A Prince's Harem

Apologies

Will could hear Shep slip from his drawing rooms with angry curses, mainly in English but there was the occasional hint of other languages mixed in there, but he did not turn back, instead he continued in the opposite direction, he could not appear hesitant before the members of Hudson’s court.

Apo hurried along beside Will at a similar pace, keeping quiet as the prince made his way through the halls as if on autopilot.

Will continued in silence, his head racing a million miles a moment, until he bumped into a shorter man and found himself pulled out of his thoughts, “Scott!” He exclaimed quickly, “I am so sorry!”

Scott took Will’s hands into his own, turning them over slowly, “Hello love, it’s all good, the amount of times I’ve rounded these corners into Acho, and my sisters too for that matter, is not funny, sometimes they see me coming and shout my name, so I don’t walk straight into them.”

“I cannot wait to finally get to meet them,” Will commented, racking his mental calendar to try to remember when the Denholm Family Ball was, “Your sisters, that is.”

“Nine days and you’ll meet them all, but for now, you seemed to be in a hurry so please don’t let us keep you,” Scott gestured towards the gentleman he was travelling with.
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Will, quickly regaining his senses and remembering who he is, faced Scott’s companion, “Lord Busker,” he greeted with a kind smile, “I do hope you are well; it is so good to see you at Court today.”

“It is good to see Your Royal Highness too,” Jeffery bowed with a similar smile, “I am extremely well, I do hope Your Royal Highness is well too?”

“Quite well, thank you. I am on my way to the hospital ward so please forgive me for having to hurry away,” Will smiled politely, “Although Lady Water is quite excited to see you, so I should not keep you any longer anyway for her sake.”

“Highness,” Jeffery smiled in return with a tilt of his head, though there was a very noticeable blush on his face that Will very kindly did not comment on.

Scott kissed Will’s forehead gently, “I shall see you soon, my love. Adieu.”

“That you shall, my love. Adieu,” Will kissed Scott’s hand and turned on his way, continuing down the hallways.

“Are we actually going to the hospital ward?” Apo checked, still beside Will, “Or are we heading somewhere else that Prince Scott would not approve of?”

“Yeah, we are. I want to see Grace,” Will confirmed slowly, taking a deep breath as they made it to the doors, “If she’ll see me, that is.”

As Will made his way into the medical ward, he saw the staff bow before going back to their assigned tasks, but what he focused on was the concerning lack of Graecie anywhere in the room, “Lady Antoine?” he called out.

“Yes, Your Royal Highness?” The head nurse turned her attention towards the prince with a kind smile, “How can I help you?”

“Lady Caravel? She is not here...” he trailed off anxiously, fearing for a moment that the worst had happened to his closest friend, “Is she well...?”

“Will?”

Will spun around quickly at the sound of his name being called, turning towards the doors to see his best friend dressed in only the simplest of nightgowns and with her hair covering where her wound was.

Graecie threw herself into his arms before he could react to her presence, blinking her tears back rapidly as they fell as she stood in his embrace.

“Grace...” Will wrapped his arms around her, keeping her as close to his chest as he could, “Grace, I am so sorry that I could not protect you.”

“Do not apologise to me,” Graecie muttered quietly, her voice breaking, “I do not blame you one bit.”

“If I had just swung my sword better or moved a little faster-” he started, replaying the moment one thousand times over and finding little things he could have done differently to protect Graecie, even if it was his own life on the line.

“Will!” Graecie hissed.

He fell silent, squeezing her gently.

“Do not blame yourself, I knew what I was doing when I threw myself in front of him and I would do it one thousand times over to protect you. Will, you are a prince! If I had let you get hurt, then it would have been my head-”

“Okay, that’s enough of you both blaming yourselves for this,” Scott walked in quickly, approaching the duo, “The only person at fault is whoever let Elyas and Jack into this palace, a mystery that Pix is currently working to solve.”

“Speaking of,” Apo cleared his throat, “I am going to help him. Your Royal Highnesses, Lady Caravel,” he bowed and saw himself out.

“Lady Caravel,” Lady Antoine drew the attention over towards herself, in her hands she held a small box, “Your patch.”

“Thank you, Ma’am,” Graecie took the box into her own hands, opening it slowly to reveal a plain black eyepatch with a fine silver trim, “I truly appreciate you and your staff and everything they’ve done for me today.”

“Anything for you Graecie, we appreciate you too, you are kind to us, and we will always be rooting for you,” Lady Antoine clasped Graecie's hand in her own before picking up the patch, “Turn around?”

Graecie spun around obediently and held still while Lady Antoine slid the patch over her head with care and respect.

Scott pushed Graecie’s hair from her face and smiled supportively as he took her hands into his own, “Love you cuz.”

“Love you too Scott,” she replied with a sad chuckle, “And I would do it again, by the way, for any of you guys; my ‘Gales and my cousins.”

“Do not go jumping in front of any more swords Grace, understood?” Will chuckled, “My. heart could not take it.”

“Yes, Your Royal Highness,” she replied with a small chuckle.