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Rodney scanned the yard as he went about his afternoon routine. The morning had been meeting after meeting beside his Archduke. Elwin and him had shared countless looks between each other as the day had gone on. The tedious nature of ruling land that never seemed to end. It was frustrating as much as he knew it was fulfilling. He was happy with his station. He was happy to see Elwin leading as he deserved. His friend may not always have faith in his abilities as the leader of Rosaria but he was a strong ruler all the same. Rodney was proud to call himself Elwin’s Lord Commander.
Even when that task was less about defense of the kingdom and running the shields and more about standing by the throne as meetings droned on in the background. There were tensions spreading through the nation. With the spread of the blight marching ever closer to Rosarian borders and the strife with the Ironblood over the mothercrystal, his protection there had been deemed necessary. He supposed it could have been worse, all things considered, it was more than just Elwin who had been needed for the meeting. He’d minded his mouth in public about Elwin’s marriage and the wife he kept beside him. That didn’t mean his words were kept restrained in private. His friend knew his opinions to a certain degree but Rodney had left the palace to return to his home in Eastpool and told his own wife many complaints of the woman.
She was cruel. She chose her favorites and she never backed away from treating her children differently even in the open eye. Honestly part of him wanted to ask her if she ever even loved Clive as she used to say before Joshua was born. Since the young Lord became his student and had proven how hard a worker he was, Rodney had grown attached. Anabella had practically exiled him from his own family over the years. He’d watched the way Clive would shy away from engaging with them under normal familial pretenses. He’d seen the way his squire would flinch at the sound of his mother’s voice. He’d listened to the word ‘father’ come from his mouth less and less and instead ‘Your Grace’ took its place. It wasn’t his place to say anything in a formal manner. He bit his tongue.
It didn’t stop him from glaring at her when he would watch Clive bow and be unable to meet her eyes.
The boy was strong and brave. He was making out to be a fine shield. As Joshua’s too, he was going to need to be. The brothers had found themselves into much mischief over the years. They were kept apart by their mother more times than not but that had never seemed to stop the two of them. They were attached at the hip when the young heir wasn’t bedridden with illness. The flames of the Phoenix could only protect him from so much, he supposed. There were even days where Rodney would catch them sneaking their way through the gardens. He knew that his official rule and order was to stop them. He was aware that if the Duchess were to discover his failure she would likely try to have his head. He didn’t care.
With his brother at his side, it was the only time Clive really seemed to smile anymore.
He would turn the other way. A smile on his face as he tipped his head to nod them on their way without making it too obvious. Clive had learned over his time as his student what the meanings were in his movements. He would always hear the boy whisper a thank you as they passed and he would note to himself that he needed to improve Clive’s stealthiness before too long. He would need to be better at smuggling things if he was going to be doing it for the Archduke one day. Rodney himself had been in charge of bringing secrets to and from the palace over the years. he and Elwin had both been troublemakers in their past. Hannah had more stories than he could probably count about them all.
A hunting trip that once went so awry she’d come to greet them at the door only to find them stumbling in with branches in their hair and dirt on their teeth. They’d told her about the beasts they fought and she questioned what yields their hunt brought them. They’d had nothing.
Those trips had become less and less after Elwin married Anabella. Her control seemed to leak through the palace like a parasite trying to drain Rosaria of its life. Elwin carried on like he wasn’t perturbed by her at all. Rodney supposed sharing a bed with a woman like that had to make the man more resilient than most. She was always sharp and seemed to lack any form of compassion. Even when it was her youngest son she was dealing with. She would order Joshua around like he was a beloved chocobo more than he was her son and the heir to the throne. He’d wondered over the years if Elwin felt anything other than irritation in his marriage. He’d listened to his friend vent frustrations from time to time. He knew that Elwin had disagreements with his wife and that he did not condone her pressuring of Clive to shrink himself from the family.
Elwin didn’t see all the things he’d seen. Elwin didn’t see the way Clive would flinch or cower in the face of his mother. He didn’t see how bad it truly became.
The moment she had sat side by side with her husband in the throne room for the meetings, Rodney assumed the day was going to be a nightmare. He prepared himself for the worst to be faced. The fighting and argument that she would start with the people that came to ask them for help. The discussions that were anything but kind and filled with barely concealed jabs and remarks.
He’d worried. He’d believed it was going to drag the day longer and longer.
To his surprise, the Duchess had been in a good mood. She had smiled and spoken moderately warmly to the people who came to them for help and guidance. She had acted almost as a noble should in the face of their people’s needs. It posed well for Joshua’s health. Her attitude seemed more and more tied to the boy as he grew. She would fret over him as if he was a newborn come to the world too soon. She had him still in swaddling clothes when she’d forced Clive out of his own too early. Joshua was a fine young man and he would continue to grow into a wonderful Archduke but he would not do that if she continued to hide him from the world all his life. Rodney understood that he was prone to illness and that his health was paramount to all of them. He also understood that the boy needed to live or his life would not hold the meaning of living.
There were some mornings where Clive would lead his brother into the training ring and show him how to hold a sword. He had thought about stepping in on more than one occasion. Clive was still just a student in his own right. There were imperfections in what he was teaching to his brother but there was nothing that couldn’t be corrected and it would still be a long time yet before the young heir would be facing any of his combat on his own to the point he would need a blade. The flames of the Phoenix would do their job to defend him and his shields would give their lives to keep him safe.
He hoped the heavens would look kindly on any soul that attempted a move to the young Prince. With how Clive protected and doted on his brother, Rodney held no doubts that they would meet a cold and merciless death.
With the Duchess in a good mood he presumed it meant that the young heir was doing well and not facing a new trial or bout of his health. it also meant that he and Clive were bound to be up to no good somewhere on the palace grounds. If they were lucky then they maybe even found shields to take them out into the capital and the surrounding nature. Clive would be armed and he was more than capable of defending them both. Even without the blessing of the Phoenix, Clive could outfight half of the seasoned shields in the garrison. he was an impressive boy, even when he refused to see it.
The sun over Rosalyth was warm despite the autumn turn of the season. The leaves soon would shift their colors to match that of their kingdom and the people would hold their festivals. All of the royals were to be celebrated and honored through ceremony. It was tradition that had always been respected. Last year Anabella had sent Clive away on an errand before celebrations began. He hadn’t made it back in time to be honored with the rest of his family. He could still remember watching her smile at him and the cruelty in her eyes when he returned too late. He also recalled the way she seemed struck when Elwin ushered his son to their people and they rejoiced with seeing him. Clive had stood awkwardly in front of them. He’d bowed low. They’d laid woven garlands of leaves to play a circlet around his head. They cheered for him and adored him the way he deserved to be. he hadn’t lost his unease until his brother had taken his hand and pulled him to dance with their people.
They’d had fun. It had been a wonderful night.
He’d needed to pretend that he couldn’t hear her yelling at Clive through the closed door of his room. He’d hidden himself around the corner when she left and he’d given his student a few minutes to compose himself before knocking on the door himself. Clive opened the door that night with splotched cheeks and red rimmed eyes. They hadn’t spoken. He’d simply opened his arms to offer the boy a place to land and held him when he accepted it.
If his Princes were out adventuring with one another for the day he was going to do his best to protect Clive when they returned. Anabella wouldn’t blame Joshua but she would be cruel to Clive. She would do something to find an excuse to exclude him. She would punish him for the pure reason of her hatred of him. Nothing else. She hated that he was born. She hated that he wasn’t the Phoenix. Clive had no fault in his life but she’d blamed him for it all the same. Even when he made the best of what he was given. Even when he was turning out to be one of the best men he’d ever had the privilege to know.
Shields greeted him as he walked through the yard. Rodney offered advice when he was called for. He corrected stances of some of the other squires while he walked past them preparing for a duel with each other. they would get themselves hurt if they were to truly fight like they’d been planning. He wondered if Clive and Joshua were getting into similar situations. Joshua had taken more interest in watching Clive spar than he had in the past. Rodney could only cover for them so much before it was out of his hands and would need to move to Elwin protecting his son against the horror of a woman he married. He would just need to wait and see what happened when they returned. If he could smuggle them back to their rooms before they were caught and if he could say they were just simply good at hiding.
It was because of that that Rodney did not think anything of it when he walked the yard and the palace and found no sign of his student. he peered out occasionally out the gate and into the city to try and find a glimpse of the leather Clive wore on a nearly day to day basis. he had his preferences for design. He’d wanted something steady, multiple leathers with all the same colors and patterns, so that Joshua would always know what to look for if the two of them were separated. It was a defense for his brother as much as it was so he could outline himself patterns to live as a creature of habit.
The day carried on, Rodney completed his tasks, he should have left but he’d wanted to aid his young royals and ensure they were both safe after a day out and about. The later it went and the higher the moon climbed into the sky, the more he felt his instinct telling him something was wrong. He shook his head out that he was simply being paranoid but nothing seemed to cure it. No matter how many walks he took around the palace or its yard, no matter how many guards and shields he talked to to see if they’d caught any sign of their young lords.
He resolved himself that if they weren’t back by the time the moon reached its peak for the night, he would alert Elwin and go out to look for them. he believed in the abilities of both of them. They were strong for as much as they were young. They loved each other and they would protect one another. Joshua had the power of a dominant at his disposal. He had yet to Prime but if there was an emergency then the Phoenix would emerge to protect them both. With Clive holding the eikon’s blessing he had hope that it would defend him as well.
Rodney kept an eye on the sky while he occupied himself. The calm of the day that slowly melted down into anxiety for where his young charges were. he checked each of the hiding places he knew Clive would tuck himself in at least three times by now. He’d looked in Joshua’s chambers to see if they’d hidden in there to sleep for the night. He looked in Clive’s room, the stables, the cellar, the corner wall of the garden where no one ever went. He’d even considered in the stables if he should ask Ambrosia to track her master. She was stubborn but she would do it if he told her that Clive may be in danger. Rodney wasn’t sure he’d ever seen a bird as loyal as her in his life. She was a rarity in more than just her color.
She and Clive were perfect for each other.
He was walking down the palace steps when he caught sight of movement at the gate. The bright red of Joshua’s overcoat forced a sigh of relief from someplace deep in his chest.
“Your Highness!”
“Lord Murdoch!”
The grin was audible as Rodney got closer to the boy. He looked unharmed. The people at his sides weren’t shields but instead attendants that worked more closely with Anabella.
“Where were you off to today?”
Clive could be settling the supplies they’d brought out with them. if they’d gone hunting and had a kill then he may already be taking it down to the butcher. He didn’t see them walk in and his squire was quick to fade himself out of the attention in times like this so he wouldn’t be entirely surprised.
“Mother gave me my first command!”
He seemed proud. It was an honor to get an order and mission and the chance to prove oneself. It was special for them to be able to know they deserved their place and their rank. he’d listened to Clive many times in the past talk about his wishes to be granted missions. How he desired the trust of his family to send him and have faith that the job would be done and done well. That same joy now was in Joshua even if he was sure it meant something slightly different to the boy.
“Did she now?” She gave him commands often even though they were more tasks given to unruly offspring rather than missions to prove oneself. If he were to hazard a guess he would say this was going to be something similar. Anabella was cruel and unruly with Clive but she would not do anything to risk Joshua. He was her pride and joy. “What mission was that?”
“She sent me to find gems to—”
Rodney stopped listening. His heart tensed so hard he thought for a moment he may collapse then and there.
“Your brother didn’t accompany you?”
If Clive had been with him he was sure it would have been one of the first things out of the boy’s mouth. Neither of them were ever subtle about their bond. Nearly everything Clive did anymore was for Joshua in one way or another. Joshua equally mentioned Clive at practically every chance he was given.
The moment he saw confusion on the Prince’s face he knew his assumption earlier in the day had been wrong.
“No? Why? Isn’t he with you?”
If he told Joshua what the truth of his reaction was then the young Prince would be sent into panic himself and that wasn’t what they needed. As quickly as he could, Rodney schooled his expression back to something more neutral and came up with a suitable lie to tell for the time being.
“I assumed he’d gone to look for you and the two of you were adventuring together.” The best lies were based in truth. “Since he didn’t seem to find you, he’ll be waiting for you instead.”
The lie would only hold up long enough for him to find Elwin and tell him what’s happened. He needed to alert all the shields. Clive may not be the heir to the throne but he was still a member of the royal family. He was a member of the garrison and he was going to be protected. he deserved to be protected.
Rodney barely paid attention as he dismissed himself and turned back into the palace to find his friend. Every step made his fear beat harder in his chest. It wasn’t like Clive to disappear for an entire day with no one to see him. Even if he was going to be causing no good there was someone with him. Either it was Jill when the two of them ran off to Mann’s Hill to look at flowers or if he was taking his brother to teach him things their mother would never otherwise allow. He trained in the yard and he did chores like every other shield in the palace. He tried his best to learn everything he could and as young as he was he did an amazing job.
He would have been seen. Someone would have said something. Clive would have found him if he was going to go off on his own for the day.
Rodney paused with his fist a mere inch from the Archduke’s door.
Anabella had looked pleased this morning. She’d been happy and content and willing to give mercy in situations she otherwise would have never considered the notion. Their meetings had run long but the conversations were easy enough that it didn’t draw on anyone’s nerves. She was careful and calculating and cruel. She hated Clive. She’d orchestrated him to be gone from the family in the past and he’d come back to them every time.
Suspicion painted an ugly image in his mind.
Rodney turned himself away.
If Anabella was behind this then there were only so many locations Clive could be. If she meant to kill him and frame it to be a criminal she would need to hide him away until the time was right. If she meant to hurt him and release him he would be further away in the hands of likely hired bandits. The woods would be the first place to search like that but if they were going to hold him to build some other type of cruelty against him or deface him and his reputation as if he’d abandoned the throne, he would need to be close enough she could watch. She would relish it. She would need him secure so she could orchestrate everything perfectly.
Three options and still Rodney was moving to check the unused areas of the palace first. Locations where no one went, not even children hiding from their mother for the chance to sword fight with each other. Anabella would want to watch Clive suffer. It was the only thing Rodney believed could make her smile in the way she’d been doing earlier. Her smile, her enjoyment, he cursed what he might find.
Joshua would raise the question to his parents when Clive wasn’t in his room. He would be the alert that something was wrong. If Rodney was wrong and Clive was someplace else then the shields would be searching for him before long. If he was suffering in a place where no one would look, Rodney needed to save him from that now.
Room after room Rodney felt his heart strain under the stress. He’d been Elwin’s Lord Commander for years but he’d never felt anything quite like this before. He and Hanna hadn’t had children but they’d both come to think of Clive as theirs over the last ten years. Since Anabella rejected him and Elwin’s time was consumed with ruling the throne, he’d brought Clive back to his house and Hanna had always made a place for him at their table.
He opened the last door of the hall. He’d expected to see nothing given how every other check had turned out to be but when the shadows settled as the moonlight shimmered unburdened by clouds through the window, he saw the white and black leathers designed to be recognized.
“Clive!”
The boy hadn’t reacted to the sound of the door. He didn’t react to the sound of his name. In the space of a heartbeat Rodney was at his side.
Clive’s hands were bound tightly behind his back. There were power blocking cuffs shackling him there and at his ankles. A gag knotted tightly at the back of his head. He would need to find the key to the cuffs but he needed to make sure Clive was still breathing first. As carefully as he could, he turned his student onto his back so he could look at him and check him over.
Half of Clive’s head was soaked in blood. He could see the bruise forming at his temple in dark purples and deep blacks. More bruises covered his body. Cuts marred the front of his leathers. The lacing was wrong, as if someone had undone it and retied it and the thought of that alone made him ill knowing the state he was in now. if someone had undressed him while he was unconscious and bound and unable to fight they could have—-
Rodney’s fingers pressed against the side of Clive’s throat. He felt the beat of his heart against his fingers. It was feeble compared to what it should be but given the severity of the head wound he was just glad he was alive at all. A check of his breathing let him hear the rasping wheezes his student was giving. His ribs were hurt at a minimum.
“Clive?”
He needed him to wake up. the boy smelled like blood but he couldn’t see it. The chances of it being beneath his clothes was high but he didn’t want to undress him while he didn’t know if he could help it. he needed to get him to help. He needed to get him to a physicker to be tended. He didn’t carry potions with him for the day. Anabella had done this, he just needed to be able to prove it. If Clive was meant to die and rot up here until she deemed him to be found, he would kill her himself. He didn’t care that it was treason.
“I need you to wake up.”
This was different from training sessions in the yard where he would knock him down. It was different from the moments where Clive would collapse because he was pushing himself too hard. It was different from anything else he’d seen of the boy before because right now he could be dying.
It felt like he was dying.
Clive’s eyes fluttered only for a moment. He could see the unfocused blue even then. Clive’s fingers moved like he was trying to reach for something but his body wasn’t reacting to whatever he was wanting to do. Still, when Rodney slid an arm beneath his shoulders, Clive cried out. Weak, feeble, barely audible even, but it was there and it showed the pain he was in that he would cry like that.
A stolen shield inside his own home.
It was sick.
“I’m going to get you help. I’m going to keep you safe. I promise.”
He would carry Clive to help. He would make sure he was going to be safe and he would send a servant to bring him the Archduke discretely. He would tell Elwin everything that happened. Everything he found. All the evidence he had. They would wait for Clive to wake up and they would hear his side of the story. With any luck, Anabella hadn’t been anticipating him to be found or for him to be alive when found and had shown herself to him. With any luck, Clive would be able to damn her evidence to the gallows forever.
Clive groaned in his arms. A whimper that followed with something torn and then wet coughs that shuddered his entire frame. His breathing was getting worse. When Rodney looked down he saw red painting the boy’s chin.
“A shield does not give up.”
Rodney was running before he knew it. Turning through halls and he cursed that they all seemed too empty. Someone should have seen him. Someone should have spotted the blood that was dripping off Clive from his hair to the pale stone of the palace. Someone should have questioned why he was running with a Prince bleeding in his arms.
“You cannot die. I taught you better than that.”
It wasn’t fair but he knew it was what Clive would listen to as much as it broke his heart.
They burst through the doors to the palace infirmary with enough clamor to wake the sleeping physicker from their room in the back. The moment they stepped out Rodney saw the expression change from anger over to horror. He followed directions to lay Clive down on a bed and began to explain what happened as much as he could.
“We need these cuffs removed. I need him to be flat.”
“I don’t know—”
“We need to find the key.”
Anabella likely was the one to hold it. The one to strip away the Phoenix’s blessing as a punishment for Clive not being born the Phoenix itself.
“Do what you can for him now.”
“My Lord—-”
Rodney turned back to Clive. He leaned over him and felt again at his pulse in his neck.
“You listen to what you’re told here. You fight. I will fix this. I swear to you. You’ll be alright.”
The physicker watched him with something sad in their eyes.
“His head wound…”
Rodney curled his fist and pressed it over Clive’s heart.
“You are a shield of Rosaria. One of the finest there are.” They rose from the ashes. They fought through death. "Let no one tell you otherwise.”
Pulling away felt like a betrayal. He locked eyes with the physicker.
“Save him.”
“Find that key.”
In the bedroom of the Archduke. In the hands of a traitor. In the hands of a monster called a mother.
“I will.”