Meet Me in the Garden (DSAF royal AU)

Chapter Eleven - Love Lies Bleeding

Dave expected a chuckle from Charlie, but all he got was a confused, somewhat scared expression.

"... William," She looked concerned, her eyes beginning to blink rapidly. A nervous habit. "You do realize that Henry is, at the very least, ready for you to come back, and will try hurting you if you choose to do so?"

It took a minute for the words to process in Dave's brain, but when they did, his face fell.

"... What are you implying here, Charlie?"

"Dave, I'm telling you this not as a servant, but as a friend." Charlie reached out for Dave's hands. "King Henry isn't going to let me or you off easy if we try getting Jack out of there."

Dave swatted her hands away and leaned back, almost shocked. "Are you telling me to just... Leave Jack there? And let him get killed?! You know he's my boyfriend, right?!"

Peter wanted to back out of the room, but he was glued to the floor, watching everything happen. However, he waved at Dee, signaling for her to go back upstairs.

"Your highness, I know how you're feeling," Charlie insisted, raising her hands defensively, like she was so used to doing at the castle. "But please, your father is dangerous—"

"If he's my father, then why the fuck doesn't he act like it?!"

Everything seemed to stop at that moment, and all the attention was on Dave, who had stood up, fists balled, stool knocked to the floor.

"And no, you can't even begin to comprehend how I'm feeling!" The prince was almost screaming now, his hands flung up in the air angrily. "Jack could be dead for all we know! Where would that leave me?! Do you think I can just move on that easily?!"

"Your highness, please, I'm not trying to make you angry—"

"Shut the hell up! Let me talk for one second in my life!"

Charlie jumped back, having to hold onto the bar to keep from falling off of the stool.

"Jack was a breath of fresh air from all the things Henry said to me! Do you have any idea how many nights I spent crying to myself because I'll never be more than a waste of air to him?! I had to change my damn name to even get his attention!"

Charlie had started to shake, and she brought her hands over her head, peeking out only slightly from behind him.

At that moment, Dave realized just how similar he was to Henry at that moment. The idea of even the slightest resemblance between the two was enough to snap Dave out of his outburst, and for a few moments he stood, motionless, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

He picked up the stool and repositioned it, sitting back down and resting his forehead on the counter.

Minutes passed, with Charlie regaining her composure while Dave sat quivering at the bar.

"I'm so tired of him..." Dave wiped the tears from his eyes, sniffling and raising his head up again after a little while. "I'm so damn tired, Charlie."

Charlie sighed. There wasn't a point in fighting him, and she did see where he was coming from. She knew what Henry was capable of, and she couldn't live with herself if she let someone so close, so important to Dave, face the same awful fate.

"... fine."

Almost like a cat, Dave perked up immediately, although his mood wasn't any better.

"I'll take you guys to him." Charlie's head was in her hands, gripping her hair. "But for the love of Christ, please be careful. Henry will know when Jack is gone, and he is going to lose his mind tracking you down."