He swiftly moved away from the chattering crowd, walking back to the castle's doors. "Hey, Val? Could I get some help real quick? I can't put this away." Someone asked from behind me. I smiled as I turned back to see two younger and newer guys waiting for me to help them put away all the swords we have. "Yea sure." I said, no emotion in my voice.
Most of the people here were actually really nice, and if being nice back to them meant getting more trust and information, I was glad to do it. I approached them, seeing nothing but sincerity from them. I felt a bit better. In all honesty, we did have a lot of swords lying around now that we doubled in training groups. Most people hated cleaning up around here but had no problem making the mess. As I helped haul in the last load of swords on the cart and other training equipment scattered around, I could see people staring at me. Not just staring out of curiosity, but pure hate and disgust. Their eyes narrowing in on me, glaring at me like some pest to get rid of. They didn't even try to hide their glares or gossip from me. Everyone was being questioned about the war, seeming to be from the King's order since he was on edge now. If I was ever accused of something, no one would help me. They wanted me gone, making it clear with their mean stares and rude comments. It made me feel stupid trying to be nice for once. I felt stupid for wanting to get more information off them by being nice.
"Val, is it true you've been sleeping with the Prince?!" One of the guys asked me and laughed as I closed the storage unit in the back of the arena. My eyes widened, looking at him in shock. His face was twisted in some kind of stupid smirk that flashed his yellow teeth as he waited for my response. I smiled back at him, as hard as if it were, slightly shaking my head.
"Of course not. Who do you take me for? Not to mention, Prince Zeke would never sleep with anyone as lowly as a knight. Right?" I shoved past the two, smiling until my face was hidden from them. It was anything but funny. I soon realized how quickly news got around in the Paymor Castle. Rumors of us sleeping together were circling the castle and even the town quicker than my heartbeats as I had to deal with the gossip. The awkward stares, glances, and mean glares I was getting were because I was sleeping with the prince. But, even if I came clean about me sleeping next to him, no one would believe me. I could see it now—the mess it would make. It's true. I did sleep with him, but not with him. A friend's benefit ordeal was what we had, according to the lying freaks here. Others thought it was a real romantic relationship between us. But no matter what they thought, I could never escape the rumors and gossip around me.
I fell helpless to the lies. Even the Assistant General seemed to believe them. "Watch it. Don't want the prince to have your pretty face ruined." He remarked, seeing me trip and fall on my knees one day. I rolled my eyes, cursing him out under my breath. The arena smelled of sweat and blood, swords in each of our hands as we were told to duel it out. Many of us were considered out, casted off to the sidelines to watch the rest battle it out to the end. Suddenly, a loud shout came from the other end of the arena. "Alright people! Get your asses back over here!" General Ramani yelled, causing the majority of us to already start running back to him.
"King Jakobe has requested to speak with a few of you." I felt my body grow stiff, watching as Assistant General Ramani stood in front of us. We were in our usual training area, outside in the blazing heat with nothing to shade us. Each of us was spread out six feet from each other in rows, all facing him. His eyes met mine for a brief moment, causing me to sweat even more. I was more than ready to get this assassination over with, but being surrounded by armed guards was the worst-case possible scenario. Remy was towards the back of the crowd, closer to the castle and surrounding forest in case she needed to run. I wasn't so lucky.
The assistant general took out his little note from his pocket, neatly folded, and not a single wrinkle on the note as he unfolded it in front of everyone. Everyone seemed nervous, some trembling and sweating like myself. A trip to the king was similar to a kid having trouble seeing the principal. Except this was more life or death. Anyone can enter a room and never come back alive when faced with the King.
I already had ideas on what this was about. Seeing who was more likely not fit enough to fight for the war, let alone stay here. Even worse, if I was caught being a traitor, I'd be executed on the spot. If I was sent home for not doing as well as the others, I'd be executed back at Yale's Kingdom. There was no escape for me or Remy. As he read off the names, I felt my heart beat faster, letting me know it was very much able to work. I gulped, trying to breathe normally despite being nervous. Suddenly, he paused for a second, staring at his list for a moment. An expression of confusion spread around his face before he finally spoke up again, making it feel like forever of a wait.
"That's all. You may return to your dorms for the night if you'd like. As for the other people that I called, follow me." He announced. I sighed, feeling the crushing weight lift off my already stiff shoulders. He led a group of knights past everyone and back inside, casting me another one of his creepy glaces. Everyone in his care seemed nervous, all looking around with wide eyes and trembling hands.
"We should follow them." Remy whispered from behind me, resting one of her arms over my shoulders, before leading the way for me. We headed inside from the arena, following them from behind slowly. The group of people seemed quiet, panicking on their own and not saying a word, let alone looking up from the floor. Ramani did the same, only looking up to make sure he didn't bump into anyone on the way. It was too quiet, making it hard for us to not make a noise if we didn't want to get caught. We stopped following the crowd of people, waiting a brief moment before trailing off on our own. With each movement, the floorboards creaked, causing our hearts and minds to race. What would I even say if we got caught? Oh, we got lost? Bullshit.
Inside the castle, everyone was quiet, other than the people in front of us. Some of the maids and butlers must've been called off of work or were resting, as there was no one around the hallways. A telling sign that whatever was going to happen, the King didn't want anyone to see or hear. As some of the people slowly filed inside the Royal Courtroom, we both followed closely, sneaking by to get closer to the King.
The already weird layout of the castle was even built with a courtroom that wasn't surrounded by walls as I thought it would be. Instead, white stone pillars decorated in loose vines stood around the perimeter of the room, allowing it to have a nice, lively look to it. It was outside, normally surrounded by guards, but not this time. Last time, Remy and I had small cameras installed around the area. Most of the time, they never even stepped inside the courtroom, let alone use the courtroom. It was always empty and never touched; not even maids or butlers came in here to clean up the place as they do for other places.
The King and Queen sat in the middle of the room and towards the back, facing towards the double doors to enter the place. The King sat on a tall throne made of white marble (as almost everything in the castle was made of), looking down at everyone. The Queen, on the other hand, was stuck with a red and golden sofa, laying down with a book in her limp hand. She seemed bored enough to sleep while her husband seemed on edge, staring down at everyone with his head up high and narrow eyes casting down on them.
Remy hid behind a stone white pillar, right next to the King off to his right side. She was in a good spot, far enough to not be caught and close enough to watch and listen in. I moved quickly, watching as no one seemed to notice me slithering closer as I hid right behind the King's chair. The pure marble chair was tall; you needed stairs to get to it, allowing me to hide well. The throne-like chair also had no gap between it and the floor, allowing my knees and hands to be completely hidden. I turned back to see Remy rolling her eyes at my decision to hide here, right behind the man able to cause me the most harm.
"Thank you all for coming! I realize that it's not easy training for hours daily, but it is well worth your time, you see." King Jakobe said, his voice louder now in this room with all the echoing. Some people gasped, startled at his loud voice, shaking a bit as the King pulled out a sword from his side, showing it off. Many people knew this sword—the one used to execute those the King despised. It was quite famous, sometimes shown on TV for public executions.
I watched carefully, seeing him swing it like a mere toy around in his hand. It was pure gold for the handle, with a wide blade attached to it, almost looking white if it weren't for the very few blood splatters still on it. As I watched him swing it around, I couldn't help but wonder how often he used such a blade. How many people had seen this before they died? And if I'd suffer the same fate as them.
"How familiar are you all with Mr. Val Whiteman and Mrs. Remy Will?" He finally asked, staring back down at the terrified knights like a hungry animal about to feast on a bunch of scared rabbits. My heart stopped as I listened to his raspy, annoyed voice. That's why I wasn't called to meet the king. He wanted input from others. It was a well-made move too, knowing that Remy and I would never confess to anything as most people wouldn't. I glanced back at Remy, seeing her eyes narrow in on the King. It made sense now; the two knights from the day before with the swords were here, as well as two others who Remy had been seen chatting with a lot.
"We're friends. I talk with Remy daily." One of the younger girls chipped in, smiling all innocently as she made eye contact with the king. He nodded, smiling and chuckling a bit. Remy was already shaking her head as she heard more lies spew out of the two girls's mouths. Remy never liked the two gossipy friends but was always nice to them, despite seeming like she wanted to pluck their eyes out sometimes.
"So then, you would know if the two were traitors or not?" He asked, getting up from his chair. He let his cape flow behind him, pushing it back a bit while also fixing his crown. The four were shaking pretty badly now as he stepped down from the stairs. "You see, we've been watching everyone from a distance. But, for whatever reason, they've been known to sneak off somewhere unknown for a period of time. Would you know where?" The king brought the sword closer to them, stopping right before one's throat. He gasped, falling back on the ground as he shivered in fear. I glanced over at the other three, seeing them back away together. As they all watched in fear, the one cried out like a mouse before being devoured.
"Yes! I think so." The King didn't move or speak, waiting patiently to hear more. I slowly shuffled out from behind the chair, looking to get a better look of the room. My head was peeking out just a tiny bit, a strand of hair falling off my shoulder before swinging back into the front of my face. I quickly pushed it back, fixing my gaze back on the group.
Then suddenly, I met hiseyes. I froze, feeling fear rise in my chest. His cold gaze met mine before widening just like mine did, his body freezing as well. I hadn't noticed him before; I thought he'd leave as soon as the four were in the king's hands. I should've known that was not the case. What I hadn't noticed was Assistant General Ramani staring right at me.