...

The cheers from the crowd quickly caught the attention of the young prince, who was getting loaded into a large, flat chariot filled with fresh flowers. In the middle, there was a set of large, ornate stairs that led to a golden, canopy-covered throne, where he would sit. His parents would not be far behind him in a slightly tamer, but still very ornate, chariot, with a platform where they would sit and wave to the crowd. Even with all the richness around him, Clarence became restless hearing the roaring of the crowd, trying to peek over his many attendants to see what was making the crowd cheer so loudly.

“Your Highness!” One of the attendants cried, “Please get into your seat. The parade needs to start now!”

Clarence, with more prodding, eventually climbed the stairs and sat on his throne, though he still tried to move his head to see what was happening. He tried to ask his attendants, but they quickly dismounted from the chariot and waved him off as the chariot began to move. He then tried to ask the guards stationed next to him, but they refused to speak. Clarence could not bring it to words, but he felt confined by the heavy gold clothing and uneasy, though he had no reason why. He tried to calm his racing heart, guessing it was because of all the noise. Clarence was so rarely let out of the castle, especially after the attack, so he assumed that all the noise and action of the people made him incredibly uneasy.

Yet at the same time, Clarence could not extinguish a spreading excitement in his heart. It made his hands shake slightly and flushed his cheeks with a light, pink color. He did not know what awaited him, but he yearned for it to be revealed quickly, so his heart might stop racing.

…

Silas’s nerves began to build as he saw a large chariot slowly making its way to the stage. The other men were getting into formation to start the performance, but Silas just stood and watched the golden behemoth inch closer and closer to them. It was only through the prodding of one of the men that Silas finally turned his head and weakly got into formation.

“Relax.” The leader whispered into Silas’s ear as he leaned forward and stepped out of their formation. As he did this, the royal family’s chariots pulled up to stage, and the crowd cheered loudly, “Good afternoon, Your Highnesses! It’s truly a pleasure to have you watch our performance!” The leader said this with a deep bow, and in unison the group followed him.

...

The queen and king smiled and clapped, but Clarence was frozen as he stared at the dancing figure in front of him. His eyes were glued to the small, colorful figure that tried to force a smile as he moved around the stage.

“Silas.” Clarence whispered, sitting up in his seat, “That’s Silas. I thought he wasn’t coming!” Clarence could recognize his savior right away. It did not matter that his appearance was strangely altered or that he was in a large mask that covered most of his face. Clarence knew his savior. He would always know his savior. The guards worriedly glanced over at Clarence, but his eyes never moved from his savior.

Clarence rose from his seat and descended the stairs, ignoring his guards that called to him and his parents sitting up in concern. He crossed the short distance to the stage and put both feet on the glittering platform, making everyone, including the group on stage, pause.

“Clarence?!” Queen Radcliffe said, raising from her seat, “What are you doing? Grab him!” She hissed, turning to the nearest guards, who in turn snapped out of their daze and raced down the stairs.

“Silas! You’re here! I thought you couldn’t come” Clarence cheered gleefully, holding out his hands and running over to Silas, who fumbled back in surprise. Silas clumsily stuck his hand in his jacket, but when Clarence closed the distance between them, he knocked them both over, causing Silas to accidentally drop what was in his grasp. As it spun away from them, it finally stopped in the corner of the stage, in full view of the audience.

“A dagger!” An audience member screamed, “He had a dagger! He’s an assassin!”

This caused an uproar in the crowd as guards raced to protect Clarence and the king and queen. The elven leader swore under his breath and took a small ball out of his jacket, throwing it on the stage, which caused the stage to envelop in smoke. Another grabbed a dart out of his jacket, throwing it at the trap-door switch. It landed with a thunk and the small group dropped to the cobblestone ground.

“Silas! What are you doing?” Clarence yelled, clutching tightly to Silas’s jacket, “You’re my savior! You can’t leave now! You have to stay!” The other elves quickly jumped to their feet and looked at the exit.

“Finish it!” One of the men hissed, unsheathing his sword. Silas’s hands shook as he pushed Clarence off him and stood up.

“I’m not your savior!” Silas yelled, grabbing a sword from one of the men who passed him, “I’m no one’s savior!”

Clarence shook as he watched Silas lift the sword over his head, preparing to drop it down on Clarence’s small body. Silas squeezed his eyes shut, thinking of home, thinking of his family, thinking of… Emmeline.

“The Silas I know would never harm a child, even the child of our sworn enemy.”

Silas’s eyes ripped open and his eyes stung as he thought of his wife and her words. They tore at his heart. What she would think of him, standing over this small, shivering child, ready to plunge this sword into him and kill him? Silas faltered as he lowered the sword, then dropped it at his side.

“Silas?!” The leader called, stepping forward, pulling out his hidden dagger. He only stopped when a guard dropped into the pit. One of the other men quickly killed him before turning to the group.

“We have to go! More are coming!” He shouted, hustling towards the exit with the others. The leader looked once more at the small prince before sighing and grabbing Silas’s arm.

“C’mon. We have to leave!” He said, gripping Silas’s arm tightly and dragging him out as more guards dropped into the pit. But Silas did not even feel his body moving. He was too busy keeping his eyes transfixed on the small child, who was shivering as he peeked out of his arms covering his head, staring back at Silas with an intensity Silas had never seen before. They continued to stare at each other, looking for answers in each other’s ragged faces.

But there were no answers.

There would never be any answers.

Not the answers they wanted.