Chapter Eighteen

Every King needs to be coronated. Remus had always pictured his family there, minus Mother since she'd passed. Later, he'd pictured Lupo and Quintus being there once Father was gone. So much for that.

"You could do it now," Sébastien told him at breakfast. Remus had joined him.

It was strange to be sitting on the Prince's balcony and enjoying the view with the ocean on one side in the distance. "Weeks ago, I never pictured us eating together in my Palace."

It was even stranger because Sébastien hadn't changed out of the sleeping clothes a servant had gotten for him. He'd managed to dress in black again. Something about his posture was more free than Remus was used to seeing.

"I also never imagined you eating breakfast in your sleep clothes with your hair uncombed."

"No one else can see." Sébastien gave him a small smile as he leaned back in his chair, drew up a foot to rest on the seat, and took a bite of his toasted bread. "You should still be coronated so I can have breakfast with King Remus."

Remus chuckled. "I'd rather wait. We've got other things to do, and when it does happen, after you've had some time, I'd like you to be there."

"We could do it together and have lords bicker with us about where to do it."

Remus hesitated. "Beyond simply having the ceremony together, we could join our countries together too. After we take a ride."

It was damn close to asking for marriage. Two Kingdoms wouldn't combine unless the rulers planned on marrying.

Sébastien didn't flinch as he looked out. "You make me want things I didn't see myself having before."

"You can have it."

Another small smile.

He hadn't said yes, but it was close enough, and he'd admitted to wanting it in a way. Also, he could still back out later, although honestly, Remus didn't see that happening.

"The people won't revolt if I don't march down to the Temple today. They know who their King is. I already sent stamped letters to the lords declaring the basics and calling to muster."

Sébastien raised an eyebrow. "It's not even nine."

"I slept for a couple of hours and gave up. Even now, I'm too keyed up to sleep, and I feel like I've done a day of work already."

"Sorry. I slept all night. You could have gotten me up if you wanted."

"Nah. You need sleep too. There wouldn't have been anything for you to do." He'd been dealing with more shit for longer, and the offer warmed Remus as he picked at his bacon. It was about damn time he had spicy bacon again. The cook had rubbed powdered cayenne on it and tossed it in the pan to fry in its fat. It was a pity his appetite wasn't quite up to par. "You can't fake my handwriting."

"I would have sat with you."

A werewolf barged in without knocking. "Uh, Remus. I mean, Your Majesty."

"Half of you don't bother, so don't worry about what you call me."

The werewolf stared at Sébastien who had a piece of hair sticking up since the breeze had teased it out of place. "There's this guy who says his name is Lord Rochefort, and he's demanding we let him in. He also has about…a hundred and twenty men."

Remus blinked. "He didn't return to Soleil?"

He thought Lord Rochefort might give chase into Rowland and try to follow a trail but give up after a time. A bunch of armed Soleilian men tracking them into werewolf territory might not have been a good idea.

The werewolf blinked. "How the fuck would I know? I don't know who this guy is."

"Bring him up alone," said Sébastien. "Leave the others outside and guard them well. Make sure three werewolves accompany Lord Rochefort. He can keep his weapons if he likes."

"Give him a few minutes to dress," said Remus.

"I'm not budging from my breakfast."

Remus raised a brow as the werewolf hurried out. "Oh."

"I'm interested to hear what he has to say and what he's been doing. I'm still not sure if I can trust him. Not entirely. Besides, I don't feel like getting dressed yet."

When Lord Rochefort came up, it was evident he'd been riding for a few days with little rest, and his clothes were rumpled. He'd left off his sword belt and appeared to have no weapons which was likely a good sign.

"Your Majesty," he said to Remus. "Congratulations on reclaiming your throne. Prince Sébastien." He got down on one knee by the Prince's chair.

Sébastien peered at him. "Why exactly are you kneeling? We're not at court, and breakfast isn't that important. Also, why are you here? Bold to walk up to the gate, aren't you?"

Lord Rochefort squinted against the sunlight as Sébastien waved the werewolves back. "Your Majesty, we didn't search Calmerra right away. I went into the Castle with three others, and I've sworn them to secrecy."

He'd seen the bodies, including Lord Dubois with his face smashed to a pulp. No wonder he was kneeling.

"That was before Lord Dubois's men started blaming my men and yours for his disappearance along with the others. The ones who'd accompanied him, I mean."

"You see where treason gets you if you try to corner me and treat me like a rat?" Sébastien said coolly before he tossed his crust on his plate. "Lord Dubois learned the hard way."

"I guessed something like that happened. Lord Dubois's men deserted. It's only mine and yours now in the group. I can guess he tried to kill you, and if he did that…"

Sébastien brushed crumbs from his hands. "Then you can guess the Regent wants me dead at all costs. Can you please stand? Seeing you kneeling there is odd." Lord Rochefort stood, and the Prince flashed him a smile. "What did you tell the Regent?"

The jab suggested Lord Rochefort was in on the treason, and the internal wince was evident in his eyes. "I wasn't with Lord Dubois. I had no idea what he planned, although his attitude before makes sense now even though he's never been exactly pleasant. The Regent hasn't asked me anything, and I did write to him to say you have gone missing."

"And?"

"And we're looking for you. I kept it quite short. He hasn't written back, or if he has, the dove hasn't reached me yet."

"And?" pressed Sébastien.

Lord Rochefort tensed. "I left out Lord Dubois's death and the men leaving. Since I didn't report that…"

"If I could suddenly appear in Corentin's office and read all of his mail, I'd find that your words are true?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Leaving out critical details would be considered treason in the Regent's eyes."

Lord Rochefort set his jaw. "I picked my side."

Sébastien straightened up in his chair and held out his arm to clasp. Lord Rochefort accepted it, and Sébastien gripped his forearm so hard, he winced as he was yanked down a little.

"Don't fuck me ov-"

"Your Majesty-"

"I'm speaking. Don't fuck me over. When I dare to trust anyone, it usually bites me in the ass later, and the only one who hasn't fucked me over is Remus. Don't be another Lord Dubois or you'll die like him."

"I wouldn't, Your Majesty."

Sébastien eased his hand. "Thank you. If I get the throne, you'll have a reward."

"I'm happy with what I already have."

"Get a chair." Sébastien leaned over to peer at the werewolves who had retreated a respectable distance. "Tell a servant to bring a plate and get food for the men outside. They're to be treated decently, and we'll figure out their sleeping arrangements and whatnot later."

Well, it was a typical Sébastien way of granting trust: remaining leery and adding a threat just in case the trust was wrongly placed. Lord Rochefort dragged a chair out to the balcony and collapsed in it as he gave Sébastien a wary look.

"In case you're wondering, last time I trusted someone, they tried to stab me," said Sébastien.

"You have a few thousand werewolves outside. I like being in one piece."

"They're more here for Remus. I'm not exactly popular. I did a little sneaking out when we spent several days training, and it was to see someone I'd helped before. I could have died. Even when you pay people a lot or do nice things, they still can't wait to stab you in the back if they can."

"Don't fuck him over," said Remus. "I'll wring your neck before he gets his hands on you."

Lord Rochefort rubbed his forehead. "I guess you two are together."

"If I hear one comment about whether or not we're fucking or anything about my body in general, I'll toss you off the balcony."

"I have better ways to use my time, Prince Sébastien. The problem is, the Regent's not going to like that, and I'm not exactly sure what you plan to do in the long run. I'm guessing it involves werewolves…or do you plan to stay here with Remus? It's going to get out, and the Regent will accuse you of fucking the enemy."

Sébastien shook his head as he opened the glass salt cellar. "The Regent would never stop trying to get to me, and he'd bring the army to Rowland to get his hands on me. I'm not simply staying and waiting to see what happens on his end. If he brought the army and won against Rowland, I'm certain he'd take me back to Soleil if I didn't die fighting. He'd cry about treason and do his best to make himself look like the pitiful Uncle with a nephew who simply turned out utterly rotten and beyond hope. Poor him, right? Forced to keep the throne. What a burden."

"Boohoo," muttered Remus.

"That's why he made you Duke?" asked Lord Rochefort. "And ordered Lord Dubois to come with us?"

"Yes. He's tried to kill me more than once, including on the way to Midland, and he thought Remus would quietly despise me and stab me in the back and escape as soon as possible."

"Erm, how exactly did the Regent try to kill you?"

Sébastien held up a finger. "The Southern Edge Inn was going to be set on fire so I'd burn or die of smoke inhalation. That's why I insisted on staying elsewhere. If that failed, two men would have been waiting on the ship we were to take. I'm sure those men wouldn't have cared if it went to the bottom of the ocean with you and the other men in it. We learned about that by sneaking into the Ten Knight's farm. They're working for the Regent."

"And don't forget Lord Dubois," added Remus. "He constantly tried to undermine Sébastien, and if we all went to Biatano, something major would have happened there."

Sébastien took the spoon on the side of the cellar to scoop a tiny amount of salt directly into his palm. Using his forefinger, he poked a grain and slipped it into his mouth.

"It's collected not far from here," said Remus.

"I figured." Sébastien stared at the grains.

"Are you going to eat it like that?"

"No." Sébastien used his fingers to sprinkle it on his eggs which were likely cold by then. He didn't seem to mind once he took a bite.

"What happened after we left?" asked Remus.

Lord Rochefort had awoken that morning with the rest and didn't realize anything was amiss right away. After a bit, Arthur noticed Whisper wasn't around and dared to call out by Sébastien's tent since the Prince and Remus hadn't been seen yet.

Another realized Lord Dubois was gone along with a few of his men. Sébastien and Remus weren't in their tent. Several horses had disappeared too. A couple had done a quick run into the woods to see if they were close by for whatever wild reason.

Nobody claimed to have seen or heard anything the night before. Lord Dubois's men had started making accusations to the Prince's side which had spread to Lord Rochefort's. Tom and Lord Rochefort had managed to calm things down and said if they found the missing people, they'd find out what happened. Blaming others wouldn't solve the issue. Split into teams, they'd gone to search the surrounding area.

They'd found unicorn tracks which disappeared on a road with horse hoofprints everywhere. The road led to Calmerra, and others said the missing ones would never go there, and if they did, why bring only Lord Dubois and a few others?

Lord Dubois's men had started with the accusations again which mostly involved blaming Sébastien and his fuck buddy for leading Lord Dubois off and into certain death. When Lord Rochefort demanded to see a body or any proof of such a stupid claim, they'd gotten nasty.

"I had a feeling something was up, but it was the opposite of what they were saying," said Lord Rochefort. "Lord Dubois spent the whole trip attempting to undermine you and Remus. I wanted to believe there was a logical explanation for your disappearance, and you'd come back to camp with your typical…lofty attitude and a reason that you'd likely not bother to fully explain to us."

"Mhm."

"A few of the Prince's men thought we should stay put. I said we'd attempt to go on our original route as planned if you didn't come back within another day. We could potentially get help in Biatano. Lord Dubois's side refused to follow me or Tom. They also claimed we had it in for them and chose to defect."

"They knew we weren't returning?" asked Remus.

"I don't think Lord Dubois ever gave them full details," said Lord Rochefort. "I think he filled their heads with bullshit and said that if he ever vanished, they were to get the fuck out so the group would splinter. I can't say for sure, and it's not like any of them were going to tell me."

After Lord Dubois's men left, Lord Rochefort finally decided they'd search Calmerra although he couldn't see why they'd be there. Even a big group could meet trouble in the ruined city. A few lowlifes they questioned said they hadn't seen anything. The group broke into smaller ones with enough men in case someone decided to pick at them. Lord Rochefort and three others that he trusted went inside the Castle. Down below, in the servant's quarters, they found the bodies of Lord Dubois and the rest. Judging by the pile of burned crap in front of a door, they'd tried to smoke out someone in an old servant's room.

"I wasn't sure why a desk was against the wall across from it."

"We used it as a battering ram. It shoved the burning shit aside so we could run through safely enough, and if someone got in our way…" Sébastien shrugged. "You don't want to be in the way of anything if Remus is pushing it. We set things on top and lit them up to create more smoke and confusion. They tried to corner and trap us with some dog of Quintus's who suggested Remus should help subdue me. I'm sure Lord Dubois would have loved receiving me trussed up like a present with a bow on top."

Lord Rochefort had sworn his three men to secrecy. When they rejoined the rest, they'd said nothing. With little else to do, the group went to Biatano where the sickly lord had allowed them to use one of his blue doves.

"I only said you had gone missing. I'm sure he's guessed Lord Dubois is dead, and when those men return, they'll go to the Regent with a list of lies blown out of proportion."

"It won't matter in the long run because I doubt he'll be expecting us to come so soon with an army," said Remus. "He's likely gathering the forces, and we plan to hit hard and fast. We'll take Belle ?me first and go from there."

"The Regent will be taken alive if possible so he can answer for his crimes." Sébastien stared at the shiny glass of the salt cellar painted with flowers. "Did you look around Rowland too?"

"A little because I had a feeling you went with Remus. We had to be careful and not draw too much attention. I wasn't sure if you were hiding or what. I heard about werewolves coming here and…here I am."

"Did you see any odd groups?"

"What do you mean?"

"Any odd groups of people?"

"No."

"The Regent apparently hired the remaining Knights from the Ten Knight's farm along with some other good fighters to go to Midland and kill me. I think they were waiting for me to settle in Biatano and get comfy. I didn't, so that threw them off. I wasn't sure if they'd get a ship over and attempt to find us. I'm sure the pay was a lot."

"I didn't see anyone like that. I did check out your house, by the way. Or what was intended to be yours. It's fixed up, and a couple of servants were staying there to wait for you. They were quite surprised when we showed up without you. Other than that, we saw and heard nothing of interest in Biatano. Nobody seemed to remember seeing you around either."

Remus wondered if that fisherman had decided to keep quiet and pretend nothing ever happened.

***

Lord Rochefort ate while they told him their side of things. Once he finished, he finally left to see the men and get some rest himself. Now that he knew the Prince was alive and unharmed, he appeared like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"I need to do some other stuff, and I'm sure you'd like to get dressed," said Remus. "You can find me later if you want."

Even though he was tired, what he really wanted to do was take Sébastien into his bedroom and curl up under a blanket with him to nap. After possibly doing other things with him if Sébastien was up for it. Dirty things that would knock them out for hours afterward.

The Prince looked at him, and something must have shown in Remus's face since the faintest pink tinted his cheeks. All Remus could suddenly think of was his cock between Sébastien's lips, and the way he sounded when he'd finished in Remus's mouth.

"What?" asked Sébastien.

"I need to make more notices and deal with petitioners." He went around the table to kiss Sébastien and was about to straighten up when the Prince grabbed him by the collar to pull him back down.

That kiss was longer. Dear Elira, more than ever he wanted to skip responsibility.

"I'll join you downstairs later while you do petitions." Sébastien gave him a gentle push in the chest like he could guess where Remus's thoughts were tugging him.

***

Sébastien came to sit with him while a trio of brothers with adjoining property beyond the walls on the southwest side argued. They'd wasted no time in coming to Remus, and he was rather tired of listening to their laundry list of complaints. It was one of those incidents where more than one decision was technically fair, but they weren't happy with Quintus's decision.

Sébastien remained quiet as he listened. Remus wanted to tell them that at least they had each other, and brothers shouldn't be torn apart because one had more land and refused to share.

It was the last thing Remus felt like dealing with. The last petitioner had been a woman whose husband was imprisoned for supposedly saying things about Quintus that he shouldn't have. His immediate imprisonment must have convinced others to keep quiet. Remus had ordered the man to be released.

How uneasy had Quintus felt while sitting there with stolen power?

"Look," Remus told the oldest before gesturing at the second. "He bought his land on his own, and just because he's got more crop room doesn't mean he needs to share with either of you. You decided to raise more cows and sheep, and he doesn't have to give up his grazing space for you to put down wheat and whatever else."

"The cows haven't been doing as well, Your Majesty. What else am I to do? In another year or two, I might be ruined and eating twigs."

"My oats were ruined when we had an unexpected freeze last year, and I haven't got room for so much livestock. We had to tighten our belts all winter, and Mr. Big Trousers over there has more than enough land-"

"You told me, and I was here last year. I remember the early freeze. This is ridiculous. Instead of expecting each other to give up bits and bickering over it every damn day, share. I'm giving you both equal control over all of the land between you-"

The one with the biggest piece opened his mouth.

"-and you can choose what spots to use for grazing and crops. Share it all for a year, including what you harvest, and see how you feel then. It might be a lot easier if you seek to aid each other instead of constantly fighting and growing sour. Brothers shouldn't be fighting. It can lead to disastrous consequences as we've recently seen. Neither of you should have let the youngest struggle with his bad luck the past couple of years either."

All three looked rather ashamed at those words. Remus highly doubted their attitudes would lead to murder any time soon, but they needed to stop. All three had decided they were right in their minds and refused to budge on what they thought the other should do and what was fair. Ordering people to share land wasn't common, but it could be done among siblings in certain cases.

"After a year, the borders can revert, and perhaps you'll have learned to work together better with what you have. You can change your borders then if you wish and make it work. Your brothers. Act like it."

After a couple of other issues from people in the city, Remus was finished. It'd be nice to do it again in the future with Sébastien's input. He'd stayed out of everything since Rowland wasn't his, and the citizens would likely grow bitchy if someone else started deciding things all of a sudden.

If they combined their Kingdoms, it'd be different.

Something about Sébastien seemed a little stiff as he sat in the chair.

"Are you hungry?" Remus touched his sleeve. Apparently, no one had been able to dig up a black wardrobe for him, so he was wearing a blue coat that was decent although not quite something for a Prince.

"Yeah."

"Where did you get clothes from? Someone took my stuff out of the attic, but none of it would fit you without alterations."

"One of the servants gave me her son's things. He was a rich merchant."

Remus knew who he was talking about. The woman's son had died in an accident several years ago. He must have favored dark colors.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Just thinking ahead. When are you going to do the trial?"

"In a few days. I need a little time to calm down about things. I also have to think about organizing the army as they come, and I'm sure every damn lord is going to want to talk to me now that I'm back."

"I can help with organizing if you want."

"I'd like that."

***

Remus wondered if he was in for another sleepless night after his bath. His mind kept buzzing with what he had to do tomorrow. The citizens had done a half day for work and were eager to drink and party outside since they had their King back.

He almost felt jealous of them in a way. They didn't have to put a brother to death.

But they also didn't get to see Sébastien enter his room with his cloak secured, and damp strands of hair hanging from the hood.

"I can go if you'd rather be alone," said Sébastien.

"No," said Remus. "I thought maybe you'd like more time alone."

"I do appreciate it, but I like spending time with you as well."

"That's quite a compliment from you."

Sébastien gave him a small smile and pulled on the ties of his cloak. "I'd rather not leave until dawn either."