The Missing Monarch

. . . ⇢ ˗ˏˋ [Lost Heir] ࿐ྂ

Axel:

The fields were the best part of any journey he made. The silence from the buzz of human life was exhilarating for him. Other people always made too much noise and corrupted his peace with their loudness. Even as a child, his mother had noticed when he caved in the corner of his bedroom, trying to get away from the fuss of his many siblings. He missed his home sometimes, but everyone at home knew he was the one out of all of them who preferred the solitude of travelling alone.

Although, this current journey had been quite annoying. Axel had taken the several hours walk to the royal castle, only to ask for help and have none given to him. Sure, the Princess had been a sweet, little thing but she had assured him help that still hadn't been granted. He had had to wonder along the many halls of the castle, for an hour, before being stopped by some blonde guard that had been quite peculiar.

The blonde guard had just stared at him, with all the authority of an alpha wolf and blatantly said, Excuse me, sir. It will be best if you do not wonder the castle freely. Especially at times when we are in such fervour to catch the Queen's capturers.

Axel had retorted back, which had been his mistake. Maybe it would have been better if he'd said nothing at all, and came back a week later. Excuse me, sir. Bri- The Princess requested that I come in here and search for a fellow named Quinn, so if you could point me in the direction of him... that would be exquisite.

He saw the shift in the guard's demeanour, as soon as he had let the words pass through his lips; clear authority to an ice-cold devil. The guard snarled, lifted his finger, gestured to the other guards and Axel had been practically thrown out the castle doors in the next few seconds.

If Axel hadn't known any better, he would have said that the guard had had a vendetta against him, although he wasn't quite sure what for. He had been positively polite, as far as he believed. Was it something he had said?

Axel knew he had a habit of occasionally being blind to what other people felt and sometimes dragged on about things he shouldn't- but he didn't believe he had said anything too bad. Had he bent the rules of some royal protocol? Had he said something disastrous, without knowing? Had he given a bad impression? All questions he didn't have answers to, and ones he would find himself pondering about at the most absurd times. That was his problem, his father had said. You think too much, my son. You should enjoy the fight, not think about the details around it.

He had always thought about everything else though. When Axel had done sword practice with his brothers, his ears clipped in on the rush of air as the swords cut through it, his fingers felt every dip of the hilt, his eyes focused on where he stood, his nose filled up with the smell of his mama's cooking, and his tongue still tasted the remnants of his last meal. Countless times Axel had been nipped and cut by the swords of his brothers', because he had been caught up in all the different senses in his head. They were like a chorus of voices, building up at the same time until it became more like a storm than a choir.

Axel stilled. He had been carrying logs under his arms for the fire pit, but yet again the thoughts had taken over and distracted him. He had sworn he had seen a figure through the waves of the long grass. Or had he imagined it? Probably imagined it- but what was that sound? The sound of someone trying to push past the tendrils of the nature around them.

He ducked, dropping the logs lightly and using the grass to cover the sight of him. Camouflage had been a skill Axel had always managed to excel in, as he knew what sounds not to make, he knew what spots kept him hidden, and he knew when to come out. The person heading towards his campsite clearly did not know how to hide. And again the questions popped forward in his head. Had someone been sent to assassinate him? He wasn't that important to anyone, though. Had some murderer escaped and wanted someone else to prey on? That was a possibility.