Stalemate | A Rise To Power

𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭

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The pillow was uncomfortable beneath his head. He still couldn't get used to such comfort after spending so long on the hard beds of the barracks and sleeping on the floor. He shifted, considering going back to sleeping on the windowsill, where he had been sleeping for the past few days. Finally, he gave up trying to sleep and sat up. It took some fumbling around in the moonlight filtering through the window for him to light a candle. He sat down on his bed, setting the candle down next to him and picking up the book that he had taken from the castle library earlier. His mother had taught him to read even though most commoners were illiterate, and he was glad for it.

The book was bound in leather, the title written in golden calligraphy across the top: The Three Princes. From what he had read between training squires in archery, it was about three princes who all clambered for a throne after their father succumbed to illness. The youngest assassinated the king before he could name the eldest as his heir, but the eldest claimed the throne nonetheless. The middle son argued the council supported him, however, and civil war broke out afterwards.

He was just about to open it when there was a soft knock. Will bolted up, throwing his book onto the bedside table before making his way to the door. He was surprised to see Audrey when he unlocked the door, her hair in a loose braid. She was dressed in a shift with bare feet, a candle in one hand.

"Audrey." He swallowed. "It's early."

"I'm sorry. I should go," she mumbled, looking embarrassed.

Will blinked. "No. No, it's fine. Come on in."

He stepped to the side to let her in. She walked through, letting Will shut the door behind her as she placed the candle on a wooden table near the door. A Northern princess, born of ice and snow.

"Why...?" Will didn't finish the question.

She looked down nervously at her fingers. "I can't sleep."

"Me neither." Will examined her. "Nightmares?"

She nodded. "Tonight it was my aunt being split open with an axe. I don't want to deal with them alone." Will sat down on the edge of his bed and patted the area beside him, gesturing for her to join him. She did so and carried on. "If I try to close my eyes, my limbs contract and jerk me back to wakefulness. It's like I'm always on alert for an attack." She shook her head slightly, staring at the carpet in front of her. "I hate it. I hate it so much. I also have nightmares of him."

Will assumed she meant Landon. He tentatively put his arms around her, and she leaned into him. Despite all that she had been through, she was still only a girl. A girl who had no family left, no crown. She might have had a strong facade, but she was still a girl.

"You can stay here if you like. I doubt I'll be sleeping either." Will smiled comfortingly at her as he pulled back, holding her at arm's length.

"The servants will talk," she muttered.

Will shrugged. "It's none of their business. Some company wouldn't be terrible."

She nodded, and Will shuffled across the bed to sit with his back to the bedframe. She joined him, pulling her knees to her chest after adjusting the pillow behind her back. Will picked up the book from his bedside table. She turned her head to look at it.

"Have you ever read it?" he asked her.

Something softened in her stony expression.

"You like to read?" She sounded surprised.