Chapter 7

Elias rubbed his temples, sighing deeply, as the gentries filled the meeting room one by one. He glowered at the small cracks creeping up the side of the table that his fingers were clenched around, the sharp snaps of wood falling silent under his grasp.

"Breathe, Elias," the man whispered, his fingers tentatively releasing the wood. "Breathe."

Once his fingers released the edge of the table, a frown curled at the corner of Elias's lips. The cracks squirmed through the dark wood like a spider's web chasing after the knotted spider near the edge. Elias absentmindedly chewed on his thumb nail, his eyes narrowing on the cracks while tapping his fingers.

"Keep that up and you'll have the entire table split in half." Elias rolled his eyes at Ingvar as the elder man skimmed through a page of notes beside him. Silvery, grey eyes glanced over at the young king with furrowed brows. Ingvar shot one last glance at the gentries filing into the room, hushed, jittery voices matching their scrunched expressions. "If you need another moment—"

Elias dismissed the notion with a wave of his hand. "I'm fine Ingvar." He sighed, rolling his neck to the side as he rose from his seat. "Let's just steer this away from anything we'll regret."

Ingvar nodded as the last gentry took his seat. The doors began to slide closed until Andy stumbled through the heavy doors. The gentries turned to him, a mixture of glittering eyes and firm frowns crossing their features as the young prince staggered to keep his footing. Andy brought his gaze up towards the young king, a snarl bubbling along his gritted teeth, and stormed down the room. He came to an abrupt halt in front of Elias.

"My King," Andy bit out, forcing his twitching fingers to thread together in front of him. "May I talk to you for a moment?"

Elias arched an eyebrow. "Andy, can't this wait? We're about to—"

"No!" Andy snapped. "It can't!"

Elias blinked quizzically at the boy until his gaze locked upon the bright red dusting the tips of his ears and scrunched up nose. He sighed irritably at him.

"Well, I'm sorry Andy," Elias frowned. "It's just going to have to."

Andy's shoulders trembled, huffing quietly as he walked back to his corner of the room. The red from his ears spilled over his cheeks, simmering beneath his flesh. He sank into his chair carefully. Elias cleared his throat, the murmurs of the gentries dying down instantly.

"My allies," Elias said, folding his hands behind his back. "An initiative to send a representative to the eighth realm in the north was discussed only moments ago. After taking into consideration our resources and limited movement, I have decided to follow through on this plan of action."

Andy's heart skipped a beat as he eyed the young king. He tried to meet his gaze from down the table only to watch Elias turn towards the other gentries.

"However, the representative will still be up for debate."

Andy fought the frown sliding down his lips to no avail. A gentry beside him raised a fist to his mouth as he coughed into it.

"Now that you bring this up, your majesty, after having some time to evaluate the prince's suggestion, I propose we send a representative close to your court," the man started, giving Andy a sidelong glance. The wrinkles weighing down his cheeks scrunched as he turned back to the king. "However, perhaps a candidate who isn't so…" The gentry paused, glancing in the air to search for a proper word, "young."

Andy bit down on his tongue, swallowing back a retort before it could escape his mouth.

"Thank you Lord Ronan." Elias nodded. "Then I nominate Sir Ingvar as our representative."

"I'm behind that." Lord Louis said.

A row of gentries nodded their agreements, softly murmuring about their past regent's successes and skill sets. Andy's stomach twisted, forcing his glare down on his tightly intertwined fingers. The heat roiling in his veins trickled against his bones with every murmur that flittered by him. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Elias ready to say more when a hand rose into the air.

"Forgive me for interrupting, your majesty," King Westerguard's voice rumbled. He rose from his seat, his large shoulders rolling as he stood. "But I nominate the prince for this mission." The gentries ogled the man as he continued.

"With all due respect, Sir Ingvar, you are just too widely known be it politics or battle. Our prince, however," he swayed a hand towards Andy, "as he stated earlier, is unknown and has a greater chance of slipping by any looming threat."

Andy felt his cheeks heat up, squirming in his seat while a small grin crossed his lips, then frowned once he ran the words through his head.

Okay, he thought bitterly. Double handed comments must be a usual thing in the Southern Isles.

The corners of Elias's mouth deepened with an oncoming frown until he shook his head.

"That may be the case," Elias said, "but should said threat come forth, the prince won't have any defense."

"Guards." King Westerguard said, throwing his hands in the air. "One or two should be plenty to protect him. That and if we are to start unifying our forces, then it's best to have Sir Ingvar here to assist the defense."

Elias's brows knitted together slightly, another denial squirming at the tip of his tongue when a chair screeched along the floor. He glanced up at Andy, his palms flat on the table as he looked at King Westerguard.

"And since I don't have any 'protection,'" Andy said. "Then the northern kingdom will be more open to discussion with someone who won't have a chance at harming them."

Elias fought against a flinch when the elder king chimed back, "And you could bear a gift. Show some modesty towards those who we wish to be allies with."

"What kind of gift would they like though?"

"Well, with it being torn between freezing and blazing every season, perhaps some resources to replenish them for a while."

The gentries sat with quizzical expressions wrinkling their features as the prince and the elder king went back and forth. Elias gawked at the two, glancing at Ingvar who meekly shrugged.

"Oh," Andy exclaimed. "What about those heavy wrap things you give to the leader?"

"You mean cloaks," King Westerguard arched an eyebrow as Andy nodded eagerly.

"Yeah, those! We get a really nice one, but hand out as many to the kingdom's people along with their ruler."

"The citizens approach." King Westerguard scratched his beard and nodded. "A nice touch."

"Knowing how skillful your textiles are, maybe we could have one custom made for their leader." Andy said.

"Yes, but that would take quite some time along with the others."

"Then I can just take the leader's ahead when—"

"Wait, wait, stop!" Elias shook his head, a strangled cry of resentment caught in his throat, as he raised his hands in the air. Andy and King Westerguard fell silent glancing at the young king while the gentries shrunk back in their seats. "Westerguard, thank you for your suggestion, but my brother will not—"

"I think it's up to the rest of our allies, my king," Andy cut in. Elias's brow wrinkled at the smug grin teasing the corner of Andy's lips, "to decide who to send for such an important mission."

The Spanish gentry nodded his head, rising from his chair as he swayed his hand towards Andy.

"I agree with King Westerguard." He said, holding onto the band of his sash. "The prince shows potential towards this mission."

The Duchess of Birmingham rose as well, nodding, "I…agree as well, your majesty. I also nominate Prince Anders to be our representative."

A chair toppled back onto the floor as Lord Ronan stood, his fleshy lips smacking against each other loudly. He shot a glare across the table towards the duchess.

"Yes, let's all send the lamb into the slaughterhouse," he rumbled. "Shall we also blindfold him?"

"You know nothing of the future," a gentry snapped heatedly. "Perhaps there is a chance the prince could reach them."

"And then what? Sneak out of that meeting as well?"

The heated voices began to strike against one another, bundling into wave after wave of blistering debate. Andy's presence drifted amongst the gentries, being pulled into the argument and brushed off like air. He gulped uneasily as the gentries' voices boiled the temperature in the room. Andy's fingers twined around each other again until an earsplitting slam splintered through the rumble. The gentries' voices withered back into their mouths, the icy tinge in the air making them swallow any other remarks as they sank back into their seats.

"Enough." Elias's said; his voice icily soft. He glanced at Andy through his fallen bangs. "Prince Anders, would you please step out for a moment."

Andy flinched, yet his eyes narrowed as he straightened at his spot. He crossed his arms.

"No." Ingvar shot him a deadly glare that made his insides screech along his limbs. Andy held absolutely still, feeling the bitter, icy air press against him—urging him to fall back against the chair.

Elias huffed silently, "Anders, this mission requires more than just luck." He turned to King Westerguard. "And the north is a deadly wasteland. It would be folly even thinking of sending the prince when he has no training."

"But—" Andy cried.

"Anders, please." Elias cut off. "This doesn't concern you."

Andy crossed his arms over his chest before they could slam the table and snapped, "Well according to my future father-in-law, this mission does!"

The gentries flinched, glancing between King Westerguard, Andy, and Elias. The calm façade on Elias's face cracked slightly, a mere millisecond of shock sparking beneath his eyes. Elias's eyes hardened, straightening his back as he smoothed back his ruffled locks. The gentries swallowed thickly as they eyed their overseer, his expression unreadable as he said, "Please, excuse me for a moment. Ingvar, would you be so kind and continue."

Before Ingvar could say anything, the young king strolled down the meeting room towards the door. Andy's glare remained rooted on the back of Elias's head until a pinch of ice plucked at his ear—an invisible hand dragging him towards the door at Elias's heels. As the two disappeared down the hall, the doors slammed shut; echoing along the corners of the room.

The gentries glanced at Ingvar curiously as he cleared his throat. He straightened his uniform and moved over where Elias once stood.

"Well then," he said, "the discussion of the representative will be put on hold until the king reaches a decision." He warily eyed the door, biting the inside of his cheek before turning towards the map. "Now, our defenses must all be diffused throughout our individual kingdoms. Limited traveling will have to limited until then…"

As the meeting continued, Andy stumbled as he was practically thrown into the king's private study. He rubbed his ear, flinching at the icy chill running through it, and glared at Elias.

"I hate it when you do that." He grumbled as Elias closed the door.

"And I hate how you draw attention to matters that aren't concrete." Elias pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Concrete?" Andy's nose wrinkled, a red flush roiling beneath his cheeks as he stomped his foot. "Well daddy Westerguard seemed to think me as his son was very concrete!"

Elias sighed, leaning back against his desk. He looked up at Andy with a frown then looked down towards the new and old stack of letters littering his desk.

"I was going to talk to you about it beforehand."

"When?" Andy gawked. "Before or after you wrapped me up and shipped me first class to the Southern Isles!"

"It wasn't going to be like that Andy." Andy's hands balled into fists as Elias massaged his temples. "It was an idea the king and I discussed after analyzing our current alliance."

Andy bit down on his lip, trying to ignore the sting in his chest. "So I'm a bartering tool now? Well that must make things easier for you then."

Elias folded his arms across his chest. "This isn't about me Andy." Andy arched an eyebrow at him. "I was considering the proposition, and thought that perhaps it would be…good for you. Give you some stability to your life."

Andy scoffed, "Stability? So now I'm insane!"

"You know what I mean." The elder replied flatly.

"No, my king, what do you mean?" he snapped.

Elias fought off a groan and turned towards his desk. Shuffling through a drawer beside him, Elias pulled out a stack of papers in hand. His fingers flicked through the stack thoroughly before reading off, "December twentieth, a villager knocked over a display of art worked by the orphanage's children for the seasonal ceremony."

Andy flinched, pink blooming over the red splotched over his cheeks while Elias flicked to another paper.

"January first, during the forth coming celebration for the year, a villager set fire to the barn holding the reindeer and set them on a stampede." Elias flicked to the next page sharply. "February fourteenth, a villager devoured a chocolate shipment meant to travel to the Eastern Isles as a gift. March fifteenth, a villager tore through a salesman's late harvest meant to be sold later in the year—"

"Okay, I fixed that guy's cart and paid him back." Andy cut in. "Plus those guard reports are how old now?"

Elias waved the papers in the air, his lips pressed together in a thin line. "Five years ago." He leaned down to the drawer again, pulling out a thicker file of papers. "Four years ago." The pile grew thicker. "Three years ago."

The papers slammed harder against the desk until Elias pulled out the largest pile of papers from his desk. The thick stack shook the table as he dropped them. Andy warily eyed the largest stack, avoiding Elias's gaze.

"Past two months." Elias tilted his head to the side with crossed arms. Andy's teeth desperately tried to disappear in the blanket of his bottom lip as he shuffled from foot to foot. "Andy, you can't keep doing this to yourself. I know you're young, but perhaps being bound to someone will keep you rooted to where and who you're around."

"Sure it will," Andy mumbled, his voice bitter. "And I'm sure uncle thought the exact same way."

"Don't speak about our uncle that way." Elias said.

Andy couldn't help the crooked smile on his lips. "Are you gonna deny that he didn't mention this before? How is this supposed to be best for me?"

"You make it pretty hard to find out, Andy." Elias snapped. "And I told you that the marriage arrangement hasn't been set yet."

Andy's blood boiled as he crossed his arms. He jabbed his thumb towards his self as he snapped. "Well, you can just tell Westerguard that it's off—cause I'm already engaged!"

Elias's eyes widened, whipping around the desk to move towards the boy. He stopped a foot away from him.

"What?"

Andy smirked, tilting his chin up in the air.

"Yep. I got engaged last night! Course she proposed, but that's besides the point."

Elias ogled the boy as if he had just sprouted wings and horns before choking out his next words. "Who?"

"A goddess." Andy said haughtily. "A queen of all who dare cross her path."

Elias's wide eyes slowly narrowed, arching an eyebrow at the boy. A lock of ivory hair fell over his eyes while he asked flatly, "It's the stable girl, isn't it?"

Andy's proud smile withered, staggering back as if the question backhanded him.

"She's a queen." He said. "Everyone looks up to her."

Elias blinked down at him, running his gaze up and down the boy's jittery frame. "It's the stable girl."

"She's not a stable girl!" Andy stomped. "She's an ice harvester and reindeer herder!"

"Yes, because that makes everything so much better." Elias blew the stray lock from his eyes. "Pity that that ring will go to waste."

Andy stumbled back, glaring daggers at the man. "What are talking about?"

Elias rolled his neck to the side. "How many children do you plan to have?"

"W-what?"

Elias leaned down to Andy, his face inches from his. "How many children do you plan to have?" A searing pink infested Andy's cheeks, his tongue caught at the roof of his mouth. Elias stared at him blankly, pushing on, "What will she do about her ice mistress dream after you're married?"

Andy swallowed heavily. "W-we'll work on that with time."

"Wonderful, a fruitless marriage for the kingdom." Elias leaned back.

Andy's teeth bared as he snapped, "Then you marry Westerguard then if it will be so fruitful!"

"Andy." Elias warned.

"I mean, nothing's stopping you." The words ignited from Andy's tongue before he could hold them back. "You're the god damned king, you can do whatever the hell you want!"

Elias's eyes narrow on the boy. "Watch your tongue!"

Andy groaned, turning on his heel towards the door when a hand snatched his wrist.

"Let go, Elias."

Elias swallowed the venomous sting that was spat out with his name as he tightened his hold on his brother.

"Andy, you're not a child anymore." He said. "When will you open your eyes and see that there's more at stake."

"When will you let me out of this hell hole?" Andy writhed in the elder's grasp, groaning at the icy flesh holding him.

"Hell?" Elias chuckled humorlessly, his eyes darkening. "You think this—your home—is Hell? Try being on a battlefield! Try running through a fire like yesterday everyday Andy. That's what you're volunteering for!"

Andy bit the inside of his cheek, shuddering under the stony fire rousing beneath icy, blue orbs. Small flurries of snow swept across his face, yet the anger bubbling in Andy's chest was already raging against the quick temperature drop of the study; his words flaring out like the flames' tongue against the chilly air.

"Then why is it that everyone else seems to think I can do it?" Andy snapped.

"Because you're a cheap bet!" Elias snarled.

Andy's eyes widened, a small bubble of tears swimming behind his eyelids as the words tore through him mercilessly. Blind heat seared through his veins—his bones—like a ravenous wolf thrown loose. A cloud of darkness veiled over his mind, his tongue flicking against the roof of his mouth for words to throw back at the young king, yet the tears had already begun to silently spill down his cheeks.

Andy yanked his wrist from Elias's grip, trying once again to reach the door when Elias's hand fell upon his shoulder. The icy grip returned to his wrist, gentler than last time.

"Andy, wait." Elias said, whirling Andy towards him. "That's not what I—"

"Of course it is." Andy spat, pure venom roiling with each word. His nails clawed at his balled up palms. "It's what everyone thinks."

"Well maybe if you stopped acting so recklessly, your people—your allies—could actually consider you as more than a broken spare that lounges in a castle."

The last gate holding the wolf shattered, the wolf howling with its jaws spread wide as Andy whipped his glassy eyes towards Elias with his teeth bared.

"At least I'm still considered human instead of a monster!"

The moment the words left his mouth, Andy felt his heart freeze in his chest. The icy fingers fell from his wrist and he blinked through the tears lingering on his eyes. The blurred kaleidoscope fell back into place and Andy instantly wanted to punch his self. The cool mask on Elias's face broke; his stared at Andy with wide eyes, an outstretched hand ready to brush against Andy's cheek retracting against his chest. Andy winced at the quiver of Elias's shoulders and pursed lips that tried to hold back his trembles.

Andy opened his mouth then let it close, looking away from the man and towards the rug on the floor. Guilt began rippling through his stomach as the heavy silence made the short distance between them painfully close, gnawing at the last threads of hope either of them had for one another. Andy forced his hand to move, reaching out towards Elias's only to have him jerk away before he could even touch him. The man's ruffled hair fell over his eyes as he rubbed his arms. The boy ignored the slap of rejection and cleared his throat.

"We should probably get back to the meeting." Andy said quietly.

"No." Andy looked up at the man. A stony expression steeled over Elias's face, the quivering long gone with cold eyes taking their place. "You're done. And rest assured that your nomination won't be mentioned again."

Andy flinched as Elias walked past him, his shoulder roughly gliding against his passively. Andy fought to keep his voice steady.

"Y-you can't do that!" Andy said.

A smirk twisted at the corner of Elias's lips as he shot an icy glare at the boy.

"I'm the god damned king," he sneered, shoving the door open. His voice dropped into an icy hiss. "I can do whatever the hell I want."

The door closed shut behind him as Andy let his head fall against the wood. His knuckles slammed into the door, only to wince at the pain that pinched him. The boy slid to the floor, cradling his fist as he sighed, "Way to go Andy. You hurt him again."