O13:- The Journey To Vallyn

"Do you need something?" A voice came from behind Graham as he lifted a hand to knock once more.

The King's courtier spun around with a frightened expression, his graying mustache nearly falling off from the sheer shock. "Y-Your Highness!" He spluttered, recovering from the fright. "I merely wanted to inquire of your preferences in menservants," He plunged right into the matter with a slight bow.

The sooner they spoke about it, the sooner Graham could leave. He wanted to cut the conversation as short as possible.

"I have none. I will not be taking menservants." Prince Silvan said dismissively, his blue-green eyes drifting past Graham to the door behind him. "If you will excuse me."

Graham had no choice but to step to the side to let the second Prince pass, walking off with a gloomy expression. He should have known better than to ask for Prince Silvan's opinion on this matter. He walked off to the stables to make sure the horses that would be pulling the carriages were in good health.

There was nothing else to be done, if Prince Silvan said he wanted no menservants, then Graham would have to obey. Even the King wouldn't be able to change the second Prince's mind, so it was best to leave things as they were.

-+-

The day of the wedding drew near amid the bustling preparations, and four days before the birthday of the late Princess, the carriages started out.

King Rolfe had a carriage to himself, one that was occasionally shared by his courtier when he wasn't on horseback or checking up on the other carriages.

Rolfe's carriage was big enough to hold all the members of the Royal family, but he couldn't bring himself to invite his second son to join him, so each of them was in a separate carriage. The carriages holding the Royal family were right in the middle of the procession, King Rolfe was in front with Prince Alexander drawing up the rear and putting Prince Silvan in the middle of their carriages.

Despite the sheer number of carriages that were taken on the journey, they made good time. If the journey continued in this manner, they might very well make it to Vallyn a day early.

"How is Silvan faring?" Rolfe couldn't help but ask his courtier when the middle-aged man stepped into the carriage.

It was the second day of the journey and they were already approaching the border of Asten, and in that time Rolfe had only gotten glimpses of his son, he was rightfully worried. Unless absolutely necessary, Silvan refused to leave his carriage. Not even when they had stopped the carriage briefly that morning for the horses to be fed and watered as well as get some rest.

There had been an inn nearby, the entourage including King Rolfe and Prince Alexander swarmed the inn to get some much-needed rest until it was time to leave. Now it was nearing sundown, and Prince Silvan was still in the confines of his carriage, Rolfe had every reason to be worried.

Graham tried to bow although he was seated on a padded bench inside the carriage. "He only leaves the carriage to clean and relieve himself, so I have taken to having his meals served in his carriage without fail."

That wasn't the answer Rolfe had been expecting, he already knew all of that by seeing for himself. He was more interested in the emotional state of his son but Graham didn't seem inclined to say more, so he let the matter off.

After all, Rolfe knew well how Silvan was faring, and he knew his second son wasn't faring well. Instead of having his courtier be nosy, it was best he left the young Prince to himself.

The guilt weighed heavier the closer they got to the Capital of Vallyn, but even if Rolfe was completely crushed underneath the weight, he still had to willingly hand his child over to the Vampires to ensure the future of the country.

That night, as they stopped at a border inn to spend the night, Alexander sought him out. By the next morning, they would well be in Vampire territory, and their living arrangements were already prepared for the final leg of their journey.

"Say Father," Alexander perched on the edge of a dresser, he looked a little road weary which was expected. "Wouldn't it be wise to tighten the guards around Silvan's carriage?" He suggested, his intentions clear to see.

Rolfe bristled at the implication of the Crown Prince's words, "If you have nothing of substance to say to me then leave." He bit out, his words harsh.

Alexander leaned back like he had been hit physically, he had gone out of his way to speak to his father about this because he was worried about his father's reputation and the future of Asten but somehow he was the villain.

He straightened up without another word, leaving the room silently, his mood foul. He was merely being logical; they were at the border now, if Silvan wanted to make an escape, this would be the perfect time to. His brother had spent the entire journey in his carriage, what if that was his ploy to have them let down their guard?

Alexander decided as he stormed back to his room, that it was no longer his worry. If his father wanted to let his favoritism cloud his judgment until irreparable damage was done, then that was not his burden to bear.

Still fuming, he threw open the curtains in his room and looked out, his room was on the second floor of the inn, and coincidentally he had a great view of the carriages right from his room, it was almost like fate had a hand in it.

From where he stood, he could see the measly duo of guards that as assigned to look after Silvan. It was barely an hour past dinner time but one of the sluggish guards was already dozing off. Wasn't his father doing this on purpose? Giving Silvan an escape route?

Just as Alexander was about to turn away, he saw movement from the carriage, a familiar figure stepping out. Silvan looked around after he stepped out, those unsettling blue-green eyes seemed to settle unerringly on him for a few seconds too long before he looked away.