A Twist of Tales (On Hold)

12. James

JAMES

"Where is he?" as soon as Father heard of my return, he rushed to my chamber not even bothering to knock. He now stood in front of me with a curious glance.

Over the years his appearance hadn't changed much, at least that's what I've heard. His hair was still the same light brown color as it was when he was crowned king of Adens twenty- three years ago.

My father became king when he was twenty- three and soon I would take over. The only problem was that my father required that I find a suitable wife before becoming the king, but up until now I wasn't able to do so.

There were many young and unmarried noble women out there just waiting for me to choose one of them, but none of them could catch my heart. My father married my mother because of love and I planned on doing the same thing.

"Well?" Father asked again.

I sighed and sat down on my bed "He is still in the forest."

He stared at me, his forehead wrinkled into a frown. "But didn't you catch him?"

I opened my mouth to answer him, but the sound of the door being yanked open stopped me. Both of us looked over to it, curious as to who had entered my room. My eyes landed on a tired looking Caitlin.

Quentin and I had arrived in the early hours of the day. She must have stayed up all night, waiting for my return.

She looked around for a moment before her eyes settled down on me. "Did you catch him?"

"Well, yes and no," I answered truthfully.

"What is that supposed to mean?" my father and Caitlin both asked in unison. They both looked at me with a frown, not knowing what I was talking about.

"I did catch him," I explained. "But I lost him."

"You lost him?" Father asked disbelievingly. "How could you have lost him?"

"I-" I stopped, trying to come up with the right words. I glanced over to Caitlin, who watched me with wide eyes.

Why was she looking at me like that? I thought to myself.

And then it finally all made sense. She knew about the Hooded Archer's secret all along. That is why she didn't want to me to go after him. She knew that I would probably find out about his, well, her secret.

"He had a wolf with him. I had to be more careful, otherwise the wolf would have scented me. He crossed the river and that's when I lost him," I finished, my eyes still focused on my sister.

"That's it?" Father asked me, his eyes staring at me with curiosity, trying to figure out if I was hiding something from him.

"Yes," I said as I stood up and walked over to the door. Opening it, I turned back to them. "It has been a long week for me; I would like to get some rest now."

"Of course," Father said, understanding my request. "I expect a full report on your journey before dinner. I want to know everything you found out about the Hooded Archer."

"I will make sure to give it to you as soon as I have it."

"Oh, Caitlin," he said as he turned back to her.

"Yes, Father?"

"Your fiancé sent a messenger; he invited you to come stay at his castle for two weeks. You will leave tomorrow morning."

"What?!" Caitlin stared at him with open mouth. I could tell that she was surprised and angry. Surprised about the sudden news and angry at her fiancé for inviting her in the first place.