~Talfen, the capital of Coldshore~
~Inner Court, The Royal Palace~
The walking expedition continued even as the sky gradually dimmed, the very tip of the sun barely peeking from the skyline. Queen Myla's gardens were on the other side of the walls that enclosed the inner court and separated it from the rest of the palace.
They didn't even make it halfway there before black spots dotted Reqiel's vision. It didn't help that he had been trying to keep up with the brisk pace that Cederic set because it meant that he burnt quickly through what was left of his measly stamina.
Cederic caught the falling Prince on instinct, scowling when he looked to see that he had passed out. He gave his sister a soft look of disapproval when she called Prince Reqiel's name in a panic and hurried over.
"He fainted from a simple walk." He pointed out bluntly, holding the limp noble up by his arm.
Aethel wrapped her arms around Reqiel's waist to better support him, "Yes, because he's sickly, don't hold him like that." She scolded sharply.
Cederic flinched at his sister's tone, she had never spoken to him in that manner before. He glanced down at Prince Reqiel, just what was so special about the sickly, weak Prince from the North?
"Oh, I knew I should have stopped him from exerting himself further," She murmured distraughtly, pushing Reqiel's hair out of his face. "We have to take him back to his palace right away and have a physician look at him." She decided, stepping backward.
Sarell had had enough of hiding at this point, Prince Reqiel was also not in a position to register his presence. He hurried over, trying to keep an unperturbed expression on his face although worry was eating at him.
"My deepest apologies, Your Highnesses," He bowed at the waist to them, "But I'll take over the care of Prince Reqiel from here."
Aethel turned to him, recognition clicking in her big dark eyes, "You're Prince Reqiel's steward, yes?"
"Indeed," Sarell said impatiently, antsy at how Reqiel was being held.
"Don't worry, it's also my responsibility to look after Reqiel," Aethel turned down his offer, "Pick him up properly, Cederic, you'll bruise his arm if you hold him like that…"
Cederic and Sarell didn't look very pleased by the arrangements that Princess Aethel made but neither of them was in a position to deny her anything, and the only person who might have been able to get a word in was unconscious.
She insisted on being the one to take Reqiel back to his palace, which translated to making her older brother carry the Prince all the way there while Sarell was stuck walking behind them.
It was easy to pretend that the reason why Reqiel had fainted was because of the injury he had gotten during the procession at the Ceremony of the Warrior Maidens but Sarell knew better. He knew that Reqiel had just overexerted himself.
Cederic scowled the entire journey back, he couldn't say for certain what irked him more. His sister's overwhelming concern for a total stranger that she had just met or the fact that he had to gently carry said stranger according to her requests.
Although the latter shouldn't make him angry at all as Prince Reqiel didn't weigh very much, perhaps if he ate more, a simple walk wouldn't wipe him out.
Cederic quickly made himself scarce after placing Prince Reqiel on his bed, unable to stand being around to watch his sister fuss over him anymore. He had only offered to escort them on their walk because of Aethel after all.
His lovely sister not noticing his departure stepped on his already wounded ego. He swept back to his palace in a cloud of dark anger, servants quick to jump out of his raging path.
Back at Reqiel's palace, a physician had been summoned and after a routine checkup pronounced the Prince perfectly healthy and just sleeping.
Aethel heaved a sigh of relief at this, thanking the physician who simply bowed and left. She turned to Sarell, "Keep a close watch over him, I'll be over tomorrow to pay a visit to Prince Reqiel." She said, her worried dark eyes fixed on Reqiel.
"Certainly, Your Highness." Sarell bowed, relieved that he could finally have some privacy.
Princess Aethel left after that, reluctantly too and Sarell knew that if she could, she would spend the entire night looking after Reqiel by herself.
It made Sarell marvel, he would never know what methods Reqiel had used to get on her good side in this manner, that she would even go against her own brother for his sake. It would definitely come in handy in the near future.
With Princess Aethel gone, Sarell was the only one left in Reqiel's bedroom. He made sure to lock the doors for good measure before going over to Reqiel's side. The noble Angel was truly fast asleep, his flaxen hair splayed out on his sheets like spilled liquid gold.
Sarell didn't expect Reqiel to sleep very long because he had just woken up from a nap before going on his walk. He gently took off his walking shoes and went to get a brush to take care of his hair.
Sarell's dark red hair stood out far too much for his liking and he had been thinking of darkening his hair to better blend in. Prince Reqiel didn't need to do that, he was royalty after all, and Sarell couldn't bring himself to tamper with his beautiful hair.
After brushing out Reqiel's pale gold locks till they shone, he settled on his usual spot beside the fireplace. It was the start of summer here in Coldshore so there was no need to light up the fireplace as it was warm enough.
Now that he was relaxed and he was certain that Prince Reqiel was going to be fine, Sarell found himself thinking back to the Royal guard he had encountered earlier, a thought that was cut off by the sound of Reqiel rousing.