On The Edge of a Blade

Chapter 20

Mills grinned widely, as though recalling a joke that only he found funny. "And perhaps we will, at that, my lord," he replied slyly.

A call carried up through the trapdoor as Rose announced that she was at the bottom. James didn't look over at first, just kept his eyes set upon the servant. He was getting close to putting his finger onto what, exactly, was different about this man, what set him apart from other servants in the castle. For all of the chidding of Rose he had done, he was now the one wasting time.

A slight tilt of Mills' head as he nodded over to the trapdoor sent his bangs falling over his eyes. "I think it best that you leave now. I'll clean up the body for you, make sure the guards keep off your track for at least a little while longer."

"Right." James nodded slowly before turning around. He couldn't bring himself to leave at a servant's behest, regardless of how unusual said servant might be, so he would make certain to take his time with his last order of business.

Despair snorted as he came close, his tall, proud neck bending down to reach for James. For the first time in far too long, a genuine smile tugged at the prince's lips, an expression full of bittersweet affection. "Hello there, my friend," he murmured gently, stroking the beast's nose, gazing into his soft eyes. "I promise that I'll come back for you. We'll ride again soon."

The pain James felt at parting with the only loyal friend he had ever had was excruciating, and it created a dampness on his cheeks. Many things had changed since he was a child, but one thing had always been constant: he always cried when saying goodbye. Each time a pet died or ran away during his childhood, the prince was guaranteed to shed tears, a fact which was proven on a multitude of occasions.

While he had loved those animals, none bore a connection with him quite like Despair. Their bond, formed through hours of riding and training and grooming, was firm and authentic. Perhaps he wasn't saying goodbye forever, but James suspected that the time spent apart would feel insufferably long.

After planting a kiss upon Despair's soft black nose--a greater show of affection than he'd ever give to any other--James pulled away. He could hear Rose calling up to him from their escape tunnel and was vaguely aware of Mills respectfully standing by, but all of that didn't matter to him in this moment.

Parting was the greatest torture of all.

Ignoring Despair's appealing whinny, the prince hurried to the trapdoor, furtively swiping at his eyes as he went to banish his unwelcome tears, and began the descent down. The ladder's metal rungs were cold and unpleasant to touch, but he had no choice but to wrap his fingers about them. It was hard to say how far down this tunnel went, and he wasn't about to fall down all of it thanks to a lax grip.

Graciously, Mills didn't close off the exit until after James had made it to the bottom, leaving a thin stream of light to dimly illuminate each rung until they ran out. His feet then landed upon damp and slimy stone, tugging a foot off to the side. If not for one hand still hanging onto the ladder, he would have actually slipped and fell.

"Bloody bones. I started to think you weren't coming." Rose's greeting was harsh and far from welcoming, but it still sufficed as a greeting nonetheless.

"Yeah, well, I'm here." Both James and Rose looked up as the trapdoor boomed shut, casting them in complete darkness. In the dungeons they had been able to see faint shadows of their hands; here there was only inky blackness, intuition alone existing as their second eyes. "And I don't suppose you remembered to bring a light, did you?"

"Let's see," Rose started sarcastically. "Who knew about this plan first? You. Who has connections in this castle that might have aided us? You. Who was the last to come down? Oh! You!" She coughed, as though the moist air down here disagreed with her. Even so, there was clearly an eye roll hidden in the darkness. "By all means, you ought to have been the one to provide the matches, Your Highness." She paused, waiting for a comment which didn't come. "What took you so long, anyhow? Get lost in the stables?"