Change of Heart

Chapter 12

Florian couldn't go back to the forest. He couldn't face Astra or any of the other creatures after what he had done. His only option was to go to the human camp. They wouldn't hurt him. He was the prince after all. His father wouldn't hurt him. But what if he did? He had almost killed him a few days before. What could change that? I helped him Florian thought. I did as he asked with grim determination he concluded that his father wouldn't kill him outright. So with a heavy heart he trudged towards the glowing fires of the human camp.

Florian was about to enter but he hesitated. He looked down. His clothes were filthy and his hair was mess. Would the soldiers recognise as the king's son? Florian took a deep breath, they would. They had to. Warily he walked towards the entrance of the encampment and was promptly stopped by two guards. Both were taller than Florian. Wearing armour and carrying spears.

"Who are you?" the first guard asked in a gruff voice. Chin held high Florian answered,

"I am prince Florian of Tarion, let me in immediately." The guard sneered,

"Prince of Tarion eh? You betrayed your people when you protected that fairy. You're no prince." Florian clenched his teeth.

"I am the prince, and if you don't let me in this instance I will shout and my father will know how you have treated me. And you shall lose your head." The second guard eyed the scruffy prince warily. He turned to the other guard.

"Maybe we should bring him in. It wouldn't hurt. If he's a spy the king can kill him himself, if he isn't then we wouldn't have done anything wrong either." The first guard huffed in annoyance but reluctantly agreed.

"Don't think about trying anything. I don't care if you're a prince or a peasant. I won't hesitate to bash your skull in." The first guard ordered the second guard to stay and keep watch. Then he roughly grabbed Florian's arm and dragged him through the camp towards the king's tent. There were guards outside the king's tent too, but they stepped aside to let them in. Seated on a makeshift throne was the king. Gloating, about his recent victory. He spotted the guard and Florian enter and sat up a little straighter.

"My king, I bring you, Prince Florian." The king's face didn't betray anything,

"Leave us." he ordered. The guard left. Though he sneered at Florian on the way out. The king turned his attention back to his son. He lifted his left arm and gestured,

"Come closer Florian." Florian obeyed.

"So, you finally realised how awful and evil that forest really is?" Florian didn't trust himself to answer. He was treading on thin ice. And he didn't want to break it. The king kept talking.

"Well, you helped me achieve victory son. Without your help I never would have been able to get close enough to burn the forest. Now, you deserve a reward." Florian looked up. He hadn't expected his father to reward him. He just thought he could get a place to sleep for the night. The king could see that Florian was surprised and smiled with amusement, cruel amusement.

"Yes, a reward. A reward fit for the prince of Tarion." He paused.

"But you are no prince are you." Florian started,

"My lord?" The king looked down at him coldly.

"No, you are no prince. You disobeyed my orders when you ran off. You humiliated me in front of my soldiers by protecting that fairy. You have made me look weak. You are no son of mine. You're a traitor to the kingdom of Tarion." Florian gaped like a fish out of water. This wasn't going as he planned.

"But father, surely, I helped you win the last battle." The king scoffed,

"You're help came too late. We could've burned down the whole forest had you not stepped in that first battle to save that fairy." Florian was silent.

"Now you have no where to go. Did you honestly think I would reward you? You're even stupider than I thought." Dread covered Florian, like a suffocating blanket. The king called for the two guards outside his tent.

"Guards, seize this traitor and through him in a holding cell. Once we return to Tarion he'll be but in a proper dungeon. You need not be polite. This filth is no prince." And the king smiled as Florian was hauled out and thrown face first into the puddle of mud right outside the tent.

It was freezing. Florian's clothes were no more than rags and the so called 'holding cell' was an iron cage. He had overheard the guards talking. Turns out his father had brought that cage for the Astra. So that he could bring her back to Tarion as a trophy of war. Now it was his. The iron bars were cold to the touch. Like ice. Florian shivered. It was well past midnight and the stars shone in the sky. But unlike in the forest with Astra, the stars weren't warm and bright, but icy and piercing. Their twinkle seemed to taunt him. Reminding him of all his mistakes that had landed him here in this cage. Treated like a lowly dog. But he couldn't do anything about it because he deserved it. He deserved every bit of rotten luck the world had thrown his way.

In his warm tent the king was thinking. With Florian out of the way no one could warn or inform the fairy. Putting her in a bad position. This was the time to attack. The creatures of the forest were no match for the trained soldiers in his army. By this time tomorrow the forest would have been reduced to nothing but blackened earth. One problem solved. Now for the next. Florian. Hatred and scorn boiled inside the king, just thinking about him. Florian would be thrown in the dungeons. Limited food and water. Tortured by the king himself. A sadistic smile appeared on the king's face as he thought of punishments. But then it disappeared as he thought of the queen. No doubt Della would try to save her son no matter what. Of course he could always keep it a secret. But in a large castle in a broken kingdom where rebels ruled the countryside servants and villagers would talk. It was inevitable Della would hear about Florian's imprisonment one way or another. As the king weighed his options he came to the conclusion that Della could be easily silenced. From the minute she had agreed to that arranged marriage between them and stepped inside the castle of Tarion, she would be no more than an object. The king could use her anyway he wanted. If words couldn't keep her quiet the king would move on to more painful techniques. That wouldn't be a problem. And so that night the king of Tarion slept soundly, perfectly happy.