The King's Lover
Chapter 24: Found

Chapter 24: Found

"Who is that?" one of the men yelled, lifting the torch over his head as he tried to see her over the distance.

Rose shuffled on her feet. At this rate, the dogs were going to get to her faster. The men didn’t seem bothered by the fact. "’Elp," she cried, her voice loud enough to reach them.

"A woman," the second said.

Rose wasn’t sure if she was supposed to respond to this but she was more worried about the dogs rushing at her. The nearest dog growled, baring its teeth clearly aiming for her legs. Rose’s heart dropped to her stomach and braced herself for the pain.

"Heel!" the second man called, and the dogs stopped. The closest one didn’t seem very happy about it, but it slowly turned around and hopped towards the men.

"What are you doing?" the first one asked. .com

"What are you talking about? We’re not going to let dogs attack a woman."

"She could be a spy," the first guard said.

They were close enough that she could almost see their faces. The three dogs hung close, sticking to the sides of their legs, with one in the middle. She could see they were royal guards with how they were dressed but they weren’t knights.

"Don’t be ridiculous; she looks lost," the second said. "What’s your name?"

"Rose," she whispered, blinking at the light the first guard shone right in her face.

"I think she’s the woman His Highness brought into the castle," the second man said.

"Huh?" the first man abruptly turned to face the other, almost hitting Rose with the torch, she took a step back to avoid it. "How do you know this?"

"What do you mean, how do I know this? Her red hair, obviously. We don’t exactly have that many redheads in the castle."

The first turned to face her again, scrunching up his nose. "What’s so special about her?" Then his eyes glinted. "Maybe I can find out."

"Get a hold of yourself!" the second man scolded, pulling him backward. Rose was grateful; there was a weird stench coming from the first guard.

"What are you doing here?" the second guard asked her.

Rose didn’t miss the sword around his waist. She wondered if they were guards patrolling this area. "I don’t know. I fell and followed the walls and it led me ’ere," she mumbled.

He narrowed his eyes, unconvinced. "Don’t roam so far at night, especially around here. The dogs attack anything they see. Come, I’ll take you to the..." The rest of his words were drowned out by the sound of horses approaching them.

"What’s that?" the first guard asked.

"Knights," the other whispered.

"What’s going on here?" one of them asked as they stopped the horses abruptly, raising dust into the air.

"You!" a familiar voice yelled, jumping off his horse.

"T’omas," Rose whispered under her breath.

"Have you lost your mind?" he yelled as he grabbed her arm, pulling her toward the horse and completely ignoring the guards standing next to her.

Rose didn’t fight it. She just let him pull her. She could count at least five of them. Did the crown prince send them out to look for her? Well, then it was a good idea she didn’t think of escaping. There was no way she would outrun knights on horses.

"Get on!" he yelled.

Rose pulled her arm from his grasp and lifted herself upward. She almost screamed at the pain that jolted through her shoulder, but she managed to keep it in by biting the corner of her lips. She safely got on the horse, and Thomas smacked the rear of the horse.

Rose yelped as she jerked backward; she would have fallen off if her grip on the reins hadn’t been tight enough. She quickly regained control and adjusted on the horse even as it kept galloping away.

"Take her to the castle now! I will find some way to get there."

Rose barely heard what he said as she rode off, but it was clear he would have to stay back. There was a knight on both sides of her and two behind her, the ones by her sides held torches. None said a word to her, and they rode a little too close as if they were worried she would ride off.

---

Henry knocked twice but got no response. He wiped his sweaty hands on the front of his clothes and tried again. He looked at the guards, and they shook their heads. Suddenly, the door burst open, and Prince Rylen appeared.

"Prince Rylen?" Henry called in surprise and bowed his head. "I didn’t know you’d be here."

"Understandable," Rylen responded. "I heard what happened."

Henry nodded. "I apologize for pulling you out of bed at such a time."

"It is no fault of yours. Do you have good news? I would not recommend you coming in unless you do."

Henry nodded his head enthusiastically. "Yes, yes. We found her; she should be at the castle entrance any moment from now."

"What did you say?" a louder voice asked. Caius slowly rose to his feet.

"We found her," Henry repeated, his eyes glued to his shoes.

Caius stretched out his hand, and Henry knew exactly what he meant. He moved quickly, picking up the crown prince’s coat and carefully draping it over his shoulders. Henry took a step back and bowed.

Caius marched out of the room, and Rylen let out a sigh behind him. He would rather go to bed, but something told him it would be best to accompany his cousin. He had a more sinister look than when he came up with the rule that almost got the poor girl’s father killed.

He could tell the crown prince had no plans to let her off easy, but Rylen still couldn’t comprehend why the crown prince had such an interest in her. At first, he had thought he was simply angry that he had been refused, but to bring her all the way to the castle was a completely different situation.

They walked down the stairs, out of the wing, and toward the main entrance. None said a word the entire time, with Henry leading the way. The guards straightened their backs as the crown prince approached, and even before he got close to the entrance doors, they were thrown wide open.