Prince Brendon and Princess Francesca Fight for Narrating Privileges, Continued

Prince Brendon and Princess Francesca Fight for Narrating Privileges, Continued

Franny waited for Brendon’s reaction.

Brendon waited for the rest of the story. When she said nothing else, he asked, “So, at what point did Rick lock him in the tower?”

She blinked several times in confusion. “Weren’t you listening?”

“I was, but at no point did you say ‘and then Rick locked him away in the tower so he couldn’t escape.’”

“Well,” she began slowly, “we found them in the tower. And it was locked. Doesn’t that imply he locked Mattias away?”

“They were probably having sex,” he said bluntly, pretending the idea didn’t stab him with relentless jealousy. Neither he nor Rick were blushing virgins and there was no reason to pretend otherwise. The future concerned Brendon more than the past.

“But …” Franny trailed off. “Mattias looked so distressed! He clearly didn’t want to be there any longer.”

“Did he ever say Rick locked him in the tower?”

She hesitated.

“Did Rick ever admit to locking him in the tower?”

His questions irritated her. Of course she didn’t want him to mistakenly believe Fred was abusive, but she also expected him to understand Fred’s inclination to jump straight to ‘lock them away’ as a solution for his problems. “It’s clear to me exactly what happened,” she said testily. “When he saw how Mattias’ father abused him, Fred tried to help by hiding him away in the tower, believing the only way to keep him safe was to keep the door locked.”

“Did you ever ask Rick,” he began, emphasizing the name to remind her of her own brother’s preferences, “what happened?” She opened her mouth and he amended, “After everything calmed down, I mean. When it would have been easier for him to articulate.”

She looked away. “I didn’t want to bring up anything too sensitive.”

“So, instead you let it fester, crafting your own version of events over the years that became so solid, you’d probably argue with him about it if he tried to correct you.”

Franny sprang to her feet, hands fisted at her sides as she scowled down at Brendon. “You—you—you!” She pointed at him viciously, almost jabbing his eye. “I don’t like you!”

“I think we’ve established that,” he replied. Weighed down by the armor, he couldn’t mimic her energetic movements. He didn’t feel like rolling around until he found the right angle to leverage himself to his feet, so he sat calmly staring back at her. “After all, you couldn’t even muster up enough politeness to reply to a single letter.”

Her hand fell limply to her side. “I …”

“Do you know what Rick said, when we discussed them? He said you’d probably simply set them aside, intending to read them but putting it off. Whatever actually happened, he had faith in you, but you haven’t shown any faith in him.”

She glowered down at him for a moment before her self-righteous posture melted. “I am sorry I never opened those letters, Brendon. The truth is … they didn’t feel like they were for me.”

Brendon didn’t know how to react to that statement. Of course they were for her—he’d addressed them to her, hadn’t he? Asked her questions about her life. Tried to learn about the woman he was supposed to marry. “If not you, who the hell would they have been for?”

She hesitated, then shrugged delicately. “I don’t know. Someone who would appreciate them.” Looking to the door, her brow furrowed and her head tilted to the side. “Someone’s coming. Quickly, your helmet.”

Brendon rushed to cover his face before the door opened. The world darkened around him and he realized too late that he’d put the damn thing on backwards. Without the vents, his breath fogged around him and echoed in his ears. He fumbled at the edges, trying to lift it again, damn whoever saw him. He couldn’t find the seam in the metal and his breathing increased, hot and clammy, inhaling the same stale air, on the verge of suffocating—

Someone grabbed the helmet and pulled it back over his head.

A cool breeze hit his face and he sucked in a greedy breath of fresh air. Filled with surprising gratitude, he looked up to thank Franny for helping him. Instead, he saw Rick’s grim face looking back down at him. “Your parents are here.”