The other stable hands forced Archie to take the rest of the day off. They claimed that he deserved it after he had won the archery tournament and that covering his work for once was the least that they could do. Archie tried to protest, but he was internally glad, as he really wanted to spend some time with Frederic.
Frederic and Archie took a walk around the castle as they caught up with one another. Archie apologized for not writing to the youngest prince, which made him give the stable boy a stern look as he ordered him not to forget this time around. Archie spent time with Fred's son, William, and Prince James as well.
Archie liked kids; he was good with them too, which made him a little excited about training the two boys that had approached him. He did not know the first thing about teaching, but he figured out what the worst thing he could do was.
Kenric found Archie in the library, reading to William and James as the infant sat on the stable boy's lap. His heart grew warm instantly at the sight, and he wished that there was a way to capture the moment. If Kenric knew how to paint, then he would spend a lifetime drawing his lover's portraits.
Kenric stood by the door, watching as Archie finished the chapter. He had grown more fluent in reading than he used to be, and it filled Kenric with pride. Archie had so many skills; the only thing he needed was a little bit more confidence in himself. Kenric vowed that he would do his best to make Archie see himself the way that Kenric saw him.
A beautiful, talented, and good-hearted man.
Once both the kids began to get drowsy, Frederic decided that it was time to put them to bed. He held William in his arms as James followed behind him after wishing Archie a goodnight. Frederic smiled at Kenric as he saw him in the doorway before leaving.
Archie did not notice as Kenric walked towards him; he was too busy already going through the next chapter of the book. He finally looked up, his expression surprised, as Kenric sat next to him.
"Once the ball is over, I am going to spend the night with you, and you will read to me," Kenric said.
"Is that an order, Your Highness?" Archie asked, his tone indicating that he was merely teasing the other man.
"It is a humble request; I wish to fall asleep to the sound of your voice with my head on your lap and your fingers in my hair," Kenric spoke, sighing deeply.
"I think I can manage that," Archie mumbled, his cheeks growing a light shade of pink.
"I wish for nothing more than to be with you right now, my love, but we need to speak with Godric," Kenric stated, making Archie nod with his lips pressed in a thin line.
"Then that is what we shall do."
The two men headed to Godric's study. The King was insanely busy the last few days, but Kenric knew he was going to be in his room to look over some documents before supper. It was the perfect time to speak with him without getting interrupted, and Kenric did not want to waste the opportunity.
He knocked, announcing his presence, before Godric told him to enter. He looked a tad surprised to see Archie with him, who was coming to the King's study for the first time in fifteen years. The last time was when the late king was still alive, and he and Kenric sneaked into the room just to look around. Thankfully, they had not been caught. Otherwise, the consequences would have been dire.
Possibly lethal.
"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Godric looked at the both of them, his soft smile turning into a frown as he saw the seriousness on their faces. "Let me rephrase. What is wrong?"
"It is possible that Prince Edward knows about Archie and I, which indicates that there could be a spy in our midst," Kenric answered, dropping the bomb all at once. Godric looked taken aback, clearly not having expected that.
"Sit down. Tell me everything."
So that was what they did. Archie told him about the blonde's advances on him, and Kenric told him about the comments he made, which meant that he knew what was going on between the two. Godric listened carefully as Kenric explained how it was impossible for Prince Edward to find this out without someone telling him, as they had not been together since the royals arrived.
"Apart from me, Sir Christian is the only one that knows?" Godric asked to confirm, and Kenric nodded. Godric looked displeased at the answer, making Kenric speak in the knight's defense.
"Sir Christian has proven time and again that he is an honorable man. He is a trusted friend, and I would bet my right arm that he is not a spy," Kenric said confidently.
"I see," Godric muttered, exhaling deeply as he rested back in his chair. "This is not good. This is not good at all. If Prince Edward knows about you then there is no telling how he may use the information."
"There is no way for him to get any proof. We can always deny it, it is our word against his."
"You do not get it, Kenric," the King cut him off. "This is not about him telling the public. He knows that your heart lies with somebody you can never show off to the world or protect openly. What if we are to be at war in the future? All he needs to do is get to Archie to weaken you. To weaken us."
"I did not even consider that," Kenric grunted. He was so focused on being outed that he did not even think of all the other ways in which the crown prince could misuse his knowledge. Fuck. He was putting Archie in danger just by being with him.
"I am not scared of that," Archie spoke up, making Godric shake his head as he let out a dry chuckle.
"As much as I admire your bravery, this is not about whether or not you are afraid. This is about our enemies using you as our weakness. If they are to kidnap you, we cannot send an army out like we would if they were to hurt, say, Freddy's wife. We will not be able to justify such measures to the people," Godric explained. "You are as important as them, do not doubt that. But the soldiers would never agree to go to war for..."
"For a stable boy," Archie finished the sentence. He was not upset, he knew that Godric did not mean it as an insult. It was simply the truth.
"I will never let that happen," Kenric stated. Archie may not have been angry, but Kenric sure was. Just the thought that somebody could harm Archie in order to get to him filled him up with rage.
"Some things are out of anybody's control, even the great warrior prince," Godric said, giving his brother a pointed look. "We will cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, we need to focus on figuring out just how much Prince Edward knows. We need to weed out his spies too."
"How will we do that?"
"Leave that to me," Godric replied. "This is not the first time we have had spies, and it will not be the last. I will take care of it."
"And Prince Edward?" Archie asked.
"Do not piss him off," Godric answered, looking directly at Kenric, who rolled his eyes at the comment. "But do not appear weak either. Your little threats must have already proven that Archie is important to you, so we cannot do anything to change it. From what I can tell, he is power-hungry but smart. He would not tell his father what he knows, I am sure he is waiting for the old man to kick the bucket any day now. And Kenric?"
"Yes?"
"Figure out what to do with the princess. I respect that you do not wish to marry her. But it is still your responsibility to deal with the matter in a way that does the least amount of damage," Godric ordered. Kenric nodded, knowing that he had a tough conversation ahead of him soon.
"Understood, Your Majesty," Kenric said.
"Till the ball is over and all the guests are gone, maintain your distance. We cannot have more people finding out," Godric said. "Archie, you may leave. I need to speak with my brother alone."
Archie nodded as he stood up, looking at Kenric for confirmation, who gave him a tight-lipped smile. Archie kept his hand on Kenric's shoulder, squeezing it to reassure him before leaving the room.
Once Archie closed the door behind him, Godric rested his elbows on his desk as he rubbed his temples.
"Did you ever wonder why I was...why I was always against your relationship with Archie?" Godric questioned.
"Because you did not want a sodomite for your brother?" Kenric shot back with an annoyed look, this was not something he wanted to talk about.
"No, no," Godric chuckled dryly. "Even when we were kids, I could see the way that you looked at him. You treated him like he was royalty. You were always running around him, worshipping the ground that he walked on. I suppose I had a feeling even then that he was more than simply a friend to you."
"Get to the point, brother."
"I did not do it because I did not approve. Or because I thought you were a sinner or anything of that sort," Godric said softly. "You were my brother. You will always be my brother, and I will love you dearly till the day I die. My actions sometimes may seem otherwise, but my love for you is unconditional. Nothing you do will change that, even if you are laying with another man. Nothing, Kenric, nothing will make me love you less."
"Godric..."
"I did it because I wanted to protect you," Godric said. "Because I knew that a day would come when somebody would use this information against you. The last thing I ever want is for my people to scream at me to have your head. I do not want to watch them outside the castle with pitchforks demanding that I execute you."
"That will not happen. I...I will not..." Kenric trailed off. This was a promise he could not make.
"I hope not, I really hope not, because I will not be able to do it, Ken," Godric whispered. He looked vulnerable. Too powerless for a king. "If I have to choose between you or my crown then it will be the end of our legacy."
"I will never let it come to that, brother, I give you my word," Kenric said, knowing deep down that it was a possibility. "Our family will remain on the throne until there is a throne."
"I know you have not forgiven me for hurting Archie. Trust me, I have not forgiven myself for it either. I punished an innocent man and that haunts me every night, Kenric. It makes me wonder if I am becoming who I strived to destroy," Godric replied.
"You are not him, Godric. You are not like our father and you could never be like him," Kenric stated. He could not help but frown. His brother may have made mistakes, but he was not cruel. He was not like the late king, who let power get to his head and rejoiced in hurting others.
"I hope so." Godric sighed. "James will be a better king than me. I am sure of that."
"You are a great king, and I do not doubt that he will be too when the time comes," Kenric stated. "And I... I forgive you, brother. But you need to forgive yourself too."