Connor and Aiden made eye contact over your sleeping form. The sun had just barely risen and its rays had slowly started to come into the room.
Connor glanced down at you again, making sure you were sleeping before opening his mouth, "What do we do? So much happened last night. Was she lying? How do we explain your going and breaking her fingers?! She's gonna hate us!"
Aiden winced at the thought of you hating him, "I'm not sure. We can check with Reed today. If she's lying...I don't know where she could've gone." He paused for a moment, thinking. "(Y/n) doesn't seem like the best judge of character either. She's strong-willed and determined, but if something throws her off course she seems to lose her judgement. Maybe...If we seem really guilty, shed a few tears, and apologize, she'll forgive and forget. I don't think I actually broke her fingers; it was just a shock to her probably since I woke her up so suddenly."
Connor nodded, "So when she wakes up, we'll explain to her that it was an 'accident' and then go interrogate Reed."
Aiden sighed as he stared down at you, "That's the plan. Why would she hide something from us? We love her. She should trust us. It makes me so...so..." His heart pounded in his chest at the idea of you purposefully lying and hurting them.
"Brother..." Connor trailed off, trying to bring Aiden back to reality.
"Sorry," Aiden mumbled before laying back down next to you, "I'm going to try to catch another hour or so of sleep before she wakes up."
Connor nodded and they both settled back in next to you.
Outside in the hall, an ear rested against the door and blue eyes widened at what they had just heard. Micah had come to make sure nothing had happened last night, but something obviously had.
Broken fingers...What on earth did they do....?
Slowly, he backed away from the door and bolted down the hall, needing to inform Reed immediately.
~~~~~
Your hand traveled up your face to rub your eye as you slowly sat up. You blinked a few times and yawned before realizing there were two sleeping bodies beside you. Everything rushed back to you from the night before and you shot up and off the bed.
"So much for another hour." Aiden moaned as he turned to look at you.
"You said it yourself. She's up with the sun." Connor replied tiredly as he sat up, meeting your gaze.
Your eyes fell to your hand as you tried to make a fist. It hurt slightly, but you didn't think anything was actually broken. The pain from last night still lingered in the back of your brain as you stared at the brothers angrily. Suddenly, you were caught off guard at Aiden's green eyes welling up with tears as he stared at you.
"(Y/n)..." Aiden murmured as he looked between your hand and you, "I-I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done that at all. I wasn't myself last night! I had terrible sleep thinking about it and I just couldn't think about anything else." A single tear fell from his right eye.
You watched silently as Connor moved over and gave his brother a gentle hug before looking at you solemnly, "(Y/n). Forgive him. It's been very difficult for us these past few days. Do you notice how you've never seen our parents around the palace?"
You nodded silently, confused at Aidens display of weakness and Connors apparent sadness.
"They died a few years ago. Tomorrow...is the anniversary. We were terribly, terribly close to them and when we learned of the news that they had been assassinated, well, we never fully recovered." You saw Connor blink a few times before he looked down at the comforter on the bed.
Were they both crying? Your mind wandered to the idea of your parents suddenly dying unexpectedly. Your mothers warm smile, your dads playful actions...How would it feel to have those be ripped away from you? You shook your head. They had been ripped away from you! What were you thinking?!
You glanced at the brothers, Aidens figure shaking slightly as Connors hand rubbed his shoulder. Maybe they were truly sorry. You bit the inside of your cheek in contemplation.
(Y/n)...What now? You asked yourself. I've never seen them like this. They've always been arrogant and callous. I feel like I shouldn't be witnessing it...It feels wrong. You made another fist with your hand. My fingers aren't broken, maybe I should just forgive them...just this once. It did seem out of line...
Nodding slightly, you tentatively walked towards the brothers and bent down, placing a hand on their heads. You felt your heart stop momentarily as you saw Aidens grief-stricken face. Connor looked at you with wide, tear-filled eyes as one continued to roll down his cheek.
You let out a small smile, "I'll forgive you. I never knew they left the world that way. I'm very truly sorry."
Aiden wiped at his eyes, We...He thought
Got her. Connor finished as they both nodded.
"Im so sorry (Y/n)!" Aiden exclaimed as he pulled you into him and wrapped his arms around you. You sat there for a moment, shocked, before awkwardly wrapping your arms around them.
"No. It's fine. Let's just forget about it."
You felt Connors figure shake slightly and you patted him on the back before pulling away and getting up.
"I need to change..." You trailed off heading towards the bathroom door.
Aidens eyes widened, "O-Oh! Of course, I forgot...Sorry. We'll leave and meet you later at lunch. We have to talk to Reed anyway." Aiden and Connor got up and walked towards the door.
"Wait! Why do you need to talk to Reed?!" You asked, fearing the response.
"Dear (Y/n). We still need to make sure your story adds up." Connor explained.
Your face paled and he raised his eyebrows, "Unless you want to confess to lying last night my dear?" His entire demeanor changed. Gone was the solemn, crying boy and what replaced him was an angry and cold prince.
"N-No! Reed will tell you that I was with him!" You rushed out, reaching behind you for the doorknob to the bathroom. You needed to somehow get changed and beat them down to the stables. How would you do that?!
"Good (Y/n)." Aiden mused, "Because if you were lying, well... we'd have to kill him."
You felt as if you were going to faint, "W-wait! I think I lost my ribbon last night out there. Could you stop and get me another? Please!"
Connor laughed, "No need. Your uniform isn't exactly required anymore...We got what we wanted."
You didn't know whether to punch them or drag them further away from the door. "B-But how will I hide these!?" You gesture wildly to the marks on your neck.
"Why hide them? They show that you're ours (Y/n)!" Aiden said with a smirk.
"B-but-!"
"(Y/n), its almost as if you're stalling. Is there something you don't want us to do?"
Yes!
"No."
"Very well. We'll meet up with you at lunch like we said." And with that, the door shut and you felt your control on the situation fall through your grasp.
You had never gotten dressed so fast in your life. You literally ripped off your sweater and shorts and threw on your maid uniform. Yanking the brush through your hair, you located your white flats and slipped them on. You brushed your teeth, threw the toothbrush towards the sink, and flew out the door.
Your footsteps echoed around the empty hall, your heart beating along with them.
Why did I mention Reed?! He's going to die...die because I was selfish and wanted to see my family. No! I need to stop them before they can try anything.
You pushed your legs to run faster as you burst through the entrance. Your feet pounded on the gravel path as you thought about your next move.
What if I'm already too late. What then?! How do I explain what had happened. Do I tell the truth. No! Then Micah gets hurt. Think (Y/n)! You need to-
Your foot slid on a piece of loose gravel and you fell to the ground. Not even noticing the stinging sensation in your knee, you shot back up and ran down the path, the roof of the stable coming into view.
You skidded to a halt and your heart dropped in your chest as you saw Aiden and Connor leaning over the figure of a small boy. Your feet moved instinctively as you ran towards them.
"What did you do!?" You cried out as you approached them.
"(Y/n)?!" Connor asked as he stared at you, his eyes filled with worry.
"(Y/n)..." Aiden reached out towards you and you slapped his arm away.
"Why would you do that to him! He was a boy! A boy!" You instinctively threw a punch at Aiden but he caught it and looked at you.
"(Y/n), you misunderstand the situation." Connor said with a frown.
You glared, wishing your look could harm him, "No. You misunderstand. You stupid, callous, son of a-"
"(Y/n)...?" A voice timidly asked and you looked down to see Reed staring up at you, confused.
"Reed?!" You knelt down next to him, relief flooding your systems. "B-but how?!"
Reed pointed to a chestnut mare that was standing near the side of the building, "Nelle bucked me off. I was talking with the princes about the lesson we'd had last night, and she suddenly got startled."
You felt your cheeks redden in embarrassment, as you slowly helped him sit up.
Connor raised his eyebrows "So what were you saying about me being a stupid, callous, son of a-"
"I'm sorry." You snapped.
The brothers smirked, and you turned away scowling. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw a few strands of black hair turn the corner of the building. Gratitude swelled inside you as you slowly helped Reed to his feet.
"Well, (Y/n). It seems you were telling the truth after all." Aiden said with a sigh as he turned and started walking back towards the castle.
Connor smiled and then went to follow his brother.
You looked at them shocked, "You're not even going to make sure Reeds okay?!" Reed shook his head slightly and grabbed your hand as he tried to pull you towards the inside of the stable.
Aiden looked over his shoulder and smirked, "Why would we? He's expendable dear. The only person who we care about is you."
You dropped Reeds hand and started marching over towards him until he exaggerated the movement of his hand resting on the hilt of something. You stopped in your tracks. Since when did he carry a sword on him!? You peered over at Connor to see that he too had a sword hanging off his belt as well.
You slowly turned back to Reed, stopped for a moment, and then looked at them.
"I may not be expendable to you, but you sure are expendable to me."
And with that you grabbed Reeds hand and dragged him inside, not wanting to be around them for another moment.
A/N: Ah! I'm sorry for the short update but I wanted to at least put something out. It didn't seem all that exciting, but it's setting a few things up for the future. I found a potential picture of Angry Boi Connor, hes at the top. I hope you're enjoying the story!