Accusing, Denying - Flower Husbands Book 2

Prologue: Severed Ties

!!TW/CW: Referenced Death, Swearing, Hair Pulling!!

. . .

To Whom It May Concern:

It is with great sorrow that we deliver the news of the passing of both our King, Scott, and previous Prince, Xornoth. Unfortunately, both passed during His Highness's last efforts at defeating the corrupted Xornoth.

As you know, King Scott and Prince Xornoth had no heirs nor wives to take on the responsibility with their passing. Rule of the kingdom will be handed onto the High Council until a new prince is selected.

Until further notice, all ties, including courtships, trade routes, and alliances, with other kingdoms will be severed. No representatives will be sent to House Blossom meetings or any previously determined affairs.

There will be no funeral held.

Sincerely, High Elf Sage

Sage could feel High Elf Elmar standing over her shoulder, watching every bit of ink seep into the papyrus.

She couldn't understand how the rest of the Council could just move on. There was no mourning, no regret. It had only been three hours since they had been pronounced dead. The citizens of Rivendell didn't even know .

How could someone be so heartless?

With tears in her eyes, she made her way to the Owlery. Her favourite redhead was tending to the birds.

"Alina?" Sage's voice cracked.

Alina turned, smiling, eyes bright. She was of the younger generation of elves, the ones trying to change and modernise Rivendell for the better. Her face dropped at Sage's sorrowful look. "Sage? Are you... okay?"

"Uhm, I'm... not allowed to talk about it." She offered a sack of rolled papers to Alina. "I need these sent out to every empire."

"O-okay," Alina frowned. "You really can't talk about it?"

Sage shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry."

Alina sighed. "I have a feeling... that it's something to do with Lord Smajor."

Sage didn't respond.

"I thought so. Is he... dead? It's kind of hard not to notice the red vines that have suddenly disappeared. He didn't survive the last fight with Xornoth, did he?"

Sage bit her lip. "Alina... I..."

"He was a terrible king, y'know? But, from what I've heard, he's the best King Rivendell has had in centuries. And he wasn't even supposed to be King." Alina wiped her eyes. "Dammit."

Sage closed her eyes, pulling her lips taut.

"Shit!" Alina groaned. "Okay. I'll have these sent out within the hour. Feel better, Sage." She reached out to pat Sage's shoulder.

. . .

That night, as the sun faded behind the mountains, Sage stared out a window at the front of Scott's house. She could see the distant, dark shapes of eleven owls flying to deliver what was likely their last letters. Hopefully, the other empires would offer them something for their hard work.

The owls had all returned by morning.

. . .

A week had passed since her best friend had passed. No one was permitted in Scott's room in his honour. Besides, no one had any reason to be in there.

So, why had she seen a nurse slipping in in the middle of the night?

During her lunch the next day, she snuck up the stairs to Scott's room. Surely this would only make her sadder, but... well, elves were curious creatures. Someone famous had said that. Or maybe it had been her mother about cats.

Regardless, she pushed open the bedroom door. The sight made her gasp.

The room was as pristine as it had always been, but, there, lying in Scott's bed, was... Scott.

She crept forward. He was dead and they'd just left him here?

His cheeks were pink with blood. He should be pale. He looked pretty lively for a corpse.

He took a deep breath, suddenly, and turned his head.

"Oh, my Aeor," Sage gasped. Scott wasn't dead! He- he was alive! And he- wait, why had they told everyone Scott was dead? Why-?

"High Elf Sage," an angry voice made her jump and whirl to face the door. Elmar glared down at her.

"Good afternoon," Sage tried.

"Drop it," he growled.

She snarled. "What the hell? Scott is alive!"

"Not for much longer. The nurse said it's unlikely he'll survive. Then, when he's dead, we can let Xornoth wake up and raise him to rule Rivendell how it should be. Scott was always too rebellious, even when he was following our rules."

"You can't do this! It's treason! And murder!"

Elmar shrugged. "There's no proof."

"There is! I will tell everyone !"

Elmar's arm whipped out, gripping her hair. He dragged her, kicking and screaming, from Scott's chambers. "Guards!"

Two guards met them at the bottom of the stairs.

He threw her to the floor. "Arrest her. She's been caught committing treasonous acts against the crown."

"No! You can't! You-"

With a wave of his hand, her voice was gone. Stupid old magic. Elmar was one of the few elves able to harness the magic in his elven blood.

Shit, shit, shit! She had to do something! There was no way she could escape two guards. She didn't know any magic accept-

Accept a basic transport spell!

She couldn't transport herself, but she could transport something small. It had to have meaning and send a help message and she had to know exactly where it was and where it needed to go. What could she possibly-? That's it!

She scrunched her eyes, focusing. She felt the blue, green, and purple beads of her bracelet melt away.

. . .

Joel was minding his own business, as he usually did, when he received the letter. He was stunned at the sight of an owl perched on his donkey's back. After the initial surprise, he untangled the rolled paper from its foot.

Scott... was dead?

Fuck.

He covered his mouth, feeling the tears well up. Everyone else was receiving the same letter.

Fuck. Shit. Fuck.

Scott was dead!

He hadn't even gotten the chance to thank him.

Scott was gone.

He spent the next week moping around, mourning his friend, and generally not taking care of himself.

He had finally convinced himself to eat when it happened.

A bracelet. It had just... spawned in front of his face. What the hell?

His reflexes made him catch the bracelet as it fell. He scanned it over. It was plain, decorated with boring beads in blue, green, and purple.

He wasn't sure how it had gotten there, nor why it felt so familiar.

A sudden cold breeze made the pieces click.

Sage was asking for help. Something in Rivendell was wrong. Something was wrong and he was the only one who knew. Well, he had three days before the next Flower Blossom meeting to figure it out.

. . .

A/N: 1101 Words

Here we are!! Finally, book 2 is here! Apologies for the long wait, my lovelies! Updates will come hopefully every few days.

Alina's character is not mine, but I can't find her owner. Will update if I do find them. :]