Her own way

Chapter 19

*A/N* - Woot! Got this chapter done much quicker than I thought I would! Yay me! And it's even longer than I thought it would be. Double YAY!! Haha :P

Read, comment etc. Hope you enjoy this introduction of new characters :D

Kit xx

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High up in the castle, in the tallest tower overlooking the city and its surrounding forests, a young man restlessly paced in front of the fireplace thinking over his fathers latest actions. Also in the room was another man who just sat reclining in a char opposite the fire, he had an amused look on his face as he watched the younger man walk back and forth over the same spot.

"You need to calm down, it can't be that bad." The man in the chair spoke, his deep voice echoing around the sparsely decorated room. The first man halted mid stride and sent a dark look at his friend. "I'm serious Joshua. You need to sit down right now and talk to me!"

The one called Joshua span halted once more and ran his hands through his short dark hair, his eyes were filled with such emotion that they had turned from a bright green to one so dark it almost matched the colours of the nearby forests.

"You go too far Lucas," Joshua growled. "He has gone too far now." Josh resumed his furious pacing while Lucas watched.

"What did he do Josh, come on talk to me. You have known me for how long? Trust me when I say there is nothing he can do that would shock me."

"Oh really? Well try this on for size: he wants me to marry." Josh spat the words out with such force that Lucas was momentarily stunned.

"Married? For the love of the Mother, that is not for him to decide. Why would he do that?" Josh gave a bitter laugh at that, there was always a motive. "Just whom exactly are you supposed to marry?"

"Princess Isadora, of Heofonfeld. There's got to be a way out of it Lucas, I cannot follow this ridiculous plan of his. He wants rid of me that is for certain. No, must be another reason for this madness."

"Why not just ask him? You are the Prince after all, that has to count for something!"

"You know why I cannot do that Lucas. I may be Prince of this land but that does not allow me to question the demands of my father, King Raphael. Bah! Even his name is like a bad taste in my mouth." Taking a calming breath, Josh stared at the fire for a moment before meeting Lucas' steady gaze. "Come, it's time to emerge from this small sanctuary."

"The gardens or further afield?" Lucas questioned, and gave a quick laugh before jumping out of his seat and heading to the door. "Town it is!" 

Josh shook his head and slowly mad his way out of the room. Lucas had been a good friend to him over the years, always able to take his mind off whatever had happened during the day. Josh had lost his mother at a young age, and had to watch as his father slowly slipped into madness. He had heard whispers of things happening over the years, like invasions of another kingdom, attempted murder, abusive behaviour and poor treatment of the people in the kingdom. Some of these Josh just did not want to believe, who would ever wish to think that the man they called 'Father' would be willing to kill people for no apparent reason? But there were times that he could believe the truth behind the rumours, like now. He could add forced marriage to the list, and put a mark next to the abusive behaviour.

Making his way out of the room, Josh started down the spiral staircase. His footsteps echoed around the stairwell, the sound had always given him a bad feeling reminiscent from when he was younger. When he had been about seven summers old he had fallen down some stairs and he had damaged his arm. The pain had been so bad that he had been unable to move from where he had landed at the foot of the stairs, and no matter how much he yelled for help, no one came. At least, no one came until the Queen's personal servant had discovered him on her way to assist with preparations for a ball that was occurring the following day. It had been a traumatic experience for a child and had a lasting effect on Joshua, making him very uneasy with enclosed stairwells such as the one he was walking down. Upon finally reaching the bottom, he saw that Lucas had gone on ahead, either to flirt with the kitchen servants or to get horses ready for their excursion, either way he had left the door to the stairs wide open for anyone to walk through. Josh quickly exited the stairs, quietly shut the door and locked it. That tower was his sanctuary, his escape from his duties as Prince of Rynemona and his refuge from his father.