Basil woke to an empty room, the screams still ringing in his ears and the fading fragments of a nightmare fresh in his mind. He didn't know how long he had slept, but seeing as how the window was dark now suggested it must have been a good while. He still felt tired as he leaned back against the pillows, knowing Joseph must have been the one to move him to the bed. He wondered where the knight had gone and fought back the panic at the thought of being alone. Loneliness was something he typically enjoyed, but he was in a kingdom full of potential enemies. Letting his guard down would be foolish.
He closed his eyes, forcing himself to relax, and absentmindedly plucked at the fresh bandages covering his hands. His magic felt like a distant wave slipping through his fingers whenever he reached for it. Like a sore tooth, he kept prodding at it, hoping it would do more than lie dormant inside him. He hadn't been lying when he had said it was his only skill, and it worried him to know he couldn't use it even if he wanted to. Finally, he let the exhausted magic rest as the chamber door opened, startling him. He opened his eyes to see Joseph enter with a tray of food, more than enough for the two of them.
"You didn't have to fetch the food yourself. They do have servants for that." Basil pointed out.
"Your cousin asked me to carry it up here." Joseph replied, placing the tray on the small table across the room.
Basil blinked, wondering why Xan would send Joseph to collect the food. "Lily hasn't returned?"
"I believe she is staying with the prince tonight." Joseph turned to him before Basil could complain on his sister's absence. "How are you feeling?"
"Better," he replied, "but not as well as I'd like to be."
"Well enough to eat?"
Basil hesitated. The thought of food didn't really appeal to him, but he was willing to try if only to wipe away the concerned looks the knight kept giving him. "I suppose." He pushed the blankets away from him and flinched when his feet touched the cold stone floor. "You're eating too, right?"
"Of course." Joseph's smile lit up his whole face, and Basil thought he should smile more often. It would certainly be a much more pleasant change from the constant seriousness the knight carried with him.
Basil sat down at the table, feeling his stomach turn just from looking at the food, but he obediently took one of the rolls and bit into it. He watched as Joseph grabbed an apple, standing as there was only one chair. It made Basil feel guilty, but he already knew from experience that attempting to give up his chair would only end in an argument. He wondered if Joseph's injuries still bothered him. The knight was so careful not to let any emotions or pain cross his features that it was hard for Basil to tell.
They ate in silence, Basil no longer caring that Joseph watched each small bite he took with a frown. His stomach twisted unpleasantly with each morsel that passed his lips, but he did his best to choke down as much as he could. A knock sounded at the door and opened without a response from either resident. Xan stepped inside, allowing Basil to see for the first time the sling his cousin wore.
"I was burned. Like you." Xan said, catching his staring eyes with a smile before withdrawing a small vial from his pocket. A blue liquid shimmered inside the glass. "Eldon told me to bring you this. Said it would help you to regain your strength."
"Thank you." Basil took the potion from Xan.
Joseph had stepped away, towards the window, though he watched Basil and the potion intently as if he expected the tiny vial to bite the teen. Xan leaned closer to Basil and whispered, "he's loyal, that one."
"Most knights are." Basil muttered in return.
"Ah, yes, but most knights also know what personal space is."
"What are you saying?"
"I think you know exactly what I'm saying." Xan pulled away. "You are too much like your sister."
"That's not a bad thing."
Xan didn't reply to that, but it was clear he felt otherwise. "I have to go. Plenty of injured to care for."
Joseph immediately returned to Basil's side as Xan left, closing the chamber door behind him. "Eldon is my uncle; he wouldn't poison me." Basil said, noticing the wary glances Joseph kept sending the vial. To prove his point, he uncapped it and downed the potion in a single gulp. Aside from the foul taste, it was clearly harmless. "See?"
Joseph didn't reply, simply crossed his arms. Not wanting to let an uncomfortable silence hang over them for long, Basil said, "thank you for before." He wouldn't look at the knight as he tried to forget his previous actions and the sheer panic he had felt during the executions.
"I was only--"
"Don't!" Basil interrupted, startling himself at the volume of his own voice. Quieter, he pleaded, "don't tell me you were only doing your duty. Please."
Joseph nodded. "Then I was doing it for a friend." He said. "I was doing it for you."
Basil's face burned a bright red, and he kept his eyes focused on the half-eaten food before him. He hadn't expected Joseph to say anything like that, but they had once been friends, hadn't they? That was until Basil had allowed his own emotions to come between them, too afraid to tell the knight how he really felt.
He kept telling himself that some day he would finally confess everything, but every time he made the resolve, it crumbled the minute Joseph was around. That moment came again when Basil looked up to meet Joseph's eyes, but just as soon as he opened his mouth, he lost his courage and looked away. There would be other days, right?
***
"Would you ever consider marriage?" Liam asked as they laid close together in his bed, the satin sheets pulled tightly around them.
Lily cracked open an eye, having been almost asleep. "Never met a man worth marrying." She replied.
"What about me?"
"Is this your way of proposing? Because if so, it needs a little work," she yawned, "and better timing."
"No, no," he replied, a little too quickly, "just...curious."
"Right."
"But, for curiosity's sake..."
She sighed. "I don't know. There's a lot you don't know about me. A lot you wouldn't like."
"I know enough," he said, sounding slightly offended, "and I like the parts of you I do know. Besides, there's time later for us to get to know one another better."
Lily choked back a bitter laugh. If he only knew the things she kept from him, she was sure he wouldn't feel that way. But sleep called her name much too sweetly for her to disbelieve those words. She wanted them to be true more than anything. She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off. "I know there's a lot to deal with now, but later--much later, if you'd prefer--we could do it. Get married. Have a bunch of kids. Live here in the castle together. You could even still be a knight, if you'd like."
"I'm sure there are laws against it. Marrying one of your knights," she murmured, "especially one who has lied about their identity."
"When I'm king, I'll change the laws." Lily almost gave a disbelieving snort, but when she met Liam's eyes, all she found was open honesty. "I promise."
"Alright." She mumbled, not yet knowing how that promise would later tear her apart. To her sleep-dulled mind, it sounded too good--too perfect--so she let herself believe it. She curled up farther into his arms, letting his warmth drag her into a peaceful sleep.
Much later that night, long after the moon had risen to its full height, Lily laid awake in that too-comfortable bed. Beside her, Liam snored softly, his arm still draped around her waist. She turned her head to look at him and smiled at how open and innocent his face was in sleep. It may have been her mother's letter that had set her on this journey, but it was definitely the prince who kept her there now. She could have left at any time and felt no regrets, but now she couldn't bear the thought of it. Not when she was so attached to the prince beside her.
Somewhere out there, her brother was killing more innocent people. She could feel the Dark Magic even from within the castle walls, and Lily worried what would become of her brother if he couldn't be talked down from this vengeful mission of his. Though she may not know how yet, she would find a way to save both Liam and Bane. She refused to lose either one of them, even if they did fight on opposite sides of a war.
She inched closer to Liam, soaking in more of his warmth as she tried to expel the worrisome thoughts from her mind. Her arms wrapped around his waist, and she breathed in his familiar scent of rain and cedar. The steady beat of his heart beneath her ear comforted her, and her eyes grew heavy with sleep. Had she known it would be her final night in his bed, she might have fought to stay awake longer. She never believed there would come a time when she would wake to find him gone, so far away that not even her magic could reach him.