Chapter Text
It had been three days since they’d captured the king of Everdusk. Julian was put in charge of night watch over the captive and still found it odd that no one had come to rescue him yet. Surely his subjects were out looking for him. But so far, there were no signs of any soldiers in the forest at all.
Julian trudged through the camp, shivering slightly in the chilly evening air. His winter cloak was too small for him and he hadn’t managed to find a new one yet in their travels. He’d grown several inches over the summer and the cold weather had snuck up on all of them.
“Bout’ time.” Corin said with a huff as Julian opened the tent flap.
“It’s not even fully sundown yet, I’m early…” Julian said sullenly.
Corin only grumbled in response and rose creakily from the wooden chair in the corner. Julian stepped to the side to let the older man out and then made his way over to the captive who was chained to the center tent pole and sitting on the ground. The king was fierce looking, strong and well built. His hair was pulled back in a knot traditional for his people and his dark beard was starting to go grey in spots.
“Are you finished?” Julian asked, pointing to the half empty tray of food in front of the man.
The king looked up slowly and stared for a few seconds before answering. It made Julian’s hair stand on end, like the king was looking through him to his very soul.
“Yes thank you. Your people's food is a bit too… flavorful for me.”
Julian swallowed then crouched down to take the tray and set it outside of the tent. He’d never heard someone complain about food having too many spices before. He couldn’t imagine living off of the bland bread and porridge that he heard the poorer folk in the kingdom ate.
“Sorry sir… I’m sure your soldiers will come for you soon…” Julian said, trying to bring some comfort to the captive. He hated when they had to keep people here. Usually it was to collect a ransom and on rarer occasions Jerek kept a person for a few days to get information from them.
This circumstance was different, considering they hadn’t even planned on capturing the king. The man had barged right into their camp all on his own. Julian was still uneasy being around the unpredictable man.
“Call me Aldric, we’ve spent enough time together to drop the formalities.”
Julian took a seat on the ground a few feet away and nodded. The king didn’t seem concerned at all about his predicament. It was almost as if he didn’t want to be rescued.
“How’d you get stuck with the night watch anyway?” Aldric asked, leaning his head back against the tent post.
Julian shrugged. “I don’t sleep much anyway so I volunteered.”
“You volunteered?” Aldric asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise.
“Why is that so surprising?” Julian asked with a tilt of his head.
“No reason. I suppose you do seem less brutish than the others.”
Julian rolled his eyes and then flopped backwards onto the ground, staring up at the worn tent ceiling.
“Your hair is different too. Were you not born into the nomad clan?” The king asked casually.
While most of the Travallis Nomads had short cut dusty brown hair, Julian’s was a snowy blonde, the same as his mother, or so he’d been told. And he was teased for it relentlessly around the camp. He didn’t like the reminder that he was different from his kinsmen.
“I am Travallis.” Julian answered indignantly.
“Yes well… that doesn’t really answer my question.” Aldric laughed.
“I don’t have to answer your questions.”
“No… I suppose not.”
“Why did you allow yourself to be captured?” Julian retorted.
Aldric tilted his head slightly and grinned. “Do I have to answer your questions, young captor?”
Julian sighed and looked away. “No, I guess not.”
They sat in silence for a while after that and the king eventually fell asleep. Julian stared at the strange sight, someone with so much power laying in the dirt with only a kid to keep guard. Though technically in the Travallis clan he was considered an adult, but he didn’t feel like it. He was far behind others his age in magical ability. The techniques were supposed to be passed down by family but Julian had been on his own since he was twelve. Four years with no instruction on how to use his powers, falling behind his peers as every day passed. He’d tried asking one of the clan elders to teach him but had been sternly rebuked on tradition and keeping to the way things were done.
And so he mostly kept to himself, volunteering for the tasks that no one else wanted to do and trying to earn his keep as a fellow nomad. That was how he found himself in the position he was now in, trying to pass the time by imagining why a king would allow himself to be held captive by a group of travelers like themselves.
The hours passed slowly and Julian could hear the night owls and crickets filling the silence of their camp. It was peaceful and he enjoyed having the time to think without being interrupted. The old king slept soundly like he had every night so far and Julian no longer feared soldiers attacking to free him in the dead of night. Though he was sure this peace wouldn’t last.
Julian’s eyes started to droop as the morning light crept in the tent flaps. He’d go grab some food once Jerek came to take over watch and then hopefully his body would be exhausted enough that a nap would come easily.
The king started to wake and took his time moving to a sitting position. It seemed the man’s joints didn’t appreciate his sleeping arrangements as much as he was letting on.
“Oh good, he’s still here!” Jerek said jovially as he pushed his way inside. “You’ve managed not to screw up again, Julian.”
Julian didn’t answer but stood, stretching the ache out of his own limbs.
“Have your people abandoned you, King Aldric?” Jerek sneered as he crouched near the king.
“No more than your own.” Aldric replied, his face expressionless.
“Then why don’t they come for you? We even sent out a ransom note and have received no reply.”
“It’s not yet time.”
Jerek scoffed and rolled his eyes then stood and walked around the small space as if trying to figure out what to do next with their captive. Julian moved quietly to exit the tent but paused when he heard the king speak.
“Tell me, leader of the Travallis, do you know which one of your people cursed my daughter?”
Julian hadn’t heard the king ask anything of Jerek over the last few days and he wondered what curse he was referring to. He hadn’t heard anything about it from the others in the clan and normally something like that was bragged about. A Travallis curse was a serious thing. But, why would someone place one on the king’s daughter?
“No.” Jerek replied coldly, crossing his arms as he stared the man down.
Aldric smirked then and Julian thought he saw the king’s eyes shimmer for just a moment. He felt uneasy but his feet were frozen to the spot.
“Oh Jerek… you’re lying.” Aldric laughed and then brought a hand up and tapped twice at the brooch that held his cloak together. It glowed bright blue and Jerek stepped back suddenly and spun around before sprinting toward the tent opening.
“Get out of here!” Jerek screamed. But there was hardly time for Julian to even process the words before soldiers began to flood inside the tent and the room erupted into chaos. There were shouts and the clanking of swords outside and all Julian could do was crouch down and cover his head, hoping he wouldn’t be caught in the battle.
“Let go of me! I don’t know anything!” Jerek shouted as he struggled against the grip of two soldiers.
“Take them with us.” Aldric said calmly amidst the clamor.
A hand suddenly gripped the back of Julian’s neck and he yelped as he was hoisted to his feet and then hauled over the shoulder of one of the men. He knew he should fight back but he was tired from being up all night and hadn’t eaten yet. And judging by the commotion outside it probably wouldn’t do him any good to try and resist.
Jerek on the other hand was thrashing violently trying to free himself as he was dragged out. Julian caught just a glimpse, as he was carried out, of the king as his men freed him from his chains. Aldric looked completely unfazed, like everything was going exactly to plan. It was chilling.
“You can’t do this! We did nothing wrong!” Jerek continued to scream as he and others were apprehended.
Julian found himself cuffed in iron manacles and thrown into a wooden cart with a few others of their clan. He counted six of them in total once Jerek was forced inside with blood running down his face. Then the horses took off and they were taken against their will, following the rest of the king’s soldiers and presumably the king himself.
“Jerek…” Julian said cautiously after their leader had seemed to recover from his beating. “What was he talking about? The curse… is that why we’re being taken?”
Jerek glared back at him then blew out a frustrated breath. “The king’s daughter was cursed four years ago. But that had nothing to do with us. It’s a misunderstanding that I’m sure I’ll clear up once we get to the kingdom.”
Julian nodded and then decided it was best to not ask anymore questions. Jerek was usually friendly with him and didn’t lash out when Julian made mistakes. But even a leader like him could be quick tempered when put in a stressful situation. And this was definitely one of those situations.
The ride back to the kingdom took nearly an hour and was not the most comfortable way to travel. The biting wind stung his face and left him wishing desperately for a blanket or to stand directly in a fire pit. Even so Julian nodded off a few times, unable to stay awake even with the uncertainty before them. The ache in his shoulders from being cuffed behind him and the jostling off the cart kept him from getting any decent rest though.
“Take the prisoners to the lower dungeons. And let me know when that one is ready to talk.” Aldric said when they arrived, pointing toward Jerek before walking off.
The soldiers dragged them forcefully from the cart and then they were led away, through the courtyard, into a dark hallway, down numerous stairs, before being shoved into a damp, barely lit cell. It felt almost as cold as the air outside and Julian shuddered as he collapsed onto the floor, feeling chilled to the bone.
Things were not looking good for them.