Page 7 of Gilded Crown

“Do you want to sit first?”

“No. Not here.”

Jari followed his rigid back out into the hallway. His shaking had stopped, and he seemed to have slammed the gate back down, but it was probably taking a massive effort to walk with his usual ramrod posture like nothing was wrong. As soon as the sitting room door was closed, Aurelius locked it.

“He has a silver necklace he wants me to gild, and I said no. He could pay a goldsmith to make ten of the damn things, but he doesn’t care. Nobody knows about the hand, and it’s my secret lockbox. Father hasn’t guessed that I removed the key from my socket either.” Aurelius gestured to his eyepatch and led him to the bedroom. “Whatever you do, don’t drink from the pitcher the servants leave. An hour before meals, go downstairs and say you want a bowl or plate from the common food.”

“What’s that?”

“That’s what the servants eat from. They lay it out on a table in the back and make plates for themselves when they can because they don’t all eat at the same time. If they say they can bring it, say you like to get it. Pretend you’re saving them trouble because you're so nice. Flirt or whatever if you have to. The common food won’t be poisoned. Don’t drink any of the wine from my sideboard either.”

“Erm-”

Aurelius braced his back against the wardrobe, planted his feet, and pushed. “When you want water, drink from the tub pipe. I have two cups in my closet room.”

“For fuck’s sake, what have I walked into? Anarchy? A poisoning war?”

“I don’t trust Zylem,” said Aurelius. “He’s always looking at me…oddly. Maybe he’s just imagining disgusting things he’d do to me even though he hasn’t tried that before. Father’s declining while we all have to pretend it’s not happening. If Father attacks me again, you can’t strike him. I’m sure no one will do anything now except for what he says.”

“No cousins are left?”

“No, and Father acts like everyone is trying to encroach on his authority, so they’re too afraid to say a word. Zylem knows that, and he’s grown bolder because if he does anything, there won’t be consequences. Why do you think I need you back?”

Jari was almost regretting this now. Almost. The guilt was still stronger, and the Prince’s mask had slipped a little to show how desperate he was.

“You’ll sleep on the floor in front of my bedroom door in case someone tries to pick it. When I bathe or need time alone, you can sit in your room or the sitting room. I’ll mostly keep you with me.”

“All right. Are you sure I’m not going to be dead in a week?”

“Don’t do anything stupid. Your presence should be discouraging enough.”

“Soooo…what about the crown and other things that need dealing with?” asked Jari.

Aurelius tapped the lockbox behind the wardrobe. “The key and the hand are hidden in there. As for the crown…I don’t know yet. I’ve looked all over for it, and for the life of me, I can’t imagine where Eurig put it. I can’t snap my fingers and have a plan right there. Move that back for me.”

Aurelius sat on his bed while Jari shoved the wardrobe back into place.

“Are we doing something now?”

“No.” The Prince twisted the serpent ring that he wore on his left hand. “I need a bit to myself.”

That was probably best even though Zylem wouldn’t be around. He was likely in his bedroom, clutching his gut and cursing Jari’s name.

Jari hesitated by the door. “Do you want company…or to talk?” Not that he was much good at saying hard shit out loud himself. Maybe the Prince couldn’t bring himself to ask. A tiny part of him wanted to hug the Crown Prince and make it somehow enough. No man should be assaulted like that, especially by his own brother.

“I want to be alone,” Aurelius said with a faint snarl in his voice. “Are your ears clogged with sawdust?”

“Okay.”

He was still Prince Prick, and he’d dragged Jari into something that might have been a little more serious than he thought. He could take his pack and go back to his job. Aurelius would probably give up on him for good that time.

But it would prove that Jari was shit like Father had told him a few times. He’d be the sort of man that Mother hadn’t wanted him to turn into. He’d already broken his word once, andhonestly, it wasn’t fair to leave Prince Prick alone in his palace with nobody to trust. His brother would attack him again, and if he succeeded, it would be Jari’s fault.

***

Jari was stuck reading a book from the Prince’s shelf for a few hours since he didn’t have anything else to do. He’d thought about checking on the Prince after a while, and went to the door, thinking he should knock. He only stopped because he’d caught a faint snore.

Maybe Aurelius hadn’t been sleeping well and finally felt safe. Plus, he probably needed time to just…not think.

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