The Princess's Secret [completed]

24: Answers.

Hiram.

Hot. Everything felt hot and dry. He licked his cracked lips, feeling the sting. His mouth felt dry as cotton. Everything ached... He forced his eyes open, feeling the burning behind them as he tried to look around.

A hand landed on his shoulder. "Take it easy, moving wouldn't feel good at this point." The voice was Isidro's.

"Water..." Hiram croaked, barely choking the word out. His eyes still wouldn't adjust, his mind fuzzy.

A moment later a hand slid under his head and raised it carefully. A cup was placed against his lips. Relief flooded his body as the dryness was erased. The heat, however, did not leave. Now he could feel it even more.

"Fill me in." He whispered as Isidro placed the empty cup back on the table.

"We arrived back three days ago. We now know that Thaddias did, in fact, betray us, though he does not admit to it. He demands we give Tamar back-" A sharp intake of breath interrupted him. Hiram looked toward the door and saw Tamar standing there, shocked.

"Oops." Isidro muttered, standing. "Sorry, we didn't want to alarm you." He tried to explain, taking the tray from her hands before she could drop it. He led her to the chair he had just been occupying, making her sit.

"H-he's sending me b-back?" She studdered, clutching her own hands tightly. Her face had paled considerably, and her entire body trembled slightly, though she tried to hide it.

"No. He sent money instead."

That's dangerous... Hiram kept his thoughts to himself. There was no need to say it, the look he exchanged with Isidro confirmed the dangers...

* * *
Caspian.

"Why didn't you tell me of King Thaddias's demands?"

Caspian let his gaze roam over the kingdom. It was something he did often, to remind himself who he was serving. But lately, he'd been doing it almost constantly.

"To be a ruler, you must be a servant. A king is only the ruler because that is what his people make him, but the king should make himself their servant. His only concern is for them. It is for them, that he stays up at night. For them, that he lacks the time to eat. For them, that relaxation is a rare pleasure. The people come first."

The words of his mentor. The words of the old King, the man who passed on the responsibility to him. Those were the words that kept him up at night, ever since Thaddias had made his demands.

"My King?"

Caspian blinked, coming out of his trance. He turned to Genaro,one of his most trusted advisers, seeing irritation in the man's face. "Why was I not informed of Thaddias's demands?" He repeated, a hint of anger in his voice.

"It required a quick decision. Besides, I knew immediatly what I had to do, there was no need for counsel." Caspian answered, returning his gaze to the view. Over the last two days, he and his generals had sent men out to all the castles in the kingdom, warning them of the impending danger.

They had reinforced the castles, and split the people up according to family clans and assigned them their castle to seek safety in should the need arise. The signal would be a chain of trumpets, blown throughout the kingdom until all had heard. Hopefully, all the people would be able to make it to safety. The process had taken forever, but with enough men, it had been completed.

Genaro was still talking, though Caspian only tuned back in now. "-could lose everything, but you just decided to go ahead and do it without even considering my advice. Thaddias will kill everyone-"