Indebted

81

At Court, sat on his throne, in an empty room. Magnus was filled with rage. Insurrectionists in his Kingdom, his Dragon's son kidnapped, The Council threatening to beat down his walls and invade. Everything his forefathers had accomplished and held together was going to crumble and it would be his shoulders that bore the weight of the failure of the Sovran dynasty.

This was it. The Council that governed the supernaturals in the greater world had already announced their intention to invade. His kingdom was finished. After the messenger from The Council had left last night, there had been a mad exodus from the castle. Those who had sworn to be the most loyal to him had fled in the dark of the night, in an effort to protect themselves.

His lords weren't supposed to even be aware that there was a Ruling Council of Supernaturals in the wider world. Let alone know enough to be aware The Council were a force that should be feared when it came calling on your doorstep. Magnus had no idea when everything had started to go so wrong. Magnus sighed as his dragon lamented the loss of their mate. Andromeda. A murder never avenged, never solved. Not a bad moment to pick as the one that derailed everything.

Magnus had been summoning Lord Roddington for almost an hour now. The man was not respecting the authority of the Sovran, was disregarding the multiple summons. Magnus wanted to mount his final attack on the rebels before The Council invaded and took everything he had. Get one last shot at some kind of vengeance for all the wrongs he had suffered. Go down fighting, with honour. In order to do that Magnus needed the leader of his armies to come answer the call.

In the high lord wing of the castle, Lord Roddington was in his stolen apartments, trying to pack up his life. trying to think how he could rescue Holly from the dungeons and find Zinnia. He knew he wasn't going to be able to rouse his sister from her drunken stupor. Harlen had made peace that he was going to have to leave her behind.

Figure out a way to get himself and the girls all outside the magical barriers. Barriers he himself had suggested needed to be implemented for the first time since the American Civil War. Myrrh had made every choice seem so reasonable at the time she made each request and suggestion. It had to have been a strange and dangerous creature to have killed Quwent so close to the castle. Of course they needed to have stronger guards and more soldiers for protection. If Estella could escape unseen, and Atticus could escape from the dungeons it had only made sense to suggest a police presence in the castle.

Then punishments that were now clearly too extreme in hindsight for those that had let Atticus escape. Every piece had fallen like a domino knocked into place by the step before. Harlen turned on his heels. Hearing Lord Alric's ghost laughing at him in the empty apartment. Lord Roddington was about to face the same fate he had marched Alric towards. Myrrh directing the tragic parade from the shadows.

Death was calling Harlen's number. Could almost feel the hand of the reaper on his shoulder. Magnus and Myrrh had both tried to summon him. Repeatedly. Harlen was ignoring both of them. The thought of seeing Myrrh turned his stomach, and the thought of facing the king as he planned a massacre was just as nauseating. Escape was the only option left

Harlen was throwing clothes into a bag, taking all the food stuff in his apartment, getting ready to flee. When He threw the door open his moment at hand; a scribe was waiting outside. Hand raised like the dwarf scribe had been about to knock. The long eyebrows twitching in surprise.

The scribe managed to compose himself swiftly, "Sir, my lord, apologies, certainly of course." A stammering scribe was never a good sign. "There has been a development that needs to be conveyed to the king immediately." Harlen looked at the scribe. They were permitted to speak to the king, to advise and inform him as needed.

Which meant that the news the scribe needed to impart was the kind of news that would likely result in the death of a scribe. After all, they were nothing more than captured docile useful prisoners.

The scribes eyes darted about. Noticing that the apartment looked like it had been ransacked behind lord Roddington along with the bag over the lord's shoulder. "The Rebel's, they have kidnapped Fitzprince Caspian. They have him held hostage." The scribe nodded. The information conveyed as he had been directed to do. The scribe promptly took off at the fastest pace Harlen had ever seen one of their kind move.

The scribe knew they had dropped the equivalent of a grenade with the pin already pulled into Harlen's lap. Was behaving as anyone with such dangerous knowledge would. Harlen suddenly was struck by a hint of a plan. He had knowledge no one else did, could choose how to use this information. Try to alleviate some of the guilt in his own heart. Magnus would never launch an attack where Andromeda's son was being held. At least, Harlen believed the King would not harm Caspian knowingly.

Harlen dropped his bag, not even bothering to lock his apartment door behind him. An echo of Alric's laugh chasing after him as Harlen finally ran towards the throne room where Harlen knew he would find the king dealing with his own ghosts and haunted memories.

Harlen burst into the nearly empty throne room. Finding Magnus alone. Not entirely surprising, considering that most of the high lords who had been left in residence of the castle yesterday had fled moments after the messenger from The Council had left. Announcing a desire to establish diplomatic relations; A new tactic from The Council to break into the Sovran Kingdom.

Magnus glared at Harlen from his throne. "Where in all hells have you been, I've been summoning you." Harlen didn't much like the king right now, but it still did not feel right to see the once all powerful seeming king looking so dejected and defeated while sat alone in a dark throne room. "Have you heard the latest news from The Council?" Magnus demanded of Harlen.

Harlen inflected his head downwards. For once in his life, Harlen held his tongue. Uncertain if the news the King had was the same knowledge the scribe had delivered. "Apologies your grace-" Harlen was cut off by Magnus flicking his wrist and hand in a dismissive gesture.

Staring at Harlen with so much fire and hate, Harlen was certain the king already knew the news of prince Caspian, but still held his tongue. "The Council has announced they have made contact with a True Earth Dragon! Calling it a Queen!" Harlen was trying to respond to the shocking additional news of the day. There hadn't been any dragons on this plane before the Sovran Dragon's arrived, everyone knew the origin story.

Harlen did not need to be clever. The king was ranting as he looked at the stained glass windows of their history. Demanding that it was time to mount as big an assault against the traitors before The Council arrived to end everything. A last chance revenge against at least one of the parties who had wronged the king. Harlen shook his head. "My lord, that is what I have come to discuss, we can not attack the rebels-" Harlen was stumbling over the words, he had only ever told the king what Myrrh had assured Harlen was what the king wanted to hear.

In a rush Magnus leapt from his chair, appearing in front of Harlen before the blink of an eye had passed. Grabbing him by his shirt front, just under his chin. "It's Caspian sir." Harlen wheezed out. Hoping that Magnus did actually care for this particular bastard. Harlen's heart was racing. He hadn't run, he made a choice to stay. His own choice this time. If the king smashed his head against the stone floor in a rage, at least Harlen met his end with a free conscience. 

The second's ticked by like eons. Harlen watched the king's eyes as he absorbed the news. "Caspian? How?" Harlen shook his head, grateful as the king loosened his hold. Harlen didn't know anything else. The scribe had not shared more information.