Against all Odds {Middle-Earth fanfic}

Chapter Seven

Soon after, too soon for Ulric, it was morning. King Degore sent a guard to wake his son.

Ulric heard a quiet knock from the other side of his door. He groaned and rolled out of his bed. Deciding to ignore the knock for a little, he got dressed quickly.

The knock continued, gradually getting a little louder until a voice asked, "My prince?" Ulric sighed, and struggled to get his boots on. The knocking persisted, "Sir? Is everything alright?"

Ulric managed to get the last boot on and rushed to the door. He took a deep breath and opened it. The guard jumped slightly before retaining his composure. He bowed, "My prince, so sorry to disturb you so early, but the king has requested you come to the throne room."

"Ah..." Ulric said slowly, "I see." The guard swallowed nervously and nodded. He waited for the prince to dismiss him, hoping he wasn't angry.

Seeing the guard's hesitation, Ulric responded, "Oh, you may go." He smiled, "Thank you."

The guard hurriedly nodded and walked away. Ulric caught a glimpse of the guard exhaling. Ulric closed the door and sighed. "It's way too early for this." He told himself. When he was ready, he headed down to the throne room.

King Degore rolled his eyes when he saw his son, "Ulric, finally. I have decided that you will help me run the court today. And," he added, "you must deal with your would be, assassins."

"Ah," Ulric bowed his head.

"Excuse me?" The King prodded.

"Um..." Ulric hesitated, wondering what he missed, "Yes, my lord." He said firmly, hoping that was okay.

"That is more like a prince. Now," the King turned to a nearby guard, "Go get the two prisoners that tried to kill our beloved prince." He commanded.

"Yes sir." The guard hurried away, his armor clanking as he went.

"Beloved prince?" Ulric raised an eyebrow, "Was that necessary?"

The King sighed, "No, not really, but I wanted to give the guard extra reason to obey fully,"

"Ah." Ulric considered the answer.

A few minutes later, the guard returned with another guard helping him. They pushed the two assassins to their knees and backed away. Both offenders looked very weary and had their hands bound. The man barely looked conscious whereas the woman was wide awake and angry. She glared at the King and Degore noticed several bruises on her face that were fresh. 'She must have put up quite the fight on her way here.' He mused.

Ulric bit his lip awkwardly. "Father?" He asked in an undertone.

"What, Ulric?"

"Are we giving them a trial?"

"Why don't you question them first. We know nothing about them." King Degore suggested. He relaxed deeper into his throne, preparing to watch his son.

Ulric nodded, and straightened.
"Why did you try to kill me?" He addressed Thea and Nikandros. Thea glanced at Nikandros, but didn't answer. Ulric sighed inwardly, "Answer the question, prisoner." He ordered. Silence. The room seemed to be filled with it.

Ulric began to get frustrated at this girl. He decided to ask a different question. "Who are you working with? They must not have been very good teachers." He added the last question sort of to himself, hoping to antagonize the girl into speaking.

Thea barely held it together. This haughty prince was really starting to annoy her. She stayed silent, trying to not let anything slip by.

"Not speaking, eh?" Ulric thought for a moment. He didn't want to be cruel, but he knew eventually if this girl wouldn't speak, he would have to threaten. "How do you know him?" He gestured at Nikandros. Thea smiled inwardly, this guy wasn't going to get anything out of them. Ulric sighed, "You know, I don't want to do this the hard way."