Heartless | A Powerless Fanfiction Novella

Chapter 15: Corrine

"Gail will have your head for this," I say, pulling out the knife from the wall beside my head.

I don't ignore the fact the blade was deep into its mark forcing me to use some considerable force to remove it - the prince isn't weak in the least, his throw was perfect.

Kitt shrugs, "I'm willing to risk that." He stabs the remaining blade in the table making the metal quiver on impact, "I want answers Lowes."

"No more first name basis, your highness?"

The prince sighs, "I need to know how you are involved in all...that."

He won't say the rebellion's name when so many ears are probably already listening behind the neutral faces of passing servants.

"Will you throw me in a cell for it?"

"Don't give me a reason to."

His mistake was getting rid of his only weapon. My own dagger is at his throat in the next second, looking at him from beneath my lashes to search for that fear I expected...but there is none, "What if you have more than one reason to get rid of me? Maybe that makes your decision easier, and you won't need an answer after all."

He doesn't answer. Kitt almost looks like he is focusing more on his breathing rather than the question I posted him with.

"I am not involved with them. My loyalty is to Ilya." I lower the blade an inch, "To you."

And with that last statement I feel the air around me heat in the slightest, my gaze lowering to his hands for a moment to witness the hint of flames dancing on his knuckles before he flames them out.

Kitt straightens, nodding once, "Good. But I still wish to know what happened that night."

"Is that a command?" I sheathe my blade.

Kitt shits his weight from one foot to the other, picking an apple in the process from beside him, "A request. Besides," He takes a bite from the firm fruit, "You wouldn't obey anyways if it were."

"Oh you know me so well my prince."

"I'll tell you what, tonight I'll be waiting for you on the terrace of my room. I'll be having some more of these," He empathises to the apple with a toss of it in the air, "And some wine just for the fun of it. You're welcome to keep me company."

"An invitation to his highness' room?" I feign shock with wide eyes before I cue a chuckle, "Isn't that a little inappropriate to even suggest?"

"You have the keys to every room in this palace. It's only a scheduled check that I am...still alive?"

"What makes you so sure you're not inviting the wolf itself into your den?"

"Because this beast you talk of is a danger I am willing to risk."

The response surprises me, my shallow swallow not in faked emotion but rather an attempt to prolong the time to think of a response. And none comes. Plagues the one time I need my mouth to run its course my mind is frozen in the moment of a few seconds ago.

"Lowes." A voice comes from the doorway, bringing my attention and Kitt's to the kitchen door where Matthew stands waiting, "It's time to go."

"Right." I glance once more at the prince, finally deciding on avoiding his comment, "Gail will bake you in her apple pie because of that." I give a pointed look to his half-eaten fruit.

He flashes me a grin paired with a worried look just as I leave the room and Gail returns. I catch myself smiling when I don't miss only the beginning of her scolding as the door closes behind me - the princes are truly like her second sons, and I know they love her just as much. In some way it appears as if whenever I catch them with her, usually at the break of dawn, her kitchen stands as a memory of true brotherhood slowly fading with time.