Maybe I was unmoved by the news of his death. But, it doesn't mean that I don't care. All it means is that there is nothing left in me that feels for that man anything but shame and disgust. So, yes, I care. I care that he's no longer around to drag Basmorte down into the pit of despair that swallowed him centuries ago. I care that his wickedness and tyranny has come to an end. I care that no longer will the people of Basmorte suffer at his hands. And, I rejoice in the fact that Basmorte is now free of him, and, so am I."
Caffrey was at a loss for words. He had not expected to hear such things coming from Rowan's mouth of all people. He had been known, in the past, to be somewhat flippant when speaking to his father and more so with Caroline but, Caffrey had always thought it was his teenage angst and attitude that had driven his ill-mannered behavior. Never had he thought that Rowan held such animosity towards his own father. Had Rowan really been as poorly treated as he claimed? Desmond was certainly capable of it. He was a terrible person and an even worse King but, would he actually abuse his own child? Caffrey sighed, this situation was becoming more complicated by the moment.
He had been sent to apprehend an escaped prisoner. A task that, at any other time, he would have carried out without question but now, he was questioning everything, including his loyalties. As a Knight, Caffrey had taken an oath to uphold the law, protect Basmorte and all her people and, defend the crown. As it was, Caroline was the ruling monarch but, she was not the true heir to the throne, Rowan was. He was Desmond's only living male heir. Any of Desmond's daughter's could challenge Caroline for the throne if they so desired but, Rowan was the only one who had an actual, legitimate, claim. The problem was, only a hand full of people knew that he still lived. That could present an issue for the young Prince.
As long as Caroline was Queen, her word was law. Rowan's only chance was to reveal himself to the council and prove that he, not Caroline, had a legitimate claim to the throne. Unfortunately, Caroline had ordered him to be executed. By taking Rowan to the council and ignoring Caroline's orders, Caffrey would be committing treason. Of course those charges would be dropped once Rowan was King.
Caroline could attempt to dispute Rowan's claim but she would almost certainly lose. That is, unless she had been aided by the council all along. If that were the case, then Basmorte would be thrust into civil war and, with Rowan having mated the Eleven Prince, that left an opening for the Elves to take over. Caffrey had to smirk when he thought of old King Desmond. The bastard would be turning over in his grave if he knew what had become of his Kingdom.
All joking aside, Caffrey had an important decision to make. Take Rowan before the Queen as ordered, knowing all to well what she would do once Rowan was again in her custody or, allow the Prince to escape. Allow Rowan to go off in search of his Elven husband as was his plan. Either choice had dire consequences but only one served the people of Basmorte. If it were a matter of honor, it seemed, there was but one choice to make. Rowan was a Prince by blood. He was the true King of Basmorte, or would be after his coronation. Handing him over to Caroline now would go against everything that Caffrey stood for and, what he'd pledged to protect. It would be treason, and Caffrey was anything but a traitor.
Caffrey knew what he had to do. He ordered his men to stand down and back away from the Prince and his group. Confused but ever obedient, the Knights did as they were ordered. Caffrey, from atop his horse, bowed at the neck, showing his loyalty to Rowan. "Your majesty." He said in a voice full of respect but, also with a pang of guilt. He'd had no idea that Rowan still lived but, had he been more vigilant in his duties, perhaps the young Prince wouldn't have had to have taken such drastic measures to protect himself.
Caffrey had failed to protect Rowan. Hell, the entire Kingdom had failed Rowan yet, somehow, Rowan still found it in his heart to come back, facing death, to try and make things right. The blame was not to be placed on Rowan though. He only did what he had to in order to survive. Who could fault the boy for that? "I understand your pain." Caffrey told him. "And, I regret that I did not see it sooner. All that you had suffered I would have gladly bore myself had I known the truth."
"So, what will you do now?" Greagor asked. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the Knight, unsure if he could really trust the man or not. "You know Caroline will kill the Prince if you return him to her." Caffrey's unwavering adherence to the Queen's orders clashed with Greagor's devotion to Rowan. The entire confrontation had cast a looming shadow over the assembly. Everyone was on edge, even as Greagor braced himself to defend Rowan against the ominous fate that awaited him should Caffrey choose to turn him over to Caroline.
"I have no intention of returning Prince Rowan to the Queen. Though, I would urge him to go before the council and tell them what has transpired. The sooner the Queen's crimes are made public the better. Right now she still holds too much power."
Greagor then turned to Rowan. "The choice is yours, your majesty." He said. "Will you go to the council, or stay with your original plan and seek out your husband?"
Rowan considered his options carefully. He knew what Caffrey suggested made sense but, he wasn't sure yet if he could trust the council. He knew that the council were no friend to his father. They used and manipulated him to achieve their own goals. It's possible they could have been pulling Caroline's strings the entire time and using her to get Desmond off the throne. They may also have been behind the attempt on Rowan's life.
"It's still unclear if the council would side with me or Caroline and I can not afford to take chances. Until their involvement in all this is ascertained, I believe it would be best to first find Thaden. He would know better than I what steps to take next."
Amidst the standoff happening below, Greagor's vigilant guards kept watch on the wall, waiting for any sign from their Captain that they were to intervene. The tension below was high but the guards stood firm, wondering if a fight were about to break out. When the Knight commander bowed to Rowan, it seemed as though the danger had passed. Jared, a skilled and seasoned archer on the wall, sighed in relief as he began to lower his bow but, just as he'd relaxed back into his routine patrol along the wall he caught sight of something in the distance that made his blood run cold.
At first he thought he had been mistaken. He couldn't possibly be seeing what he was seeing. Just beyond the tree line of the vast forest that surrounded the Kingdom, he saw what appeared to be a large wolf. He'd almost missed it, even with his enhanced sight. The beast was huge and black as night, with red glowing eyes. As more wolves emerged, almost as large as the first, Jared knew that he was looking at no ordinary wolves. They were Lycans, and they were rushing towards the main gate.
Hundreds of wolves poured out of the forest, growling and snarling, as they trampled each other to get closer to their intended target. They were going to storm the gate and from the size of the approaching horde, it was unlikely that they could be stopped. Dread gripped Jared. He had never seen anything like this in all his years of service. The Lyman's behavior was so erratic and unheard of that Jared wondered if the beasts had all gone mad. There was no reason for them to be attacking now. Especially on a full moon when they were more beast than man. It was as though they were being driven by an unseen force.
In a panic, Jared raised his bow and aimed into the darkness. "Sound the alarm!" He yelled out as loudly as he could. "Look lively lads!" The others on the wall turned to see what Jared was aiming at and a chorus of gasps and fearful shouts erupted from the men. Every archer on the wall took aim. More guards joined from the guard house. The Knights below noticed the frenzied actions of the guards. Before they could inquire what was happening the alarm rang out, alerting the Kingdom of the impending danger.
"What is it?" Greagor yelled up to the guards on the wall. Even for a vampire, the distance was so great that he had to strain his ears to hear the reply but when he did, his face paled and his mouth went dry. With wide eyes and trembling hands he looked to Caffrey who already had his sword drawn and ready. "We're under attack." Greagor said, barely able to get the words out. "Lycans, hundreds of them, headed this way."
