Royal Rebellion {on hold}

Chapter 9

The whole morning, I couldn't get those words out of my head. It was just one mystery after another. I hadn't told Earl about the strange dream and the words as well as the conversation I'd overheard. He was sure to freak out.

As I paced my room, running the words over and over in my head, I tried to find a meaning to them. The two towers. Which towers was it talking about? Perhaps the castle towers, but there were more than two of them. And what did it mean 'by the hand of one'? By the hand of one of the towers? That was ridiculous. Towers don't have hands...besides, it said that the two towers will fall. Unless there was a third?

This was so frustrating. Perhaps...perhaps...I had another idea. Without thinking, I snatched up the paper from my desk drawer and tore out of my rooms. In the sitting room, Earl lept to his feet as I ran past him.

"Julian!" He shouted out, but I ignored him, wrenching open the door from my quarters.

"Don't worry about me!" I yelled back over my shoulder. Clearly Earl was going to worry about me anyways. He was observant enough to know I had been acting weird all morning, wondering about the dream.

I ran down the halls, not slowing as I passed the astonished servants. I was eager to get to my destination as fast as I could.

"Sorry," I gasped, dodging a maid around the corner who shrieked in terror and dropped all the linens she was carrying.

As I skidded around another corner, clutching at the wall to prevent my feet from skidding all over the polished floor, I heard a voice that froze me in my tracks.

"What. In the blazes. Are. You. DOING!" Father shouted along with some nastier words.

Slowly, slowly I turned. My chest rising fast with anticipation. I'd forgotten to watch myself. The events of the past few days had caused me to become rather reckless. The look in father's eyes stole the remaining breath from my lungs. His face betrayed no emotion but his eyes glinted with unrestrained loathing and fury. We stood, staring at each other, the hall deathly quiet. The servants knew better than to intervene.

"Answer me, you insolent boy!"

"I-I wasn't doing anything." I held my breath. It had been so long since I even told father a half-truth if not a lie.

His eyes narrowed and he seemed to be waiting for something. His gaze locked on the paper crumpled in my fist, half behind my back as if I could hide it.

"What is that?" His voice was sharp, threatening. I automatically shifted the paper away and swallowed nervously.

"Give it to me!" I extended a shaking hand and gave the paper over. Father snatched it as if I would have struggled.

He unfolded the crumpled parchment and scanned the single line of text, written hurriedly and messy.

His face turned white, mouth unhinging in shock, then red and finally all emotions wiped away, a blank mask upon his face.

"Follow me." Was all he said. My hand throbbed with the memory of what had happened the last time I'd been to father's study.

My mind was racing once again. This time as I nervously hurried after father, the fear was dulled by excitement. His reaction to the line on the paper indicated that he knew something. The nerves took over again. If I played my cards right, I could get some information out of him.

Not a few seconds later I reprimanded myself for thinking like that. What was I saying? I could never outwit father. The fear had returned full force by the time we made it to father's study.

He swept in without a word, tossing the paper in the fireplace. I inhaled sharply and made a gesture as I'd to stop him. A single, chilly glare sent me shrinking back. He made his way directly to his liquor cabinet, standing beside his desk. I couldn't see which he chose. Father returned with a glass full of amber liquid. Whiskey I would presume.