The Crown cannot Help You

Chapter 35: The Criticism

"Audelia?" Flynn called out down the hall, hoping she'd respond and lead him to her.

There was no shouting nor sounds of fighting, which Flynn didn't know whether to take as a good sign or not.

"Princess?" He called out again, but once again, nothing responded. He held Max's knife up in the air as he continued down the hall. The knife's blade was a finger width wider than what he'd usually chose, but the blade's edge was sharp, making it a formidable weapon.

A silvery sound then flowed out into the hall. It was a sound that rang in Flynn's ear, making it so he could only work out what it was once he got closer.

Water. It whispered to him as he found himself nearing a door. It was the sound of running water, the one sound he would have never banked on hearing.

"Audelia?" He asked with hope as he tapped his foot against the door that was already slightly ajar.

He took a peek over his shoulder before tapping the door again, this time watching as it creaked against its hinges. The room it revealed was dark, which only made Flynn feel as though he was suffocating.

His eyes adjusted, and he found he could make out the figure of a person, holding themselves up against a small sink in the corner.

"Audelia?" Flynn spluttered out, holding his breath immediately after as he prepared himself to lay eyes upon Lily's face.

The person turned their head around slowly, allowing the moonlight to gently hit their facial features, which revealed a tired smile. "Flynn." She muttered with exhaustion.

Flynn felt every muscle in his body relax as he let out a huge exhalation of pent-up breath. He let the bloodied knife clatter to the floor before swiftly gliding across the room towards her.

"Thank you." He whispered to himself, ready to wrap his arms around Audelia as he approached her.

But the closer he got to her, the more he could see, which made him realise where the sound of running water was coming from. His eyes dropped to the small sink, where Audelia's shirt was currently scrunched up under the running tap.

He swallowed nervously as his eyes drifted back to Audelia's bare torso. He couldn't help how his eyes instinctively closed in upon a bead of sweat as it dripped down her neck. Flynn followed it upon its path down Audelia's body, it dripped slowly past her collarbones before running horizontally alongside the curve of her cleavage.

Flynn then realised where he was looking and instantly felt sleazy, so his eyes fluttered in a spasm of blinks before he forced himself to look back up to her face.

Audelia had been oblivious to this, having only paid attention to Flynn's purple jaw since he first entered the room.

Flynn scanned her face as the moon's beams dusted over her skin. He quickly noticed how her usually slender chin was swollen and coated in blood that leaked out from a deep cut that drew a line from the middle of her downwards.

Her cheek was painted with a blueish-purple bruise that reflected the colours of the sea, and there was a narrow cut running from the side of her forehead down to just below her eyebrow.

Flynn wasn't fully aware of when he'd done it, but he found his thumb carefully caressing her jaw as his remaining fingers were entangled in her hair.

She didn't resist his touch, so Flynn remained still.

"Where's Max?" She finally asked with a soft voice. Her eyes of forest green flicking up to meet his as she spoke.

Flynn felt his muscles tense once again. "Dealt with." He responded coldly, not wanting to think about it.