Chapter 126: Like a Stranger

Chapter 126:

Like a Stranger

Sunlight had yet to break into the room, shrouding Clarence and Silas in darkness. Surprisingly, the first to wake was Clarence. Often, before he would wake up, Silas would unconsciously roll away from his heat source and wake up on the side of the bed without question, thinking as though he slept in his own corner. However, today the elf lay entangled in his arms, the side of his cheek resting against Clarence's chin, the pair's limbs still tied together like thread. The warmth from Silas's skin transferred to his own, feeling content, like an over-fed wolf.

He's really beautiful. In the past, Clarence never would have thought to refer to the man as beautiful, however, as he stared down at the person lying in his arms, it was all that came to mind. It made him feel a softness, a steady feeling of reliability and wholeness that made him want to capture this feeling and tie it to his side, never letting it go until the day he died.

Acting on impulse, the prince lifted his hand, slowly moving it so as to not wake the sleeping prince in his arms. The tips of his fingers were calloused, but as they brushed against the side of Silas's face, they felt soft, and the prince felt himself moving forward slightly, lifting his torso to move closer to Silas.

Clarence's head lowered, his lips oddly puckered, as if he were unsure what to do with them as he stared towards Silas, lowering his head towards the other man's. When his lips were within reach of Silas's, Clarence diverted his originally-straight path and kissed the man on the forehead, his lips pressing against the soft skin for a lingering moment before they were removed, leaving the heat of Clarence's face to burn his cheeks red.

Before Silas could wake, he quickly moved himself away from Silas, untangling his limbs as he stood up, moving towards the bathroom as he swiftly grabbed a fresh pair of clothes, feeling particularly energized that morning. As the door to the bathroom fell shut, Silas moved to the side in his sleep, finally waking up at his edge of the bed, his eyes blurry with sleep as he sat up, rubbing his eyes.

Yawning into his hand, Silas thought, stretching his thin limbs, If that prince is already up, I should get up too. Moving aside the soft blankets, Silas stood up and began to change his clothes, hurrying along as he finished just as Clarence stepped out, allowing him to wash out his mouth and rinse his face.

Passing Clarence, Silas did not notice the prince's reddened ears that seemed to be ignited all on their own.

Once the bathroom was clear, the pair left the room together to go to the dining room. While they were unsure where the room was, they heard the faint noise of silverware and followed it. In the hallway, Silas walked a step ahead of Clarence, who followed the shorter man with an unconscious smile on his face, the invisible tail wagging behind his head. While he showed a docile appearance to Silas, the man was well aware of the brutality held behind those eyes.

Following the voices from down the hall, Silas and Clarence quietly entered the dining room. The small dining room was full of various faces excluding Cordelia, who had been confined to her room due to her previous outburst. While servants were sent to monitor her movements, Kivah took a break in the morning to visit with the guests he was unable to meet with before due to Cordelia. As Silas and Clarence entered, Kivah was sitting quietly, staring at his food in a listless manner, looking disinterested in holding a conversation. Adora was not at the table, and Silas noticed her disappearance before he was greeted by an excited Jasmine.

"Good morning, you two! How did you sleep?" Jasmine spoke enthusiastically early in the morning, her claws hooked into a delicate butter-biscuit as she slathered a spoonful of dark jam onto it.

Clarence kept his head low as he followed Silas, knowing his presence was not quite welcome. Silas instead responded shortly, "Well, thank you." He nodded his head towards Jasmine.

Watching Silas and Clarence for a moment, Jasmine laughed as she said, "You two really love to match, don't you?" She raised a brow, munching into her biscuit, "It's kind of cute though, for a couple and all." Her lips were full of a testing smirk that made half the table fall silent as they watched on.

Having sat down, Silas almost fell out of his chair at the insinuation of a relationship between him and the prince. "Jasmine, please don't joke about that." Wearing a simple set of dress pants and a button-up blouse, Silas and Clarence found themselves unconsciously matching yet again, to the aggravation of Silas.

Maeir, having long-since joined the group at the dining table, spoke next, "It seems there's not enough food in your mouth to keep it shut."

Jasmine choked on her biscuit, her eyes wet with tears as she slapped her chest, leaving Kivah to walk over and help pat her back until the food passed down her throat. Watching Maeir's expression darken, Clarence felt as though his spirit was injured as he placed a biscuit on his plate, watching as Silas buttered his own with a dark expression to start the morning.

Tensions were high early in the morning, some of the other guests ignored the strange bickering and addressed the problems at hand. Staring at the traitorous prince, having no good feelings towards the young man, Eva turned towards Camille at the head of the table, "Camille, are you really comfortable allowing him around the palace?" Eva asked with a raised brow, a glass of red tea in her hand. "If my opinion carries any weight, I don't trust him." She brushed her gloved fingers against her palm, as if feeling the scarred skin underneath.

The duchess, having just given Angeline a bite of her fruit tart, nodded with some reluctance, "Silas will be monitoring him for now. If he tries to escape, he knows we'll kill him, so he won't be trying anything. Isn't that right, Prince Clarence?"

Camille's gaze was heavy, falling on Clarence with a gaze of expectation. "Of course, Countess. You will have no problems with me for the remainder of my stay." He bowed his head humbly, "Silas will make sure of that, I'm sure." He turned to Silas, whose frown seemed to lighten slightly.

"That would be in your best interest, young prince." Camille said, crossing her silverware in the center of her place as she placed down her napkin to the side, finishing her meal. "Any attempt to steal information and I'll cut out that tongue of yours."

Watching the first round of dinner theater at the breakfast table, Angeline had the expression of an excited member of the peanut gallery, her food untouched on her plate with a docile smile on her face as she changed the subject. "Any interesting plans this morning, Mille? I'm sure our guests would like to know what our itinerary is for today."

Acting as though the prince were air, Camille began to speak, "With our current unexpected guests, there will be some changes to the schedule. I'll inform everyone of their duties after breakfast is finished. For now, please enjoy your meal. It's going to be a busy day."

With half the table falling quiet, Yulia and Vaan sat quietly at the opposite end of the table with Neema and Saoirse, the two other women quietly whispering to themselves as they scribbled a note down, as if wagering a bet amongst themselves, their whispers heated as they stared between Clarence and Silas.

"I bet ten gold the two of them have something going on." Neema said with a smug smile.

"I bet twenty that they'll nearly kill each other by the end of this week." Saorise narrowed her head, her eyes burning fierce.

Yulia stared at both of them with a look of curiosity in her head, her vote silently falling with Neema.

After the meal had been wrapped up, Kivah and Jasmine were sent to monitor Cordelia. The rest of the group was led around the palace by Countess Camille, touring the halls to allow them to be acquainted with the wing of the palace before she stepped off into her office, sending Eva to lead the guests. While Eva was not particularly happy with Clarence's presence, she kept an eye on the young prince as Silas walked with the young man at his side, not allowing him far by himself. Maeir walked on Silas's left, opposite of the prince as Jasmine

Though the prince seemed calm and obedient on the outside, he secretly relished the close contact, feeling as though the weak blush may as well burn through his skin. He could only walk side by side with Silas, listening to the layout of the small palace half-heartedly, his mind elsewhere.

"There isn't much time before our plans bear fruit. In the meantime, I will be separating each of you into small groups to focus on your role in this rebellion, regardless of your position within the kingdom." Eva's eyes fell on Clarence with unhidden hostility as they walked, addressing their plans for the day in a vague manner. "For now, Silas, you and Adora will be assisting Angeline on a project. Clarence can join that." She waved her hand as she listed the last of the assignments for the day. "Maeir and Vaan, I will be sending you to the armory for another assignment. Yulia, your assignment is with me." Eva said gently, turning to her young sister-in-law. "It's something we will be discussing with Camille shortly."

Ready for the day to begin, Maeir turned to Vaan, standing by Eva. "Come on, then." Raising her hand, Eva patted his shoulder, the armor on his body making a clanging sound, making Maeir quietly laugh aloud, "I'll see you later, Silas."

Vaan stared at the shorter elven woman with a raised brow, but he let her head him forward with a gentle pat on his shoulder, leading the younger man as if he were one of her children as they walked down the hall, their voices growing quieter as they disappeared.

Watching the two figures disappear down the hall, Silas turned to Clarence, who stared at him with a prepared look, turned to Eva and bowed his head lightly, "Thank you, Eva. We'll be on our way. Where do we need to go?"

Angeline stepped forward with some pep in her step, "Follow me! We're going to be quite busy today, so I hope you're ready."

"What will we be doing?" Silas asked, following Angeline's small steps with a slow pace, monitoring the prince who walked just as slowly at his side.

The young elven woman smiled, turning to Silas with a mischievous grin on her face. "Are you two any good with your hands?"

"I beg your pardon?" Silas asked with a strange expression, feeling her tone was not quite right.

Angeline laughed aloud, her high-pitched giggle echoing throughout the hall. "You're so silly." She shook her head, her smile still bright on her face, "I'm talking about clothing making. Have you two ever tried it?"

Silas's face momentarily flushed red, shaking his head as Clarence quickly shook his head, but appeared eager to learn. "I've only watched, but I would be willing to learn how!"

"Perfect! You both should do just fine! Follow me, then. It's not too far." Angeline led the way like a little guide, pulling the two men along as they walked, her expression full of joy as they hurried off to complete their task, curious as to what the day would bring.

After the strange trio disappeared from view, walking the opposite path down the hall from Vaan and Maeir, Eva let out the heavy sigh she had been holding, her gaze full of trepidation as she stared at Clarence, thinking of how he had behaved since his arrival at the Countess's palace.

Eva began walking, Yulia at her side as she spoke aloud. "At least one thing is going right in our plans…" She rubbed her forehead with her glove, looking tired. "That prince won't betray us, for now. And we'll use that to our advantage." Eva's fingers tapped against her arms, her tired expression carrying some hope as she stared down the hall where Camille had gone, prepared for many long hours of war negotiations.

…

On the far side of the Yursear Kingdom, Holland's figure lay trapped, chained and bloody in a locked carriage. Traveling back to the Yursinean Palace, Beau was riding a horse next to Holland's carriage, watching the man with a careful eye as the prison caravan traveled to the dungeon, preparing to torture any useful information out of Eva's minion.

"Beau, I want to tell you something." Holland called from inside the wagon, his eyes barely able to make out the scene beyond the small window, covered in bars.

One of the nearby soldiers, hearing such an informal address, felt his nerves tightening, "You shall address the captain with respect, you-"

Beau raised his hand, "Let the prisoner speak." He waved his hand dismissively, attempting to spite Holland as much as he had him.

Holland, staring at Beau through the window, barked with laughter as he said, "Eva wanted me to say, 'Send my regards to the mongrel.'"

As the sound of Holland's jovial laughter continued, the reins in Beau's hands tightened, but he said nothing, only staring towards the carriage with heavy contempt. Everyone present felt as though the man they had captured had gone insane and lowered their heads, curious to see what would happen at the palace.

…

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This chapter is a little short, but a lot of worries have been plaguing me lately, so I ended up chopping two pages of story stuff because I was very unsatisfied with it. I feel like I'm stuck in a hamster wheel a little with YMtK, so I've been reevaluating this section with Hunny (ಥ﹏ಥ) My greatest fear is a noticeable dip in quality and reader dissatisfaction. Just thinking about it makes me want to cry (/_＼) bah

I think my worries are from a lot of sudden real-life stressors that have been eating away at Hunny and I both. Because of that, I'm going to lessen my hobby load and go back to streaming once a week, and put Misted Winds on hiatus once my stockpile ends so I can focus more on YMtK! \( ˙▿˙ )/\( ˙▿˙ )/ My health wasn't very good these past two weeks, because of vitamin deficiency. I'll do better for YMtK for you all and myself now!

Thank you for your continued support! And thanks to Hunny for editing this ;u;