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Pearl raises her head slightly at the peculiar statement. Orion catches the movement out of the corner of his eye. The man steps in front of Cecilia to protect her. "Have you burned all your evidence?" Orion asks, gesturing to the fire. Cecilia frowns and looks back.
"Why would you care?" She strongly asks.
"I do not want my future Queen dragged down by your testimony or any letters." Orion answers honestly.
Cecilia's eyes light up with a new plan. "You are not him. He could barely stand. You must be his brother. Which means the Prince is still unaware of his survival. The letters I received from my sister told me of the man that died and how she was heartbroken. He is believed to be dead. I can only assume his life is in danger. You should let us go. His secret will be kept. The Prince never needs to know." She tries to bargain.
"We were discussing your sister, not my dead brother." Orion snarls. "If I escort you back, alive, will you drag her down with you?"
"Of course not. She had nothing to do with any of this. She was simply in a convenient position for us. Our mother made sure of that." Cecilia denies truthfully. "If I hang she will still be Queen one day."
"But if you take us back to the Prince, your brother will fall with us." The man adds thinking he is in a position of power. Orion snorts.
"You think my only options with you are to take you back or release you?" Orion asks incredulously. "Move one more inch and you will meet the same fate as them." He growls and Pearl freezes, her palm around an arrow. Orion sighs and with one accurate hit Pearl crumbles to the floor. Cecilia's eyes widen believing the girl to be killed. However soft breaths still leave her mouth.
"Most of our people will have seen him alive." Cecilia tells Orion. "They may remain silent if they know we are free."
"I doubt any of them know his importance or how he died on his escape." Orion replies. "I am not completely dishonourable. You may fight me and die honourably if you wish." Orion removes a long deadly blade and waits.
The man attacks. Orion wards him off and the blades clang and shriek as they each block the others attack. Cecilia edges around the men fighting and runs from the room. Orion growls and pushes against the man, cornering him with no way out. The blades screech as he continues to push. The man strongly pushes back and they are both trapped in position. Suddenly the light dies from the man's eyes. They roll down to see a blade protruding from his stomach. Orion emotionless watches as the man slumps down. If Cecilia had not run he would not have resorted to killing him in such a deceitful way.
He stalks off in the direction she ran. He is just in time to see her keel over a blade. Orion stops in shock. The men had all been given orders not to kill the two sketched people. Orion was to deal with them and escort them back to the castle for questioning. Roshi meets his gaze and nods his head. He removes his sword and Cecilia drops to the floor, hands frantically pushing down on the blood pulsing out. "On her orders a lot of my friends were killed." He says as a way of explanation. "Is the man dead?"
"Yes." Orion simply replies.
"Then our job is done. Both died at the hands of their own followers. It happens." Roshi says. "We should go. The fight is about to begin." At those prophetic words they both hear a loud bang. Soon the sounds of swords and grunts echo through the great building.
"You should go. You are not meant to be here." Orion orders. "I must go and assist them." Roshi bows and checks briefly on Cecilia. Her hands still cup the wound but now they are still and the blood has stopped flowing. She is dead. Roshi jogs off avoiding the sounds of fighting. Orion instead follows it and joins in, defending his side and attacking the enemies. Those that do not surrender soon succumb to the blade. Others are lead out in chains to be led back to the castle. The battle lasts less than an hour and soon the men not involved with the captives stride through the halls and rooms looking for the cowards that hid.
Orion goes back to Madam Cecilia's room and looks at the still body of the girl on the floor. He places an arm under her neck and the other under her knees. He lifts her up and carries her out. Ahead he sees her brother and the other man being lifted limply into a cart with bodies of other unconscious rebels. The survivors are few on the side of the rebels. The Prince's men are missing a few but not many. They were prepared to attack. These people were not.
The girl stirs in his arms and someone comes forward to take her from him. Orion shakes his head. "She was a captive." He lies. The man nods slowly, not quite believing such words. There had been no one in the cages when he had checked early on in the fighting. "She assisted me in finding the dead bodies of the two leaders." The man accepts these words with doubt but will not argue or question the words of Orion.
○ ○ ○
Orion opens his front door and goes straight through to the kitchen. He adjusts the sleeping girl in his arms with little difficulty. The house is disturbingly silent and only Zandar's presence sticks out in the otherwise empty room. He sits with his head down, face to the table, and his fingers interlocked at the back of his neck. He raises his head at the sound of Orion clearing his throat. He looks fatigued and as if the weight of the world has come to rest on his shoulders. He eases his fingers apart only to join them again in front of him on the table.
He opens his mouth to bear awful news but pauses as he takes note of the figure in Orion's arms. "Who is that?" leaves his mouth instead. He stands and circles the table to inspect the young woman more closely. He is momentarily distracted. "Who is she?" He amends.
"One of the rebels." Orion answers. His brow furrows as he once again questions his need to save her from the hanging post. "She must only be a few years older than Alice." He settles on the easiest explanation pushing all else to the back of his mind.
Zandar checks her pulse absentmindedly and gestures for them to go through to the sitting room. Orion props her up on one of the chairs. His brow furrows further at the vulnerability of the girl. He removes a coiled rope from his waist and winds it around her wrists. He knots it securely. If she struggles it will get tighter and tighter but if she relaxes it will not cause her any discomfort. However Orion does not intend for her to wake before he returns. He glances at Zandar but cannot read his thoughts beyond the blank expression he carries.
"How is the boy?" Orion asks, dreading the reply he could receive. Zandar shoots him a reproving look, eyes distant. "How is Hunter?" Orion changes his wording easily. Zandar pats him on the shoulder, the gesture almost fatherly.
"He fought incredibly hard but his fever kept rising and the infection ate away at him. I have sent Lady Arisxandre out to find your mother. Hunter lost the fight barely half an hour ago. He is at peace now."
Orion's heart stutters to a stop. Every muscle in his body coils tightly. His lungs constrict. And his eyes stare out, unseeing. Then his heart starts again. One beat. He turns to the doorway. Two beats. He paces forward. Three beats. He bounds up the stairs. Four beats. He hovers uncertainly at the closed door leading to his brother's body. Five beats. Zandar joins him giving him the strength. Six beats. He stops counting as he pushes open the door, blood rushing in his ears.
Hunter lies unmoving on the bed. Orion goes to his side and touches his brother's hand trying to convince himself of Zandar's words. Clammy but cool skin meets his fingertips. He sinks down into the chair that Ari and Zandar no doubt would have occupied previously. His head drops into his palms as he controls his breathing. "I should have said goodbye."
"Who should you have said goodbye to?" The deep voice, clouded by exhaustion, almost matching Orion's asks. Orion's head snaps up. Zandar is sure he hears the bones audibly pop. Cool blue eyes, hazy from fever, peer at Orion. "I could have died and you decided that you did not need to say goodbye. Do you see how stupid that decision could have been for you?"
Orion's reaction is immediate and not thought out in the slightest. His fist connects with force on Hunter's arm. The latter winces with pain and lets out a pained chuckle. "Try and convince me one more time that you are dead and I shall make sure that your words are true." Orion promises in a growl. His heart thumps uncomfortably fast in his chest cavity. He must try to hide just how scared he was.
Hunter stops chuckling and sobers up. "I am sorry. I should never have lied to you." Zandar disappears from the doorway, giving the brothers their privacy. Orion is about to reply when he senses the depth of his brother's apology. He is not saying sorry for the morbid prank. He is apologising for blatantly lying to his brother's face regarding Arabella. Orion swallows and looks away, his jaw ticking.
"You have paid the price for your actions." Orion replies with a seriousness that makes Hunter try to sit up straight but his side screams in agony. "I need the truth this time, boy. Do you intend to continue pursuing her? She is married to the Prince now and even more off limits. Have you regained any of your senses?"
Hunter shakes his head and Orion grunts. Dry cracked lips ease into an amused smile. "Ari told me that she got married. However..." Orion rolls his shoulders and restrains himself from knocking some sense into the younger man, "...I knew that Arabella and I were already over. I do not regret it but I will not pursue it again. I do learn from my mistakes."
"Well that is a relief." Orion declares. Hunter rests his head back and his breathing shallows. "Zandar!" Orion shouts with no delay. Footsteps are heard and both Zandar and Ari rush in. She dips her head guiltily when her eyes make contact with Orion's. It will not take him long to figure out that she was hiding downstairs in the garden. Hunter's eyes have closed. Zandar lifts up his shirt and peels back the bandage. He mutters under his breath and ushers Orion from the room.
I was almost incredibly cruel with this chapter...I was going to finish it where Zandar told Orion that Hunter was at peace but I thought I have already put you through that trauma once!