Leonhard tried to contain his excitement as he fluffed up his pillow. His brothers were all due to return in the next couple of days. The king had called them all over, and although Leonhard was curious as to why, he was happy that his brothers would all come home soon.
He sighed as he got himself under the blankets, turning his back to the open window, relaxed by the soft sound of the rustling trees outside. He concentrated on the ticking of the clock on his study table, used to the repetitive sound lulling him to sleep.
He smiled as he thought of their family all together, arguing over breakfast.
His thought began to blend into a dream as he relaxed.
*Thud*
Leonhard frowned softly as his mind struggled to cling to the start of the dream.
*Thud**Thud*
Steps came closer. Leonhard groaned, turning to the sounds with tired eyes. Fear jolted through his body as he saw two shadows coming closer. He opened his mouth to cry for the guards when they threw themselves on him.
Leonhard cried out against the gloved hand covering his mouth, a firm grip on both his arms and another pair of hands reached down to grab his feet. A third person he hadn't noticed.
What was happening? Who were these people?
"Oi! Knock him out already!" The one holding his legs hissed.
Leonhard struggled harder. The hand covering his mouth was quickly replaced by a firmer hand pressing a sweet smelling cloth over his nose and mouth. Leonhard tried to fight the urge to breathe in but failed. He groaned as his struggles weakened.
"That's right, go to sleep little prince." A rough voice whispered in his ear as everything turned black.
oOoOoOo
Heine frowned as he stared at the clock. It wasn't like Leonhard to be this late to their lessons anymore. He put down the book he was holding, leaving it open on the topic he wished to cover with Leonhard. As he made his way halfway to the prince's room, he saw a maid passing.
"Good morning tutor." She politely said with a smile and a short curtsy.
"Good morning. Has anyone been to prince Leonhard's rooms just yet?" He asked. She looked at him surprised.
"Uh… yes tutor, my colleague Martha just finished with his sheets. Is the prince not in his lessons at this time?" She asked confused.
"He should be." He sighed. "Very well, thank you. I'll go and try to find the prince." But searching for the prince proved fruitless. None of the horses had been removed from the stable. The gardens were empty of Leonhard, though Adele was out and about with her grandmother and Shadow.
Something wasn't right. Something in Heine's gut was twisting and he returned inside to look once more. His feet moving faster.
He entered Leonhard's room without knocking. Just like the maid had said, his room was already organised. Heine frowned trying to find anything out of the ordinary. He walked by the bed, nothing was out of place, but then again the maids wouldn't have left anything out of order.
A breeze made the windows slam as far as their hinges could go, making Heine turn. He walked closer to close the window, when grimy footprints caught his eye on the ledge. He leaned over and saw several footprints on the flower beds below. Several of the plants had been trampled carelessly.
Another breeze made something sway in the wind. It was a torn piece of Leonhard's nightgown.
Heine grabbed the piece and tried to control his racing heart.
"Guards!" He yelled. A couple of guards stormed into the room, another four were on the grounds below and came into view of the window. "Alert the king! Prince Leonhard has been abducted!"
It seemed like everyone froze at those words before all hell broke loose, the guards yelling out orders to alert the captain of the guard, to increase security, to come and investigate. More importantly, two guards rushed to the horses. They had to ride to the capitol and inform the king immediately.
Heine gripped the soft fabric of Leonhard's gown and took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he whispered a small prayer.
oOoOoOo
Leonhard groaned as he tried to open his eyes but couldn't. His head was throbbing and he felt nauseous. He was jolted and he grunted against the gag over his mouth. The jolting sensation continued and all he could tell was that he was lying on some kind of cart. It smelled like fruit around him and his stomach twisted unpleasantly. His hands were tied behind his back and his muscles and joints felt stiff from lying in this position.
He reached out with his fingers, feeling baskets around him, but also a sheet covering him from head to toe. Fear awoke very suddenly in his heart as he tried to hear for any voices, any accents, any language, to try and know where he was.
Could he cry out through the muffle? Was he still in Granzreich? Would anyone other than his captors hear him?
Leonhard felt a knot at the back of his throat and tears begin to form and stain the cloth covering his eyes.
"Father… save me." He thought desperately.
The cart jolted to a stop and Leonhard tensed up, his tears freezing in the panic.
"You better wake the princess." One voice said and Leonhard tried to relax but was shaking like a leaf. He had no idea what to do. Unlike his older brothers, he hadn't started military school. He still had no clue how to use a gun, if there even was one available. He didn't know how to fight unless he could get his hands on a sword
Maybe if he waited for the right moment, he could run. Maybe even grab one of their horses? They wouldn't be able to catch him then.
Leonhard flinched as the sheet was roughly pulled off him.
"Well, well, looks like the white lily of Granzreich is already awake." One of the men said, his voice getting closer.
Leonhard grunted as he was dragged off the cart by a rough and strong pull to his ankles. He fell hard on what felt like forest floor and whimpered as his sore side was blasted with pain. Clearly whoever these men were, were not concerned about harming him.
"Oh dear, let me help you, your highness." The same voice said. Leonhard cried out against the muffle as he felt those fingers grip his hair hard and force him to his feet.
"Let me look at him." Another said and Leonhard blinked against the light as they pulled off the cloth from over his eyes.
He got the first good look of the men but his mind could not identify any of their faces. They were wearing palace guard uniforms but Leonhard was sure he'd never seen them at the palace before. Leonhard looked around, desperately trying to find some form of landmark that could tell him where he was and how far away from home.
There was nothing but forest all around. He turned in panic to the men as one hand reached for him. He flinched back and turned, trying to run.
"I don't think so, little prince." One of the men said grabbing him by his hair again and pulling him up against his chest, laughing against his ear as the mans hands wandered to keep him in place. "Now, now, where are those hands going?" The man whispered in his ear and Leonhard whimpered. His hands were still tied behind his back, and happened to be pressed against the man's groin.
"Oi, Kurt. Let him go. Who knows if we'll get paid if you do anything to him." The second man said, grabbing Leonhard and shoving the other back. Leonhard finally had a name. He turned to Kurt who simply leered at him and walked back to tend to the horses. "You are our prisoner, your royal highness." The man said and Leonhard wished the gag wasn't still in his mouth to demand they release him. "I am Klaus." He said and took out a knife.
Leonhard flinched and struggled back. The man reached round, manhandling him easily and cutting off the ropes from his wrists. Leonhard's relief was short lived. Another rope soon replaced it, holding his hands at the front this time, tying him to the back of the cart.
"Now, be a good boy. You try to run away, try to scream, try to tell anyone who you are, and I'll start slicing that beautiful face until not even your father can recognise you." The man hissed dangerously as he placed the cold knife on his face. Leonhard whimpered, closing his eyes tight. "Do you understand?" Leonhard nodded, hyperaware of every twitch from the knife. "Good."
The man cut off the gag from his mouth and Leonhard struggled to take a few deep breaths as he dropped to his knees when the man, Klaus, walked back to the other two men, who seemed to be preparing a fire.
"Who's paying you for this? My father is king, he'll double whatever that person is paying." Leonhard said, flinching as they turned to look at him.
"Your father would have us executed." The third, nameless man laughed maliciously.
"I-I'll say you saved me." Leonhard insisted.
"You better shut it, little prince. Or I'll come and put your mouth to better use." Kurt said, pointing his own knife at him. Leonhard flinched and looked away, keeping his mouth shut, not wanting to find out what that person even had in mind.
The men returned to preparing their meal and Leonhard shivered at the coolness of the evening.
Leonhard looked up. Had it really been a whole day? True enough, the sky was tinting to orange and Leonhard tried to think as hard as he could to Heine's geography lessons. Had they ever covered journey distances? He couldn't remember. He couldn't even remember the map of the country. He was barely starting to improve on arithmacy. He was an idiot.
His stomach had settled after waking up, and now twisted with hunger. The men sat around the fire to eat as night began to fall. Leonhard was not given anything. He was too far away to feel the warmth from the fire. His mouth felt so dry. The men weren't even looking at him. Leonhard looked at the ropes and at the knots. He leaned in and used his teeth to pull on the knots.
oOoOoOo
Heine could see Viktor's face pale considerably as he handed the torn piece of cloth to the king.
"Leo…" He whispered, gripping the cloth as hard as he could. "Heine… what do we know?" He asked.
"Three, maybe four men climbed through the window. The footprints showed they were all wearing boots similar to those the guards wear. I think they might have been wearing uniforms from the palace guard. The guards confirmed the storage were spare uniforms are kept was broken into last night." Heine said. "It's… unclear at what time they came… or what direction they went in."
Viktor took a deep shaky breath. Just then the captain of the guard rushed in to report the same that Heine said.
"Send messages to all the major cities. They must raise the guard across the kingdom! I want every border inspected. I want every merchant's cart searched for my son!" Viktor yelled.
"Certainly my king. There's also… prince Eins and Licht have been summoned to the palace. I believe prince Bruno and Kai should arrive at some time this evening. Princess Adele is being looked after by the queen mother."
Viktor nodded and dismissed the man. Once they were both alone, Viktor collapsed onto his chair and placed his face in his hands. "Heine…" He whispered.
Heine came round and placed a firm hand on his friend's shoulder. "We'll find him, Viktor."
Viktor looked up at him as he reached to grab onto Heine's hand, holding onto him hard.
Heine stepped back and Viktor let go as steps came closer. Eins entered followed closely by count Rosenberg and Licht close behind.
"Father, you said I could come back tomorrow." Licht complained but froze as he saw Heine there as well.
Viktor took a deep breath and looked at his sons. "Leonhard has been abducted."
The words fell into the silent room as even Eins' eyes widened. "When? How?" The eldest prince demanded.
"At some point in the night. They didn't leave a ransom note." Viktor said.
"Wh-what are you saying, father?" Licht asked, his voice breaking slightly at the end.
Viktor took a deep breath. "We don't know where Leo is." He said softly.
"Rosenberg, send immediate letters to all ambassadors in the surrounding kingdoms. I want our people to keep our eyes open for any signs of Leonhard." Eins hissed. Rosenberg didn't say anything and bowed, the fake demeanour Heine was used to seeing was nowhere in sight as the count rushed out.
"Is there anything I can do, father?" Licht asked.
"You need to stay here with your brothers. I need to make sure you're all safe. You will all sleep with guards outside the windows and doors. You too, Eins." Viktor said.
"I am not a child." Eins glared.
"I am not arguing! This is an order from your king!" Viktor yelled, slamming his fist on the table.
Eins glared but bowed his head slightly. "Yes, your majesty."
"The moment Bruno and Kai arrive, send them my way. I will tell them." Viktor said. "Dismissed."
Heine was the first to move. "Come, prince Licht." He said, guiding the youngest prince out.
"Professor…" Licht whispered. "They didn't leave a ransom letter… what if…?"
"Hush… lets not jump to conclusions your highness. We must hope that a ransom letter will soon arrive." Heine said.
"But…" Licht's voice cracked and a sob filled the corridor. Heine found himself enveloped by Licht who dropped to his knees and cried against his chest. Heine did not push him away as he normally would. Instead he wrapped his arms around the prince's shoulders, passing his fingers through the prince's hair as he let him cry. Heine clenched his jaw tight. He felt so powerless. He should have noticed Leonhard was missing sooner.