By the time I awoke the sun already stood vigil at the highest point in the sky. It took all the effort I possessed to drag myself out of bed, drag formal clothes onto my body, and drag my feet through the various hallways that led to the throne room. On the way there I encountered many of our servants, all of whom expressed great relief at my safe return. I replied as kindly as I could, though I felt as if I could jump out a window and not feel any pain when I hit the ground. Some caused more numbness than others, as most of the past lovers I'd had were servants.
When I stood before the double doors leading to where my brother and undoubtedly an ungodly amount of nobles awaited me, I felt the strong urge to run. I wanted to find Souichi. I probably could, too. Most of the guards would be in attendance for whatever reason Kunihiro had wanted me to come here, so the dungeon would most likely be undefended...and they might chalk up my lateness to just oversleeping…
No, but it'd be suspicious even if I could probably count on oversleeping. I'd wait until sometime tonight, when security was a bit more lax. For now, though, pointless ceremonies awaited me. So I pushed open the doors and stepped into the throne room.
A smaller count than I'd expected, roughly twenty nobles sat on either side of the aisle running down the center of the room. All heads turned to me when I entered, some disapproving, others alight with happiness. I knew most of their faces but few of their names. A few more past lovers here and there, though mostly they either looked away or stared with expressionless looks.
Clad in all levels of kingly attire, my older brother rose from the golden throne and met my gaze. I held the look, but it wasn't willingly. I still wanted to run. But that'd look bad and suspicious.
With leaden feet I strode down the aisle and stopped at the dais. As was customary, I knelt before Kunihiro. That way whatever he said would 'fly above my head' rather than 'going to my head.' A form of respect, essentially. Usually I disliked this, since we were brothers, but at this point it was relieving. This way no one had to see the pain on my face.
"I see already that you've discovered the nature of my inviting you here," Kunihiro said to the audience of nobles. "To my and many others' relief, my brother has finally returned home. The nature of his disappearance eluded us for quite some time. Sentries scoured forests throughout Metsudan and Reinorok in search of him, but we could find no trace. After a month of searching, we began looking for a body. Yet again, however, to no avail.
"However, when the search reached its second month, we received a message from a forest sentry, who had heard it from a bandit, that he was being harbored by a bandit ring. Originally I doubted this, thinking that it was just a ploy to allow the sentry and bandit a reward. So we had the sentry as well as the bandit he'd received the information from come here in order to question them. Their stories matched, and the names they'd mentioned were specific enough, so I questioned the leader of the ring the bandit was from. After a bit of persuasion, he agreed to my plan to retrieve Prince Tetsuhiro.
"So myself and a sizeable number of the royal guard, as well as a collection of sentries traveled to the forest where the bandits hiding my brother lived. Just as the other bandit had said, the second ring's leader showed up, surprisingly without any protection, with Prince Tetsuhiro in chains. But to both my and everyone else's surprise, that bandit leader wasn't just a random face. No, it was a familiar one."
I couldn't tell if the murmur that had overtaken the crowd spoke of Kunihiro's words or my body suddenly tensing.
"The one who had held my brother captive for two months was none other than Souichi Tatsumi, a name some of you may recognize as the 'Silver Assassin.' The very assassin who murdered the former king and our father seven years ago. Despite his vulgar insults and beastly shouts, we successfully apprehended him and brought him back here with us. Currently he's held in the dungeon, where he'll stay until the day he is executed."
My body tensed further. Heat stung my eyes, and I blinked rapidly to keep any tears from leaking out. I needed to find him. I needed to see him at least once before he...left me forever.
The rest of Kunihiro's speech fell on deaf ears. Or, at least, my ears went deaf. I only listened again when he told me to rise and face the crowd, which I did with intense sickness rolling like unsteady waves through my stomach. I wanted to run. I wanted to bolt out of the room and into the dungeon. I'd dig my way through the floors with a spoon if I had to. I needed to see him.
"The celebration in honor of my brother's safe return will commence this night and will continue until tomorrow's end. It will be hosted in the palace, as well as throughout the city. In the meantime, I allow you all to leave and make preparations for the festivities."
After he'd been distracted by a set of nobles, I managed to slip away from Kunihiro and out of the ballroom entirely. Gods, this was exhausting. I appreciated what Kunihiro was doing for me, but overall I didn't need these two days of celebration. I needed sleep. Sleep and seclusion, both for at least two days. Maybe longer. Probably longer. I doubted this sickness would pass any time soon.
When was the execution, anyway? I didn't remember Kunihiro ever telling me. Knowing him, he'd probably want it out of the way soon. That way he could focus on other matters that he deemed more important.
Politics and profit over the value of human life—a reality that was all too true. I hated it. I hated all of this. Everything that being royal entailed made me want to vomit; sometimes I did. Even if I was in a cell for most of the time, when I had been with Souichi, I never felt better. I disliked crime more than I disliked politics, but his life did appeal to me. All the freedom and fun that came along with being a commoner...criminal or not, I would've been jealous of him.
Perhaps there would be a second execution that day.
What felt like hours of aimless wandering later, I leaned against the wall and stared at the ceiling. Did anyone notice that I was gone? Probably. While Kunihiro was a caterpillar, I'd been compared to a butterfly. Now I wanted to strangle my past self for ever being so social. I didn't want friends; I wanted him. But instead, there was silence. Silence and emptiness.
My eyes widened; silence and emptiness!
There was no one in this hallway with me now. The rest were probably just as vacant, and even if others did roam the halls with me, they were probably too drunk to see anything. Finally—a chance!
Rejuvenated by this hope, I practically sprinted down the spiral staircase that led to the underground levels. At one point in the past the catacombs beneath the palace resembled the city streets above, but repeated rat infestations—currently downscaled but still unpleasant—deterred servants for fear of disease. Most of the catacombs were walled, but a few still remained. The few that led to the cells—and the torture chambers. But those hadn't been used in decades. Souichi wouldn't be in there...right?
Shaking my head to rid it of the gruesome thoughts taking shape, I slowed my pace and stopped before a heavy wooden door that looked centuries old. The air hung still, but no footsteps sounded. No one traversed the halls; no one human, anyway. As quietly as I could given its age, I nudged the door open just enough for me to slip through. It closed the same way.
While no one lived down here to my knowledge, the catacombs reeked of rotten food and excrement. Most likely from the rats both living and lying behind the barricades. Then again, there were a few guards who spent quite a bit of time down here, as their duty required, so maybe they contributed to the scents.
Either way, it was disgusting.
Though dank and dark, just enough light shined from the lanterns hanging irregularly from the ceilings to illuminate my way. With each turn my stomach churned, and not just due to the horrible smells. The last time I'd been down here...when was the last time I'd been down here? It'd been years, easily. There was a time when I'd gotten lost, but I was young then, barely older than five. Had it really been eighteen years? Shit, my memory was terrible.
But at least my sense of direction was decent. Somehow I managed to navigate the catacombs without running into a barricade, but what I did run into left my heart even emptier. Cold eyes met mine from behind spectacles, but not the eyes that I wanted to see. When did he get down here?
I stammered out anything that could sound like a plausible excuse, but I only managed to make myself look even guiltier. As always, disappointment lay across his face.
"You couldn't have at least waited for a better opportunity," he drawled.
Barely I managed to grasp words. "Kunihiro, please—"
"Why do you always do this?" he interrupted. "Why are you always sympathetic with them? They're criminals, Tetsuhiro. Criminals that deserve to be punished for their actions." He nodded to the hall left of him, where I knew the cells were. "Him especially."
"Just once," I whispered. "Just let me see him once before he's executed!"
"No," Kunihiro denied.
"Why?"
"I could ask you the same. Why is it so important that you see him? What is he to you?"
My eyes shot to the ground. I could tell him, but I'd only worsen the situation. "I just...I want to hear his reason."
"His reason? Tetsuhiro, he killed our father. Why does it matter what his reason was? He killed the most important man in the nation, he gets executed for his actions. It's law."
"It's inhumane!" I retorted and lifted my head up from the floor. "Maybe it wasn't a rebellion plot or mindless! Maybe his life was in danger! Maybe he was being forced to do it for threat of his family being hurt! Maybe he was framed!"
"You're shouting nonsense," Kunihiro spat. "I won't let you see him."
I clenched my fists at my sides. "You don't know him," I said. "You don't know his reasons or how he feels."
"And you do?"
I flinched at that. He was right, though I didn't want to believe him. I'd been captive for only two months, but I'd only really spent time with him for maybe two weeks. Still...I felt as if I knew him enough to merit a final visit. I did love him, after all; more than enough to want to hear him out.
"No," Kunihiro continued, "you don't. You don't know anything about him, Tetsuhiro."
I could only hold his gaze for a few moments before it froze and shattered my own. I looked away. "I would if you let me see him," I whispered. Before Kunihiro could say anything else I turned and stormed away. The frozen pieces of my eyes started to melt, but I made no attempt to wipe the wetness away.
Then from behind, a voice with all the power of a blacksmith's mallet...
"His execution is in a month."
