by L Ward
“You truly are the best husband I could have asked for,” said Nath, handsome face dimpled to perfection. “Don’t overwork yourself, you can relax.”
“I will if you will,” said Evan.
Nath smirked challengingly. “Alright, but I have a meeting with Gerard this afternoon, and if you come along with me we’ll spend the evening by the fire. I’m sure my office can spare me for a few hours.”
Attending the meeting meant he’d have to face Will for the first time since their wedding day. Will seemed to be avoiding them, only showing up at meals or lurking in corners. Evan had been dreading their first interaction, but he really wanted a night off. “Deal.”
∞∞∞
The meeting wasn’t that bad. Not really. Will kept his eyes mostly on the papers and occasionally shot irritated glances at Nath. He pretended Evan didn’t exist the entire time and refused to address him even when he spoke.
“Before we wrap things up here, there’s one last thing that’s been brought to my attention this afternoon,” said Gerard. Even Will looked confused. “A proposal from the His Highness about repealing the restriction of werewolves to the wilderness is causing a lot of stir among other members of the Privy Council, and they’re calling for an urgent meeting that I’m having to take time out of my day to attend.” He sounded aggressive; bored.
Nath frowned. “The proposal has passed inspections by Their Majesties and has gained more public support than necessary to be proposed to the Privy Council. I fail to see where the problem lies.”
Gerard stared, but unlike Will his eyes lacked that calculating deadness. His tone, however, suggested nothing short of disapproval; it made him almost unreadable. “It might have done, but it’s a very extreme and controversial proposal, given the recent attacks,” he said, looking pointedly at Evan.
“Then perhaps it’s time to extend a hand of friendship to all werewolves and give them the chance to live as human beings deserve,” said Nath.
“You would say that, though,” Gerard’s dark eyes narrowed. “You’re one of them, and like most of them out there, it’s not your fault, but they’re not all like you.”
Evan felt the concern; tasted its ripeness and underlying tang of disgust. “They’re not all monsters, either,” he butted in. “There’s no reason why they shouldn’t at the least be offered basic homes with access to the wilderness for the full moon on the condition they remove themselves before they become a danger.”
“How many civilians are we going to put at risk to test this theory?” Gerard demanded.
“None because we’ll vet them—”
“What good will that do?”
“Enough!” said Nath, moving around to Gerard’s side of the desk. “I hope the Privy Council remember to consider all points of High Highness’s argument, and take public opinion into consideration. There’s clearly support for these matters. Putting the proposal through would mean building the safeguards, not immediate integration. There should always be plenty of room for discussion, and as regent I put my authorisation upon this.”
Gerard stared at him, fury slashing his handsome face with lines.
The identical look of disgust Will bore was nauseating.
“Let’s hope the Council see sense. Elijah’s return can’t come fast enough” said Gerard, and disrespectfully dismissed himself.
Will didn’t hang around either.
∞∞∞
That evening they were laying by the fire when a spellogram pounded on the window. Evan extended a lazy hand and let it in, recognising it immediately.
“News from home?” asked Nath, stretching out a yawn.
“Kalani’s pregnant,” said Evan.
Nath sat up. “What?”
“It’s Will’s.”
“Mother of Lunara…” Nath breathed, leaning over to read the note.
Fury struck Evan like a match. His hands shook, and the urge to get up, find Will and beat the living shit out of him was overpowering. Evan wasn’t weak, but Will was a mass of lean muscle carved by the gods who’d beaten his ass before. Despite the certainty he’d get his ass kicked again, he jumped to his feet.
Nath stopped him. “You’re above this, Evan. Don’t be Will.”
“I can’t believe that bastard would go this fucking far,” his face was hot with anger, his hands wouldn't stop shaking. The room crackled blue with tension.
“Well, that bastard now has a bastard,” said Nath, watching a tiny smile twitch the corner of Evan’s lips. “Don’t be too hard on your sister, she made a mistake.”
“She also said she’s still up for having a baby for us, once she’s had this one. She’s mental,” said Evan, meeting his gaze, a tiny smile curling his lips.
“I’m not in a rush for babies, are you?” Nath laughed.
“I’ve still not wrapped my head around marrying you, let alone kids,” said Evan.
“Good, Freya's already asked if you'd like one,” said Nath, taking the paper and scanning Kalani's words again. “We should write back to offer our support and deepest gratitude.”
“Yeah.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m shocked,” said Evan, mulling over the words again: You’re going to think I’m so fucking stupid because I am- I’m a fucking tool.
Evan tried his hardest to be the supportive brother she needed, no matter how hard he wanted to curse Will, or twist every unpleasantry in his body so he puked, shat and pissed himself in front of the entire palace.
He wrote to his parents filling them in on the nicer details of his new life and sprinkling it with questions about Kalani and whatever the hell this meant for her life.
∞∞∞
News came in: the council were undecided about the proposal which meant it would need a second hearing. Exasperation thrummed in Evan’s chest. Gerard and his damn blockades.
Nath reassured him it would be fine and that he would send a letter of recommendation in support of the proposal. Evan near begged him not to give himself any unnecessary stress, but Nath wouldn’t listen.
“Our duties will return to normal in three more days,” he said over a quiet breakfast of buttery croissants and bitter tea. “It’s no trouble, and besides, if anyone wants this passed, it’s me.”
∞∞∞
Evan took the morning off from his project while Nath sent the letter to the Privy Council. He distracted himself catching up on university work and sending spellograms to Cass while awaiting the summons.
After lunch they held hands walking in the freezing gardens for a change of scenery which did wonders for Evan’s stress levels. They ignored the journalists tailing them every time they made a public appearance, hounding them with questions about the King, Dead Country and how Evan felt being married to Nathaniel. The latter was the only question he could answer truthfully: he was happy.
Summons to the Privy Council arrived a short while later.
Donning his new cloak of shadows, Evan strode into the meeting brimming with confidence and determination. The room crackled with tension, eyes darted to him, whites flashing warily.
“Your Highness, we’re glad you could make it,” said Mr Robella, a stout, golden-eyed warlock from the Warlock Engagement Committee. “Perhaps you could clear a thing or two up for us, why do you feel werewolf integration would be a good thing for our country?”
“It’s a promotion of equality and fairness. Werewolves are human beings that deserve to live with the rest of society, if they can just be contained during a full moon—”
“There are many werewolves out there who don’t want to integrate. Look at the recent attacks. We cannot risk civilian lives to these monsters. In fact, I think we should remove this proposition all together,” said a furious witch with beady black eyes and a pointed face. Priscilla Langford, Senior President of the board of Monster Control.
Evan’s lips parted with shock. “We call ourselves a civilised and progressive society, yet we can’t extend a hand of friendship to thos
e who genuinely need it. I’m not suggesting we integrate all werewolves, only those vetted thoroughly and proven to be of no threat. None of them will be from the Dead Country. We can monitor them for months and keep them registered so they can be tracked. It’s a start, at least. The werewolf population compared to number of attacks is vastly different. There’s said to be hundreds living in the wilderness, and on average there is one werewolf attack every six years, most of which are complete accidents.” He completely surprised himself standing up to these rich, powerful and educated councilmen. They surveyed him with a mixture of irritation and curiosity.
The little warlock’s eyes flashed “And does the palace funding cover all of this?”
“I’ve checked; as long as we don’t start on a huge scale we can manage it in sectors, and if it goes well there might be opportunities for external funding. Maybe even charity events,” said Evan, having lain awake at night thinking this whole thing through. He’d known from the start these people would put up a fight, especially with Gerard heading the table wearing a solid frown. “Consider how this would affect relations with the people. It would improve so many lives,” he looked pointedly to Gerard. Think of Nath, he wanted to scream. Think of the future of this country. Time seemed to stand still leaving the air stagnant and dry.
“If we pass this bill there will be very strict regulations imposed and we would only do it on a small number of heavily examined test subjects,” Sir Winscott, a podgy little man, said slowly. “If anything happens then this project will be scrapped immediately, and you’ll be shamed.”
“I wholeheartedly agree,” said Evan, wishing upon a thousand stars they would share his sentiments. “Perhaps offering interviews to some of the candidates would help settle fears about them.”
“Fears are understandable when you allow monsters loose in a civilised society,” said Priscilla.
Evan fought the urge to shout at her. “This is an opportunity to show that the majority of werewolves are not blood-thirsty monsters. They’re people who have been ostracized for something they cannot help. It’s a neurological disorder, as long as they pose no threat when the full moon rises, why shouldn’t they live with the rest of us? You’re cutting their lifespans short by forcing them to live in the wilds. These are people and some of them have kids! Demons aren’t even treated this badly.”
A universal silence fell, eyes darted and chins were scratched. Evan’s chest was heaving as he met Gerard’s gaze.
“I’m willing to sign it,” he said slowly, “but any trouble and it’s scrapped permanently. We’ll never look at integration again, alright?”
Patronising, but effective. Evan smiled. “Yes.” He watched as they regrettably signed the documents. It would take time for them to comb over, so Evan took leave and danced his way to Nath’s office.
“Did it pass?” Nath asked, rising from his chair with full-blown excitement.
“They’ve agreed to give it a chance,” said Evan, smile splitting from ear to ear. “I hope to the gods that the werewolves cooperate and this goes to plan. They’ll let me know when details and clauses are framed. After that, I have to go back and discuss the next steps in setting up the vetting process.”
“Hard work never ends, but it sure pays off,” said Nath, wrapping Evan in a bear hug.
“I’m really proud of you, and I knew you could be confident if you tried.”
“I’ve found people listen more when you’re a prince, even if it’s obvious they think I’m a dumb commoner. Well, I told them it’s not right to force humans to die in the woods.”
“The hilarity,” said Nath, chuckling merrily. “This is a gamble for more than just the werewolves in the wild, though.” His face turned pale and serious.
“I know, but it’s a gamble we can afford to take. We’ll look for the most cooperative and tame werewolves to start with, maybe the ones who signed up to the PNT. I want them to be interviewed about how they feel so everyone hears the truth, not just propaganda and folk tales from hundreds of years ago,” said Evan.
“Besides the recent attacks,” said Nath.
“One of their pack mates was… disposed of,” Evan replied, fighting a lump rising in his throat. “They’re Dead Country terrorists, not our own people.”
Nath searched his face, deep in thought. “A letter came through this morning saying the pack split during the last chase, and they’re on the trail of them. It’s likely they could be apprehended by next week, although they’ll be executed immediately.”
“Fingers crossed,” said Evan. Thanking the gods he didn’t have to witness more death so soon.
∞∞∞
The workload dropped like a clifftop boulder after his proposal submission, Evan had more time to catch up with class work. It seemed almost remedial in comparison to the things he was doing in the office.
On Wednesday the dueling team went to their first competition without Evan and scored fourth from the five competitors. It was only round one, and they were down a person, but the disappointment stank out the castle like rotting fruit. He hadn’t been allowed to attend, even to watch. The competition was held in Belfast, but the King wasn’t willing to risk his travel even within the UK.
Cass dropped in with spellograms informing him that Jeremiah was straight-up not even trying to talk to her anymore. He’d moved on with a new girl and left Kristyn. It was comforting talking about something normal, even if it was sad.
These past few weeks Evan’s entire life had been torn out from under him, shaken out for the world to witness, and rolled back down brand-new and completely disorienting. That being said, he didn’t regret a moment. Not one moment of it from the pressuring gaze of Gerard to the constant shouts of “Your Highness” wherever he went. Students locked up when they saw him, some refused to speak, and others treated him like a celebrity. The palace journalists were all over him like hair on soap, constantly asking for snippets. Evan was prepared, Sir Wintor had gone over all of this, and he answered with as much vagueness and enthusiasm as he could.
That afternoon he ran into Angelika while walking with Nath.
“They’re even hounding me,” she rolled her eyes, rich with sarcasm. “I’ve been asked if I can get your autograph. It’s sickening.”
Evan laughed. “They weren’t that interested when I was one of them.”
“You’re the guy who walked into university and married the Prince of Enchanted Britain,” she said, lips twitching into something resembling a smirk. “You’re all their dreams come true, and the nightmare boy who stole their chance at the crown. At least, that’s what they’re saying. They’re kind of pathetic.”
“It feels like hunting season, only I’m the prey,” said Nath, laughter sparkling his eyes.
Evan coloured up laughing. “All of those childhood fairy tales really paid off for your, eh, Angelika?”
She laughed sourly. “Me? Read fairy tales? You’ve lost your bloody mind.”
∞∞∞
When Friday rolled up, Nath was a burning effigy of nerves, the King and Queen would be back tomorrow afternoon and all would be well once more.
Dinner with the Starstone’s wasn’t something Evan had been looking forward to but he couldn’t refuse and give Will any reason to call him a bad consort.
“The magic has been increasingly unstable in that area. They’re working to get it under control before the Dead Country use it to their advantage,” said Gerard.
“Friednly warlocks were expected to help clean up the mess. They were dispatched three days ago,” said Nath.
“They failed to show up. Elijah is furious, of course.”
“But negotiations are progressing well?” Nath asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Well as expected. Information is precious, there are magical storms brewing over the channel, passage is difficult. Things are changing, Nathaniel,” said Gerard.
“News has been nothing but positive; the representatives are agreeable. Tomorrow’s return is set to be a vic
torious one,” said Nath.
Throughout the awkward meal Will smirked at Evan, relishing his irritation like a fine wine. Marianne tried to make small talk with him which was something of a comfort. The parlour smelled of wood fires and tension as they retired for night caps and mints.
“I think before we’re all suffocated by secrets we need to discuss the elephant in the room,” Nath sank onto a sofa before the fire.
Will’s eyes were burning watching Evan sink beside him.
“Not something else about the Werewolf Integration Act. I’ve heard enough for one day,” Gerard heaved an enormous sigh.
Nath studied him a moment and set down his glass. “I’m talking about you becoming a grandfather, thanks to Will sleeping with Evan's sister.”
Gerard whipped to face Will with incredible speed, eyes burning with fury.
Will cringed away, the tiniest dash of fear glinted in his dark eyes.
“Nath better be pulling my leg, or I’m gonna have it out with you in front of everyone right here, right now,” Gerard said through gritted teeth.
Will glanced helplessly to Nath. His mother rose from her armchair and walked to the windows, back turned. “His sister’s a whore.”
Gerard back-handed him across the cheek leaving a brutal red welt. Will’s hands blazed into fiery life; so did Gerard’s. “Don’t think you’re going to pull any magic tricks on me, boy, I taught you them in the first place.”
“It wasn’t me.”
“She’s my twin, and she tells me everything, including when it happened. You slept with her on my birthday because you wanted to spite me for taking your crown,” Evan lost his temper. He wasn’t going to put up with Will, or his bullshit anymore. “Stop lying and own up to what you did. Be a man about it, it’s as much your fault as hers!”