They delicately nudged James into the cell. Even if the environment was designed to be uncomfortable for criminals, a bedroll had been laid on the ground as well as a box of books and activities to keep him entertained.
ㅤ'If you two are going to behave like criminals, I'm going to treat you like criminals,' their dad had said.
ㅤDespite their father's earlier condemnation of their actions, he'd granted them a loving mercy in the form of basic comforts that real prisoners wouldn't have been afforded. It was kind.
ㅤ"How long do I have to stay here?" James asked.
ㅤThe two guards mildly locked the door, their large burly bodies wavering in the dim light.
ㅤ"Until next evening, Your Royal Highness."
ㅤ"I see."
ㅤJames dropped onto his bedroll and rifled through the box for a pen and quill, pressing parchment into the dusty stone slabs. The dry hot air made the cool hard floor feel more comfortable than it should have been.
ㅤA lion. A real lion in the flesh.
ㅤThe vision of it rapidly fading, James carved long strokes into the page with the ink of his quill, rushing to capture the image to keep before it vanished. Long minutes passed by until his company decided to finally speak up.
ㅤ"Why did you have to go and let yourself get captured too, idiot?"
ㅤThe defeated figure of his brother in the next cell over was a murky silhouette in the torchlight. He was slumped against the rough stone wall, his knees bent up. Unlike James, he hadn't been given a place to sleep. It seemed their father thought he didn't deserve the right.
ㅤ"I'm just a boy. I was never going to outrun them forever." James snorted in dry amusement.
ㅤ"Well, now we're both in trouble. Good job."
ㅤ"You're still getting the harsher punishment," James gloated, faintly blowing on the wet ink. "I was negatively influenced by my older, wiser, brother who should've known better."
ㅤIt wasn't just a sleeping mat Fabian had been deprived of. No books, no toys, he'd been given nothing. They expected him to wait and do absolutely nothing.
ㅤ"Ugh," Fabian groaned. "They still fall for that bullshit."
ㅤ"Well, I wasn't lying," James lightly reasoned.
ㅤHis brother's sigh was long and desolate and James paid it little mind. He focused on his task. Despite knowing he had no talent for the arts, he hoped to etch every last little detail into permanence. Just because the lion had to die, it didn't make it any less valuable to James; even if a memory was all he'd be left with.
ㅤ"I wouldn't actually lock you up when I become king. You know that, right?"
ㅤFabian's gentle voice tugged James' attention away once again. Even when he looked over, though, Fabian hadn't moved. He was stuck in the exact same position, even now.
ㅤ"If," James retorted.
ㅤ"When."
ㅤJames smiled slightly. Fabian wasn't whipping up an outrage this time, instead, he was subdued with the calm acceptance of his unchangeable fate.
ㅤ"Why are you saying this all of a sudden?"
ㅤ"Mum thinks I'm too mean to you," he replied. "But she only says that because she doesn't know you as well as I do." Fabian pointed a lazy accusatory finger James' way. "She still thinks you're this defenceless little desert mouse."
ㅤJames shifted closer and grinned innocently, much to Fabian's disgust.
ㅤ"Instead I'll make you my butler and force you to serve me forever," Fabian went on to say. "Well, except, knowing you, you'd probably end up in this dungeon anyway because of your bad habits."
ㅤFabian had never been able to remain sincere for very long.
ㅤRolling his eyes, James refocused on his drawing, holding it up to the light for a better look. The picture had started recognisable but it seemed the more detail he tried to add to it, the less coherent it became. It was a shame.
ㅤ"I already know you wouldn't actually do any of that."
ㅤThe flame of the torches lightly spat into the silence, crinkling the air with a slight of smoke. The dirty orange glow caught Fabian's face and his state of being unconvinced by James' insistence was obvious.
ㅤ"Really?" he replied, flatly.
ㅤ"You're my older brother."
ㅤFabian wrinkled his nose. "You should be embarrassed saying stupid stuff like that."
ㅤJames wasn't. He'd believed what he'd said, after all. He knew his older brother as much as his brother knew him. They didn't have to like each other, nor did they have to get along, to be close. The two of them were more similar than others gave them credit for.
ㅤJames' drawing ruined, he went through the box once again and picked out a new page and one of the novels. He'd have to start it all from scratch, even if it meant his next picture couldn't be as faithful to the original memory. Perhaps he could draw it to be less pitiful this time.
ㅤBefore that, though, James leaned towards the rails that separated their cells and cooed: "I love you."
ㅤFabian snapped his head around to bark at James' annoying provocation but quickly faltered. Through the bars, and into Fabian's section, James' hand was suspended, holding out the book between them.
ㅤJames didn't care too much for the books, he was more concerned about keeping the quill. If it made Fabian happy, he didn't mind giving them up. It wasn't something he needed.
ㅤFabian sighed and grudgingly snatched it off of him.
ㅤ"I love you, too," he muttered.
ㅤIt didn't have to be said.
➵ ➵ ➵ ➵
"They've taken us along these routes here," Alex explained to Thomas, the map spread on the bare dirt. "We've been heading eastwards, not south. Though, we expected this."
ㅤRather than the roads, they'd squeezed their small army through unmarked pathways through squeezing forests. The high nobles were keeping their movements secret from even their own men.
ㅤ"I don't understand why they don't just tell us," Thomas murmured, crossing his legs as he mulled it over.
ㅤ"Because they're worried about an ambush," Alex reckoned.
ㅤJust then, some of the other men who had been sitting in circles nearby craned their necks in interest in their conversation and Thomas rolled the map up, glaring over his shoulder.
ㅤ"Everyone is far too active," Thomas complained. "We need to be there in two days, yet King William decided to call the day before the sun has even fully set. Has he gone senile?"
ㅤ"Thomas. That's lèse-majesté."
ㅤJolting in shock, Thomas touched his lips, trying to put the words back in. "I hope no one heard that."
ㅤAlex took the map straight out of Thomas' hands.
ㅤ"We'll be 'woken' up in two hours. I guarantee it. The Drykas commoners will all be in their houses at night, it'll make it easier to conscript them."
ㅤ"Poor sods."
ㅤAlex stood, rolling his shoulders, the armour aching. For as long as Alex sat there, Thomas would be isolated by the other troops.
ㅤ"Rest," Alex ordered before wandering off in search of fresh air.
ㅤThrough the trees, as the clusters of people dropped away, the darkening light took a rusty tinge, like the dwindling red of old blood stains. It couldn't have been fog; the air was too hot. Alex stood within it, trying to work out the mystery, when a bird zipped through.
ㅤ"Are you going to keep following me?" he asked.
ㅤLeaves rustled as a breeze passed by. The distance laughter of men and trembling of nature felt deceptively peaceful.
ㅤ"You heard me from over there?" James hummed, now behind him.
ㅤAlex smiled faintly, turning. James had been just as silent as always. "No. It was the bird that gave you away."
ㅤ"You're sharp." The tone was impressed.
ㅤJames looked good. He was standing tall and firm, like a stone pillar from a temple, he appeared strong enough to hold up the sky.
ㅤJames had cleanly snapped into his role the moment he'd donned that armour. Although there was a disconnect between how exhausted James' body looked and how energetic he behaved, it was still an improvement. Something had changed.
ㅤRather than carefree confidence, James had been strengthened by a quick-witted composure. There was no doubt that war would've been engrained into him from childhood. This was a reality he understood; from princedom to commoner, violence had been his effective tool to wield in his life.
ㅤExcept, it wasn't the same.
ㅤ"Shut up," James said, sharply, suddenly.
ㅤ"I didn't say it."
ㅤ"You were thinking it."
ㅤJames was serious. He bore a contemptuous look.
ㅤAlex could bite back his apology, his regret. That was fine. It wasn't reasonable, however, for James to expect him to control his feelings.
ㅤ"You can't control my thoughts."
ㅤThat was where he drew the line. This was one inconsistency he would not accept. James couldn't tell him his feelings were justified but also expect to be the exception.
ㅤA tense moment passed and James huffed, his shoulders relaxing.
ㅤAlex didn't believe James would give up so easily. But after everything, and more than anything, Alex was just happy to see his lover with a spring of life in his step.
ㅤJames lifted his hand to grip the back of Alex's neck, his hands warm, and pressed their foreheads together.
ㅤ"Alex. It's already happened," James murmured to him, his lips quirked into a small, gentle, smile. "And, if there's one thing I'm good at, it's getting over the past."
ㅤChest aching with the toil, Alex invested everything into holding his tongue.
ㅤThis wasn't a normal lie. This was James' truest, most sincere, belief. And, if it gave James the confidence to feel okay, if only for but a moment, Alex wouldn't dare shatter it. He wouldn't.
ㅤ"You're not alone in this battle," James went on, cupping both of Alex's cheeks with his rough palms. "We're in this together, okay? Freedom is around the corner."
ㅤThere was no such thing. Not for either of them. But, Alex mustered a smile, holding James' hands to his face, and nodded. He would pretend.
ㅤA kiss was pressed to his lips, earned by his lie, and it was soft. With no desire to deepen it, it served as a communication that words couldn't have done justice.
ㅤ"You look confident today," Alex then remarked.
ㅤJames smirked. "Well, I might die tomorrow. Or maybe the day after. What good would moping do? I'm on my way to see my precious older brother, after all."
ㅤThere were so many twisted things in that single response that Alex struggled to swallow down his distaste. He hid his visceral reaction by pulling James into his arms and pushing his face into James' neck, despite the shoulder guards that dug into his cheekbone. James momentarily tensed, as he normally did, but he easily accepted the action, if not a little bemused by it.
ㅤ"I wished we could've avoided all of this," Alex admitted. "All the death that's about to come."
ㅤAlex knew his thoughts were naive, but he wished they could have done this without bloodshed. Ultimately, it was still the innocent commoners who would die, simply for the sin of living along the king's path.
ㅤ"We need to take the opportunity," James said. "In fact, there's something I need you to do."
ㅤAlex straightened back to look at him. "What is it?"
ㅤ"You need to kill the Ankaid Duke for me if he is there. He will be a problem for me once I am crowned. He has two sons, only two... Neither of which would take their father's place unless they consent to it— and that'll be easy enough for me to deal with."
ㅤAlex's lips twisted down. "This feels like murder."
ㅤ"It's a battlefield, Alex. There are no humans on the battlefield. There is no murder."
ㅤ"And you can't do it?"
ㅤJames smiled, breathing faux lightness into his voice. "I'll be with my older brother."
ㅤThat was the most twisted part about everything. The fundamentally most broken thing about this situation— at the end of the day, James still considered that man his older brother.
ㅤ"Okay," Alex agreed. "I'll do that for you."
ㅤ"You'll be doing it for yourself."
ㅤAlex didn't quite understand the remark but James had already imparted so much delusion that he wordlessly accepted the explanation. "Okay."
ㅤJames looked over his shoulder. "I have to go back. We'll be waking up the men in an hour."
ㅤ"I'd predicted as much."
ㅤJames' eyes creased with his genuine smile. "I know you had."
___
I think that flashback scene is the tightest thing I've ever written goddamn. Not a single line wasted.