Broken Prince (The Broken Ones)

by Jen Wylie

  "How do you feel?"

  Aro watched the swirling dark clouds for a moment longer before turning. Damon leaned against the stone of her mind’s fortress, arms crossed and a satisfied smile on his handsome face.

  "Nothing hurts," she said finally. Memories returned and she quickly tried to discover if she truly was better. She felt no pain. She didn’t seem muddled and…she was back in her mind. Looking around quickly, everything appeared to be in order.

  "Despite my doubts, the magic worked surprisingly well. You are completely healed."

  She bowed her head to him. "Thank you," she said solemnly, meaning every word. He smiled in response and they stared at each other in silence. "I assume you are here to discuss the price," she said finally.

  He chuckled and slowly clapped his hands. "You always surprise me, Arowyn. It may be the time is sooner than I thought. You are growing up so quickly." He tilted his head to the side, regarding her thoughtfully. "Perhaps that is the human part of you, you live such brief lives."

  "Perhaps," she agreed vaguely. She didn’t want to anger him, or get him started on the prophecy nonsense again. "The price?"

  His strange eyes swirled. "What is your life worth?"

  "I have no idea." She frowned, wondering what he game he played now.

  "I know you don’t believe in the prophecies. You don’t need to, for them to come to pass. This does not concern me. Events will happen as they are meant to. I believe you will become the new Fey queen. With that title will come power, a great amount of power. Enough even, to rival my own."

  "Is this why you won’t leave me alone?"

  He nodded slightly. "In part. You are in debt to me now. I have given you your life so you can become what you were meant to be. In return, you will one day grant me a favor."

  "One?"

  "Yes, just one."

  "What, exactly, will you ask of me?"

  He shook his head. "That I do not know."

  Crossing her arms she looked away, thinking furiously. Finally she turned back to him. "I won’t hurt anyone, or kill. Directly or indirectly."

  His laugh was joyous. "Very good! That is acceptable. We are agreed then?"

  She nodded. "What if I die before you collect?"

  "Then I have lost my favor."

  "What if I don’t become queen?"

  He shrugged. "Perhaps I will find something useful you can do for me. If not, I am not concerned."

  "Then yes, I agree." She paused. "Do we need to make a written record of this?"

  He laughed again. "No. You have given your word. You will honor it."

  "I suppose I should wake up now. The others must be worried."

  "I’ve told them it was successful, but yes, they do still worry." All trace of humor faded from his face. "Take care, Arowyn. Others will learn of you soon, and you will gain enemies. Not everyone wishes the Fey to rise again."

  She grimaced. Enemies were the last thing she needed. She had a hard enough time staying alive as it was.

  "Don’t stop being yourself. Your friends may call you troublesome and impulsive, but it is natural instinct that guides you. Because of this you have survived. You are young and full of life. Live that life to its fullest."

  Looking at him strangely, she forced a smile and nodded. Why did he speak as if he were her father?

  "It is time for me to take my leave once more. Are you ready for my parting words of advice?"

  "Oh, yes," she said dryly. "I always love those."

  He chuckled at her sarcasm. "Yet still I give them to you, in case you ever care to listen. Your prince is fading again. The remorse of almost losing you is breaking him apart. He still feels responsible. Take care of him, if you can. Be wary of the Were. I would get out of their territory as soon as possible."

  She nodded, the last made sense at least. As for Prince, she didn’t know what she could do to help him any more than she had. Her options had run out. "Is that all?"

  "The human army has moved north for now. If you move quickly, you should be able to travel along the border to the gate undisturbed."

  "Thank you," she said, again meaning it. That information she could use.

  "We will meet again, little one. Until then, safe travels." He withdrew from her mind, his form disappearing. "Wake up!"

  * * *

  Despite Damon’s parting mental shout, she did not wake up immediately, or so the others told her. She slept peacefully for some time, waking only when darkness had fallen and dinner was ready. After too many hugs and coddling, they teased her about that. It didn’t really bother her; she lived, and had her family around her.

  "So what’s the word?" She looked around the fire as she chewed. "What did I miss? Was anyone hurt?"

  "We’re all good, pup," Bo answered. "Those Were certainly gave us a good fight though."

  "What were they saying? I couldn’t hear anything at all." She grimaced and turned to Garen. I missed hearing you.

  He lowered his head. I as well. It was a shock, when you never answered.

  I’m sorry.

  You can hear me again. All is well now.

  "What did they want?"

  "The usual," Bo replied again. "We’re trespassing, breaking laws, the humans must die."

  She snorted.

  They were shocked, finding us all together, Garen added.

  "I imagine they were. It didn’t stop them though?"

  No, which was strange. They did not even question me, they simply attacked.

  "And then Damon showed up. I remember that."

  Kei bumped her shoulder from beside and she turned to look at him. "You saw him as a dragon?"

  She nodded and grinned. "Impressive."

  "Very," he agreed. "We saw a real dragon."

  It was my first time as well. Hopefully my last, Garen said wryly.

  "I wish he would have a waited a little longer," Bo said with a wicked grin. "I needed a bit of a fight." He cracked his knuckles.

  "Don’t do that!" Aro pointed at finger at him. "Your joints will swell."

  He did it again, his grin widening.

  "Men," she muttered. "So did you hear what Damon said to them?"

  The others shook their heads and she ground her teeth. "That would have been helpful. Next, what happened to them after Damon healed me?"

  "Nothing," Kei muttered.

  She laughed and raised her eyebrows.

  Damon threatened them to leave us be and told them to return to their pack. They left without a backward glance.

  "Strange."

  Again, yes.

  "Damon told me not to trust them. Maybe he thought something was off, too. He said to get out of their territory as quickly as we could."

  "We’ll head back to the forest border at first light," Bo said. "If you’re feeling up to it?"

  She nodded. "I feel great."

  "Aro and Bo should ride," Kei said. When they all looked at him he added, "No scent trail then."

  They made plans to shift their supplies around and she would ride with Prince. Kei collected her empty plate and rose to start cleaning up.

  She glanced over at Prince where he sat slumped on the other side of her, staring at his plate. "Prince?" She waved a hand in front of his face. "Eat your dinner."

  He jerked and looked over at her slowly. She wondered if he had heard a word of their whole conversation. His blue eyes met hers. Such sorrow filled his pale face her lips suddenly trembled. His brilliant blue eyes were dark and haunted. He reached over and trailed the back of his fingers across her cheek.

  "I failed you, my child," he whispered. "I…I am so sorry."

  She took his hand and squeezed it tightly. Words caught in her throat. Taking a shaking breath, she squeezed his hand again. His sad eyes tore at her heart, almost as much as his words. "It wasn’t your fault. Please, please," she quietly begged, "stop blaming yourself. I don’t blame you at all. Understand? And I’m well now. You don’t need to worry anymore."

  He looked away an
d shook his head. Kei walked by and Prince raised his full plate.

  Suddenly furious, she reached out and pushed his arm down. "Eat it!"

  He sighed. "I am not hungry."

  "I don’t care," she snapped. "Stop acting like this." She sent her thoughts directly to him. I need you, Prince. You have to keep up your strength. We have a long way to go yet.

  His gaze returned to the plate and slowly, he started to eat. She watched him, arms crossed, until he finished.

  Chapter 13:

  Dark Thoughts

  She stumbled about the cave with the others, packing up. Garen woke them up before dawn and she still felt groggy. They tried to leave everything as they’d found it, except for the wood supply being severely depleted. There wasn’t a lot they could do about that. They didn’t have time to chop wood.

  She yawned into the back of her hand as Bo put out the fire. The horse shifted beside her so she patted its neck. Hopefully Prince would break out of his solemn mood soon. He’d been quiet the rest of the night, and had tossed and turned beside her. She wished she knew what to say to make him understand her fall had been an accident. Maybe she’d be able to talk him out of it during their ride. If not, she didn’t relish the quiet ride they’d have together.

  Everyone finished their chores and Bo led his horse out. She followed and quickly mounted once outside. Prince silently pulled himself up behind her.

  Kei will scout. Follow me. Quickly now.

  She smiled at the urgency in Garen’s voice. After Damon’s display, she couldn’t see the Were bothering them again on the off chance the Dragos would return.

  Garen took off at an angled route, heading south and west, leading them carefully through the rocks. They returned to the trees and the Were picked up the pace, pushing the horses as quickly as possible.

  The group let out a collective sigh of relief when they broke out of the tree-line to see fields stretching out before them. It wasn’t yet noon, and the horses fared well enough they didn’t stop to rest.

  Prince remained her silent companion, even though she tried to speak with him a number of times. Eventually she gave up. The horses made such good time she stayed mounted. She worried about the time they'd lost because of the storm and her injury.

  They stopped at noon to eat and rest the horses. Kei raided the fields and Garen brought back a rabbit. Bo gutted it and strung it on his horse to add to their dinner.

  She’d had enough of Prince’s silence and ran with Kei for the rest of the day.

  Despite running with Kei, after they’d stopped for the evening, set up camp, and eaten, she found herself full of nervous energy. She paced around the camp, messing with the fire now and then.

  Bo slapped his thighs. "Come on, pup. Let’s do some training."

  "Yes!" She jumped at the idea. Perhaps she’d be able to tire herself out enough to sleep.

  "Get out your daggers." He drew his sword and then gestured Kei over. "I’ve been talking with Kei. He can extend his claws without being in a fury of course. Since we don’t know if we’ll come across any Fey wild enough to attack us, let's practice fighting one."

  She nodded, but his words made her hesitate.

  Kei extended his claws and then cocked his head to the side. "What is it?"

  "I don’t know if I could hurt a Fey." She pressed her lips together for a moment, trying to find the words. "You’re Fey," she finally said quietly.

  A rare brilliant smile lit his entire face and then he laughed. "All Fey aren’t like me. Just like all humans aren’t like you."

  "Yes, but…it’s not their fault, is it?"

  This sobered him quickly, and he nodded, glancing over at Bo. "We will teach to subdue?"

  "Good enough." Bo shook his head as he looked over at her. "You know how to kill a man. The same will work for Fey."

  Kei crouched, readying himself to attack her. "Avoidance is important." He sprang, claws slashing toward her. "Block with your blades. They aren’t strong enough to cut."

  She did, and then stepped back and recovered as he deflected a dagger. "It won’t cut through your claws?"

  Kei shook his head and attacked again. He barely held back his speed.

  Aro grinned. She would definitely get a good workout.

  * * *

  When she finally plopped down beside Prince she let out a groan and then sprawled back on the ground. Every muscle burned.

  "Do not overdo it," Prince said as she stretched and wiggled to find the least uncomfortable spot.

  "I didn’t." She rolled over onto her side to look at him. "How are you doing?"

  He frowned. "I am fine."

  "No, you’ve been all sullen and miserable."

  A very small smile curved his lips for a moment. "I have." He rolled onto his back and looked up through the branches.

  "Do you want to talk about it?"

  "I want to go to sleep."

  She huffed in irritation. At least he was talking, and she’d gotten a little smile out of him.

  Kei settled down beside her and she rolled over onto her side facing him. She started to count and got to eleven before she heard Prince roll over and then felt his hand on her waist. Smiling again, she closed her eyes.

  Can you help me for a moment?

  I thought you were going to sleep, Arowyn.

  I am. Can you check my walls? I want to make sure everything is as it should be, after…what happened.

  Prince remained quiet for so long she wondered if he’d fallen asleep.

  Yes, I will look.

  She pushed herself inward, into the spot in her mind where she’d build her fortress around her personal thoughts and memories. Opening her eyes, she quickly looked around the barren landscape.

  Prince stood to her left, staring up at the towering walls. He’d shown her how to build them, so she stood quietly for a while, letting him look them over.

  They seem fine. Have you noticed anything wrong?

  You mean other than it still being very depressing here? No.

  Prince glanced up at the dark clouds. It will clear up one day. You’ve dealt with so much loss and pain. It will take time for you to come to terms with it all.

  Grimacing, she turned her face away. Is your mind as dark?

  Sometimes, he said quietly.

  She turned back to him. Is it now?

  He averted his eyes and nodded slightly.

  You’ll get better, too. All sunshine and rainbows.

  His sudden laugh was bitter. I have never had those.

  Impulsively stepping up to him, she gave him a tight hug. I want you to have them. You know I’m not at all angry with you? It was just an accident. And you took care of me.

  His frown returned but he briefly returned her embrace.

  Please talk to me, she whispered.

  I am just tired. Watching everything slip away, not being able to hold on, becoming a shadow of myself. It is frustrating.

  What do you mean?

  This is not who I am, Aro. I used to be strong, fast, powerful. Not this weak thing I have become. Other than healing myself, I’ve done no magic in almost a year. It is…painful.

  She held him tighter. She’d never really thought about what Prince would be like if he had his power.

  This weakness, it is not me. Yet I can do nothing about it. I just watch it become worse. He shook his head and sighed. I apologize.

  For telling me what’s wrong? Don’t, she said firmly. You’ll be home soon. We’re almost there! Then you’ll be yourself again. She tilted her head to look up at him.

  He smiled faintly. Such a sad smile, it matched the look in his eyes. Yes, you are right. I will remember that.

  I want you to be happy, Prince. I don’t know what to do when you’re not. I don’t know what to say to you.

  A deep sigh escaped him. He kissed the top of her head.

  I need you, you know.

  I know.

  She gave him one last squeeze and stepped back. Let’s get some sleep.
So you can be all bright and cheery in the morning.

  Prince shook his head, but he chuckled and that made her smile.

  * * *

  Aro grinned as she helped Kei raid a field of beans and carrots. Not wanting to get caught, they moved quickly and tried to stay low to the ground. It didn’t take long to each fill a pack they’d emptied earlier. Darting back into the trees, they ran again until they met up with the horses.

  "We need to wash the carrots at the next stream," she told Bo as she tied her bulging bag to his horse. "Maybe Garen will get some meat and we can have stew for dinner!"

  "Stew without bread?" Prince shook his head in mock horror.

  She laughed up at him, thrilled to see he’d broken out of his sullen mood. The last three days he’d come out of it, slowly, but he had. Perhaps it had something to do with how close they’d come to getting him home. Even though they’d lost time with her sprained ankle, and then the storm, Garen assured her they were now maybe a week away. Prince could count the days on his fingers. She wondered if he would grow happier the closer they got.

  Her chest tightened and she turned away. Even though she wanted Prince to get home so he could get well, she didn’t want to lose him. Quite likely, once he passed through the Elven gates she’d never see him again.

  Looking up at the sky, she took a slow breath to calm herself. "Kei, let’s go look for a place to set up camp. It will be dark soon." She forced a smile and waved at Bo and Prince. "We’ll let you know when we find a spot."

  Kei followed as she ran through the trees. Running usually calmed her thoughts; one step in front of the other, breathe, navigate the terrain. It took moderate concentration and allowed her to not think of other things.

  Slow down.

  She forced her legs into a brisk walk. Kei joined her side a moment later, ducking a branch and then looking over at her worriedly.

  Concentrating on where she walked, she refused to look at him.

  "What’s wrong?" When she didn’t answer he pressed. "Prince is doing better."

  "I know," she answered. "He’s still not sleeping well though, even if he’s seemed to have broken out of his dark thoughts."

  "Is that what’s bothering you?"