"Dawn will do."
Agreed the prince with a sigh of visible relief.
"Your alive and I'm here playing hero instead of killer. Much has changed since we last met, so it seems we have many things to talk about. Would you walk with me?"
Iolas asked, weakly nodding towards the gardens.
Simon contemplated this, looking over at the hedge maze, where there was an eerie absence of people, but after looking over the prince once more and fully taking in his obviously exhausted, travel mangled frame, he deemed his enemy in no shape to be a real threat.
"Very well."
He agreed and the pair walked slowly to the icy gardens, and away from the ears of the peasants and soldiers.
"I know I've done nothing to earn your trust, but I don't need it right now," Iolas spoke up.
"What's important right now is Adelaide."
"On that I do not disagree."
Simon Grunted, trying to remain calm despite every fiber in his being still arguing to beat the traitorous prince within an inch of his life, perhaps not even that much.
How dare he say her name in such a familiar fashion? He thought, balling his fists at his side.
"How is it you are alive? She told me that she watched you die, falling from a cliff in an avalanche apparently."
Iolas began with the most obvious question, sensing that his new walking partner stood at a tense gaurd, ready to strike down the former villain at the first sign of treachery.
"I did fall. It broke every bone in my body, but I landed very much alive in a river and was carried down stream far from here. I was found in a coma by a healer and nursed back to health unbeknownst to my knowledge. I've not actually been conscious for very long."
Explained Simon in the briefest possible manner. Not daring to bring up Delilah, for this monster did not deserve to know her name.
"I see..." Nodded Iolas.
"Pleasantries aside unfortunately, as there isnt much time, tell me what supplies we still have left, and how many of your men are now strong enough to fight?"
He crossed his arms to ask the bigger man.
As Simon anwered in detail, the weight of the stableboy's metaphorical resurrection hit the prince for the first time, striking him in place with so many conflicting emotions.
With Simon alive, the prince realized with a suddenly heavy heart, Adelaide, for whatever brief time she had been his in the stableboy's absence, would be his no longer. Should all if any of them survive this war, he knew what choice she would make between himself and her former beloved, and, he realized with a sudden overwhelming sense of acceptance, that it wasn't even much of a choice. He wasn't much of a choice.
Compared to this painfully selfless, compassionate, and brave blond fool who had obviously loved her for years, and had never treated her as anything less than the treasure she is, Iolas knew who she would choose, more importantly who she should choose.
"-but tonight our main priority is arming our men to the teeth with whatever we have."
Simon wrapped up his speech.
"I agree. But we need to work out a strategy. We cannot just march blindly into their territory, that's a suicide mission." Iolas nodded, internally laughing at the irony.
He was loosing count of all his suicide missions, what would one more hurt?
"My apologizes Sir Simon, it seems you are more capable than I had past assumed."
Remarked the prince, doing his best not to sound haughty.
"After all you've done, that is what you want to apologize for first?"
Simon crossed his arms.
"Forgive me, I am quite new to apologies."
Countered Iolas, with a bit of snark, despite the geniality of his last sentence.
Simon only shook his head.
"Look, we can talk and strategise like men, and once we've saved Adelaide and Aelford, we can fight like dogs."
Simon didn't trust Prince Iolas as far as he could throw him. In fact, he didn't trust Iolas a fifth of the distance he could throw him, as he was quite confident in his ability to throw heavy objects long distances.
The kitchen dinner bell rang before any more testosterone could be spilled.
Proceeding to the dining hall they are together in silence.
Simon waved over a servant after the meal had been finished.
"Martha my dear,"
He greeted the servant like an old friend, which she was. The former stable boy would never grow accustomed to treating the servants, like well, servants.
"Could you please show his..." Simon paused, clearly pained to address his enemy so respectfully,
"-Royal Highness to an open room?"
"I'm sorry my Lord, but their are no open rooms, yours is the only one not currently packed full of people."
The middle aged woman said.
"Unless of course, you would like us to prepare the queens room for his highness."
"No!"
Both Simon and Iolas answered Simultaneously. It felt like such a disrespect and upon realizing they both felt the same way, they shared an odd look.
"What we mean, madam, is that wont be neccessary."
Iolas stood up from the table.
"I shall be perfectly fine in the makeshift barracks with my men."
"I'm afraid that wont do either your grace." An Isles gaurd who had been listening in on the whole exchange spoke up.
"Every bed is taken there as well."
This meant that the two were stuck as bunkmates. Possibly the worst part of the situation was that there was a single bed in the room, and the two were unable to diplomatically agree who was to take it. This left two very unhappy grown men sharing a large bed that wasn't large enough for their egos.
Utterly exhausted, sleep began to pull the prince under but before it could, a dark thought from what felt like a past life creeped upon him, like a hideous tentacle reaching up through murky waters. The idea occurred to him that if Simon were to be eliminated, say heroically on the battlefield, he could still have his Adelaide, she could still be his and only his.
With how quickly he quashed that horrible thought, by thinking of her and how it would affect her, he realized that he had indeed truly changed. Murder for personal gain no longer appealed to the prince, only Adelaides happiness and now safety did, even at his own expense.
Simon watched Iolas sleep. He had no personal respect for the man, and a decent amount of loathing, but there was no denying that he was smart, and smart was something this land desperately needed right now.
Simon couldn't help but disgruntedly admire the wise decisions Iolas had made in fortifying the castle, splitting rations and even organising routines and activities to keep moral at a high. He admired the guard schedules, and the surprisingly hopeful vibe the citizens were emitting now that the prince had returned.
This was a man who had been trained in the art of war, if only ever in a schoolroom, and that was more than he could say for himself.
Simon also saw that the prince wasn't the same arrogant, self-absorbed, immature, self-serving villain he had once caught poisoning wine in the cellar, the change was all but impossible to deny, no matter how much he wanted too.
He was still understandably wary. It was more than likely that he was performing another elaborate trick in order to gain control of the forces, or something of the likes. But no, that couldn't be. The forces were already largely his own. Simon couldn't believe Iolas had changed, as there was no way a man who had done what he did could be redeemed. There was no way he could change. He told himself over and over, and believed it a little less each time, particularly after one of the soldiers asked about the welfare of the queen, and he heard the prince speak of her in such high regard, explaining how she had saved his life, and how she had so cunningly found a way to have her companions life spared.
Simon grew uneasy at the way he talked about her, though he couldn't explain why.
Simon sighed and rolled over, closing his eyes, surrendering himself to sleep and the visions that he knew he could not escape, of a a woman with eyes like the midnight sky.
"Simon," she whispered.
"Simon..." her voice was silk, it was sunshine and it was mead. Everything sweet and yet powerful in the world was contained in that voice.
"Come back to me Simon," she whispered.
He didn't know if he could resist.
"Simon...please. I miss you. Come back to me." Suddenly she was in front of him, her beautiful form casting a soft glow on his soul.
"Delilah," he whispered, longing to take her into his arms if only once more.
"Delilah, I'm so sorry. I miss you more than you know, but this is what I must do. This is the right thing to do."
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A/N: a personal update, as requested.
Got back into the states about a week and a half ago. Bouncing around couches now until this whole mess is over and I can (hopefully) get my job and by extension, place of living back.
Had a bad fever last night and felt like I couldn't breathe last night, terrified I went to sleep, woke up with an incredible pain in my throat, ear and jaw, and tried to find a free clinic that didn't want $350 to see my currently painfully unemployed a**. Found one, they ran a bunch of tests and it turns out I only have a series of infections, no Covid-19, filed as unemployed and they only charged me $15 to see me and $50 for the meds, So that was a relief. Staying at my brothers place now and driving for uber eats to make enough money to pay for necessities.
I wish it was a more positive tale, but this whole Covid-19 has really fml up.
Hope you all enjoyed the chapter.
Much, much love.
-Queenofgeeks