A couple days had passed and Francis had not seen his grandfather since the incident. Mary was always close by in case he had an episode of terror and there were knights outside his door day and night. Every day he took his meals in his sitting room instead of in the dining hall with the King. The best thing for him was that he was now allowed free roaming around the castle as long as he told Mary when he was leaving. While he was wandering his grandfather was kept busy in his study so the two of them would be unable to cross paths.
Today he decided that he wanted to go back to the dungeons and talk to the strange boy again. His grandfather's actions had encouraged him to learn about the boy rather than deter him like the man had wanted. He pulled on a thick, light green tunic which would have been very warm for the nice spring day outside. However, it would keep him from shivering when he went to the dungeon.
"Miss Mary," he beckoned as he finished brushing his long blond hair. The woman stepped into the room and waited patiently for him to speak. "Would it be alright if I go out for a few hours?"
Mary smiled at his polite question and nodded.
"Of course, little prince. I will alert Ferdinand to your wandering." She pat his head gently. "Go on."
Francis smiled back and left the room, heading to the dungeon. He waited behind a pillar until the knights left their shift a few minutes early. Taking advantage of his luck, he rushed over to the door and slipped inside before a new set of knights came by to take over.
The dungeons were just as dark and cold as the last time he had been down there but he confidently walked towards the darkest cell. Again he pulled down a torch and set it on the ground by the bars of cell.
"Hello?" he called, looking around in the darkness for the boy. "Are you in here?"
Something in the darkest corner shifted before moving into the light. The boy peered at him curiously.
"Who are you? I have not seen you before."
"Actually you have. I was dressed like a maid the last time I was here so no one would know."
The boy stared at him for a few moments before nodding.
"Yes," he said slowly. "I recognize you now. Why were you disguised as a maid?"
"So my grandfather would not know that I came here." The strange boy continued to stare at him, making the younger child uncomfortable. "W-What?"
"You were not hurt the last time I saw you. What happened?"
Francis looked away and absentmindedly played with a lock of his hair.
"M-My grandfather…he was upset when he found out that I knew about you…"
"And he hurt you because of it?"
The Prince nodded.
"He seems to not like you."
The other boy snorted.
"No one around here likes me. Do you think they would have locked me in here if they did?" Francis shook his head. "And if your grandfather was so upset about you seeing me then why are you here?"
"He does not know. Mary and Ferdinand keep him away from me and let me go where I want inside the castle now."
"Who?"
"My nursemaid and my grandfather's advisor."
Once again those bright green eyes were boring into him, clearly thinking hard about something. Suddenly his eyes widened.
"Your grandfather is the king," he whispered, shocked.
"I thought you knew that…"
"No. I did not until now. I thought you were some noble's child who was running loose." He smirked. "So you are a pampered little Prince who cannot take a hit?" he taunted.
"No one had ever hit me before…" Francis admitted quietly.
"Oh." Again the boy felt like a jerk. He should have known. The little boy was probably no more than nine after all but it was hard to tell; his clothes made him look older but his innocent eyes made him look like a toddler. "How old are you?" he asked suddenly.
"S-Seven."
"And your name?"
"Francis."
"Hmm…"
The boy rubbed his chin as he thought. This Prince seemed so lonely, like he would accept any affection or attention even if it was for the wrong reasons. He could use that to get out of this horrid place but as the boy watched him with those bright blue eyes he knew he could never. The child just wanted someone to care for him and withered when he was hurt by someone he trusted. If he hurt the child he would feel terrible.
"Why are you down here?" His question was asked in such a simple tone. He was clearly very interested in the answer and seemed to have no prior information about him other than what he had learned last time.
"Your grandfather thinks my family is hurting the people of your kingdom. He thinks that if he has me then he can force my brothers to act how he wants if they want me back in one piece someday."
Francis gasped.
"That is horrible! I cannot believe he would do that to you!"
"I appreciate that, lad, but you better believe it. I will be stuck in here if and until your grandfather decides to let me leave."
The Prince angrily stamped his foot.
"When I am king the first thing I am going to do is release you!" he declared. "No one should be used so someone else can get their way!"
The boy blinked in surprise.
"Really? You would do that for me? You do not even know anything about me. Or my family. Or what your grandfather thinks my family has done."
Francis nodded thoughtfully and sat down on the ground in front of the cell.
"You are right. So tell me."
The older boy sized up the situation. He could easily ignore the child and tell him to go away. Or he could tell him what he wanted to know. He stayed silent as he thought, Francis patiently waiting for him to decide. What would he lose if he told the child? It is not as if he would run to his grandfather and call for his execution.
"Fine." He sat down as close to the edge of the cell as he could. "To start off my name is Arthur. I have four brothers and we all live in the woods outside this kingdom. We rarely enter your marketplace unless we desperately need something because the woods provide everything else we need. The few times we do enter we are not treated kindly. We are not welcome. We stay in the woods where we are away from those that would do us harm. It keeps your people at ease to know that we are locked away in the woods and they simply avoid the woods. If they need something from the woods they go in as shallowly as possible and when they return the make up stories about how they barely escaped with their lives. We know they do for eventually their tales reach even us who are so isolated in the forest. Your people despise me and my family so we stay out of their way. This arrangement worked for decades until…" He stopped, biting his tongue. "Your grandfather has wanted our family dead for a long time now."
Francis listened to the story, eager to know why a boy only a few years older than him was in this position but there was still one thing he did not understand.
"But…why does everyone not like you?" he asked, confusion shining in his big eyes.
"Because…" Arthur took a breath and looked straight into the Prince's eyes, the green seeming to glow slightly in the dark. "We are werewolves."