A True Prince

Chapter Eight

Queen Tawnia knew whom they were going after. She should have expected Aslynn's bond with her twin would be strong enough to sense the boy was in trouble.

"Guard!" she snapped.

If Aslynn sensed trouble, then her request had been acted on and it was too late to stop it.

The guard approached and saluted while the queen considered whether she should stop Aslynn.

But could the queen justify it if she brought Aslynn back under guard? It was an extreme action for what would appear to be a simple juvenile prank. And when Sebastian turned up missing, her actions would cast suspicion upon herself, while as it stood now, even if they found the boy, she had covered her tracks well enough; the trail would not lead back to her. As long as she remained calm.

"Your Majesty?" the guard asked when she did not speak.

"Never mind," she snapped.

***

Sebastian was slow waking up, which—he was dimly aware—was not a good sign. He felt his body moving in a rocking motion, which also did not feel right. When he finally managed to open his eyes, he found himself in a dark room, and recognized the sound of water lapping against the hull of a ship.

He frowned, trying to remember something that would tell him why he was on a boat.

He received Meedo's message just after feeding the horses and asked Master Jabari's permission to go down to the docks. Then he went out into the fog, making his way carefully down to the harbor with Artemis, as ever, his faithful companion.

Sebastian had to stretch for memories of what happened next. Once he had managed to find the correct pier in the fog, a man had appeared in front of him, asking if he had a light for his pipe.

He sat up now, groaning at an ache in his head. When he reached to feel it, he was surprised to find shackles on his wrists.

Alarm bells began clamoring in his mind as he felt his head over. Indeed, there was a large lump just behind his ear.

Casting back into foggy memory, Sebastian recalled Artemis growling at something behind him as he spoke to the sailor. The last thing he remembered was turning, hand on knife, to see. Someone must have come up behind him and hit him on the head. With a sinking feeling, he realized the ship he was on was most likely a slaver. It seemed Mother Bette's dire warnings of the dangers of going to port had come true.

His mind reeled, but his first thought was of Artemis: he hoped she was all right. The dog was being trained to fight, but without Sebastian directing her....

Escape was his second thought.

The shackles on his wrists were too tight to pull over his hands, though he spent several minutes pulling, straining, and tearing his skin. The shackles on his ankles proved just as binding. The chain securing them was rust free and strong, as was the ring and spike holding it to the wooden beam in the low ceiling.

Sebastian realized he wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon.

***

"Master Jabari!" Aslynn called as she and Adam burst into the courtyard.

The swordmaster looked up from the farrier's work as they ran toward him.

"Princess, Lord Wingfield," he said formally. "Aren't you two supposed to be at lessons?"

She answered his question with one of her own. "Where's Sebastian?"

"Down at port. He said he was to meet someone there."