4 Princes

XXV

Rook
CHESH NEIGHED LOUDLY AND moved along my own carved path out the back of the castle. This lead to the apple trees just outside of the field where Erik died, alongside the trail where I met Elaina. It was almost funny, thinking about our first encounter. I had almost trampled her with my horse.

"Apples, we both love them and that's why we're best friends," I said to Chesh. Perhaps it was a little weird to be talking to a horse, but I didn't mind. She was a good friend.

Chesh nodded her head as though she could understand me. She couldn't of course, she was a horse after all, but I liked to think she could. Although, with all the things I had heard throughout my life, I wouldn't be surprised.

I grabbed the reigns on Chesh's back and slowly stood up on her. I reached up and grabbed a crisp red apple from the tree. My mother loved apples, and maybe that's why I clung to them. They were a little bit of an unhealthy obsession, one I wasn't ever going to give up.

I scrubbed the apple off on my shirt and put it up to my mouth, taking a grand bite from it.

Everything about them was magnificent. The crunch at first and then the softness and the sweetness. It reminded me of 2 things that made me happy- Elaina and my mother. I was overexaggerating about an apple, but I had to appreciate the little finer things in life. As a Prince, I didn't have very many.

With Hera and Jack's current states, I felt like I needed some time to myself. I had to do something, it was up to me. It all felt like it was on my shoulders, in a terrible way. I cared about Elaina, but even now I knew I needed time away from her.

I needed to think.

"You know," I heard a woman's voice.

I jumped and swung my sword from its sheath. I pointed it forward to where I heard the voice. Nobody was there. There was nothing but air. I scanned the brush, ready to attack. My whole body was alert and Chesh was standing as still as she could as to not make a sound.

"Over here," she laughed. I turned to the side but nobody was there, just the bushes waving in the hot wind.

"Prince Rook," I took one final spin and finally saw her, the witch.

"What do you want?" I snapped. I couldn't take her alone, I wasn't strong enough. I was merely mortal, and while she wasn't immortal, she could certainly act like she was.

She smiled at me surprisingly, as though she were happy to see me. But I was no long lost friend of hers. I glared her down, letting my hate be known.

"I want to ask you, how much do you really know Elaina?"

"You stay away from her!" I screamed, sliding off of Chesh. I went to take a step toward her, but my body froze. My body seized up and my hands moved to my chest. I dropped my sword and it dropped to the ground, clanking against the rocks in the leaves. She had me frozen to the spot.

"A lot," she narrowed her eyes at me, trying to read my face. I had nothing to give, no words in my eyes. The less she knew, the safe everyone I cared about was. I didn't care if she had helped me before, what Jack said about her, I didn't trust her and I never would. "What if I told you, that she knows how your mother died?"

I scoffed. "I know how she died," I explained.

"You don't," she added. "Your mom was murdered and not by Erik," she shook her head, clicking her tongue. "Elaina knows."

"You're lying." I closed my eyes and gulped. She was just trying to get into my head.

"I have no reason to lie. If I lied, you'd just ask her and she'd tell you the truth. I'm not lying, that's no fun."