Chapter Eight: The Prophecy

Leonidas

They landed rather roughly outside the castle, thankfully Rimon had a very wide magic range and got them out, though he was injured.

Leonidas looked up and realised just how late it had gotten, the moon already shining beautifully at its peak. He felt exhausted and could still feel the effects of the poison,there was no way they could outrun the guards if the princess decided to send some after them.

The princess. He thought derisively. How fortunate she was to have all these tricks under her sleeves, she had gotten the jump on him more times than he had ever let any of his other enemies achieve. That too with her seemingly weak frame. Although he couldn't say she was entirely weak, he flashed back to how powerful her dance moves were during the ceremony. How her lithe frame twisted and turned, subtly seducing her audience to pay attention. He'd nearly lost his cue when his turn came, enraptured as he was with her.

He came out of his thoughts when he felt the bird in his hands twitch in pain. The cut from where Analeigh struck him was still bleeding, painting Leonidas' hands crimson.

"I'm sorry you have to do me one more favour. Can you transport us a little closer to the spies, I've been poisoned so I can't be of much help right now." He whispered as they hid in the corner, careful not to alert any patrolling guard about their presence even with how physically exhausting it was for him to stan upright with the poison coursing through his veins.

The 'bird' simply rolled his eyes and nodded, moving a little slower with the spell due to be injured. Leonidas felt the tingly, slightly nauseous sensation he always experienced when they needed to teleport. Within a minute, they appeared close to the hideout their spies.

The last thing Leonidas heard before he closed his ears were hurried movements and pleas to stay awake.

****

He opened his eyes to see a familiar ceiling and sighed in relief.

"Oh good, you're awake."

He looked sideways to see the person that probably saved him.

"Thank you, Alaena."

"Mind telling me how you got struck with such a terrible poison? You're lucky I was given access to imperial antidotes, if not, you would have been dead by morning." She said while crushing a bunch of pills inside a purple concoction that he was sure she was going to force down his throat.

"You were given access to imperial antidotes?" He asked, ignoring her question.

"Yes. The Crown Princess sent her maid to inform the imperial apothecary that healers from your home would be allowed unrestrained access to anything they need, as long as it was properly documented."

"When was this?"

"This morning. I heard it was supposed to be a sign of goodwill, since you both were supposed to get married today." She finished preparing her concoction and handed it over to him to drink. He took it easily, giving her a nod of thanks when he tasted hints of honey. She must have added it to ease the bitter taste. When he didn't respond to what she said, she pressed on.

"It was very thoughtful of her. I don't remember many rulers doing this for their spouses."

"Yes. Very thoughtful of her." He said with the tone of a man that just wanted to change the topic. Did she already plan on harming him? What was the point of giving him access to medicine though? "Where is Rimon?"

"In the kitchen, to get you some food. The poison used on him wasn't nearly as strong as the one used on you. I fixed him up as soon as the spies brought you here."

"Thank you, really. I don't know what we would have done without you by our side, seeing as you always have an injured man at your mercy every day." He smiled gratefully.

She smiled back. "It's my pleasure."

Just then, Rimon finally walked in and Aleana took it as a cue to leave. Before she closed the door, she paused and looked at both men critically.

"The Crown Princess did this to you, didn't she?" She asks.

"Why do you ask? Are you going to avenge us?" Rimon replied, leaning back on Leonidas' bed.

"Avenge you?" She scoffed. "No. I wanted to ask when I could meet her so we could exchange knowledge. Not many people know about the one used on Leo there, I need to know where she got it."

"I'll let her know about her fangirl, provided she doesn't try to kill me the next time I see her." Leonidas dryly chimed in.

"Fingers crossed. I'll leave you two to talk." She said and finally left the room, closing the door behind her. Immediately, Rimon rounds up on the other man.

"You! Why didn't you tell me she was magically inclined and good with the sword?"

"Probably because I just found out today as well. I battled with her before the wedding, she was fast-"

"Fast enough to paralyse you." Rimon interrupted.

"Intelligent." He glared at his companion for interrupting. "Not suited for combat at close range since she loves using so many tricks. She also fights one handed."

"Great, we could fill the imperial history book with your knowledge on her now." He rolled his eyes. "But how does this help us exactly?"

"No knowledge on your enemy is useless. Sometimes it's the most innocuous things that bring about a person's downfall."

"I see."

"Another thing. Did you look into what i asked you after the rebel attack?"

"I did. As you said, some of them were our prisoners. I don't know how they escaped. Do you think your mother put them up to this?"

"Mother might be type to make rash decisions but she would never be foolish enough to leave traces that would lead back to us. Besides, there's no one more excited than she is about me becoming a King. She wouldn't do anything to jeopardise that." He reasoned.

"You're right." Rimon hummed, contemplative.

Leonidas sat up, trying to put all the pieces together. He wasn't lying when he told the princess that he didn't order the attack that happened earlier in the day. He did, however, recognise some of the rebels. Especially the one Analeigh interrogated and sent off to the head of the palace guards, her eldest brother, Felix. The prisoners escaping from their hold was surprising and judging by Rimon's surprise when he saw them, it wasn't known to him as well.

"Someone in the household let them go." Rimon said, as if he could read his mind. "We placed them in the general holding quarters afterall. Anyone with the family seal could have let them go, we just have to find out who it was."

Leonidas nodded, agreeing with him.

"I saw the way the princess moved today. She was impressive."

"Her dance ritual was impressive." Leonidas flashed back to how fierce her eyes were when she stared at the crowd. How her hair held a bit of the magic he just discovered she had today, glistening and twinkling like a million tiny stars were woven into her inky, black hair. From afar, a person would think it was just glitter but as someone who held her in his arms and felt her intensity up close, he knew. She had magic and by the looks of it, she had a lot yet didn't practice as a mage unlike most magically inclined nobles.

"I was talking about her defending herself against that rebel. But sure, that works too." Rimon stifled a laugh at how the other man's face soured at his correction.

"So that's settles it, right? She's the one. The prophesy was true." He sobered up when he remembered their original purpose. The true reason Leonidas went ahead to attack his fiancé before their wedding.

"Lydia's prophecies are always true, we've just never been good at interpreting them."

"Still there's no one else it could be. She fits the description. A royal as fair as rain, with aid of magic beyond the ordinary. An adversary unseen and unheard but certainly ferocious and greedy. Using the court as their labyrinth and the army as their foothold. They would rise from the shadows and bring on a catastrophe the kingdom could only imagine, causing a rift between the physical and spiritual." Rimon recited everything their seer said the day after the trials ended and the results were announced.

"We are still not sure. I'd rather not get rid of her and alert the royal family, including the real threat, that there's someone out there trying to get rid of them. It would start war, we can't afford such." A war, started by the murder of a member of the royal family without clear evidence of their accusations, would destabilise everything. Leonidas was loyal to his kingdom, and soon to be his subjects. He couldn't act rashly when he had no idea what his enemy was capable of.

"Besides, I feel like we have to learn a lot from the princess now." He added. Too many secrets surrounded the unlikely heir to the throne, it was intriguing. He would very much love to be the observer for now until his suspicions were justified.

The day that happens, he was going to deal the finishing blow himself.