Friend...

It was an odd coincidence, but the last person Isabelle expected to see was the man she had been betrothed to, Isaac Homer. He was the son of his father's right hand man, Leontius Homer.

They'd been betrothed as children, and while Isabelle loved and cherished Isaac, she had refused to marry him. Her father had respected her decisions, and so had Leontius and Isaac. The betrothal was considered null, but she had remained friends with Isaac.

From what she's heard, Isaac had spearheaded the entire breaching process. Julian had held him back to be killed initially, but after realizing that he was the only intruder left in the dark realm, he had thrown the man in jail and kept him alive because of Icarus's orders.

Isabelle had raced into Isaac's arms the moment her eyes caught sight of him, and she had remained in his arms for straight five minutes, crying and kissing his neck all through. Isaac did the same, except without the tears.

"I'm going to get you out of here, I'm going to bring you home, I promise." Isaac whispered in her ear before kissing them a second time.

"Don't you think it's bad to make fake promises?" Icarus's cold voice interrupted the warm reunion. He had no idea who this man was, or what he meant to his prisoner, but he already hated him.

He would have preferred that Julian retained a female, but that wish was impossible now. The two people before him seemed to be familiar with each other, and it was no shallow familiarity. He had no idea how the traditions worked in their realm, but he was certain kissing and crying on each other's shoulder was not something two unfamiliar people do in the pure realm.

Isabelle pulled away from Isaac for the first time and put some distance between him and the man. If Icarus notices that she was getting too happy, he might decide to take away her source of happiness. All this man wanted for her was pain and suffering, and he had made that abundantly clear from the first time they met.

Icarus walked forward to meet the man before him. He was definitely strong, and a lot smarter than the average person. Being able to tear a space through the two realms was not something a weak person could do. And the fact that eighty seven people had trusted his capabilities enough to follow him into a Kingdom where there were hundreds of thousands of enemies made him a little more interesting.

"Who are you?" Icarus asked, his red eyes peering into the soul of the man before him.

Isaac remained strong, all he could see in the eyes of his inquisitor was darkness. The rumors were definitely true, Adamine Icarus was a monster in his own right.

"Isaac Homer, son of Leontius Homer, the man you butchered without mercy!" Isaac replied, his composure cracking under the force of Icarus's presence, but he didn't yield.

"Your father was powerful, you should be happy he died at the hands of a stronger opponent."

Isaac clenched his fists so hard his hands began to bleed. The power gap between him and this man was incomprehensible. He wanted to punch the Knight of the red dawn as hard as he could, but he knew that would mean instant death. The only reason Isabelle was still alive was probably because he hadn't extracted Avalon from her. But unlike the princess, this man had absolutely no need for him.

"I think both of you have done enough for the day. Let's go Princess."

For a brief second, Isabelle wanted to be stubborn. But for Isaac's sake she complied and left the dungeon with Icarus. One wrong move from her, and he could change his mind and kill Isaac in the blink of an eye.

"That man, who is he to you?" Icarus asked the moment they were out of the dungeon premises. His eyes were fixed on the road, but somehow he could see the happiness and anger in her eyes vividly. She was obviously close to that man. If he was the son of Adynaeus's right hand man, then he must definitely have some sort of personal attachment to the princess.

"A friend." Isabelle replied curtly, unwilling to further this discussion any further.

"A friend, huh? Is he really just a friend?" He asked, seeking for a better explanation, but got none.

"He is." Isabelle replied with an air of hostility. The two said no words to the other, not until they had reached Icarus's bedroom. It was already past noon, and neither of them had anything better to do. Icarus planned to take a nap, while Isabelle's intention was to sneak back to the dungeon once he falls asleep. But before she does that, she had a better plan.

"Can you free Isaac? Can he not be a prisoner?" She asked with pleading eyes.

Icarus, reclining on his opulent bed, shot her a cold glare. "I promised to bring you a friend, I never said anything about giving them freedom.." He reminded. Seeing them get all cozy in the dungeon was already enough to trigger him. He had no idea how he would feel with a threat roaming around in the royal house.

Undeterred, Isabelle pressed on, her voice determined. "He can serve you, Icarus. Make him a guard or a servant, he can be useful instead of just lying there in the dungeon."

Icarus's stern expression held firm. "You understand that everybody around here views him as a threat, don't you?Allowing intruders to roam free jeopardizes the safety of my subjects and that of your friend. He stays in the dungeon."

Isabelle's desperation grew. "He's a good man, let him work, let him serve you."

"That's enough, princess. For a prisoner you're asking for way too many requests. Isaac stays in the dungeon. He's a threat to my people and I won't let out of that cage."

Isabelle lowered her head in disappointment. The air of finality in his tone made it clear that he was not even willing to consider her request. She was satisfied with just Isaac's presence, but she knew without a doubt that the dungeon guards were definitely going to bully and torture him. She had almost been killed for a simple mistake, and she was a lady! There was no telling what they would do to a man who was publicly known to be an enemy of the realm.

Before she could start another argument, Icarus silenced her with the raise of his finger. He proceeded to lock the doors using magic just to prevent her from leaving the room. He knew exactly what she was thinking, and he wouldn't let that happen. His plan was to make her fall for him, and he was not going to let her get distracted by another man.