[NOUR]
Grant knew the stakes were way too high even as he got to the king's garden. But this was something he needed to do for himself. This was something he needed to find a way out of soon enough before everything went to shit.
He had to try and make amends, and frankly, only the king could change his position on the wedding. Sure, the wedding was confirmed, but maybe Grant did need to be the one who planned it.
Besides, it was just a formal ceremony.
Surely that wasn't enough to have him out there asking about the kind of things that no one in power was supposed to remember?
Expectedly, the king was there.
King Cassius was sitting under this favorite oak tree, enjoying the calm that came with the day; you wouldn't be able to tell that this very man had stirred a storm that was eating at Grant and that threatened to consume the man whole.
It was crazy, truly, because at the moment, there was only so much that Grant could say. Hell, the king didn't even bother to look at him when Grant showed up. It was as if this was his private time and he didn't need any company.
But this was urgent.
Or at least it was… to Grant.
"Your majesty, if I may…" Grant tried off his tone, controlled and respectful, unlike the storm that threatened to consume him whole. He was desperate for relief, and maybe the king would have some empathy in him and grant him that.
After all, Grant had always been a good enforcer, right?
"Grant," the king acknowledged softly, still not looking at the man he had handed the tasks of failing explicitly. The king had known who this would end, and honestly, he didn't care about the wedding.
His son was here… home. Sure, he had a different name and title, but his son was home. That was all that the king cared about at this point, and whatever the fuck Grant was coming to him with didn't matter to him.
He had already made the decision, and if the enforcer was coming to appeal to him, the king wouldn't let him. Not when the image of his broken son was embedded too deeply in his mind, and he couldn't see Grant without seeing his son in so much pain and ruin.
"I don't think I'm fit for the task you gave me, your majesty. With all due respect. I should be at the borders tracking down rogues and making sure the security is amped. If the Ruby wolf is to strike again, then it will be during the wedding celebrations.
"I believe it would be more realistic for me to…" Grant trailed off when the king turned to hold his gaze. The man's eyes were icy and cold, and it was as if he was daring Grant to continue his statement.
"You want to leave the capital defenseless while you run around in the woods," the king stated if it were obvious.
There was no force to his words, but they tore through Grant like a betrayal. It was as if Grant himself was betraying the very oath he had sworn; to serve Acrod and make sure the kingdom was doing okay.
If he left the capital, word could spread, and the capital would be weak. Well, it would never be, given the protectors that surrounded Nour and the fact that the prince was back home, but Grant didn't know that.
And that was what the king was banking on. A type of guilt that would have Grant rethinking all that he believed in over the years.
"Sire, my duty is to the kingdom. I can do that well in the field instead of planning a wedding and arranging flowers," Grant said, his voice tightening like this was not what he had imagined his request would turn into.
But he didn't have that option at the moment, or did he? The king was looking at him like he had committed the greatest of crimes by challenging this appointment and the task that he was given, even if they both knew it wasn't that simple.
"Ah, I see now. The mighty, the great enforcer, Grant Hindley, doesn't do weddings, is that so? Is that where the line is for you?" the King asked, unamused.
There was a layer to his words.
A layer that if the enforcer peeled carefully, he wouldn't be able to live through the next seconds.
The king was angry.
He was disappointed.
He was a raging father forced into patience by his psycho son, whom he loved more than life itself.
To stand here in the same space as Grant was already insulting enough for him and his devotion to his Soraya, but a man could only hope that the ending of the circus came fast.
And if that meant dealing with the enforcer over and over again, then the king would do it. For his son. For his Cassius Junior.
"No, sire. This isn't about avoiding responsibility," Grant tried again.
He was getting pissed too, but he couldn't lash out at the king. That was a death sentence that wouldn't even need a council, and knowing King Cassius, Grant would've died before he blinked a second time.
The king raised a brow at his adamant enforcer.
"This is about priorities. I believe there are more capable people for this. For the wedding planning and arrangements. I can do better in making sure that no one dares to touch the celebration...
"I can do that with ease, sire," Grant pleaded.
The king smirked at him as he shifted seats, as if he was already tired and wanted to take another. And Grant stood there watching carefully, even though he already knew his proposal wasn't what pleased the werewolf king.
What Grant was asking for wasn't difficult to approve, but he just wasn't going to. This was a punishment devised by his son, and he would be damned did he let his son's monster get away.
"You and I both know that this is not even about responsibility for you. You have never questioned any missions before. This is your first mission with so many questions. It's about your discomfort with the guest list.
"At least be brave enough to admit that," the king said, his tone shifting slightly like he wasn't already fucking with the man's sanity so much it was horrible to watch.
But King Cassius didn't care.
He knew that this was just the beginning, and he was going to see it through to the end. He would make sure it worked out eventually. He cared about what the realm would want from him and his family.
This was the kind of shit that excited him, too. And when Grant stared at the king, his mouth opening and closing like a fish on land, the king continued.
"You don't want to be here when the Udrad convoy comes. Isn't that so? After all, the king and the royal consort will be in attendance. Alanor Gideon Zion Wynter," the king said.
Grant flinched.
That name still affected him.
And he hated himself for being that weak for Alanor.
It had been so many years since he'd been rejected, and honestly, it was crazy what life had become for them.
Especially for him.
Grant had been unable to move on from Alanor, and the prince had paid the price for that. That right there was a kind of shit that King Cassius Burda would never forgive.
"That has nothing to do with my request," Grant gritted.