob jumped as the dish shattered against the hardwood and watched in dismay as the king began struggling against his bedsheets in an attempt to get up.

“I want him dead!” he screamed. “I’ll kill him myself! That bastard took my son away from me, so I’ll wring his neck with my own bare hands!”

“Your Majesty, please calm down,” Jacob held up his hands, unsure what to do as the king fumbled to stand up. He was worried that Atlas would have him sentenced to death if he tried to stop him, but the interrogators weren’t done with Regis yet. If Atlas had him killed now, they wouldn’t learn the information they needed to end the war. Hurriedly, he explained: “Nox-Fleuret is being questioned as we speak. I understand that you want to get vengeance for Prince Caspian, but we need him alive just a little while longer. He’s our only source to find out where His Highness’s body is as well as how to put an end to the rebellion. The information is too valuable to lose.”

Atlas, who had been clawing at the sheets that were still tangled around his foot, faltered at that. “His body?” he echoed in a whisper, staring down at the trapped limb as if he had suddenly been overcome by a trance. In the next moment, he dropped to his knees, and Jacob rushed to his side. Crouching down beside him, the guard placed a tentative hand on his back and watched in silent sorrow as the king of Aspiria broke down and wept on the floor beside his bed.

[sukikyoufu]

The laughs did not stop, Regis continued to laugh in his cell even as the soldiers dragged him out of his cell whilst they waited for the Aproveset to kick in. Five minutes was all it took before the pain would start, but the laughter was haunting especially as it echoed throughout the halls as he was dragged by the two soldiers. It was like he was crazy, deranged and clearly not all there anymore as the laughter sounded strangled.

Feeling the soldiers throw him into the chair he couldn’t help but grin at them both maliciously who in turn exchanged rather concerned looks between one another. “You think you will get me to talk? Think again. I’ve said all I need to say.” The growls emitted from his mouth as he looked from soldier to soldier clearly thinking he was above them. That he was above their interrogation techniques. “There is NOTHING you can do to get information out of me. I won’t break.”

“How long is left?”

“About two minutes sir.”

Swaying on the chair Regis looked over at one of the men who had entered, he wasn’t a soldier, but it was clear he was here for a reason perhaps to talk to him? Idiot. He won’t get anything from me. “If you think I’ll sing like a bird you have another thing coming.”

“Oh, I don’t think. I know.” The male in question spoke as he took a seat, eyes watching the prisoner who had already been through various different creative tortures to get him to talk. The Aproveset was one of their most prized possessions when it came to the difficult talks and this was no exception, he didn’t know who this man thought he was, but he would get him to talk. That was his job.

“One minute, sir.”

“Very good.” Nodding to the soldiers who stood at the door, they were there just in case the prisoner got cocky, in case he thought that he could fight back. Once the drug was in his system however it would be a different story. Throughout this whole time, he did not look away from Regis, he kept his eyes firmly on the prisoner and he would wait. He was a patient man. Tseng would often oversee the interrogation; he had a way with words to push the information out of his prisoners whilst the drug was in effect. It was a speciality of his.

Regis opened his mouth to say something but the minute he did he felt this overwhelming sense of pain, he had never felt this kind of pain before and it even pushed through the withdrawal of the alcohol. “What…” Panting as he looked at the table eyes trying to refocus as he felt the agony course through his entire body.
“Ah, it seems your minute is up. What is your name?” Tseng started as he could see the drug was taking effect by how he was reacting.

“Don’t be fucking stupid you know my AH.” Regis cried out hand going to his head as all he could feel was the burn, the pain aiding his shakes from his withdrawal and he felt his body temperature rising.

“How many are in your family?”

“Two… shit.” Regis couldn’t understand why he had said that, but the pain was pushing him forward to answer truthfully.

“A daughter, right? Iris?”

“Yeah, what’s it to you?” Regis spat but when he did another cry of pain left his lips as if he’d been stabbed in the leg, hands went down to his leg gripping at eyes glaring as if ready to see blood, but he couldn’t. Narrowing his eyes his head was swimming, his daughter Iris the memories flitted by focusing on the one where he had hit her. He felt his chest rising and falling quickly, pants leaving his mouth as his body shook. The pain was becoming unbearable.

[Rogue Sloth]

In the span of a few minutes, Atlas’s entire world had crumbled around him. Distantly, he was aware that he had fallen and that his face was wet with tears, but he was too lightheaded to dwell on his physical state. He didn’t even care that one of his guards was kneeling beside him, witnessing his disgraceful display. He couldn’t believe that the rebels had killed his son. It had happened so abruptly that he hadn’t had any more time to prepare himself than he would have if Caspian had been hit by a car. All it had taken was five days, and the Scourge had succeeded in severing the royal line and ripping his only child away from him—the only trace of his beloved Sierra that he’d had left. He struggled to breathe through the sobs that wracked his body.

Sitting next to the monarch, Jacob looked on with a concerned expression. He’d never seen King Atlas express such strong emotions before, and he worried about the long-term effects that the loss of his son would have on him as both a man and a leader. Additionally, he could feel Atlas’s uneven breathing while his hand was resting on his back. Given his continuously fading health, he was anxious that the king wouldn’t be able to recover from this physically either.

Noting that he seemed unresponsive to anything around him, the guard muttered a swear under his breath and turned away from him to look at one of the servants who was standing uncertainly near the edge of the bedroom. “Call his doctor,” he ordered. Whether or not Atlas was just mourning, it was safer to call the physician to make sure the emotional trauma hadn’t negatively impacted his wellbeing. Aspiria couldn’t afford to lose its king right after the crown prince had been murdered.

While the boy hurried off to fulfill the request, Jacob stayed loyally by Atlas’s side. “Your Majesty, do you need assistance getting back into bed?” he asked tentatively.

The monarch didn’t respond. He didn’t even hear the question. At that moment, he was completely absorbed in the recesses of his mind. Even when Jacob risked his neck by picking him up like a large child and setting him down in his bed, he didn’t speak a word. Thoughts and memories of Caspian and Sierra had flooded his consciousness. His had been a political marriage, but he had still fallen in love with his wife after their wedding day. His affection for her had been the reason why he’d volunteered to be sterilized after only having one child. Past rulers would have taken up a mistress to produce more legitimate heirs to line up to take over the crown, but he couldn’t bear the thought of having any children that weren’t half Sierra. It was the same reason why he had never remarried after her untimely death.

Caspian had always been the spitting image of his mother. Although Atlas had been stern with him, he saw Sierra every time the prince snuck small, injured animals into the palace to care for in his bedroom or went out of his way to do favors for his friends. His late wife had been just as tenderhearted. It was one of the qualities he’d loved about her. Unfortunately, such behavior was better fitting of a queen than it was of a king who was expected to rule with an iron fist, so he’d felt the need to correct Caspian whenever he caught him doing his ‘good deeds.’ Nevertheless, he had always felt like Sierra had lived on through their son. Even his smile reminded him of her.

He coughed, finding it even more difficult to breathe. Besides the resemblance Caspian bore to his mother, he had been fond of him as an individual too. Sure, the prince had needed a lot of work to become the hardened ruler that he was, himself, but at least he had been trying. Now, he would never find out if his heir would have risen up as a promising king to take over the country after he passed.

Now, no one would take over at all.

Abruptly, a deep ache spread like fire through his chest as his illness flared, and he clutched his shirt in pain. Standing by his side, Jacob blanched. As he’d feared, the king wasn’t doing well. “Your Highness, are you alright?” he asked urgently, pressing two fingers beneath his monarch’s jawline. Atlas’s pulse was racing too quickly for him to keep track of every beat. “Fuck,” he hissed, retracting his hand. The king was in bad shape. He hoped the doctor would arrive quickly to handle whatever was going on inside the fading man’s body. At this rate, they might even need to move him back to the hospital for more intensive care.

[sukikyoufu]

“Iris…” Whispering out her name as he felt his memories muddle up even more, flashes of his daughter passing by as he groaned in pain. A memory of holding her in his arms for the first time when she was born, his wife there smiling. A happy memory, one that he had forgotten for so long, he had forgotten her face. The way her smile would light up the room, the crying child in his arms as they grew their family. “I forgot… the way she smiled.” Mumbling to himself in his delirious state as the memory faded into something far worse, the happy picture torn apart as a knife stabbed his wife. The blood curdling scream resonated through his mind, but he hadn’t realised that it was his own scream, the painful cry leaving his own lips. The child in the memory fading away alongside the image of his wife.

“You remember Prince Caspain, right?” Tseng pursued not even wincing at the scream of the prisoner, this hadn’t been the first time he had questioned prisoners under this drug.

“Cas.. pian.” The whisper left his lip as his head lulled forward; the pain hadn’t stopped subsided it felt like it was getting worse with each passing minute. His blood felt like it was burning under his skin, head pounding as he remembered various different things. “Dead.”

“So, he is dead, did you kill him?” Although it was hard hearing the fact the Prince was dead Tseng knew he had to press on, Jacob wanted to know where the body was. They all did because without a funeral there would be no closure, without a body it would only cause the King to spiral. The war would take a turn for the worse and no one was going to come out of it alive.

“HAH. I killed him… I did that.” The grin returned to his face as his eyes glazed over. I did that, right? I killed him? Smashed his head until he bled. Yes. That’s the truth? Frowning slightly as he tried to remember the truth, grunts of pain leaving his lips as he tried to focus. Yes. I did that. Caspain is dead. The monarchy is dead. I caused that. I DID THAT. “Smashed that p-pretty little head until he was no more.” Coughing as he leaned forward grimacing, “Could paint a picture with all that blood.”

“Where is his body? What did you do with it?” Continuing with his questions Tseng would not let up.

“THERE IS NO BODY.” Regis shouted, the pain becoming too much, “WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME?” He felt weak, his body trembled as the pain surpassed the withdrawal. Every inch of him felt like he was on fire, the pain would not stop. It would not subside, and it only worsened as time went on.

“What do you mean no body?” Tseng leaned forward eyes narrowing. “If you co-operate, we will give you the antidote, it will take all that pain away. Trust me. It will only get worse.”

“I BURNED the little pest. Can’t bury him, now can you?” Spitting at Tseng but as he did another cry left his lips as he whimpered backing down, the anger only made the pain worse.

Leaning up he pressed his coms device that linked with the security, “Subject has confirmed the Prince is dead, that he has burned the body. No locations as of yet.” Speaking quickly over the comms device before glancing back at Regis who was swaying in the seat. “I am pushing for more however subject isn’t in the best frame of mind already.”

[Rogue Sloth]

When Dr. Emett arrived to check on Atlas, the decision was made immediately that the king needed to be moved to the hospital. An ambulance was called, and Jacob tagged along in the vehicle as the EMTs carted him off to intensive care. It was far from his job description to be the monarch’s bedside company, but after Caspian had been killed, the guard was especially protective of the only remaining member of the royal family. Until Atlas was in a stable condition again, he was going to stay by his side.

And that was exactly what he did. While the king laid on the hospital bed in a medically induced sleep, Jacob sat in a chair by the edge of the room, watching the steady rise and fall of the sickly man’s chest. A part of him was relieved that Atlas’s first reaction hadn’t been to execute every member of the team that had been sent to rescue his son, but this wasn’t much better. He worried that when their ruler woke, he wouldn’t be the same again. Right now, Aspiria needed a strong leader, and the man tasked with the job had just lost his only child. It was a terrible place for the country to be while a civil war was still raging on outside the capital.

With a sigh, he leaned back in his thinly cushioned seat and crossed his arms. The situation wouldn’t have been so detrimental if Atlas had had a second-in-command who could take over in his absence. Unfortunately, the king was too distrusting for that. The only person who was formally permitted to pick up any of the crown’s duties was Caspian, the prince who had just been killed by their enemies. Between his loss and Atlas’s waning health, there was no one left at the top of the chain of command to govern the nation. Jacob had a feeling that from today forward, Aspiria was going to be facing more civil unrest than it had in generations.

Just as he began to wonder what would happen when their current king finally died, a voice in his earpiece caught his attention. His face fell as the interrogator confirmed that the prince was dead and that they would be unable to recover his body. It wasn’t new news, but it was the nail in the coffin that meant there was no reason to continue searching for the missing royal. “Get everything out of him that you can,” he ordered solemnly. “His Majesty wants to have him executed ASAP, so this will be the last interrogation.”

Ending the connection, he pinched the bridge of his nose, overwhelmed with the situation. He’d never been a very emotional man, but even he felt a deep sadness that this was how the royal line was going to end. Caspian had been young and had the promise to become a great king after his father. Everyone knew he had a big heart and, apart from the king himself, everyone loved the way he genuinely cared about people and seemed to feel emotions more deeply than most people did. He hadn’t deserved to have his life snuffed out by a psychopath, completely alone in a place he didn’t know.

In the same way, Atlas hadn’t deserved to lose the only immediate family he had left. Their king had brought greatness to Aspiria through his endless hard work, and in return, he’d watched his wife die before his eyes, and he’d just found out that his son had been killed by a terrorist organization. With his health on a constant decline, the guard suspected it wouldn’t be much longer before he followed in his family’s footsteps and succumbed to his illness as well. It was a tragic end for the Maydestone family.

At the sound of rustling sheets, Jacob blinked dazedly and looked up to find that Atlas had woken from his slumber. The king moaned quietly, still in pain, and the guard rose to his feet. “Do you need me to call a nurse for you, Your Majesty?” he asked.

At first, Atlas didn’t reply. His eyes were roving over the room as he oriented himself to his new location. After a moment, he seemed to understand that he was back in the hospital again. “Yes, tell her to bring me morphine, would you?”

This time, it was Jacob’s turn not to reply. Wordlessly, he pushed the buzzer to summon a nurse to the room. There was no way to ask anyone for the king’s drug of choice until they got there, but he wouldn’t have honored the request anyway. Morphine was an outdated painkiller compared to the treatments Aspiria had developed in recent years. However, there was no arguing with the monarch, so it was best to let him think he had gotten his way.

“Has the devil who murdered my Caspian been killed yet?” Atlas spoke again, his voice raspy.

“Not yet, Your Highness, but his interrogation is almost over. Once it is, I can begin making arrangements for his execution.” Jacob leaned his back against the wall as he answered the question.

“Good,” the king coughed. “I want him to suffer as he made my son suffer. Tell the executioner to behead him slowly without sedation.”

Jacob grimaced. Beheading was another outdated subject to mention, and he wondered if the king was entirely mentally present. “Are you sure, Your Majesty? The executioners usually kill criminals via firing squad.”

“Very well,” Atlas exhaled as if changing methods was a bother to him. “He shall be killed by firing squad, but they will begin with his feet.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Jacob bowed his head. The beheading probably would have been less painful for Nox-Fleuret than a firing squad that would pump his whole body full of lead, but he knew better than to keep pestering the king. Besides, the rebel deserved it after what he had done to the prince. Tucking the note away in his mind to bring up with the soldiers later, he changed the subject, “My apologies if it’s too soon for you to think about this, but… I was wondering what you plan to do now that we have more information about the rebellion.”

“Oh, I’ve already decided,” Atlas replied, his gaze darkening. “We’ve been merciful to those defectors for too long. As of right now, I’m giving you full clearance to begin working with the commanders to put an end to their tantrum. Send soldiers to every district. If any commoner seems to be even remotely connected to the Scourge, they are to be killed on site. I want the bastards to understand that if they don’t surrender, I’ll make them bow down to me by force.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Jacob dipped his head again. “I’ll make the call.” Wasting no time to fulfill his new task, he stepped out of the room while a nurse entered to take care of the king. In the hallway, he took out his phone and lifted it to his ear, preparing himself to update the military that Prince Caspian was dead and that they were under new orders to shift their approach in the war from defensive to offensive.