Excalibur's Seven - Chapter 4: Chapter 4

THE YOUNG PRINCE WAS forbidden from leaving the castle, especially when he had duties to fulfill. But children were not known to obey, even the ones who'd had discipline beaten into their bones since the day they crawled a bastard from their mother's womb. It was the nature of a child to defy, to long for freedom. And that, perhaps, is why the Sídhe loved children so much.
His first mistake was running into the faery-infested woods. It was not uncommon for children to leave and return decades older that very evening in those woods, or to disappear completely, likely lured to an eternity of dancing until they died, only to be revived to dance some more. Sometimes children were stolen and replaced with crude little goblins.
Stepping into a circle of colorful fungus was his next mistake. Or perhaps it wasn't his own mistakes, rather, it was the mistake of his elders who sought to protect him (or perhaps preserve him so that they might be the ones to finish him off) and never told him of the Fae. They figured he would remain inside the palace walls until he was old enough to be poisoned by the knowledge of such wicked creatures.
But such was not the case, for the Prince was standing in a circle of mushrooms, admiring a flower he'd plucked from the ground. It was no ordinary flower, see, it seemed to reflect back at him, omitting a warm glow. He was sure the flower wanted him to take it, compelled by the imagination of an unspoiled childhood.
This was his third mistake. He stood too long in the circle, and when he looked up, he noticed he was not alone. There was a boy, only a few years his elder, it seemed, though his eyes were far beyond his years. His hair was the color of stormy clouds, his skin as pale as the snow. His eyes were so blue, the Prince let out a shiver.
"Who are you?"
"Who are you?" the stranger repeated.
"I asked first."
"No you didn't."
"A faery cannot lie."
The Prince stared. "But I did ask first."
This stranger was playing a trick on him, he was sure. And this was his fourth, but not final mistake. Underestimating a faery was an act of a true fool, one who might never recover from foolishness as though it was a chronic disease.
"May I have your name?" asked the stranger politely.
Perhaps if he had come a year later, his response would be different. But this was now, and the Prince was young and cursed with a prematurely rotted brain.
"Kristofer."
That was his fifth mistake.
Twice now. It had been twice that Kit came face to face with an Unseelie and didn't do anything about it. And twice, the faery left him dizzy and disoriented, terrified of what it might do next.
When he gave his name to the young faery so long so, he was sure he was safe. The faery had done nothing with it, letting him go free, never to think of the encounter again. But he was starting to doubt how safe he was from that encounter, because the assassin left him with a bitter taste him his mouth just as the other left years ago.
But he kept his mouth shut about the first encounter. He'd do the same this time. He wanted to be the one to hunt the man down, he was the only one with any clue of who it was anyways. If he said nothing, he could get to the man first.
"We have to be careful," said Chalice. "The Fair Folk are tricky creatures."
"Bullshit, a sword will kill any flesh, Sídhe or not," Selene interjected.
"And that's how they get you," Kit murmured, too quiet to be heard. Though he was foolish all those years ago, he'd since learned. He studied everything in his years as a prince, and that meant the Fair Folk as well. He knew far better how to deal with them, and he knew firsthand it was not something to be taken lightly.
"Bring more guards to watch the King," Selene ordered. "I'll call a meeting with the Round Table and we'll discuss a course of action." She fixed her gaze on Kit. "You, go get cleaned up and come with me. We won't be sleeping tonight."
Eurion pried open her eyes when she heard a commotion outside of her cell. She saw a tall woman with pale hair and stark blue eyes, hardly older than thirty. What was truly shocking was the armor she wore, and a carefully decorated sword tucked at her waist. It was Selene, the only woman of the Round Table. Despite the fact that she was at the wrong end of that holy sword, Eurion was starstruck at the sight of her.
All that went away when the woman opened her cell, letting in a guard to undo her shackles and escort her out.
"Where are you taking me?"
Selene didn't speak. Eurion's stomach dropped as they passed a small courtyard with nothing but a few benches and a noose in the center. That wasn't where she was going, not yet at least. She let out a shaky breath.
She didn't hear a single word from anyone's mouth until they entered a large tower. At the center was a large, circular table, decorated with Celtic engravings and a knot at the center.
The Round Table.
"Eurion Cullen," bellowed a voice. An older man with clear authority stood from his seat. He had dark gray hair and a thick beard, but he couldn't have been older than sixty. On his right was the older prince, his left the younger. She narrowed her gaze at him. She was here because of him.
"You tried to steal something from the King himself. A book. Why were you trying to steal a book?"
She opened her mouth to answer, but the man continued on. "Was it a diversion? A decoy? A cover up?"
"Lord Herwarde," Kit said weakly, but he was not heard.
"Are you an accomplice?"
"Accomplice to who?" She wore a confused expression.
"Lord Herwarde." A little louder.
"Did you or did you not, in any way, assist the man who tried to kill the King?"
"I'm sorry, wh-"
"Lord Herwarde!" Kit stood, drawing stares and effectively silencing the Lord.
He sighed. "What, Kristofer?"
"Look at her leg."
All eyes in the room zeroed in on the bloodied leg, but only Kit seemed to know what it meant. Herwarde looked back at him in confusion.
Kit walked closer. "If I'm not mistaken, she's been Binded. It's a Seelie method of dealmaking. If someone makes a promise with a faery, they may sometimes be Binded. If they don't fulfill the deal, they pay the price."
No one spoke, so Kit continued on.
"It's still bleeding, which means her end of the deal has not been fulfilled."
"She didn't kill the King. That was her deal," Herwarde concluded.
Eurion widened her eyes. "No, no, please, not at all. This is all very strange timing, but I promise I had nothing to do with this. There's an explanation, I swear."
Herwarde narrowed his eyes. "Then explain."
She gulped. "It was... it really was a book. He said the King had a book that belonged to him. I owed him a debt and this was all he wanted from me. The only reason I'm Binded is because I made a stupid joke and he took it literally because that's all stupid faeries know how to do."
Every gaze scrutinized her, trying to find a trace of a lie.
"She's telling the truth." It was the druid who'd knocked her down in the woods. She didn't know whether to hate them or be grateful to them right now.
Selene chimed in. "How do you know?"
"I'm a mage," was all they said. It seemed to be enough for the rest of them, luckily for Eurion.
"Fine. Put her back in the dungeon."
"Wait-" Eurion called, wincing in pain. "If I don't fulfill this deal, I'll just bleed out in your dungeon. Do you really want to clean all that up?"
Selene jerked her towards the door. "We're not scared of a little blood."
That night, Chalice found a place in the barracks. It was as comfy a bed as they were going to get if they'd insisted on sleeping away from the various guards that slept there. The room was dusty and unused, cobwebs hanging in the corners and on the old furniture. Their cot was an inch away from breaking, but their thin frame didn't so much as make it creak.
They couldn't bring themself to sleep no matter how hard they tried. No matter how hard they squeezed their eyes shut, no matter how many sheep they counted, no matter what spell they chanted to lull their mind, they were always pulled back by that buzz, only fainter from the distance between the barracks and the keep, but still strong enough to keep them awake.
They could've sworn they felt it getting stronger, like the prince was getting closer, but that was absurd. He was asleep, they were sure of it. Unless he was a night owl just like them.
Finally, they pulled themself from the cot, brushing off the dust and sliding on better attire. They just had to check, because the nagging was starting to get tiring.
The buzz got closer as they neared the door, exponentially faster until they swung the door open right as the prince rose his fist to knock.
"What are you doing up?" he asked.
Chalice quirked a brow as if to say 'I could ask you the same thing.'
"Right. Um. Can I come in?"
They nodded and closed the door behind him as he entered, then crossed their arms as they waited.
"It seems you don't like small talk so I'll just get to it. I want to find that assassin and bring him to justice before anyone else does, and I need your help."
"'Him?'" they repeated.
"Yes. I saw him myself—well I didn't see him but he nearly killed me back at the King's quarters."
This was news. "So you're the only one with a hint, you want him first, that's why you didn't tell anyone about this?"
He looked ashamed. "Well... yes. I was hoping you'd assist me, seeing as you're probably the only person I can trust."
"We met this morning."
"Yes, and you've only done me good. I can't think of anyone else to ask who wouldn't turn me in right away."
"Who says I won't?"
"I don't know, but I trust you."
Something about that made their chest flood with warmth. But it wasn't enough to convince them. "Fine."
Kit grinned.
"On one condition."
Eurion had been under the impression that she wouldn't be bothered again for at least the rest of the night. She'd been in far too many cells in her time as a thief, she expected nothing else. So one could imagine her surprise when she heard the younger prince's confident footsteps as he marched towards her cell.
When he held out his hand, the guard gave him the key. "Come with me," he ordered after freeing her from her chains again. She followed him out the cell, confused more than anything, until she saw where he was taking her.
"No, no, this isn't—"
"Shh," he hissed. "I'm not going to hang you in the middle of the bloody night when the King isn't even present, now shut up before we get caught."
"Get caught—"
She was interrupted by the sight of fiery red hair and the druid who owned it ushering them into a doorway. It led into a simple storage room, but she hadn't even had time to ask what was going on when she saw the uprooted tile in the floor and the tunnel it led to.
"You two go first, I'll watch your back," said Kit as he handed Eurion off to the druid.
Their hands were gentle but steady as they stepped down into the tunnel, pulling Eurion after them. She gripped their hand as they were plunged into darkness, the sound of clanking armor sounding out when Kit jumped after them.
"Did anyone think to bring a torch?" she asked.
"No need," Kit answered.
She opened her mouth to question him when the druid snapped their fingers and a dim green light shone from their palm.
"Who are you?" Eurion asked, amazed.
"Their name is Chalice," Kit answered for them. Chalice didn't seem to mind.
"And where are we going?"
"We're going to Faerie."