Chapter 5x – Royal Concerns
I let them walk out of my line of sight before I left as well. I walked out of the open doors and a couple guards rushed to close them. I wandered down the grand halls for a while before reaching my destination. I knocked on the door once and let myself in.
"Cain?" I asked as I peeked into the room. I found him sitting at a desk with a lantern nearby, writing something down.
"Prince Marth! What brings you here tonight?" he stopped writing to greet me. I stepped into the room and closed the door behind me.
"I've been meaning to talk to you, but I've only recently found the time." I came over to his desk and sat down on a nearby chair, "Jagen mentioned that you were attacked a few weeks ago. He told me to ignore it, but it has been bothering me. Please. Tell me about it."
"I… well, if you insist." He agreed and leaned towards me, "It all happened very similarly to a bandit attack, but I noticed something… different. Whatever or whoever attacked me had a green mask on and some sort of curved horn. I'm not completely sure as it was pitch black. Don't worry yourself too much about it, it must have been the dark playing tricks on me."
"Do you think your attacker would still be out there?"
"I wouldn't believe so, it's been weeks." He replied. The room fell into a deafening silence as he resumed writing and I sat there pondering the possibilities.
"What do you think of those two? Glacia and Katarina?" I said, changing the subject.
"They're definitely different." He said, closing the book he had been writing in, "Katarina has an amazing ability to plan efficiently and effectively, keeping injuries at a minimum. Glacia has a strong fighting spirit, but she's got a long way to go. There's something special about her, though."
"I have only seen them in small mock battles, yet I feel their strength." I said, "I offered them positions as my Royal Guards." Cain gave me a surprised look.
"Are you certain you should make such a judgment so quickly?"
"I am very certain."
"If you feel so strongly of them, I won't stop you."
"Thank you, Cain." I said as I stood up, "I'm going for a walk around the castle before settling into bed."
"Alright. And please, don't worry yourself too much."
"I will try." I replied and left his room, gently closing the door behind me. The moonlight shone through the windows and the many flower vases glistened. I didn't make it far before one of the patrolling guards questioned me. After ensuring the guard understands what I was doing, I continued my walk through the halls. My mind was distracted and once I had regained my concentration, I found myself in the corridor that led to the junior knight platoons. I noticed two figures in the hallway, bathed in the flickering torchlight.
"Let's get some sleep. We can think about it more tomorrow." One of the figures said and put their hand on the other's shoulder.
"Alright… goodnight Katarina."
"Goodnight, Glacia." Katarina disappeared into her room almost immediately while Glacia stood outside for a while before opening her room's door and entering. I wonder if she has any ideas about Cain's attacker, I thought to myself as I watched her disappear from sight, I just hope she doesn't find it intrusive for me to speak to her so soon after asking her to become my Royal Guard. I waited for a while before walking up to her door and lightly knocking on it as to not disturb those in neighboring rooms.
"Katarina? Shouldn't you be in bed?" Glacia said through the door before slowly opening it, "O-oh. I apologize milord. I didn't mean to be rude." She had a simple, light-blue shirt on as well as white shorts. Her long, blue hair shined and the torchlight emphasized its lightening gradient.
"No, I should apologize for coming to speak with you so late at night. Please, may I come in for a few minutes?"
"O-of course." She said and opened her door enough for me to come inside. Once I passed through the doorway, I noticed the state of her room. Various swords and lances lined the wall opposite of her bed. Her desk was covered in sharpening stones and polishing materials. A few books with loose pages were on the desk as well. In one corner of the desk sat a little, black bag that was tied closed with white string. Her set of light-blue armor hung from a rack near the door. She closed the door and took a seat on her bed, "Please, have a seat," she said, gesturing towards the chair, "You… wanted to speak with me?" I sat down and made myself comfortable. I could feel the nervous tension in the air.
"Yes. Have you seen anyone or anything around the castle with a green mask and some sort of curved horn?" I asked.
"Sounds familiar… Is this about Sir Cain's attacker a few weeks ago?"
"It is, in fact. This is why I wanted to speak to you in private. Any eavesdroppers may spread panic. So, have you seen something like that anywhere?"
"I… I believe I did. It was back at the village we saved today, though I wasn't able to get a good look at it." She stared out the window as she tried to remember more, "I'm sorry… I'm not really much help."
"That actually helps a lot. It means his attacker is still out there." I said and noticed her face lit up once she realized she was helpful, "Can you keep an eye out for this… mystery attacker during your training for me?"
"Oh, of course." She said, "I don't mean to be rude or question your actions, but why are you approaching me about this?"
"I suppose it's because you're the most approachable while maintaining a strong stance on the battlefield." She gave me a surprised look and I stood up to leave, "Look, I'm sorry for intruding on your bedtime. I should leave."
"Don't apologize, sire. I have also been having concerns about this mystery attacker. I must thank you for taking the matters into your own hands."
"I'd do anything to ensure the safety of my people as well as my close friends." I said before walking out of her room and gently closing the door. I took a deep breath to deter my sleepiness before walking out towards the small courtyard down the hall. As I walked out onto the grass, I noticed a light coming from the hall across from me. I guess the infirmary is working overtime tonight, I thought, I hope they don't overwork themselves. I walked to the center and observed my surroundings. Bushes lined the edges and in each corner grew a tall tree where many birds have made their homes. Pathways etched a design into the lawn and benches were scattered around the area. Several were by the edges of the courtyard while others were closer to the middle, seeming to focus on the center. I heard the wind howl overhead. Hopefully this doesn't bring any rain soon, I thought. I walked around the pathways, thinking about the mystery attacker and stopping every once in a while in hopes of finding some sort of clue, as unlikely as it was.
After a few minutes of searching, I heard a rustling of the bushes and a shifting of grass blades against each other. "The walls are too high for wind to blow through…" I whispered to myself. I suddenly had a strong feeling of action, a feeling I hadn't felt since the War of Shadows. Instinct drove me to dive to the left and I did just that. I felt the force of my fall ripple through my arm and a sharp metal clang echoed through the air. I rolled to my feet and reached for my sheath. My hand landed on my empty hip. I looked up to see who it was. The darkness obscured their true identity, but I noticed their bulky form as well as some sort of mask. There, I thought, it's that mask! He was already charging towards me when I noticed I was still empty-handed. I looked to my left and noticed a broken tree branch.
"Whoever you are and whatever your motives are for coming here… prepare yourself." I said as I picked up the branch. His axe came down and I used the branch to push myself out of its way. With all my strength, I brought the branch down on his head and knocked his mask off. In retaliation, he swung his arm at me and knocked me down. He lunged at me, attempting to use his weight against me. I rolled over and reached towards the branch that was knocked out of my hand. I barely grabbed it when I felt his hands wrap around my neck. With a strong grip, I brought the branch down on his head several times until he let go of me. As he staggered from my blows, I brought my leg up and kicked him in the chest, throwing him into the grass. I rolled around and pushed myself off the ground. I walked towards him as he laid in the tall blades of grass, branch still in my hand. He noticed my approaching footsteps and hurriedly got to his feet. He bolted out of the gate and pushed his way through the main gate's guards. The guards rushed over to my location and hesitated before approaching me. One of the guards finally mustered up the courage to speak to me.
"E-excuse me. P-Prince Marth?" he stuttered and I threw the branch to the ground.
"Don't worry about it. I handled it." I said and the guard left to talk with his accomplice. I turned to look at the place where I had that scuffle with the masked attacker. I noticed another figure in the darkness, floating around the area. The moonlight reflecting off of their purple hair confirmed to me that it was Katarina.
"Katarina?" I said, slightly startling her.
"Prince Marth?" she said as she came closer.
"What are you doing out here at such a late hour?" I asked as her face entered the flickering light of nearby torches.
"I heard a commotion and I came out to see what it was. I guess I missed it."
"You should head back inside and rest. I'll handle it. Don't worry." She silently nodded and slowly walked through the hallway once again. As I watched her leave, Jagen quickly approached me from behind.
"Prince Marth! I was alerted by a guard who said you were assaulted. Are you alright? Did th-"
"I'm fine. I'd be more worried about his condition than mine." I said, interrupting his string of questions.
"How did this happen? Why were you out here in the first place?" his questioning continued.
"I just couldn't sleep, I suppose. Who knows how he got past all the guards." I reasoned. After a few more questions from Jagen, I was allowed to leave the conversation and head back towards my room. Jagen stayed behind to question the nearby guards. Adrenaline was still flowing from the recent fight and my heart was pounding. On my way back to my quarters, guards would stop me every once in a while to ask me about the fight and about my physical well-being. I gave them all the same response. "I'm alright, I just fought off a little ambush. Nothing to worry about." I would tell them before continuing my on my way through the hallways.
A few turns and a few concerned guards later, I had finally made it back into my quarters. I slowly closed the large blue and gold door and walked towards a table on the wall opposite to me. I gently placed my circlet down, wondering how it remained on my head during the fight. I shook the thought from my mind and prepared to climb into bed. I hung my armor and cape on their respective hooks and left my boots near the foot of my bed. I snuffed out the lanterns that lit up my room with its warm glow and crawled under my sheets. I spent a long time rolling around before I was able to fall asleep. It wasn't long before a sudden touch on my arm startled me awake.
"Wha? Who..?" I muttered as I blinked myself awake.
"Oh, thank the heavens." I rubbed my eyes and looked up once again.
"Cain? What's going on?" I asked as he sat down on the edge of my bed with his face in his hands.
"Ah… I'm sorry," he said as he took his face out of his hands and stared at the floor, "I just… I guess… I had a terrible nightmare. All I could hear was 'we'll kill him… we'll kill him. We'll kill Prince Marth… without fail'."