Chapter 7: Traitor's Hand
A loud knock interrupted the brothers. Hurriedly Mortesen helped Rakar up off the floor, then went over to the door. Instead of a servant bringing breakfast, a familiar figure stood there cloaked in travel dust and the weariness of a long ride.
"Alexei?"
"Prince Mortesen, I found someone I'm sure you'll want to see right away: a young lady by the name of Thia."
He snapped fully upright. "What?! How did you—? I'm coming." He shoved his feet into the boots at the end of the bed and started to leave, but turned back. "Rakar, this is important. I'll return later and we can talk more about what happened, alright?"
"I understand," came the reply.
As he rushed out, Rakar leaned against his desk, wondering why his brother's demeanor had changed so suddenly.
As soon as they reached the first stairwell the prince asked, "How did you manage to get her to come?"
The skunk looked back. "How do you think I was able to do it? 'Karok' certainly wouldn't have come willingly."
Mortesen halted, but his friend didn't pause and he hurried to keep pace.
"Now I understand why you refused to give a description of her after your kidnapping."
He couldn't think of anything to say that didn't sound like a petulant excuse, then they reached the main floor and passed plenty of servants going about their morning duties. It wasn't long before Alexei was opening the door to the dungeon. They continued down the stairs, coming to a heavy door with a deadbolt across it. The guard there bowed to Mortesen and let them through.
Another dozen steps and they were in the dungeon itself, lit only by torches that gave off a resinous smoke and he felt a bone-reaching chill encroaching from all sides. The skunk led the way past other prisoners—twelve of them the bandits responsible for the king and queen's deaths—to a cell at the far end where a hound sat on its haunches, eyes pinned on someone within.
"Good girl, Eoduin," he said, scratching her behind the ears.
Mortesen watched as he unlocked the cell and set a torch into the bracket inside. Athena sat on the floor, wrists shackled above her head. Her eyes were shut against the fiery light and she moved sluggishly.
"What's wrong with her?"
"Yesterday I gave her a potion to make her insensate, otherwise I'm sure she would have gotten away. It's mostly worn off by now. She just has a headache."
The prince tried not to overreact at this. He took several deep breaths and knelt down, cupping her cheeks with both hands as gently as possible.
"Athena, can you hear me?"
As she recognized his voice saying her name, the blue hedgehog opened her eyes. She stared into his face without fully focusing.
"There," came a croaking whisper from her lips. "I'm in chains just like you wanted. You didn't have to trick me into telling you all about myself."
"Inever told anyone anything, Athena. I didn't trick you and I never wanted you caught. Please believe me." He looked back at his friend. "Alexei, get the key to these manacles. She goes free."
Alexei shook off his astonishment. "With all due respect, I can't until you use your truth-telling to prove she's innocent of the king and queen's murders. It was more than the beanstalks that gave away her involvement. This was at the scene as well, and it was clearly not Queen Priscilla's."
He pulled Athena's shoe out of a bag in the corner. Mortesen recognized the glass beads at once.
"I...I can't use my Royal gift. Not right now. But I don't need to in order to know Athena would never attack my father."
"My Prince," Alexei said, trying to reason with him, "your brother said a giant plant seized King Negolas's horse and he fell. How is that not an attack?"
The prisoner kept her head down, saying nothing in defense.
Mortesen shifted closer to her, insisting, "Because she is too honorable to stoop to such a thing."
"Your father may very well be dead because of her and you still think she's innocent?"
Mortesen faced her again, the torchlight making her eyes look like a pair of glowing coals. "You may no longer trust me, but I trust you. I don't believe you meant my father any harm. Now, Alexei, get the key. But first go up to the laundry room and find something else for her to wear. I don't want her drawing too much attention dressed this way."
His friend could not ignore the note of command. Wordlessly he saluted and left the cell. They sat there, unable to say anything to one another at first. The black hedgehog didn't know how to express his feelings, that he wanted her to stay at the castle...
Athena's face was completely unreadable and she stared at him hard. "What if I had done it?"
Mortesen blinked in surprise. "You didn't."
"But what if I had?"
"Athena," he said, fully serious, "what if I'd had all the peasants in the Loamhedge Quarries punished to get back at you for kidnapping me?"
"...I don't know. That isn't the sort of thing I could see you doing."
"Exactly."
They looked at one another, understanding passing between them. But then the blue hedgehog lowered her gaze guiltily.
"I didn't mean to. Truly. It was an accident. I was trying to help them…"
"You're the one who saved my brother, aren't you?" He ducked down slightly to catch her eyes again. "I can never thank you enough. It doesn't matter to me that you failed to save my father or Priscilla. You tried, and that's what I'll remember forever."
Some of the anxiety along the corners of her eyes smoothed out as Athena gave the tiniest of smiles. Mortesen's expression grew thoughtful and he forced himself to say the things he hadn't had the courage to bring up since the beginning.
"I don't know why... You're nothing like her, but somehow whenever I see you I can't help remembering my mother. She wasn't brave or outspoken. Most of my memories are just seeing her in the background somewhere, sitting quietly. Her eyes were so weak she could hardly see, but she refused to wear spectacles, saying she accepted the way she was made." He glanced away, slightly ashamed. "I used to tease Rakar when we were young, but then I found out she was taunted by her siblings growing up. Seeing me do the same to him hurt her, so I tried hard to change. I was willing to do anything to make her happy."
He unclasped a bracelet hidden behind one wristband. He held it out so that Athena could see the glassy obsidian beads, each one carved with delicate runes he couldn't read.
"Just before the fever took her, she asked me to bring over her jewelry box. She took this out and fastened it to my wrist. 'As long as you wear this and think of me, you will never suffer true harm.' It's been years, but I hate to confess I still don't understand..."
The beads glinted as he fingered them, the creases of confusion distorting his features.
"I think maybe I do," Athena began. "It's very interesting that she said 'harm' instead of 'pain'. I don't believe she meant anything physical by it. Most likely Queen Amuera was more concerned for your moral character and how the power associated with your station could twist you into someone not fit to rule if there was no one to guide you well. Maybe she hoped that by remembering her on occasion, you'd try to become a king she would have been proud of."
The prince slowly put the bracelet back on, his hand lingering there in a guarded way. "I don't know if I can. She never said a word against my father, but I knew she disapproved of how he ruled sometimes. How can I be any different if I've been taught by him?"
Before she could form an answer, footsteps interrupted them. Alexei returned with the key and a dress was draped over his arm. The prisoner started to stand once the shackles were off, but at the first stumbling step, Mortesen wrapped his arm around her waist.
"I want to help you," Athena said once she was able to stand without help. "Can you take me to a map and explain just what happened five days ago?"
"Yes. But you'd best change into that dress first. The last thing I want is for all the servants to know you're Karok. Alexei, let's please give her some privacy."
The skunk and hedgehog politely exited and stood a little ways off. Eoduin stood at her master's side, ears cocked. A short time passed, then Mortesen heard an aggravated noise from the cell.
"Of all the stupid—! Why would they have buttons down the back?" Athena stepped out carrying her black outfit under one arm and looking vexed. "Mortesen, could you please fasten these? I can't reach them."
Caught off-guard, the prince started to gesture for Alexei to do it...only to find his friend leaning against the wall, apparently asleep. Left with no alternative, he went over to where she waited with her back to him.
His fingers were clumsy and he managed two buttons with difficulty, but when it came to the remaining one, he paused. Her long quills were draping down onto his hands. With one thumb he stroked the soft bristles and Mortesen unconsciously leaned forward to inhale the scent of pine trees hidden among them.
Athena's shoulders tensed. "Stop it."
The black hedgehog withdrew, trying not to feel the heat building in his cheeks. "I-I apologize. I wasn't thinking. Just seeing you again is... I'm very glad I didn't lose you too."
"You never had me, Prince," she pointed out crossly, turning to face him. "Don't fool yourself into thinking I'm actually someone you'd be able to marry. There is no political advantage to wedding someone like me. It isn't wise to pretend we could ever have anything more than friendship. Please...don't touch me again."
Behind them, Alexei loosened his grip on a dagger hidden in the armor on his forearm and pretended to sag as an excuse to jerk himself out of a "doze". His sudden movement reminded Mortesen and Athena that they had other business.
The three left the dungeon silently, going to the former king's study. As soon as the door closed, Athena went over to the map and found Sandstone Valley. She listened attentively as the situation leading up to the ambush was described, a flicker of surprise turning to skepticism. When Mortesen finished, she folded her arms.
"Everything was a lie from start to finish—a deliberate attempt to destroy the Royal family," she said simply. "It was only an accident that your brother survived and obviously you were expected to be with them."
The prince wondered at her absolute certainty. "How do you know?"
"Because the wells in Sandstone Valley started going dry over two months ago and most of the people there had to leave. Even if the peasants were stupid enough to try making weapons, there would be no point in defending a place where they couldn't live much longer anyway. The intelligence you received was false."
"That's quite an allegation," Alexei commented from his position behind her. "The only one who could have orchestrated it is Duke Windsor."
But Mortesen was preoccupied with something else. "I used my truth-telling when his servant gave the report... Even if I don't fully understand my gift, how could he have been lying outright?"
"Maybe he didn't," Athena said, placing one hand on the table right beside the invisible path in the hills where the king and queen had died. "If the servant believed what he saw—whether or not the peasants there were doing those things under orders—he would have thought it was the truth. Did the duke know about your Royal gift?"
"I never told him, and my father wouldn't have." He considered more thoughtfully. "But Sherry... When we were younger I think I told her, or at least implied its nature. She's a compulsive liar and I wanted her to know she couldn't fool me. She must have told her father."
"Then he must have found out more about it somehow. Once he knew the loopholes, it would have been easy to find a way to manipulate any information in a way that looked like the truth to you."
"Then it's my fault..." Mortesen lowered his head then slammed his fists onto the table. "He knew! He knew and he used it against me! Against my father! He and Priscilla are dead because I wasn't smart enough to realize—"
"My Prince," Alexei said with a firmness that stopped his rant. "Focusing on it won't help at this point. Now you know. Deal with that."
There was a low growl, causing both skunk and hedgehog to look back. Eoduin stood in the hallway, fur bristling as Athena poised in the open door. She seemed upset at having been caught attempting to sneak away.
"Athena," Mortesen started, walking toward her, "wait! I want—"
But she cut him off almost savagely. "No. We've already discussed this. Don't make things worse."
"It's not that. I don't want you to be Karok anymore," the prince insisted. "You've been fortunate so far, but someday you'll make a mistake and might pay for it with your life. Please stay here at the castle—help me understand what I can do to make things better."
"Nothing short of altering the social structure of the entire kingdom!" she snapped back. "You're going to become king shortly. Why don't you try to do a little thinking yourself?"
Skirt swishing above her ankles, Athena left the study. Eoduin started to bare a mouthful of fangs, but Alexei shook his head and the Mystical stopped. Something cold and heavy draped over Mortesen as she disappeared.
"I honestly thought she cast some spell on you before," Alexei murmured. "The way you were ready to release her without the smallest shred of evidence to establish she had no blame in the attack was too out of character for you."
"My...my father wondered the same thing. He said ever since I met her, I've been acting different."
"Yes, but now I see what it really is," he said in a meaningful way. "Earlier in the dungeon she had the perfect opportunity to seduce you, and had you really been under a spell she would have taken full advantage of it. She didn't even make the attempt."
Mortesen turned away from his friend, embarrassed. "I thought you had fallen asleep."
"I may be exhausted from a long ride, but I'd be an idiot to let my guard down when I couldn't be sure she was trustworthy. It was a chance for me to see what she intended without being too far away to protect you if I had to."
The prince still looked uncomfortable about the matter since he certainly wouldn't have acted in such a way if he'd known Alexei was fully alert.
"So what is your verdict?"
"Aside from the fact that you're infatuated with her?" he asked, one eyebrow raised. "Well, I believe she is sincere when it comes to you. She wants what is best for you and refuses to entertain any foolhardy illusions. I also think her assessment of the ambush is correct. You said Duke Windsor is the one who suggested the route, and he must have known we were traveling in two parties. It was too perfectly executed to have been chance."
"And if I'm not mistaken, he would be next in line for the throne. I remember my father saying once that he had a Royal gift, though a minor one, and that would make him more eligible than anyone else if both Rakar and I were dead."
The duke had been staying in Cosium Castle with his family after the ball ended, and twice since the king and queen had died he'd come to see the two princes, offering his services. If he was really intent on killing them, why hadn't he made an attempt at it?
Then Mortesen remembered that guards had been stationed outside their rooms in full shifts for the last five days, and if anyone aside from one of the physicians or Captain Stripeback came in, so did at least two soldiers. Windsor simply hadn't gotten his chance yet.
"This will have to be dealt with very soon. It's too dangerous to let him roam about the castle knowing he intends to slit your throat. But on the remote possibility that he is innocent, it may be best to confront him directly and use your truth-telling."
The prince didn't reply to his friend for a few seconds. "Thank you, Alexei. Go to the barracks and get some rest. I'll talk to your father later about Duke Windsor."
"Very well. I'll be reporting for duty tomorrow morning."
Alexei pressed a fist to his chest before leaving. The prince stood still, then his eyes began to rove around the study. It had crossed his mind countless times throughout childhood that someday he would inherit this room...but he always assumed it would be because his father had decided to step down.
The ornate chair at the table's head sat there, painfully empty.
But there was too much to do. He left the room, shoving aside the regret and sense of loss. There would be time for that later.
Reaching his brother's room, Mortesen dismissed the guards. It just might lull the duke into thinking no one suspected him, so by the time he noticed and decided to use it against them, there would be a trap in place.
Rakar was sitting at the table near the windows, eating his breakfast and reading a letter. He saw Mortesen enter and immediately held it out, somewhat chagrined.
"Sorry, Brother. This was addressed to the 'Prince of Cosium', so I thought it might be for me. It's from an assistant in the Royal Library of Ayortha. She explains everything they know about truth-telling. You were right before: it's about sensing sincerity, not the truth. A subtle difference, but an important one according to this."
Mortesen crossed the room and took the letter from him eagerly, but before he had a chance to read more than its introduction, the sound of the door opening then clicking shut caught his ear.
"Duke Windsor, what are you doing in my chamber?" Rakar asked, irate. He hated visitors and everybody knew it.
The light green hedgehog stood there, appearing concerned. "I'm glad to find you both alone this morning, Mortesen, Rakar. I haven't felt comfortable enough to bring up the unhappy circumstances that led to your parents' tragedy until now."
Mortesen felt adrenaline flooding his veins. It had barely been a minute. How could Windsor have known the guards were gone so soon?! He listened to the echo underneath those words. There was nothing dishonest in them so far, but that meant nothing since he hadn't expressed anything that could reveal his true feelings toward them.
"Did you do it?" the elder prince growled, unable to keep the anger in any longer. "Are you the one responsible?"
Rakar shot up, his one good eye fastening on the duke.
"I have never desired any harm to come to the Royal family," he answered, looking baffled.
Mortesen's brow creased in frustration. According to his truth-telling, Windsor was not lying. But he had to be.
Rakar glanced at the letter in his half-brother's hand then took a step forward, saying, "You appear to be choosing your words very carefully. When you say that, are you referring to our Royal family or some other one?"
The duke's face underwent a radical change. The concern and affection melted into intense rage. Drawing his sword in a flash, he threw himself at the two princes.
Mortesen realized too late he was unarmed and groped blindly behind for anything at all to use in his defense. A chair came to hand and he heaved it as hard as he could. Windsor had to pause in order to avoid it, but before he was prepared, the black-furred prince collided with him. His sword hurtled across the room.
They locked wrists, wrestling back and forth. As Rakar ran forward to help, the duke's hands began to glow with magic and an invisible force slammed into the brown hedgehog. When he tried to shake off the dizziness, he found himself unable to get up.
Mortesen's hands began to glow too. An erratic windstorm that started and stopped took its toll on the room, buffeting them and fighting against itself. Since they both used the same Element and were related, the prince was able to detect the weaving just before the magic fully formed, so he could counter anything by blocking or shattering it with his own Wind in moments. Of course that also meant his enemy could do the same to him.
Still, Windsor was more experienced. He shoved a foot into Mortesen's instep then jerked sideways with his hands, causing him to trip. Refusing to let go of his opponent, the young hedgehog dragged him down too, making them both crash into the table. Delicate china dishes shattered on stone. Windsor seized a sharp knife among the fallen silverware.
Mortesen tried to keep the weapon back, but the duke had the advantage, having landed nearly on top of him during the fall. The awkward position flat against the floor limited the prince's range of motion so that his fingers began to lose their firm grip and the knife drew dangerously close to his chest.
He wanted to fade into his Element, but he had already used so much energy blocking Windsor's attacks that if he attempted to do it and failed, it would drain him so badly that he'd be helpless.
"I won't be denied the throne because of a couple children!"
Rakar was busy struggling against the solid mass of air that pinned him down. He glanced over as the green hedgehog ground out the cruel words and saw the knife. The rabid fear that Mortesen too would die in front of him surged through his mind.
An instant later his body had dissolved into a shadow, escaping the prison and reforming directly behind Windsor. The second Rakar's fingers touched him, all ability to move was lost.
The crown prince felt his opponent go abnormally stiff and nearly went weak with relief. Clambering to his feet, he snatched the knife and then stumbled over to the bell pull that called the servants. He gave it several quick triple-yanks, the signal for danger.
"How long can you hold him like that?" he panted, nodding to the frozen figure still hunched over someone who was no longer on the floor.
"As long as I want," Rakar growled and tightened his hold on Windsor's neck. "It takes no effort at all."
There was open defiance on the duke's face. If he'd been able to speak, nothing but insults and mockery would have come from his mouth. When a handful of guards burst into the wind-swept room, Rakar finally let go, shoving him down onto his face.
"Find his wife and daughter," Mortesen commanded. "I want all of them arrested for the murder of the king and queen, and attempted assassination."
Windsor was dragged away, spitting and cursing at the two princes, just as Reveka came in. She looked over the hedgehogs, asking if they were at all injured. Once assured of their well-being, she glanced around the chamber with a fastidious eye.
"This will take some work. Well, it's good your bath is ready, my Prince. You certainly need it."
Mortesen looked down and noticed for the first time that he was wearing his breakfast. The strain of the entire morning's different events broke, and he barked out a laugh at something so mundane and practical.
"Yes, I suppose I do."
A/N: I like Alexei a lot. Not only is he a gentleman, but he's probably the smartest character in the entire story.