Chapter Three: Edwyn

We are introduced to the prince, Edwyn.

Edwyn wouldn’t profess to have a hard life, or even know what a hard life was like in the first place. He was grateful�"for sure�"but he should be thanked for dealing with the nightmare that was his father, King Alwyn. His father, god bless his soul, was very much trigger happy in more ways than one. “If we build another gallow by the end of the week we’ll run out of trees.” It was a joke, but it was pretty clear that his father did not take it as such.

“There’s a whole forest that surrounds us and the valley,”

“It was a joke,”

“A joke has to be funny.” Edwyn pursed his lips, looking around the table. Some of his father’s knights were suppressing laughter.

“Right,” He nodded. “Sorry, I’ll remember not to joke again.”

“Good because humour doesn’t suit you well.” Edwyn tried his best not to roll his eyes, but that was getting increasingly more challenging by the moment.   He could hear one of the knights audibly snickering at the conversation at hand. The Prince looked down at the table and the plans that his father had set before him. The Innkeeper that had been there since before Edwyn was born was to be put to death because she accidentally gave a bed to a sorcerer who was passing through the area.

He’d tried to convince him that that reaction was a tad overkill, especially when the woman hadn’t known who she was letting sleep in her bed, but he wouldn’t hear any of it. He never wanted to hear any of it. “I want to make sure the woman isn’t conspiring with a sorcerer.” The King said. “Or is a sorcerer.”

“Of course, Father.”

“So burn the body when it’s hung.”

“What about her family?”

“Her family should be happy that I don’t have them jailed too, now do what I say.”

“Yes, Father.” He sort of blocked out the rest of the conversation, feeling relief when he left the meeting room.

“Someone needs to put that old man in a home, he’s going senile.” Delia hissed as he walked out of the room. The both of them started walking together at a very brisk pace.

“Ah, so you were eavesdropping?”

“I was just trying to see if you’d persuaded him�"”

“You knew what the answer was before you even came here.” He grunted, the both of them stopped talking when they passed a few knights, rounding a corner towards the prison.

“You could have tried harder.”

“I tried,” He said, “like you specifically asked of me, Delia. I did what you asked of me. I didn’t guarantee you that I’d be successful.” Delia pressed her lips together, obviously brooding about something that Edwyn didn’t really have time for. “Now if you excuse me I have an actual job to attend to.”

“Go to hell,”

“You’re welcome.” The both of them split ways in the hallway, more frustrated than they had both been when Edwyn had come out of that room. Edwyn wondered what�"if anything�"he could have done to make his father change his mind. He was pretty sure that he hadn’t had any choices in the first place. Delia didn’t understand that. He tried to shake these thoughts out of his head as he went about his day.

Everything in the castle seemed to happen a lot faster than four four time, everyone was so predictable, rushing to everything he asked of them as quickly as possible. The same servants made the same dull jokes that they said to try and get him to laugh, he would smile awkwardly and make sure everyone was on task, and then he would leave.

The times that he liked the most were the times when he was alone in the castle. When everyone was asleep and he took the long way heading back to his bedroom.   Sometimes he would see the Lady Delia around the castle as well, her insomnia plaguing her, but other than that there was usually no one but the guard up and about. This night it was different.

He didn’t notice her the first time she passed him while walking down the hall, but he noticed her the second. It was the same girl that had bumped into him at the beginning of the day, and she seemed to be avoiding him. “Hey!” He wasn’t quite sure what he was doing when he called out to her. She looked like she was trying to keep her head down, not noticing him. That wasn’t really working in her favor, only making her look suspicious. “What’re you doing?”

She stopped. “Me?”

“You’re literally the only one in this hallway.”

The girl was wide eyed, looking around her nervously. “Right.”

“So what are you doing?”

“Walking back to the physician’s chambers.”

“The physician’s chambers?”

“Yes, I work there.”

“And what were you doing?”

“Just trying to figure out my way around the castle, sire.” Her nostrils were flaring, Edwyn getting a little amusement out of the fact that he was annoying her.

“Right then, better get going.”

She set her jaw. “That’s it?”

“Yes, go back.” He knew that if he kept egging her on, she would say something that she would regret later. It was why he kept egging her on, it was the only real sense of amusement he would get for the day.

“Perhaps next time, sire, you could actually stop me for a reason that’s worthwhile instead of wasting my time?” She bit her lip right after she said that, knowing that what she said was wrong. Edwyn took a step forward and she took a step back. He stayed there, deciding to size her up. The girl was a lot smaller than him, and shorter too, with petite features and honey like skin. Someone who’d be beautiful if she wasn’t a servant.

“You know I could have you arrested for that sort of talk.” He said.

“I didn’t mean it as any offense. I was just offering a helpful suggestion that would give you more time to do something useful.”  Edwyn pressed his lips together, trying to suppress a laugh. It didn’t work.

“You know you’re pretty brazen for a serving girl.” The girl only stared at him, her eyes wide and doe-like. “What’s your name?”

“Enid, sire?”

“Just Enid?”

“Just Enid.” She replied.

“Well, Enid. I was just messing with you.” She didn’t say anything. “But I suggest that you hold your tongue more around this castle. None of the other royals are seldom as light hearted as I am.”

“Thank you for the tip,” The sarcasm in her voice was practically dripping onto the ground in front of her. “Can I go now?”

“Yes, I’ll see you around the castle, Enid.” He motioned for her to go and she left a few moments later, fists clenched at their sides. Edwyn was about to back to his bedroom after that, not expecting for the Lady Delia to round the corner and nearly run into him.

“Oh,”

“What are you doing here?”

“Couldn’t sleep.” He could tell. There was a dark shadow under her eyes, as she grabbed on to Edwyn’s shoulder. “Walk with me?” Edwyn didn’t say anything, he just nodded as they walked the long way in the other direction. They were silent for the longest time before Delia said, “I’m sorry for shouting at you earlier. You tried.”

“I know you didn’t mean it.” He said. “And trust me, I don’t like it either.”

“I’ve known the Innkeeper since I was a child.”

“As have I,” They passed a few guards and nodded at them. “But there’s no use trying to reason with Alwyn, once he gets his mind set on something then he is going to do it, whether it’s in his best interest or not.”

“I’m not going to be attending the feast, afterwards.”

“Delia,”

“What?”

“You have to.”

“I’m not going to.” She cleared her throat.

“If I have to suffer through it, so do you.”

“I am in under no obligation to you. After all I’m not one of the King’s actual children therefore it isn’t my duty to go.” She stuck out her tongue after she reached the door and smirked, Edwyn just rolled his eyes.

“Go to bed, Delia.”

“I’ll try. No guarantees.”

Author's Note

sorry i use em dashes and Idk why this site doesn't process that, oh well