Yuuri was deadly calm. He silently left the room, the cloak left in the room, and the pendant slipped into his pocket. He made his way to the banquet hall, silent and alone.
There was an intruder in the castle. A murderer. They were not going to leave.
He turned a few corners, picking up his pace. He thumbed the knife he had strapped to his waist – a safety precaution the guards had encouraged him to pick up after the murder of his parents and sister.
He took a deep breath. Knise was in the castle. His brow furrowed as he thought. Maybe it wasn't him. Maybe it was a goon. He shrugged away the thoughts. Somebody was here will ill intent, and he was going to find them.
He made the final turn into the banquet hall, where a crowd of important people had gathered. They made quick glances when he arrived in the doorway, but looked away, thinking nothing of his arrival.
He slowly stepped in. Any one of these people could have been working with Knise, ready to strike Yuuri down the moment they laid eyes on him. Yuuri stepped forward. It didn't take him long to find Takeshi, Yuuko, and the girls. Staying out of sight, he slipped around and silently tapped Takeshi on the shoulder.
The larger man turned around, opening his mouth to greet his friend and king. Yuuri shook his head, placing a finger on his lips to mime silence. Takeshi blinked in surprise, but nodded, and followed Yuuri to a room off the hall.
Now alone, Takeshi rounded on the king. "Are you okay? What's going on?"
Wordlessly, Yuuri pulled out the pendant.
Takeshi stared for a little bit, but then his eyes widened. "Where did you find it?"
"In my cloak," Yuuri said. "It was hanging on a chair, and I was… I was busy, but when I came back, it was in the pocket. But the door was locked. Whoever put in in there was very secretive about it."
Takeshi took the pendant from Yuuri's hand. Its tree emblem reflected the light, making gold flicker across both their faces. "You don't think…" Takeshi trailed off.
"He's here," Yuuri confirmed. "Or someone is."
"We need to get help," Takeshi said. "Or move you to Solis, or something."
"No," Yuuri hissed. "I want to find him."
"We will," Takeshi assured. "Someone will, Yuuri, but you aren't safe here."
"I don't care," Yuuri said. "I'm going to find him, and make him pay."
"I'm sorry, Yuuri," Takeshi apologized. "But this isn't-" He trailed off again as Yuuri placed his fingertips on his friend's forehead. "Yuuri, please. You can't, it's not sa-"
The talking stopped as he sank to the floor, asleep. Yuuri let out a sigh. Using his magic was one thing, but against a friend, it hurt him. He had thought Takeshi would be on his side. Luckily, his magic could erase memories as well, so whenever Takeshi woke up, he wouldn't remember the conversation, and only think he accidentally fell asleep.
He turned around and walked away. Now to find Knise… There was only one place he could think of, at least inside Midworld, that Knise might be waiting for him.
He quickly made his way outside to the gardens, careful that none of the guards saw him. He skirted around the courtyard and slipped through some tall bushes that would conceal him from anybody looking. Hidden among the small maze of shrubbery, he sped around corners, wildly looking around. When he reached the center of the maze, he stopped. There was a small pool of water shimmering in the cloudy afternoon. On the edge of the pool was a stone bench, and there sat a figure, with a hood pulled over their head, facing away from Yuuri and towards the shadows that concealed Lunis in the distance.
"Well, hello!" said the voice cheerfully, if not a bit tiredly. "It's been some time, hasn't it, Yuuri?"
"I don't even know you," Yuuri said defensively.
"Yes, you do!" Knise had not turned around. "Your father was a good friend of mine! I was there when you were born."
"No, you weren't. Those were my father's dying words. He said you tried to destroy the kingdom before I was born, not after, and if he was really your friend, why did you kill him?"
Knise sighed and turned around. "I suppose there's no convincing you, then."
"Convincing me of what?"
Knise stood. "The reason I killed your father… Do you really want to know?"
Yuuri narrowed his eyes, thinking. He did, didn't he? "Tell me."
"The reason I killed your father…" Knise said, circling closer to Yuuri. "Was to get to you."
Yuuri's brow furrowed. "I don't understand."
"That's just it, though!" Knise laughed. "You don't understand, and that's why I needed you alive. It was pure coincidence you weren't in that hall when my assassins got to your parents and sister." He looked at Yuuri and smiled menacingly. "A death like that brings kingdoms together, which is just what I needed. When you were crowned, I knew it was perfect, since you and the new king of Solis would have nobody to turn to but each other. A unified kingdom is so much easier to take over, you see."
Yuuri stepped back. "You killed them to unify a country?"
"Indeed." Knise's breath invaded Yuuri's nose as he leaned forward and bore his yellow teeth. "I just got lucky."
"Why are you telling me this?" Yuuri said, uncertain.
"What's the fun if I don't get to see your reaction? Anyways, you asked." Knise stood back and started to walk away.
"Why shouldn't I just call somebody to arrest you and bring you back to prison?" Yuuri said, hoping that his voice carried.
"Oh, that's right," Knise said. "Well, I think you won't have the strength to scream for help."
"What?" Yuuri asked, confused.
"You'll find out in, hm… right about now, I'm guessing."
Yuuri's heart pounded. He turned to run, expecting an attack at any minute.
Knise's laugh followed him. "There's no point in running, Yuuri! You can't escape yourself, can you?"
Confusion and fear clouded Yuuri's mind as he raced back to the castle.
With no warning, though, pain suddenly reached out and seized him. He fell to the ground, gasping as white-hot heat spread from his chest to every limb on his body. He tried with every fiber of his being to yell out, but nothing came except whimpers and groans.
"You see," said Knise as he came up behind the fallen king, who was writhing on the ground. "I think you'll be surprised with how much I know about the limits of the king."