A Prince's Duty (The Royal Houses of Sea and Snow, #1)

by Marquez, Jude

  Alik nodded and once more, he began scooping children up and putting them on the back of the horse, before he handed the reins to the oldest, a boy this time, with instructions to head for the castle.

  Alik fell in step with Godfrey behind the rest of the children.

  “Were you attacked?” Godfrey asked.

  “We were. But the Prince was with me. As was Kane.”

  Godfrey ground his teeth together. “I pray that Kane was hungry and had his fill.”

  “I do not believe he was hungry but he did get to play.”

  “Good.”

  They were silent for a short time before Godfrey said, “We think it was coordinated.”

  Alik nodded. That much was clear.

  “I don’t want to presume, Your Highness, but-”

  “You think that there is someone in my court that could have given that information away. It would explain the men that attacked us at the castle, that punished these children, and held you at bay.”

  Godfrey remained silent. He was a large man, just like all the others, and his hair was pulled back in a low ponytail. He pressed his lips together and his hands clenched in fists at his side.

  “I would say that you aren’t wrong but I don’t want to presume that the spy is in my court, though the possibilities are much greater that they are from Grayhaven than your Isles,” Alik murmured.

  “If they were willing to do this, to our Prince-”

  “They weren’t just after Eamon. They wanted to take any of the royal family but they mentioned specifically a princess,” Alik said quietly. He would never talk so frankly with his own knights but Eamon’s men engendered more of a feeling of confidence and security in Alik.

  “I would dare them,” Godfrey muttered.

  Alik looked over at him.

  “Ask yourself if you think any sister of our Prince would be helpless,” Godfrey said.

  Alik shook his head. “I do not think I need that question answered.”

  The walk was longer than Alik thought possible and by the time they reached the castle, most of the children had been ushered into an unused state hall. Alik followed numbly, unsure of what he should do with himself.

  “Your Highness, I can escort you to your room,” a servant murmured from his side.

  “No, I’ll stay,” Alik heard himself faintly as he stared around the room. The soldiers and some of the priestesses from the orphanage were milling around the room. They were in various stages of dressing, feeding, and washing the children. “What can I do?”

  And that’s how Alik found himself helping to lace up the tunics of the smallest children, doling out food, washing the silk bandages and laying them out to dry, until his hands felt like they were numb, mere hours after proposing to Crown Prince Eamon.

  THE NEXT DAY DAWNED bright and beautiful and Alik hated it the moment he walked into the arena. After everything that had happened-

  Alik thought he deserved a sleep in.

  Instead, Eamon insisted they go about their plans exactly as they normally were going to and that included sparring. Together, they decided to keep their decision of marriage a secret.

  Alik wanted to keep the memory of sparring with the others a repressed one. He didn’t stand a chance against any of the Ataton court and they all knew it.

  Had he his bow, it could have been a different story.

  When Alik limped out of the arena several hours later, Issat, Eamon, Edmond, and a number of men from both courts were still there. He slumped over against a wall and began to peel off the leathers that had been strapped to his legs, chest, and forearms to protect him.

  "I thought I was here to look for a future spouse," he muttered to himself, "Not to be tortured within an inch of my life, beaten like a piece of meat," he threw off one of the leathers from his legs and groaned when his leg fully relaxed, "And thrown from the ring so that the real practice could begin."

  From across the field, where the castle led out to the various yards, he saw Lissandra and Avelina coming towards him with a bucket heaving between them. It was big enough to require both of them to carry. He had to wonder why there was no one helping them.

  Finally, they approached him and he eyed the bucket warily. "If you are here to finish me off, do it quickly. Your brothers have tortured me enough on my final day."

  The women shared a look and smirked. "Who knew that the north produced such delicate men?" Avelina said as both she and her sister upended the bucket over Alik's head.

  The water was ice cold and Alik gasped and hurled himself into a standing position.

  "Amazing," Lissandra said flatly. "He lives."

  Alik opened his mouth to complain but then he realized he felt remarkably better since he had been doused.

  "We've been doing it for our brothers since they were small," Lissandra said and laughed at his face when he blinked at them. "They too looked like drowned rats."

  "Thank you," Alik said and pushed his hair out of his face.

  "Come have lunch with us," Avelina said. "Everyone is too busy."

  "There is a bath and clothing waiting for you in your rooms," Lissandra said. "We'll take lunch in my rooms," she said, as though the matter was closed and linked her arm through her sister's and they turned back to the castle.

  Alik dragged himself to the castle and up the stairs. He thought briefly of his parents and remembered Issat telling him that they were sailing for the day. In his room he found a bath waiting for him and a servant there to help him with a chiton and a sleeveless tunic. Being wrapped in fighting leathers all morning made him more amicable to the Ataton style of dress and he didn't feel as exposed with the tunic on.

  The same servant showed him to Lissandra's rooms and his personal guard stayed a respectful few feet behind him. The doors were open and the sisters were sitting on a large open balcony. They were looking out towards the cliffs and the ocean beyond when Alik approached. They both turned at the same time when they heard him.

  "Ah," Avelina said when they saw him, "You have given in to our scandalous ways of dressing, I see."

  "I wouldn't say scandalous," Alik said.

  "You nearly fell off your horse when Avelina curtsied that first day and you looked to Lady Issat when I curtsied. You barely look at my brothers in the face," Lissandra said, "Believe me when we say, we have noticed such things."

  "Issat has tried to help me with such things. I am afraid I am a poor student," Alik said as they seated themselves. "I was also afraid that I might overheat and die from your sun that day."

  "It is your sun as well." Avelina reminded him.

  "Hardly. There is hardly anything like this in Grayhaven. Maybe for a fortnight but nothing like this. Our skies are filled with rain and snow and sleet."

  "Sounds dreary," Avelina commented and plucked a few berries from a platter in front of them. Alik tried to picture either sister in the layers and layers of clothing that the women of his court wore or tried to picture them in his castle at all and his mind rebelled. These two were sun blessed and needed to stay that way.

  "It can be tedious and wearying, that is for certain. But the winter solstice is something to behold. The snow, the lights, the fires, the trees," Alik paused and said. "There's a clarity to the cold that I haven't seen anywhere else."

  "That sounds magical," Avelina said.

  "I suppose," Alik said softly.

  They were silent as the servants brought out a light meal of lamb and greens. Lissandra opened her mouth to continue their conversation but something seemed to catch her eye on the horizon and the three of them turned to watch a group of wolves pacing with a horse and its rider along the coast. From the opposite direction, the direction of the yards, Eamon and Edmond came riding, hard and fast.

  They three riders circled each other, their horses unable to hold still.

  "I hope you didn't have plans for the afternoon and evening," Avelina said to Lissandra when they saw Eamon and Edmond whirl around on their horses and head for an entr
ance.

  "I was hoping to wine and dine our visitor but it looks like that might be put on hold," Lissandra said and met Alik's surprised look with a smirk of her own. It seemed to be a family trait. "Since word has it that he has passed on both my younger siblings."

  "I find it distasteful to force someone into marriage and neither one was interested in ruling beside me," Alik said but his eyes remained on the riders below them. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to speak of the marriage promise in front of the princesses.

  "Brace yourself, my friend, for you are about to see a side of my brother that few witness," Lissandra murmured. "And also, do not be afraid."

  "Afraid of what?" Alik said.

  But neither woman replied. Instead, they turned to the noise in the hall that signaled half a dozen men heading for Lissandra's rooms.

  WILLHELM'S NEWS POUNDED in his head. Eamon should head to his father's war room, to find the old man somewhere, but he knew that Therris would wave him off, tell Eamon to handle it. Then he remembered that neither one of this parents were even on land that day. They set sail early that morning and now Eamon would be forced to handle it anyway.

  As Eamon handled most things these days.

  "Your Highness, perhaps they send their ships for a treaty," Hann, a Grayhaven knight, said as he and five others struggled to keep up with Eamon and Edmond as they stormed up through the northern towers. Eamon had no idea where they were going, only that he had to get to someone who could make sense of what he knew.

  "Only a fool would believe that," Eamon growled.

  "We haven't the proof that they push into the lands for the purpose of a takeover," Sir Renier added. Another from Grayhaven. Eamon would have to have a frank discussion with Alik sooner rather than later.

  "When was the last time that Vresal army brought ships and men into this land for the purpose of not killing and plundering?" Edmond snapped.

  "Should we not try, at the very least, to confer with their leaders before we ready the ships and the men?" Hann asked as they reached the landing that led to the top of the stairs.

  Nicolin saw them and stood aside to Lissandra's rooms. He opened his mouth to say something but the constant questioning had grated enough on Eamon's nerves so that he picked up a small table that was near the door and threw it into Lissandra's rooms. It hit her desk and broke into a dozen pieces, creating a mess on her floor and work area.

  Nicolin closed his mouth.

  Eamon whirled around. The only one who mirrored his fury was his brother. The others looked worried, or in the case of the Grayhaven knights, frightened. "He has taken three villages, plundered them, burnt them to the ground, created orphans, and taken the men and women there as slaves. How many of you were there when the orphans stumbled into our castle last night? Carrying their brothers, sisters, barely more than infants themselves? Did any of you stay up with them and soothe them?"

  There was silence from the men.

  These men had not known of the children that had stumbled into the castle's keep in the early morning. They hadn't witnessed the injuries that still oozed blood or bandaged the feet of a child who should have never been aware of such aches. They had not tended to them, soothed them as Nicolin, Eamon, Edmond, and even Alik had.

  "You wish for peace but it is not peace if we get down on our knees for them," Eamon hissed. "I will greet death before I hand one more orphan over to the priestesses, before I see one more person enslaved by this army."

  "Your Highness-" One of the Grayhaven knights started. "If we could just-"

  "Shall I take you to the priestesses so that you can see the marks their whips left behind?" Edmond picked up. "Shall they tell you the stories of how they walked through days and days, how they were forced to eat nothing but grass until they found our men and the wolves that helped guide them here? What more does it take to convince you fools?"

  Someone behind Eamon and Edmond cleared their throat and they both turned to see their sisters and Prince Alik standing there.

  "Leave me," Eamon snapped at them but kept his eyes on Alik. "Send for Lady Issat."

  "I'll send for lunch for you two," Avelina said and signaled to the servant that had tucked herself into a corner of the room. The servant bowed and quickly left.

  "Are they safe?" Alik asked quietly.

  "Who?" Eamon asked.

  "The orphans," Alik said. He had fallen asleep while reading to some of the orphans the night before and Edmond had scooped up the sleeping children and taken them to the orphanage and priestesses. When Alik had woken, he was under Eamon's cloak but otherwise, all alone in the stateroom.

  "As safe as any of us are now," Edmond muttered and looked out to the balcony. He stalked over and speared a bit of Avelina's lamb into his mouth.

  "Let us speak plainly, Prince Alik," Eamon said and stalked over to him. Alik had to fight his instincts to take several steps away from Eamon. All the warmth and friendliness of the previous night were gone. Now stood the warrior prince who killed three men without another thought the night before. "Where does your father stand on the Vresal army and their encroaching moves on the Ataton empire?"

  Alik looked away and smirked. "He makes no stand. He wants this marriage so he can stand behind your army."

  "Far behind the army," Issat said when she entered the room and closed the door behind her. She raised an eyebrow at Alik when she saw the remains of the chair at their feet. Alik pointed to Eamon who still stood too closely to him. "King Therris has an interest in war but he knows that his army, or what is left of it, will be easily overtaken if the Vresal army comes to his shores."

  Alik took a step away from Eamon and towards the desk. He pushed aside the remains of the desk at his feet. "It's no secret that while we have the funds of a profitable nation we lack the leadership necessary to create a military such as yours," Alik swiped a glass of wine from the table. "That is my fault, in the end."

  "It is said that your army adores you," Edmond pointed out, sharing a look with Avelina.

  "They do. My people are-" Alik swirled the glass in his hand, "Faithful. Loyal to a fault. And the fact that they profit during these times helps that loyalty along."

  "But what my Prince has in love and loyalty he lacks in specific military training and tactics. Unlike the good fortune of the Ataton royal family, the Grayhaven royalty was only blessed with one living child and though the army listens to me to an extent-" Issat's mouth twisted in a near frown and Alik and Eamon exchanged a look. "It would be an easier thing to command them if I were royal blood and not a commoner like the majority of them. Alik was trained in statesmanship, not war."

  Eamon turned from them and a flurry of servants entered the room with fresh food and refreshments, more chairs, and more guards.

  "Send for a map," Edmond told one of the knights in attendance. The man turned and left them.

  Eamon paced by the balcony and finished Avelina's wine and then Lissandra's. He glared out at the cliffs and sea. He knew his father was out there, somewhere, hiding from his responsibilities.

  "What are your thoughts?" Lissandra asked after a moment.

  "My thoughts?" Eamon said and paced by Alik and took the wine from his hand and finished it in a swift drink. He laughed and left the goblet on the table. "They come too close. Father cares so little."

  "What would you have us do?" Edmond asked after a moment.

  Just then a knight entered with a map and spread it out on the table. The servants followed close behind and spread everything out on the table on the balcony. "Is there anything else, sire?" She asked softly.

  "That'll be all for now," Eamon said and led them to the doors. Outside he said a few words to Nicolin and then closed the doors after a moment.

  When Eamon turned his face was still closed off but his shoulders were just a little more relaxed. He appeared to be deep in thought as he crossed the room and moved some carved ships to the edge of the coasts. "These coastal towns that are being taken, I believe they are a test o
f our strength. I believe the Vresal army is going to invade sooner rather than later. And at every turn, I am bombarded with questions of marriage, questions of contracts, questions of almost everything except the impending war."

  "Settle the question of marriage first," Lissandra said and risked a look over to Alik who was studying the ocean in the distance. She took a deep breath and turned to Eamon, "I will-"

  "The question of marriage has already been settled," Eamon said but kept his eyes on the map and repositioned a few other pieces. He seemed ignorant of the reaction around him. Everyone looked around, Issat seemed alarmed, and no one moved.

  "It has?" Edmond asked and looked at Alik and then Edmond.

  No one said anything.

  "Would you care to share with the rest of us?" Edmond prompted.

  "Alik and I will wed. We will have the funds and they will have their men," Eamon said slowly. "A marriage between the two Crown Princes will create a stronger alliance than-" He sighed and gestured around to the room.

  "But-" Edmond said and stared between the two of them and then to Lissandra and then back again. "Eamon-"

  "It'll be fine," Eamon breathed out, the first sign of hesitancy that Alik had seen. It worried him, since Eamon had seemed more than fine with the marriage agreement the previous night.

  "We don't have to-" Alik started.

  "Yes, we do," Eamon said and turned his eyes on Alik. "There is no other way. We will do this, you and I, and our kingdoms will prosper from it. Our lives are not our own. Not on this and not on much else. Both you and I knew that this is a prince's burden."

  Alik stared at him and then turned to Issat. She was staring at him and she looked slightly betrayed.

  "I apologize," Alik started, "Many things have happened since last night-"

  "Should you wish, our marriage will not interfere in your..." Eamon cleared his throat and looked between the two of them, "Relations."

  Alik and Issat stared at one another and then back at Eamon.

  "You would sooner have relations with one of your siblings than I would with Issat," Alik said and watched as Eamon paled.