Kiss the Darkness Ch. 03

"I will send my royal guard to the boarding house. They will bring me this boy and at dawn, I will take his head."

Maudlin gasped. "But My Lord!" She cried.

Guillame ignored his wife's protests as he looked to Lord Donovan. "Will that suffice to make right this grievous indignity that my son has caused?"

Lord Donovan glanced at his daughter and she nodded. "It will." Donovan told the King.

"Good!" Guillame clapped his hands together and smiled brightly. "Then it's settled. Once the boy is dead the wedding will go ahead as planned."

Christian stared at his father, his eyes wide with rage. He had never hated another person as much as he hated his own father in that moment. "You can not do this." Christian hissed. "Alexander is innocent in all this. If you wish to punish someone then punish me. Please, I beg of you. Alexander has no idea that I was set to be married, for pity sake he has no idea that I am even a Prince!"

"And who is to blame for that?" Guillame asked him. "You knew of your duties and you knew what was expected of you yet you chose to pursue this boy. What choice do I have when you refuse to do what is right but to eliminate the problem?"

"He isn't a problem to be eliminated." Christian gasped. "He's a living, breathing person."

"A commoner." Guillame shrugged his shoulders. "What is he to me? The only harm I see is in letting him live. Especially when you've professed your love for him so fervently. Once he's gone the distraction is gone and you are free to marry the woman whom I have chosen for you. It's simple and it ensures that everyone is happy."

"Everyone but me." Christian snapped.

Guillame laughed. "Your feelings are inconsequential to me. You've already proven that you allow your emotions to rule you rather than your head."

"And you father, have proven that you have no emotions at all! Not if you can murder an innocent young man without an ounce of guilt."

"You hold your tongue." Guillame sneered. "I might still have you taken out and whipped for your imprudence."

"Do it!" Christian cried out suddenly. "Beat me! Beat me within an inch of my life! Hell, take my head if you must but I implore you, spare Alexander. If ever you've cared about me at all Father, if ever you have loved me, then please do not do this! Spare his life and take mine instead."

Both Maudlin and Amos began to cry as they listened to the Prince pleading for Alexander's life but the King was unmoved."

"I do this because I do care about you, you foolish child! In time you will come to see that I am right and you may even thank me for saving your from yourself."

"I will never thank you." Christian laughed bitterly. "If anything father I will hate you. With every fiber of my being I will hate you if any harm comes to Alexander. This I promise you, before all who are here to day and before the eternal spirit. If Alexander dies, I will hate you for the rest of my life."

Guillame was dumbstruck. Christian had never spoken to him in such a way but Guillame could see that those words were not spoken by a spoiled child or even a wild and unruly youth. Christian had meant every word that he'd said and was more serious than Guillame had ever seen him before.

Christian turned and stormed out of the dinning hall, pushing Amos out of his way hard as he left. Amos immediately ran after him, calling his name. Christian stopped short once they were in the corridor and out of ear shot of the others. He turned and looked at Amos with such hatred and wrath that Amos felt he were staring down a viscous predator ready to rip him to shreds at any moment.

"Christian, Please." Tears were streaming down Amos's face in an unyielding torrent of raw emotion. He reached out to Christian but Christian slapped his had away. "I am so sorry." He wept. "I never meant for this to happen. I know how much you love that boy and believe me when I say that I would never had told the King the things I'd told him, but when he sent for me he'd already heard everything from the page. He demanded I tell him the truth and what could I do but comply?"

"You betray me, your friend, to honor your King." Christian shook his head. "Which is the greater sin Amos. Your silence would have saved us all and yet now, you've condemned Alexander to his death."

"If I had known..."

"You should have remained faithful to me!" Christian yelled. "Your devotion was to me, not to my father!"

"He is my King!"

"And I was your brother!"

"Christian, I am still your brother." Amos clasped his hands together as though about to pray, shaking with anxiety as he looked into Christian's eyes.

"No..." Christian pressed his lips together as he stared at Amos. "You were my brother. I trusted you with the most secret desires of my heart. What I told you was spoken in confidence. Amos, I trusted you with my life, with Alexander's life! I trusted that your love for me would keep you silent and yet the first chance you get you run to my father."

"It wasn't like that." Amos whimpered. "Christian, if you would just listen to me."

"I'm through listening to you. Every word that comes from your mouth is twisted in jealousy and deception. I almost wonder if you hadn't meant for all this to happen. Spark my father fury and let him dispose of Alexander for you. Did you think then that I would welcome you into my bed?"

Amos shook his head furiously. "No, Christian! Gods no! I would never do that."

"How can I trust you?" Christian looked to Amos and Amos could see the pain in his friends eyes. He would have done anything in that moment to turn back the clocks and make everything right again but what was done was now done.

"Just give me the chance to prove my loyalty to you once more. I beg of you. I'll do anything."

Christian shook his head. "It's too late for that. You betrayed me Amos, and there is no coming back from that."

"Don't say that." Amos sobbed. "Please do not say that." He got down to his knees and bowed before Christian, clasping his hands over his head. "Once you held me as your brother. As a brother I now ask that you to find it within your heart to forgive me for how I've wronged you. All that I have said and all that I have done, I did with the best of intentions. I did what I felt was right."

Christian nodded. "But the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Amos, I can not forgive you. Not this time. Once, I did hold you as my brother, but now when I look at you, all I see is an enemy. You are dead to me." Christian turned and began to walk away when Amos took of of the hem of his coat and cried out in misery and grief.

"Christian, my brother. Please, do not abandon me this way."

Christian curled his lip as he jerked away from Amos's grasp. "I am the Prince of Avimur." He sneered. "Do not address me so informally."

Amos nodded. "Yes, your majesty." He sobbed.

Christian walked out, leaving Amos a sniveling mess upon the floor, his sobs echoing throughout the corridor.

'Damn you!' He thought. 'Wasting my time with foolishness.' The King would have dispatched the royal guard by now and they were most certainly headed for the boarding house.

Christian's only hope was to intercept them and make it there first. He ran to the stables and demanded his horse, Necromancer, be saddled and brought to him at once. The stable boys hurried to meet his demands. Christian didn't have time to change into his riding clothes and so would meet Alexander first the first time in his Princely attire.

As he mounted his steed he looked out across the horizon. The sky was black and menacing, a sure sign of impending death, but whose? "We must ride tonight my old friend, and make haste. Run like your life depends upon it, for my beloveds does." He kicked at the horse and at once he took off, the sounds of his hooves clanking against the stone road in the silence of the darkened night.

Christian knew that the guards would more than likely be taking the main road. Lucky for him he knew a shorter route through the fields that would bring him right to the back door of the boarding house. Once there he could put Alexander on the back of his horse and they would steal away into the night. He would find a safe place for Alexander to stay, and after that...he didn't know what to do. All he knew was that had to keep the boy safe, that was his first priority. He just prayed that he made it there in time.