They brought me to the prince, Astriadon, who stared at me with a haughty glare. “High elf, you will answer everything honestly or lose your head for treason.” He said. 

 I rolled my eyes as I spoke. “The rumors of Kael killing the king are ignorant of you all. I know that bastard and he is not someone to do something so reckless… especially in the daylight.” I let my smug smile grow. “How racist of you all if you can’t tell an orc from the savior of your kingdom”

  I cherish the scowl the prince gave me. It serves him right to be claiming such things as they are fact. “You high elves always will think you're better than anyone. I bet you believe you are better than the god you worship.”

Getting under his skin gave me a weird satisfaction. “Listen, your highness if you have been alive as long as I have seen the world in many states. What was it they say… oh right, elfs can live for a thousand years and half elves are lucky to make it to 200” 

The prince growls at me. I really shouldn’t be enjoying this as much as I do. He raises his glass to me as one guard forces me to kneel to him. 

“You should learn respect. I will not show you any mercy if you speak against me one more time, Mardic.” The prince said. He took a slow deep sip of his drink, eyeing me down. 

I try to stand back up, but the guard’s grip on my neck keeps me down. I glare at the prince, whose smile showed his satisfaction.

“Tell me Mardic… were you or Seraphine part of his plans? Do you hate our kingdom?” Astriadon says as he slowly swishes the liquid in the cup. I stare at him silently. 

I could have killed him for bringing up Sera. The guard's grip got tighter on me. “How dare you bring that child into this!” I growled. The prince eyes me for a moment. “Oh, that’s right. She is still a child, isn’t she? Oh, what a poor soul she is to be cursed to never age.” He mocks. 

I bite my tongue, trying to not yell curses at him myself. “Wasn’t it your doing?” He says. I feel my frown grow deeper. The anger growing in my blood. “If I remember correctly. She was a druid who was on a quest to prove herself to her clan and your cowardly ass let her take a blow that was meant for you… the witch of the starlight isles was in love with you. She didn’t want her toy to grow too old and die on her.” He calmly says.

“You don't have an idea what you are speaking about.” I spat. The prince waves his hand making the guard remove his hand from my neck

"Maybe I don't, but I know that if either of you had any notion of Kael's plan, they will sentence you to death alongside him," he threatens. I let my eyes fall for a moment. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Kael is not bad-” I got cut off.

“Did you know Kael also killed his wife and his 3 small children?” The prince said. I immediately look at the prince’s face. His scowl softens a bit. “You didn’t.” He mumbles. 

“Kael would never… he loved them. Kael loved Kira and his twin boys... and Kira just gave birth to a little girl.. Kael was a family man at heart… he… the only reason he did all those dangerous adventures was so his family could live comfortably.

With a snap of his fingers, the prince summoned a sword. My blood ran cold as I saw it. “This was Kael's sword, right?” The prince asks.

I couldn't break my eyes off the dried blood on the blade. I could still feel the hatred and evil on the blade. Kael wouldn’t have… he… 

“Mardic.” the prince said calmly. My eyes broke away from the blade, going back to him. “Is that not Kael’s sword?” He asks again.

“Yes…” I mumble. I was searching in my mind for answers. Our last mission before Kael’s retirement was three days ago. He was so happy to watch his children grow up and know they could have anything they could dream of. Did I miss any signs? Was it all fake…?

The prince leaned back in his seat, his eyes fixed on me with a calculating gaze. "Mardic, you know as well as I do. That Kael must answer for his crimes. If you truly consider him a friend, then you will bring him back to face justice."

My head shook, burdened by conflicting emotions and a heavy heart. "I can't do that," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "I won't betray my friend." The prince's expression hardened, his features carved from stone. "You will do as I say, Mardic," he said, his voice laced with steel. "Or you will suffer the consequences."

I clenched my jaw, my fists trembling with suppressed anger. "And what consequences would those be?" I spat, my defiance burning brightly. But the prince merely smiled, his eyes glinting with malice. "Oh, I think you know," he said cryptically, his tone sending a chill down my spine.

At that moment, I understood that I had become trapped, torn between my loyalty to Kael and the threat of the prince's wrath. It was a choice no friend should ever have to make, a decision that weighed heavily upon my soul.

"Fine," I said through gritted teeth, my voice thick with resignation. "I'll do it. I'll bring him back." The prince's smile widened, a cruel twist of his lips that made my blood run cold. "Good," he said, his tone dripping with satisfaction."And rest assured, Mardic, I will ensure that your loyalty is well rewarded."

With a flick of his wrist, he summoned a chest filled with gleaming gold coins, the promise of wealth and power shining brightly in the dimly lit room. "Two million gold coins," he said, his voice honeyed with temptation. "All yours, if you bring Kael back to me."

I stared at the chest in disbelief, my mind reeling with the magnitude of the offer. Two million gold coins were a fortune beyond my wildest dreams, enough to buy my freedom a hundred times over.

But as I reached out to touch the gold, a pang of guilt tore at my heart. Was I really willing to betray my friend for the promise of wealth and power? The prince watched me with an expectant gaze, his eyes burning into mine with a predatory intensity. "Well, Mardic?" he said, his voice a whisper. "What will it be?"

 I studied my own hands. I close my eyes before letting a soft smile take on my lips. “Do you want him here, dead or alive?”