Crowned Prince | hendery

36: Captive

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TW: War and Physical Violence

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Body aches and the way it was hard for him to breathe, he could barely open his eyes, but he knew that what he had hoped had finally been accomplished.

"He is awake!" He hears someone shout.

He feels it for the first time, his wrist tied tightly behind his back and his mouth held tight with a cloth. His head felt heavier than usual as he noticed how it was hanging from his body that was leaning forward.

"Leave!" He hears someone shout in the room before several footsteps exit the room and the door shuts loudly.

"Your Highness." There was a certain mocking tone in the way he was called. "Prince Guanheng of Hwei– or would you prefer that you be called the prince of Maha'ali?"

Hendery's eyes barely opened as he lifted his head up to look at the voice he knew was familiar. He has probably heard this voice during the gathering of the lands– probably, as he never was one to mingle during the gathering.

"Your life– is it not a dilemma? A rule that has been broken?" No. He was sure this voice was familiar. "And now you marry the princess of Sui." He snickers. "The former lover of that wretched brother of mine."

Misha. Second in line to the throne of Farox, prince Misha. Looking up it scared him how similar he looked to Illia, lucky that their voices were drastically different or he would have thought that he was face to face with Illia himself. They shared that same strong jaw, deep cheekbones, and small and scrutinizing eyes.

He tries to mumble back a reply.

"It would be better if you do not talk at all." Misha shakes his head.

Misha leans in closer towards the prince. He placed his hand comfortably over his head, Hendery only noticed now that his back was against a wall. Misha takes a good look at the prince. "Why is the uninterested prince suddenly taking the front lines of a battle? To me, it does not make sense. I thought that you have no interest in leading your kingdom, but it appears that you desire to stand up as Maha'ali's leader, is that not right?"

Hendery couldn't exactly reply with his mouth gagged. All he could do was mumbled in frustration.

"Have you any idea what orders were given to us?" Misha's hand runs through the prince's hair. "Kill all Maha'ali royalty." He pulls onto his hair making the prince look at him directly.

Hendery's eyes, however, did not waver.

"However, my father had also instructed that we do not touch the prince of Hwei– is that not a dilemma?" Misha finally lets go of Hendery's hair. "His royal highness has no knowledge of the crowned prince of Maha'ali being the son of a woman my father once pinned for."

Hendery's head snapped upwards after Misha's heavy hands threw it down. His eyes grew wide in absolute fear.

"Did that surprise you, Your Highness?" He mocks.

"Your father has kept you in the dark for far too long." Misha shakes his head as he walks away from the prince. "There is not much to know except my father was hurt deeply by romance never reciprocated. By the woman who had disappeared because two crowned princes were pinning for her– who she herself a royal. All that is left now is his desire to turn Maha'ali inside out thinking that they have hidden the queen within its walls– behind the dead royal family." He shakes his head in disappointment.

Hendery was glaring at Misha, knowing that trying to speak would only further inconvenience him.

"How would I know such deep emotions? They do not warrant me gains they give me more losts than gains, is that not right?" Misha shrugs his shoulders. It was like he was not with a wife and family of his own. That line alone felt like it was disrespecting his wife and children.

Hendery has heard of rumors. About how truly twisted Misha was– they did attend the academy together and rumor circulates a lot quicker within those walls. He was a troubled student who always made sure to argue with the scholars and even question their credibility.

"Among all my siblings, it is only I who have agreed to father's will to turn Maha'ali upside down in search of your dead mother. All pretending to be on his side." Misha drags his feet across the stone floor. One that Hendery had finally realized seems all too familiar. The same cold rooms and barely any windows, yet it was eerily large. The same old stone floors from the academy made him shiver in absolute fear. "If I returned home with the news of his greatest love's perish, he would go crazy, but even more so when realizes that the cause of her death is the birth of her child with the king of Hwei." He snickers. "That old man has been going crazy it would not be long before I take on what he will leave behind."

Hendery knew Misha was a troublemaker. He never thought that he would be crazy.

"Now, my dear beloved son of the princess of Maha'ali, shall I ask that you first take–"

That was the last thing Hendery hears. One strong hit behind his head was all it took to knock him out once again. Right before he completely lost all consciousness he wanted to whisper Taeha's name one last time, hoping that she saves him.

She was his only hope.

-

Taeha points towards the rather large area of the map the academy took over. "Have they touched the academy?"

"It is an unspoken rule that the academy is for the continent. They would not seize the place under their ruling." Illia explains as someone who also went to the academy in his youth.

Taeha's eyebrows knit together before looking at every other person inside that circle over the map. "We are at war."

All heads turn towards her direction.

"I shall assign a small number to come with me in scouting the area–"

"Your highness–" Illia tries to intervene.

"You shall come along. I need someone who is familiar with the academy."