Three: Break-In 

The absence of the prince late that night drew concern quickly within the Seleian castle. Soon enough, Everett was spotted climbing the stairs toward his bedroom as quietly as he could manage, which was admittedly not quiet at all. A guard snatched him by the wrist, dragging him down the velvet carpeted hallway, past the shredded portrait of his mother, and right back to where he started and would stay likely until he died.  

“What happened, Prince?” Eda asks as soon as she makes it to the room. “You know you are not meant to leave your room without someone escorting you.”  

Everett chews on a lie between his teeth. What could he say that would cause the least amount of damage?  

“I fell from the window.” He comes up with, not necessarily a lie. “It was an accident.” 

Eda’s face freezes in horror, and she races to the other side of the room, up the little platform and to the window. She inspects it, then calls one of the guards near her to inspect it too. The window was small, but it had an open design. No bars or glass to separate the outside from the inside. It was Everett’s favorite part of his room, and now, simply because he “fell”, it would be ruined. He knew it.  

“Have this window boarded up by tomorrow morning.” Eda tells one of the guards, and he runs off back into the hallway. “And you, watch over him this night. For we shall not have any more accidents.”  

The guard nods, and Everett tucks himself into bed, knowing not much else could be done.  

⊹₊⋆☁︎⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆☁︎⋆₊ ⊹ 

The next morning, Everett wakes to an empty room, aware in some degree that the guard watching over him had left as soon as the sun rose. He expected a lecture from his father, a punishment of sorts, would be coming his way soon. And he was right, but there were other, more pressing matters at hand.  

“You talk in your sleep.”  

Everett screamed his lungs dry, curling back into himself and holding the blanket just below his eyes, scared to look. Before him, sat at the edge of the canopy bed with seemingly no care at all that he had just gotten that kind of bellow from the prince, was the man from the night before.  

He still wore his dark hood, placed intentionally halfway on his head just over his ears. His hair was messier since it was the morning, and that dark brown had softened to a lighter shade in the gentle morning sun. Unfortunately, to Everett’s dismay, he looked rather dashing in this golden hue. Even more so than he did last night. 

“What are you doing here?” Everett sputters in disbelief. “How did you even get in here? They boarded up the window last night.”  

“I have my ways.” He says, standing and brushing off his clothes. “And, for the record, I did not mean to scare you.”  

Everett rolls his eyes far into his head.  

“How could you not mean to? Normal people don’t wait for strangers to wake up at the end of their beds, watching them while they sleep!” He huffs, throwing the blanket away from his body and marching to his dresser to pick out something else to wear. He was tired of only being seen in his sleep robes.  

“You are no stranger to me. You are the prince.” The man tells him like it changes anything. 

“Sure, fine.” Everett grabs a beige tunic and some leathery pants from his wardrobe. “You know me, but I do not know you. And now you’ve broken into the castle, and I have no choice but to report you to the Royal Guard.”  

The man lets out a small, challenging laugh.  

“If you wish to do so, then I will not stop you.” The man says, and Everett poses up behind the big swinging cabinet door of the wardrobe so that he may change. “The Royal Guard poses no threat to me.”  

“Not only do you murder innocent people, but you are also incredibly cocky and obnoxious.” Everett declares, throwing the tunic over his head and pulling it down so it covers him correctly.  

“I do not murder innocent people.” The man scoffs, seemingly having taken offense to the claim. He continues, voice stern. “If I murdered innocent people, you would be dead.”  

Everett finished dressing and slams his wardrobe door shut, bowing up his chest and marching towards the man.  

“Am I supposed to be grateful that you spared me?” Everett asks, jabbing his finger hard into the man’s chest. “Thank you, kind assassin, for only shooting your arrows above my head and not through it!”  

The man falls silent, and Everett clicks his tongue.  

Everett made his way to the boarded window, letting out a soft sigh at the wooden planks which now covered the little oval he spent so much time at. He figured he could remove the boards, but he would need to find a way to cover it back up at night so that it did not seem suspicious to the guards.  

“I did not wish to kill you.” The assassin speaks again, and it throbs a headache in Everett’s head. He was already getting tired of this husky, deep voice.  

“Once again, thank you kind assassin-” 

“Floryn.” He hums, standing up from the canopy bed. “My name is Floryn.” 

Everett is taken aback by this, a piece of identifying information. Why else would he give that to him if he did not want something? And why did his name sound so exotic, an uncommon name that he would not hear in the lower parts of Seles? He must be from some other kingdom, one far away and so different from the customs of Seles that his name sounded strange to his ears.  

“Floryn? I’ve never heard that name before. Are you from another kingdom?”  

Three knocks on the door interrupt this odd conversation, and Everett leaps away from the window.  

It’s Eda, with breakfast, like she brings it every morning. How could he have forgotten this? 

“Hide! In the wardrobe! You cannot be seen.” He whisper-shouts, and Floryn books it for the dresser, sliding the door closed just as Eda pokes her head into the room from the door. Her eyebrows are raised with curiosity. She diligently scans the area, lingering on the boarded-up window. 

“Who were you talking to? I heard voices.”  

Everett blushes bright red, making swift steps to collect his breakfast from Eda although he felt so far from hunger that he was unsure if he would even eat it now. Not with a random man in his room. 

“Nobody. Myself!” He says, and Eda gives him a startled look. 

“Did you hit your head, prince, when you fell last night?”  

Everett forces a laugh, coughing until his chest burned with pain. He slaps himself in the chest a few times to clear whatever it is, which only causes Eda to suspect him of a head injury even more.  

“Of course not, Eda!” He defends himself. “I’m fine. Now don’t you have something else you need to be doing?”  

Everett hurriedly shoves Eda to the door, slamming it behind her once she has made it to the hallway. He locks it quickly, tugging on it just slightly to make sure that it cannot be opened once more.  

“Thank you for the breakfast!” He calls through the wooden door, to which he hears Eda sigh and walk away. Her footsteps fade gently into silence, and Floryn reappears from the dresser with a terrible, teasing smile wide on his face. So, he has dimples. Good for him.  

“I think it’s time you go.” Everett demands, headed straight for the window and attempting to pry away the wood planks covering the oval window. He has no luck, which matters not, since Floryn clearly had not said everything he needed to yet.  

His voice slices through the air like a knife striking Everett’s heart.  

“Your father was the one who hired me. He is the one who wishes for your death.”