The Prince's Suitor ManxMan

Chapter 17: Part 1

A/N So, chapters will now be in Parts of 1 & 2, and even potentially a 3rd part. This means you'll get a faster update, but unfortunately shorter chapters! I have a full time job (I pretty much work from 7:30 - 6) so I don't have a huge amount of time to write. So doing parts should be a lot more efficient!

Please comment etc, I always like your feedback :)

Enjoy!

Chapter 17

"Pick it up," Raphion said, standing now at arm's length, cold and callous clear in his snarl. He dragged his right foot across the dirt deliberately and placed it, legs parted, and knees ever so slightly bent. Jaicous recognised this as a battle stance, although he had not seen Raphion fight before.

Raphion was preparing to fight. Little did the Prince know, he wasn't the only one gifted in swordsmanship.

"What?" Jaicous said, though he suspected he knew the answer. He was wading into uneasy waters, teeming with sharks, his feet bare and his hands empty. His revelation had adjourned no response. When Raphion held his emotions back, that was when Jaicous knew to retreat. The Prince was at his quietest when he was plotting, and silent when he burned within. He was both now, and if looks could kill, Jaicous would be six feet under.

"Our sword," Raphion snapped. "Or have you forgotten? Take it in your hands and point it at me." He flung his arms wide, a blaze of madness in his manner. Eyes lit like a smoldering furnace.

Weaponless and completely at Jaicous's mercy; that was what he offered. This was and could be nothing but a trap, Jaicous decided. The Prince would not willingly arm a man of Gadara, despite who he had come to be. To arm a man of Gadara was treason, even if the crown Prince committed the act himself.

Jaicous folded his arms. "No, I don't think I will," he Jaicous. He was not up for taking the bait. Not this time. The Prince's games were at an end, and Jaicous was no longer a willing participant. However, he could not decipher the Prince's intentions. Jaicous paused and looked to Raphion, or more so, at Raphion. Whatever it was, it was bound to be bad.

"Do it, or I'll do it myself!" Raphion said.

When it became clear that Jaicous was not going to move, Raphion made for it himself. He took a wide berth and did not turn his back. Jaicous felt shattered. Their trust was decidedly gone if Raphion didn't trust him enough to walk freely and yet he felt himself move into motion despite his mind telling him not to.

Alongside Raphion, he did as he was bid. Trap or not, he would be a fool not to arm himself.

He snatched the sword up from the dust. It clinked as the tip pulled against the sandy floor.

The hilt was ridged and felt cold in his palm. He thought momentarily to the last time he had held the sword, back when he was crude and stupid.

Heavy too, gravity determined to pull the sword from his grasp. A breeze stung his cheeks; the cavernous ruins groaned around them like a living beast was among them.

"There." He leveled with Raphion, stood in front of him, attire creased and ajar. "I've done what you want. I've always done what you want. We're alike, you and I. A lot more alike than you realise. And..." he trailed off, and felt his ears sting uncomfortably as a heated sensation gradually moved to his cheeks. Don't say it, his mind whispered. He didn't hear himself.

"I'm not ashamed to say I have grown to like you."

"You like me?" Raphion retorted, but the venom in his voice had gone. He opened his mouth and shut it again, like he couldn't believe Jaicous had said such a thing out loud. It appeared he couldn't help the brief flicker of his eyes and twitch of his hands just as much as Jaicous couldn't stop the uncomfortable feeling of apprehension.

Raphion took a pause. "The people of Kaiea, would they recognise you? Your father - would he know your face?" Raphion said, his voice spiked with curiosity.

"I don't know. He knew the face of a boy. Whether he would recognize me now, I can not tell you. You have to understand, my father will have searched relentlessly for me. There will not be one man alive in Gadara that will not know of my disappearance. I suspect by now he'll think I'm dead. Another Seat he'll accuse, of course. He would never think to find me in our enemies hands. Not willingly, anyway."

"I see," Raphion said and he switched effortlessly to Gadarian. His voice sounded crisp and flawlessly pronounced. "Jaicous Uleni of Gadara, you will follow me. You will not speak and you will not question me. Do I have your word?"

Jaicous gripped the sword, like he needed this form of stability to ground him. He had no choice, of course. If he ever wanted to gain Raphion's trust again, he would have to follow the man to the end of the world and back.

He inclined his head. "If this will prove my loyalty to you. Then yes, I understand."

Jaicous followed him silently to a door even further in the shadows. It hadn't been used in years, like the one through which they had entered.

Raphion turned to him, stern. "This path here leads to the Valley of Gradia. It runs beneath the castle and across the moat. I had it built here before my residence ended."

Jaicous couldn't remember a time when Raphion had lived on the edge of Gadara. It would seem it had not been public knowledge. And a path! To the front door of the Hidden Valley, right here on the border. His Father would have had a heart attack upon that news, and still would.

He saw Jaicous's confusion and said, "When my previous Suitor tried to kill me, I took up residence with his brother."

Jaicous hadn't seen Osiris in the flesh, the Prince's previous suitor, but it came to him quickly. Dark flesh, dark hair, like the rumours. "Amir? He's Osiris's brother, isn't he?"

Raphion nodded. "Yes. Twins, in fact. It's how my Father hushed it up. Osiris is somewhere very, very, far away, paying for his crimes against the state," the prince said, matter-of-factly, "against me."

Jaicous took that to mean he was dead - no one stayed breathing for that long if they had tried to kill the Prince.

"This - This is where we will bring our men. This is the only way out."

Jaicous felt the air leave his lungs, but not for the thought of the journey ahead. He could only focus on one thing; a sign that not all was lost.

'Our men.'

18.07.2020

A/N 

Hi guys! 

It's 18th July 2020, and you've probably realised that I haven't updated in a long long time! I was 16 when I started writing this, and now I'm nearly 25! I will be rewriting the entire book at some point (no idea when) as the plot line is rather rubbish/non existent in my opinion, and I have no idea where the book can go in the state that it is in (definitely wouldn't be published by any reputable publisher). 

The main aim once I have rewritten it is to have it on amazon as an ebook, although I will definitely publish it here for a few weeks for free. 

I suppose I can only say thanks for reading, and to watch this space for future posts! 

Thank you!