Page 3 of Gilded Crown

Jari had heard bits and rumors sometimes in the taverns although he tried not to. He’d told himself he didn’t care even when guilt pricked him, and the promise he’d made as a child hovered in the back of his head.

“He also did something we didn’t think he’d do. He hired a new Commander and tossed the cousins out of court with false lies and accusations about their character and actions. Even Tomson’s gone, not that he was much help. Once in a while, he tried to be useful, but he can barely see past his own nose for the most part.”

“Hm.” That sounded like someone else Jari knew.

“Then, Father had the new Commander replace the Palace guards. They were shifted to new posts in the city or shuffled off elsewhere. Now we’ve got a bunch of younger ones on the grounds and inside who would shit their padded pants if anyone ever said to restrain the King. If he beat me down in the Hall, they wouldn’t do a thing against Eurig.”

The last ones had been under orders from the Queen to use physical force only if necessary if the King grew violent toward his sons, thanks to his insanity. She’d planned ahead the bestshe could before her death. So much for that. Aurelius and his brothers were potentially less safe now.

“Father hasn’t hit us or demanded anything of me yet,” said Aurelius. “I guess that’s lucky. He's more agitated and prone to yelling even at my brothers. He tends to rant about the strangest things, and my brothers are worse than ever overall because even though Eurig yells at us, he won’t do anything to keep them under control.”

Jari grunted as he took a brush to sweep the board and make sure it was clean. “Is that why you haven’t struck yet like the viper you are? They act as a buffer so they’re useful?”

“They do terrible things, but they have a purpose for now. If it’s just me there…”

He’d be the sole target of Father’s madness, and if it grew worse, it might lead to violence.

“That’s not my concern,” said Jari. “I have my own life, and I don’t wish to play in court politics or family drama.”

“You left me all alone in the snake den as you call it, and while you call me a serpent, I can be bitten. Our crest is a lion’s head by the way, in case you forgot, and I can be torn apart by the pack too.”

“So?” Jari tried to keep his eyes focused on the board which was pretty clean by now. Brushing it was useless, but it wasn’t as bad as looking at the Prince while guilt loomed in the back of his mind.

“You say I do things to suit myself, but you also did,” said Aurelius. “I thought you’d stay and that your word meant something. Or I wanted to believe it did. It's not like I have anyone, so what would I know?”

“Your words meant nothing since you lied to me more than once, used me, and treated me like a pawn. You pushed me over the edge, and now, you’re whining because I got tired of it. Hire someone to sleep in your rooms if you’re scared or whatever.”

Aurelius pushed himself away from the counter and strode over. Jari dropped the brush and tensed an arm since he was unfortunately familiar with the Prince’s epic backhand.

Aurelius brought his face closer. Close enough to see the faint but definite gold thread that slashed across the brilliant, dark blue of his eye.

“I met trouble on the way after you abandoned me,” said Aurelius. “The bandit jumped out of a tree and tried to shove me right off of the horse. He was quite a daring bastard. I didn’t have a lot of choice but to gild him since it all happened so fast, and he intended to stab me. I’m sure someone will eventually find his golden corpse that I hid under leaves and branches since I didn’t have a shovel, and it was the best I could do. You can use the power a couple of times with breaks to prolong your time, but I’ve already got a gold streak now. Maybe I wouldn’t if you’d been around to help me.”

“Don’t try to guilt me,” Jari said through gritted teeth.

“And now, Zylem’s asked me to turn something, and he’s threatened me because I refused. Gullveig is on his side since he’s happy to be the second pea in Zylem’s pod. Father’s hidden the crown, and I can’t find it. Unfortunately, not every decision made in madness is stupid. He picked a damn clever spot. Courtiers don’t say a word no matter how he acts because they’re afraid for their positions. The new guards say nothing. I have no one, Jari, and I think you very well know what it feels like to be left alone. If you want the truth-”

“It’d be a first.”

“-I’ve been alone since I was fifteen. It’s just more dangerous now, and it doesn’t help when the urge lurks in my head to gild and let the gold grow because it’s pretty, and it would be mine. I can’t even take the crown right now, and just like the story, there must be a fourth item, but I don’t know what it is. It’s easy for you to walk away, but not so much for me. This madnesswill only be passed along to others unless someone ends it. I’m asking you once again.Help me.Don’t ignore me like the last time when I desperately needed it, and you were the only person I could turn to.”

And just like the last time, Aurelius’s eye showed pure desperation, and the two simple words lodged something in Jari’s chest while common sense screamed no.

“I’m not going back there. Someone’s fangs will end up in my neck. Probably yours.”

The muscle fluttered in Aurelius’s cheek, which Jari had learned meant he was holding back some sort of emotion. Showing it would mean taking the post out of his ass. He almost expected the Crown Prince to open his mouth and order him, or to go fetch his guards so Jari could be dragged out and whipped as punishment for daring to refuse him.

Aurelius suddenly turned and headed for the door, but he paused by it.

“Some things I’ve lied about because they hurt. I didn’t wander off in a fever haze, and I wasn’t sickly after Mother passed from wasting disease. I disappeared from the public eye for so long because after she took a holiday with her sons out in the country, she forgot something and realized later on the way home. I went back to the house to get it. We didn’t know Zorians had gotten that far. I was caught, and…someone important to the other side kept me as a prisoner. They wanted me to gild things, and I refused. I also wasn’t able to, but they weren’t satisfied with that answer, so they kept me locked up. I escaped because I gilded a guard when I was seventeen.”

Jari’s chest tightened as he stared at the back of Aurelius’s head.

“I won’t say any more about that specific time, so don’t ask. Do you know what it feels like to get away, survive across a river, and walk until you collapse only to be found by a slaverwho has you whipped to break you? Everyone lied about my whereabouts, and I had to keep the story up when I returned. None of my family cared about the damage done once I was physically healed and the fever from the infection was gone. There’s some truth for you, Jari, but you probably don’t believe me. No one in the court would believe it if I told them. I’m not safe, but they wouldn’t care either, just like you.”

With those last few tight words designed to pierce, shame, and hurt, he stepped out with light footsteps. The immaculate lace edge of his cloak vanished, and Jari was left at the work counter with the forgotten board.

He was still sorry for not realizing who Aurelius was, whipping him, and leaving him with permanent scars on his back that would never fade. The old guilt raked him harder. He’d believed the story of Aurelius wandering off in a fever while on the way to a country home for peace and fresh air.

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