Hidden in the Castle

Part 21

Chapter 20

William walked towards Cassie’s room, doing his best to ignore the man who walked beside him.  It was times like these that William wished the halls were smaller, that only one person could walk through them at a time.  He also wished that Ashmore was anywhere but walking beside him, that the man didn’t live in the castle, and that he wasn’t the king’s right hand man.

“You can try to ignore me forever, William, but your life will be tiresome if you do.”

He didn’t even turn to look towards Ashmore.  “Ignoring you will be one of the most joyful parts of my life.”

“Then your life will be a sad one.”

This time, William couldn’t help but look towards Ashmore.  There was a small smile on the man’s face, and William wanted nothing more than to punch Ashmore in the face, wanted to make that amusement turn to pain.  “As long as you’re not in my life, I am sure it will be nothing but happy.”

Ashmore stopped walking and without even thinking, William stopped along with him.  Cursing himself for his action, William stared at Ashmore.  Now that they were standing there, now that Ashmore had William’s attention, there was no reason not to hear what the man had to say.  Because as much as he hated to admit it, Ashmore was right.  He couldn’t ignore him forever.  William couldn’t avoid the man who had all of the secrets, all the answers. 

“The two of us will be in each other’s lives until the end, William.  You may hate me, but you have to learn to tolerate me.  When you become king, if you decide not to take my council, I’ll still be in your life.  As long as you are friends with my daughter, I will be in your life.”

Taking a deep breath, William waited for his annoyance to die down.  “I don’t want to tolerate you, Ashmore.”  Ashmore opened his mouth, but William held up a hand to keep him quiet.  “Tolerating you would be easy, but I have learned that the easy road is not always the one to take.  I will never forget what you did, but one day, I will forgive you.  Until then, my snide comments will be your punishment.”

William said the words with a smile, surprised at himself for even being able to form the expression with Ashmore present.  The man smiled back, shaking his head in what looked like wonderment.  “Who said you would not grow to be a great king?”

“You.”

A laugh fell from Ashmore’s lips as he patted William on the shoulder.  “Yes, but you may yet to prove me wrong, boy.”  The pat turned into a small push as Ashmore began walking once more.  “Now come.  Let us put aside our snide comments for the time being and focus on the women in our lives.”

“Anna is not—”

“Deny it if you wish,” Ashmore interrupted with a smile, “but I’ve seen the way you look at her.  It is the same way I look at my wife, the same way your father looks at your mother.  Don’t run from it, William.  You’ll only experience that feeling once in your life.”

He opened his mouth, ready to deny it once more, but before he could say a word, Ashmore began banging on the door in front of them.  Until that noise echoed through the halls, William hadn’t even known they were standing in front of Cassie’s door.  How could he protect Annabelle if he was so oblivious, if he didn’t even know where he was?

The door swung open, but no one came into view.  With a frown, William glanced down.  His frown quickly turned into a smile when he saw Cooper.  With his arms crossed over his chest, the little boy had adopted Colin’s look of intimidation.  If he had been a little older and a little taller, William may have actually took a step back, as it was, he couldn’t help but smile at the picture Cooper made.