History Of Blood

unexpected

"I ask that you pay attention, your Highness." The captain of the guard lowered the papers in his hand, looking at Yevhen with irritation, this was the fourth time he'd had to repeat himself. "Well now, I'd pay more attention if you had more life when giving a report. This is the tenth time this week that I've had to listen to you in that monotone voice. It can get tiresome."

Yevhen crossed his arms over his chest, looking down at the main gardens the library over looked. He preferred being here in the middle of the day, it was peaceful, especially on a day like this. The sky was a clear blue, the sun casting beams of light across the floor in different colors from the stained glass skylights. Truly no other place in the palace was so welcoming to him.

"- your Highness!" Yevhen jerked, being pulled from his inspection as the captain sighed and plopped into one of the cushioned chairs the library was full of. "What now Edrym? I thought you had finished," his voice had a hint of irritation as he turned his back to the empty gardens, save for the flower bushes and skeletal trees that had yet to grow buds.

"There are still three more pages your Highness. please remember you were the one who volunteered for this, I ask that you take this seriously, these are the soldiers that guard the palace." Edrym rubbed his face with one hand, looking fifty years older then he was.

Yevhen had seen the piles of reports, requests from the nobles, news from the provinces and borders, and the reports about cities and towns that were struggling in this winter. The stacks had filled every available space in Karvik's office, and he lost an unhealthy amount of sleep, Queen Relanna had already taken what she could. Yevhen had offered to take care of what he could, so Karvik was left with only the most important reports, and Yevhen and his sister-in-law would take care of the rest.

Yevhen smirked, feeling somewhat proud to have gotten to the unshakable captain, even when they were younger, he had had a gift to get on Edrym's nerves; a gift he took great pleasure in now.

"I may have offered to help, but I did not ask for this badgering, I can't even look out the window," Yevhen mock glared, Edrym simply raised an eyebrow. He chuckled, the glare not lasting long.

Sighing, Yevhen leaned against the window sill, all humor gone. "So someone has been sneaking around the palace grounds?" Edrym lost the moment as well, glancing at the papers in his hand, "yes, though they haven't done anything that would show evidence of ill intent, I don't like it."

Edrym shuffled through the papers, looking for a specific one, when he found it he stood and walked to the window, handing it to Yevhen.

He took it, glancing over the neatly written words, reading only what he needed to understand the basics of the report. "I see, so they were in a red cloak, where is it they were spotted first?" Edrym pointed out the line on the page, and Yevhen read the one sentence he wished he hadn't. "The royal wing," his voice was quiet, and he could feel the weight of those words as they left him.

The royal wing was as close to the center of the palace as they could be, over the years the palace had been expanded, stretching out instead of up, as it was first designed, and the royal wing had slowly been built around, being taken into the palace. This was mainly for protection, as the attempts to assassinate the royal family grew, their rooms had been changed as a precaution.

So the very fact that someone other than hand picked maids and guards was seen there, that was enough to make him worry. Or maybe that was the hand of fear shooting through his heart.

Yevhen stood so fast it made Edrym take a step back, but he was to overwhelmed to notice. Fear and panic, so strong it consumed his senses and made his heart jump in his chest. Where was it coming from? He couldn't remember the last time something like this happened.