The Rose's Thorn

Chapter Two

Nathan ducked his head down, avoiding his harsh eyes. "No, I mean it... I'm truly sorry sir. It-it won't happen again. I swear." Another lie, but he needed Edwards to believe him.

The knight narrowed his eyes at Nathan, not believing him just yet. But he seemed satisfied with the lie, for now. "Come along, then. Lord Collin will not appreciate you being late."

The pair began to walk again, and again Nathan struggled to keep up. There was a slight limp in his walk now.

They arrived at the courtyard within a few minutes. As expected, Lord Collin was already waiting for him, standing in front of the fountain.

Sir Edwards gave a deceptive smile, bowing to Collin. "My Lord, the prince. I am most sorry for being late, I had to wake the prince up from an early morning nap." The knight spoke with conniving ease, Nathan would've been convinced if he hadn't been there and known the truth.

Lord Collin didn't speak, only dismissed the knight with a wave of the hand. Once the pair were alone, the young noble slowly approached Nathan. "Tell me, Nate, what really happened." He cupped the prince's face in his hand, concern written all over his face.

Nathan tried to look away, but Collin forced him to meet his caring brown eyes. He loved the way the sun reflecting off his eyes, it made them seem like they were sprinkled with gold. "Collin... you know I can't say. You know I can't." His voice shook slightly, and his face got hot as tears welled up in his eyes. He tried to force them back.

"Tell me, Nate. Don't you trust me?" His voice was soft, and sweet like honey. There was something about his voice that Nathan just couldn't resist.

"He just roughed me up a bit, that's... that's all. He didn't hurt me too badly, I promise I'm fine. Can we just... carry on with our lesson?" A bit of a whine broke through in Nathan's voice, but he was able to keep his tears from falling.

With a frustrated sigh, Collin let go of his face, retreating to a bench nestled between two berry bushes. There were two foils laid out on the stone bench. Collin picked one up and tossed it to Nathan.

He fumbled slightly, but managed to get hold of it without dropping it. Collin picked up the other foil, moving backwards to put some distance between the two. They circled each other, until finally Collin spoke.

"Én guard!"

And Lord Collin lunged for him.

Vincent Ataven

August 1st, 11:56 AM

Vincent sheathed his sword, looking down at the body at his feet. Her throat had been slit, blood was still bubbling out from her neck. Her blonde hair was stained crimson. The prince was entranced by the gory sight.

"Such a waste of a pretty face," Vincent growled, wiping the blood off of his hands. The floor was covered in blood. He knelt down slowly, pushing Claire's hair out of her face. Upon parting her hair, he revealed that one of her eyes had been dug out of the socket. "So... foolish. Thinking I would let you go. Nobody ever escapes me." His lip curled into a devilish grin as he pulled a dagger out of his boot, slicing a chunk of her hair off.

Vincent rose to his feet, tucking the dagger back into his boot beside the key. He snapped his fingers, pointing down at the body. "Zyros, get rid of that, will you?" The large black dog began to growl, slowly prowling towards the woman's body, teeth bared.

Vincent turned his back on the scene, strolling out of the room as casually as if he were leaving a church. He dropped the hair into his belt satchel, tying it shut. He needed proof of what he'd done, after all.

He removed his leather gloves from his pocket, pulling them back on over his bloodied hands. He was unphased, of course. He was simply doing what was necessary. She was low enough in the royal hierarchy that her absence would not be immediately noticed, yet high enough that she would have the exact information that he needed.

And now, with a fiery ambition in his eyes, Vincent retired to his study in the south wing. It was a simple room, decorated with various hunting trophies. His most prized trophy being the head of a grizzly bear. It was hung in the very center of the wall opposite the door. There was a large desk in the center of the room, which currently had a map of Aecroston spread across it. There were two red flags placed at the main entrances of the castle.

With a sly grin, the prince picked up a white flag, placing it on the north tower of the castle. He placed another flag on a wall that bordered the garden of the castle, where he knew one of the royals spent much of his time. The youngest one, he was told. The weak one. There was a secret gate here, one that Claire had told him of. He was going to use this gate to infiltrate the castle. He would take the prince to use as a bargaining chip. Now, his plan is coming together. Finally, his dream was going to become a reality.

Vincent was going to watch the world burn.

Tomorrow, he would bring Hell to Aecroston.