Chapter 32: Chapter 32

***THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS 18+ CONTENT. LANGUAGE, TRIGGER MATERIAL. VIEWERS DISCRETION ADVISED***n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Tidas was walking down the halls, heading to Lord Moonstone’s quarters. ‘Knowing Skye, she probably headed off to check Peggy. If she would’ve waited five seconds more, she would’ve learned that the woman in question was younger. She might’ve even guessed who based off of the description.’

The prince had stayed back and talked to Ralph about the servant lass one of his men had found. She’d been in a ditch on the side of the road. The man had been checking if she were dead, when she’d reached up and grabbed the soldier’s arm, nearly making his bones jump out of his skin. The lass had obviously been raped as well as beaten, and said the name Fowler before she’d passed out.

Lord Moonstone had been too kind, and offered to pay for the best rooms at the best inn in Dragonhorn for the Fowlers. He’d even offered for them to stay for the wedding, assuming they’d decline. But Lord Fowler had not; he had business dealings to attend to. He’d scheduled them because he thought his son would’ve been busy being off on his honeymoon. They had to stay in Dragonhorn anyway, so why not attend a royal wedding?

Jacob Fowler had been furious that his father had accepted the invitation. It was supposed to have been his wedding, not that damn prince’s. He didn’t think it’d even dawned on his father how humiliating it was to have to go. To hear the whispering of words no one would dare say to his face. But the thing that pissed him off the most was watching Skye get handed over to another man.

The servant wench from the previous night had only wet his appetite. She’d broken far too quickly. Jacob imagined that Skye would’ve been much more challenging. He dreamed of seeing her face contort with lust and pain as he took her in every way he could think of. He imagined how sweet her voice would’ve sounded as he broke that confidence of hers, night after night, until she became his obedient little bitch.

‘As all women should be to men,’ he thought inwardly.

.....

Jacob Fowler sat at a table out in Lord Moonstone’s courtyard. He and Jacob’s father, Lord Fowler were discussing some of his business dealings with the other kingdoms. When he’d brought up the Sync Kingdom, Jacob had gotten nervous. Their dealings with them were almost completely illegal.

King Magnus did not approve of human trafficking and out-right slavery. Prince Tidas had been the main force behind the breakdown of Alcon’s underworld since he was fifteen. He was damn near impossible to beat with his magic, and highly skilled as a swordsman and fighter. While Jacob Fowler was an evil creep, he was no fool.

After getting his frustrations out a little bit on Felicia, Jacob had decided to bide his time. Let Skye get pregnant, have the prince’s child, then he’d have him killed. That way he’d have the heir to the prince’s estates, Skye and hers, and to top it off; he’d kill his pathetic father as well. The man was a sniveling eyesore, and half the time Jacob couldn’t believe that he was his real father. If he didn’t resemble his grandfather so much, he’d swear he was a bastard.

When he heard his father mention Newport in Sync, Jacob cleared his throat. The two older men looked at him, waiting for him to speak. Before he could; their expressions changed from annoyance, to happy relief. Lord Moonstone stood up and begun to walk around the table as he said the name ‘Tidas’ with glee.

Jacob perked up in his seat. He knew that if the prince was back, then so was Skye. He stood up and turned around to join the two lords in their greetings so he might find out what happened. The prince looked tired and dirty, but other than that he seemed fine. Jacob was irritated by the man’s mere existence, but was too curious as to what happened when he was alone with Skye.

“Where the devil were ye with me daughter all night, lad?! Ye don’t keep an unmarried woman out all night! Do ye know how much gossip control I’ve had to do?! Where’s Skye?! She needs a good chidin’ as well!” Lord Moonstone had switched from relief to anger as soon as he’d confirmed that Skye and Tidas were fine.

Tidas almost laughed at Lucas, and how much Skye was like her father. Getting angry instead of properly dealing with the issue at hand was apparently genetic. The prince smiled at the man he’d known since childhood. He’d aged quite a bit since he was a lad. With his age and Skye as his daughter, it wasn’t all that surprising.

The Fowlers still being in the castle, however; had been a complete surprise. Tidas did everything he could think of to keep his fury concealed, but it was very hard. The bastard didn’t look any different from yesterday. ‘What kind of man beats a woman like that?! He’s lucky I haven’t seen her yet..’

Jacob thought he’d seen the rage Tidas held for him in his eyes, but the prince hid it too quickly for him to be sure. Either way, Jacob just wanted to go see Skye. He cleared his throat to gain the three’s attention. When they all looked, he said; “I’ll let you three catch up. I’ll go ready the horses so we can make the meeting with Herman and Yale.”

Before Tidas, or anyone could object, Jacob was out the doors and walking down the hall towards the stables. Technically, it was the same distance to the stables whether he’d went left or right. But he’d gone right; passing Skye’s rooms on his way. It took everything he had not to chase the man down, and beat him bloody.

Small hallways branched off of the main one that led to different rooms. It wasn’t a large castle, but the design maximized the space allotted. It was rectangular in shape, but only barely. It was small for a castle, but well positioned and built. As Jacob walked along, the voices of women could be heard.

One was definitely Skye, and another was that bitch servant, Peggy. The third one he didn’t recognize, but she sounded older. They were talking about a lass, but he couldn’t really hear. Jacob inched closer, straining to listen. When he’d heard the name Felicia, he poked his eye around the corner as slowly as he could so as not to be noticed.

Upon seeing Maevis, Jacob nearly fell over. He was looking at a genuine fairy, fluttering next to Skye and the busy body. And Skye’s hair... It looked like strings of spun gold. She was beautiful to him before, but now Skye was maddeningly gorgeous. He was so content staring at her that he almost missed the mention of Felicia’s name again.

“She can’t be moved. She’s too badly injured, and me bed is the safest and most comfortable place for a welp like her,” Peggy stated.

“I know, I know. Don’t call her that: be nice, Peggy. Where will ye be sleepin’ tonight then?” Skye asked out of concern.

“I’ll sleep on a cot in the servant’s quarters. One night shouldn’t do too much harm to me back,” Peggy stretched as she spoke, reaching behind herself to push on her lower back.

“You should have Skye take a look at that, since you now know that she can heal it for ye,” Maevis stated candidly.

“Shhh! Quiet Maevis! Someone might hear ye or see ye. Then our whole plan will be for not. Best ye stay in me room until I can take ye to me father. Don’t need news of ye gettin’ out and back to the king before we’ve had our say on the matter,” Skye opened her bedroom door wide as the three woman went inside.

Jacob quickly moved back, so as not to be seen by Peggy as she closed the door. He quickly walked over to it on his tip toes and listened in. They discussed where Maevis would sleep for a moment before turning back the topic of Felicia again.

‘No way that whore survived! I beat her bloody! I squeezed the life from her throat before I tossed her into the ditch! She had commoner’s clothes on, and wasn’t that attractive.. Why would anyone help her? Ack! She’s just a common whore. No matter.... None of it matters anymore. Time for a new plan,’ Jacob turned the corner to head off towards the stables as a dark plot to get his way began to form in his head...

Tidas didn’t like how fast Jacob had left. The stables were an equal distance away, making it obvious Jacob had gone that way in the hopes of seeing Skye. The way he looked at His bride-to-be made the prince want to snap his neck like a twig. The only reason he didn’t, was because it would be too quick a death for the piece of shit. And that was not what he had planned for Jacob and his father.

Lucas and Lord Fowler stared at Tidas, waiting for his story. He didn’t want to reveal his magic yet, or Skye’s at all. He instead, explained that he, a ‘huntsman’, and the help of one other saved him and Skye from certain death at the hands of raiding Nomads. The two tried to questioned him more, but he had other matters to speak on.

“Moonie, how do you feel about postponing the wedding another day?” Tidas questioned with a smirk.

“Do ye have Any idea how much it’s cost me already to put me guests up an extra night?” Lucas asked rhetorically, but Tidas didn’t take it that way.

“Probably the same as it will cost me tonight to put them up; at least I hope so. Although,” Tidas put his hand on his chin in fake contemplation; “Do you think they give discounts to princes?”

Lucas laughed in both amusement and relief. He was rich, but he’d like to keep it that way. Between the extra costs of housing, food, and entertainment; Lord Moonstone’s display of wealth was karmically kicking his financial ass. Which made Tidas laugh out loud at the realization of it. Lucas was a good man, albeit greedy, and more than a little arrogant about his wealth.

Lord Fowler thought he’d found a partner in Lord Moonstone, but the man was more like a pawn to Lucas. He knew exactly what kind of man he was dealing with. He knew all of the lord’s, and his son’s, dirty dealings. While Skye may have been temporarily been married off to Jacob Fowler, it wouldn’t been for very long. The marriage was just bait to pull them in. And they were exactly where Tidas and Lord Moonstone wanted them..