Chasing The Cure

Chapter 22: Blind Faith

Sir Christian looked startled, he parted his lips to say something but shut them almost instantly as he frowned. Archie mirrored his expression, he was hoping that Kenric would have been nicer about it, but it seemed like the warrior side of him was speaking, not the soft lover or friend he had grown used to. Archie wanted to intervene, especially as he felt sorry for telling Kenric something that the knight told him in confidence, but he knew that it was not his place to do so. He would apologize to him, surely, but later.

Sir Christian took a few moments as if gathering his thoughts before finally speaking up.

"And if I say no?"

"I was asking you as a friend, but if you say no then I will be forced to give you an order as your prince," Kenric replied, his tone and body language screaming that his authority was not to be questioned. Sir Christian straightened his back, not lowering his eyes or backing down from the hard gaze of the taller man.

"I see. And you will not tell me the reason why you seek this woman?" Sir Christian asked again.

"That is a no," Kenric answered. "And you are not to speak of this to anyone else. This stays between the three of us."

"I will come with you. Not as your friend but as your subordinate because I have vowed to follow your word for as long as I shall breathe," Sir Christian paused, "I could only hope that you would have shown me the same respect."

Archie felt the knight's words stab his heart. He had never seen him be this full of contempt. He was used to the man joking and laughing and overall being the light of the room, not being condescending. It hurt that they had to keep him in the dark. They did not have any other option, but that did not mean that it was easy to do so. Archie hoped that it would not affect the friendship they shared in the long run.

"Chris—" Archie wanted to say something, to try and smoothen the matter out but the knight did not seem a single bit interested in it.

"It will be a long journey, and unlike any other that you have ever been on. That place is dangerous and if we are to leave in two days then...then we need to make preparations. I will arrange for whatever we may need but for that, I will have to leave the castle so I shall be absent for my duties." Sir Christian cut him off. "Of course, if that is okay with you, Your Highness?"

"You may do whatever is required. The quest is to be your utmost priority."

"I will see you when it is time for us to leave, then," Sir Christian nodded. "Rest assured, I will not speak a word of this to anyone. Please excuse me for the night, Your Highness."

The knight did not wait for Kenric's response or his permission before turning around and walking away from the two men. Archie sighed as he leaned back and rested against the wall, watching the blond's retreating figure. He had never seen Sir Christian look this pissed, and safe to say it was not a pleasant sight.

"He was not happy about this," Archie muttered once the knight was out of view.

"Makes me wonder why," Kenric retorted, his lips pursed in a thin line.

It was not the first time that he had asked Sir Christian or any of the knights to go with him on a journey without giving out too many details. Usually, they followed him without a single question or hesitation of any sort. It was the trust that Kenric had instilled in them through his actions and character that reassured them that whatever their leader had planned would undoubtedly be for the best.

So why was Sir Christian so defiant and cold this time around? What made this quest different from the ones in the past? Archie may not think of such things, but this was beginning to really bug the prince. He recalled how the knight had helped him visit Archie in the dungeon using one of the secret tunnels that nobody even knew existed. And now he was the only one they could find that knew of this witch?

Was there more to the friendly knight than what met their eyes? Or was it simply a matter of coincidence?

Unfortunately for Kenric, he did not believe in chance. And he planned on getting to the bottom of it one way or another.

However, he had another matter to attend to before he could go around digging into Sir Christian. And that was figuring out what he was going to tell Godric.

The king never poked around much whenever Kenric went traveling. But the prince mostly only went whenever there were problems somewhere in the kingdom. He would have to think of a pretty good excuse for this journey, especially since he was only taking Archie and one other knight with him. Godric was not a fool, and Kenric did not like lying to his brother, so he had to be mindful of how he would get this quest approved.

"Well obviously because I betrayed his trust by spilling to you that he knew of a witch! And because we are asking him to come with us on what is going to be a perilous journey without even telling him what it is for. Anyone would be dissatisfied with this," Archie said, making Kenric sigh deeply as he turned to face his ever-so-innocent stable boy who only ever saw the good in everyone.

"He is a knight. It is his duty to do as I tell him to, even when it is required of him to not ask questions and simply obey," Kenric replied, making his lover frown.

"That sounds..." Archie trailed off.

"I know how it sounds, my sweet one. But it is what it is, this is how the hierarchy works and without it, the entire structure would fall," Kenric tried to explain. Archie scoffed in response as he folded his arms in front of his chest.

"So the safety of the kingdom rests on blind faith and mindless following of orders? If that is the case, then what different are the knights, who are supposed to be the strongest and smartest in the entire land, than a herd of sheep?" Archie retorted. Kenric's brows shot up slightly in surprise at Archie's response, and he could not help but admire his tenacity.

"As much as I understand your point, there is a reason why we need somebody to guide the people, no matter how strong or smart they may be. There must be a leader if you need order and results," Kenric stated.

"I am not denying that, but that does not mean that the opinions of those who follow him do not matter. That they should jump with a blindfold on without even knowing what it is that they are falling into," Archie argued.

"Sometimes it is best to keep people in the dark. For their own good and the greater goal," Kenric said.

"I disagree, but I suppose it is okay to have a difference of opinion at times," Archie shrugged. "I think we will keep going the entire night if we do not stop this now."

"You know," Kenric paused, a playful smirk forming on his face as he spoke. "I can think of something else that can keep us up the entire night."