Prince Of Stone - A Captive Prince Fanfiction

XII. Captive Princes

Govart's face filled Damen's vision. Before he had a chance to react, Laurent had lunged at Govart, moving towards him so quickly Damen barely had time to duck as Laurent seized the stool he had been perched on, swinging it at Govart's head.

Evidently, it was not what the bodyguard had been expecting. The stool collided with the side of his head, knocking him bodily to one side. He staggered and then collapsed forward, the keys held in his hand clattering to the floor of the vehicle.

Laurent, one hand still cuffed to the side of the van, let out a dampened cry of pain as his arm wrenched backward.

Damen said, "Is he dead?"

Laurent turned a fury-filled gaze on Damen. "Grab the keys."

Damen stared at him for a moment, dumbfounded. He had, until that moment, not thought of Laurent as someone able to hold his own in a fight--except that was ridiculous. He had witnessed Laurent, drugged, fight off two assailants without aid. He did not need Damen's protection, nor his concern.

It didn't stop the flood of worry that Damen felt when his gaze alighted on Laurent's injured shoulder.

Quickly, Damen knelt and scooped up the keys, reaching forward and unlocking Laurent's cuffed wrist. For whatever reason, Govart hadn't bothered securing Damen's own cuffs to the side of the van. But when Damen pressed the keys into Laurent's hands to unlock Damen's cuffs, Laurent shook his head.

"No time. My uncle will be after us if we don't move, and quickly."

He knelt by Govart's prone form, searching his pockets, Damen realized, for the documents they had stolen from The Regent's hotel. Laurent came up empty handed, swearing.

Then he jumped out of the van.

Still handcuffed and growing distinctly tired of Laurent jumping off of things, Damen followed.

~

They ducked into a nearby street of shops to get off the main road. Laurent noticed Damen fussing at his handcuffs and said, "Stop fidgeting. You're going to attract attention."

Damen raised his brows, motioning to his unkempt suit and Laurent's rumpled shirt.

Laurent's gaze flickered, then he slid the Gucci belt from his waistband, fastening one end around Damen' cuffs like a leash. He gave it an experimental tug and smirked. In response to Damen's questioning look, Laurent said, "At worst, anyone who sees us will think it's a kink. Better they assume that than wonder if we're escaped convicts."

Damen couldn't argue with his logic.

The night had started to wane, the lightness of dawn beginning to creep up and throw reflections off glass storefronts. Laurent seemed to know where he was headed, though Damen was unfamiliar with this particular neighbourhood.

Finally, Laurent drew Damen after him into a nondescript building. Upon entering, Damen saw it was yet another hotel.

"Laurent," he began to say, then stopped.

Laurent was standing in the lobby a few steps before him. He rolled his shoulder, grimacing slightly. Damen moved closer to him, and Laurent flinched back a step.

"Let me help," Damen said, keeping his voice low as if talking to a spooked horse. "I've had to deal with shoulder injuries in wrestling before."

Laurent scoffed. "I bet you have. I remember what you did to my brother. How much of an idiot do you think I'd have to be--"

Damen rolled his eyes, waiting for Laurent to run his mouth. When Laurent finally stopped the stream of insults he'd levelled at Damen, Damen raised his eyebrows.

"Are you done? Will you let me look at your shoulder now?"

Laurent let out a controlled breath, considering. After a moment, he said, "Fine."

Damen came forward, slowly. When Laurent made no move to step away, he raised a hand to Laurent's shoulder, assessing the damage. It was nothing serious; the arm hadn't come out of its socket, but Govart had managed to wrench it at such an angle that he suspected Laurent would be nursing the wounded shoulder for some time.

Laurent relinquished Damen's leash and stepped to the front desk of the hotel. He made a reservation, again giving the name Charls instead of his own. Damen was so close to exhaustion he barely heard the words Laurent was saying. The two of them stumbled up the staircase and into a hotel room.

Damen had just collapsed onto the bed when his stomach sank.

"Laurent," he said, "What are you going to do about your uncle? He has the legal papers to steal your inheritance, now."

Laurent pressed his fingertips into his temples. "I know. I just can't think--"

"Is Nicaise going to be alright? Is he involved in this at all?" Damen asked.

Laurent cast him a withering glare. "Of course not, he's my kid brother. I've done all I can to protect him, to save him from my uncle."

The silence stretched between them for a moment. Laurent glanced at Damen, sitting on the edge of the bed, and his eyes widened at surprise at seeing Damen's wrists still shackled. Quickly, he came forward and unlocked the cuffs.

Damen suppressed a smirk. "Unlocked a lot of handcuffs, have you?"

"Now is not the time, Damianos."

"Who is Charls?" Damen asked, suddenly remembering the alias that Laurent had given at both the hotels they'd checked into that night.

Laurent scrubbed a hand through his bright hair, making it stand on end. Damen fought the urge to reach out and smooth it.

"Charls is one of my law professors at Vere," he said after a moment. "He's been helping me build a case against my uncle. I've been defending myself in the court case he's brought against me, trying to take my inheritance."

"What are you planning? Laurent, if you tell me, I can help you." Damen felt hollow, exhausted. But he wanted to finish this. He didn't want to run from The Regent any longer.

Laurent sighed. "I don't know what there is left for me to do. Auguste is gone. If I lose the inheritance then I lose Nicaise, too--I can't afford to support the two of us if I lose this case. I wagered everything on my ability to retrieve those documents. My uncle surely has them now. Govart must have had someone else with him when he abducted us, someone to take the papers directly to my uncle."

He raised his eyes, then, to lock with Damen's. "Why are you still here, Damianos? Why are you helping me?"

Damen paused for a beat. Then said only, "It's what I owe to you."

Laurent let out a humourless laugh. "Then we are both damned to suffer my uncle's whims."