Ch 15: The Prince's Plea

Errant and Tasha had disappeared into the woods. Calder tried to rush after them, but the young blonde witch who had momentarily stayed behind threw her hands up and an invisible barrier blocked his way.

"I'm sorry your highness, but I have strict instructions to keep you here until the traitor is locked away." There was something in her voice, almost a sick satisfaction, and it made Calder's blood boil.

"You would do well, sorceress, to remember your place."

"As it would have done you well to remember yours when you consorted with a witch. If you truly wanted to save her, you would have stayed away from her in the first place.”

She had some nerve speaking to him that way, but as much as he felt a loathing for the woman in front of him, he knew her words were true. It was his fault Tasha was going to be stripped of her power and banished. Even worse, it was his fault she would more than likely die in the process. He couldn't let that happen.

"I need to see my father at once." He pushed against the barrier but it held fast.

"I cannot allow you to leave here your majesty."

Calder brought himself to his full stature, his dominance as Prince towering over the little witch. “As I said, you would do well to remember your place. You cannot deny the heir to the throne a request to see the King."

He could see the battle within her, could sense her desire to defy him, yet her fear of crossing the royal family. "Fine,” she gave in finally. “But I will personally escort you to him, and if you even think of trying to go to your precious Tasha, I will have no choice but to restrain you until the High Sorcerer arrives."

The way she used his nickname for Astasha fueled the anger in him higher, but he grit his teeth. "Fine."

She lowered the barrier but stayed close to him as he rushed out of the clearing and back toward the Royal quarters. Her closeness made his skin crawl for a reason he couldn't quite determine but getting to his father was more important. He could save Tasha. He had to.

When they arrived at the King's quarters, they were informed by a guard that he had been called to the Prisoner's Tower. Calder was determined to meet his father there, a flicker of hope ignited that he might be able to see his Tasha, but the witch with him snuffed it out, refusing to allow him to go anywhere near where Astasha was being held, and so they awaited the King’s return in one of his anti-chambers.

The wait was unbearable. Calder paced and his heart broke at the thought of his love locked away in a cold, stone cell to await her death. The blonde said nothing, only watched him, ready to throw a magical barrier in his path should he try to make a run for it.

Finally, voices echoed outside the room, and Calder's heart raced.

The doors opened and the King strode into the room. His eyes glanced breifly at the sorceress and then locked onto his son.

"Leave us." Calder couldn't read the tone in his father's voice.

"Your majesty--" The witch tried to protest but Josnen turned his eyes on her and she bowed her head. Only Errant dared to oppose the King. "Yes, your highness." The tone she had used with Calder was gone, her eyes downcast as she quickly left the room.

"Father--" Calder stepped toward the old man but Josnen turned away from him, walking to one of the large chairs that sat in the room.

"Don't."

Calder followed after him. “But Errant took her--"

His father finally faced him. "Errant has told me everything!"

The Prince wasn’t about to back down. “Then you know what she did was to save me! To save your only son damnit! When everyone else forsook me she found a way! And now she is to die because of it!"

"And I warned her that there was nothing I could do to protect her if she was caught!"

The King's words rang in the room. Calder stared at him in confusion.

Suddenly, the age in his father showed, and the King slumped into the chair.

“Errant forbid her from using blood magic to try to lure the demon out. But she still seemed so determined. There was something about the way she refused to give up. She cared for you, as I cared for you. Why I didn't know, but I put my role of ruler aside and thought only as a father. A father that wanted to save his son. I warned her that I had no control over the laws of magic, warned her to be careful.” Josnen shook his head in defeat.

Calder's fists clenched. His father had encouraged Tasha to go against Errant's bidding. Had sent her to do something that could lead to her demise, that had lead to it. He was furious with the old man. "Why would you... How could you let her…” He was having a hard time forming the words.

The King sat bolt upright in his seat. “Because I didn't want to watch my son die!"

"And now I shall have to watch her die!"

Silence. Calder's breath caught in his throat.

"So it's true. Calder, how could you--"

Calder didn't care anymore. He was done hiding. "I love her."

Josnen shook his head. “She is a witch. You are a Royal."

The Prince sat down in the chair next to his father. "I don't care. I love her, with every fiber of my being. I have loved her since I first saw her six years ago in the village. My love for her brought me back from the dead, and her love for me freed me from the grasp of a demon. No law can stop something like that."

Josnen stared at his son. There was a sorrow and a pity in his eyes. He reached out and took Calder's hands in his own. "When I lost your mother, I thought I would never be able to go on. But I did, as will you—“

"No!" Calder shot up from his seat, ripping his hands away. "That's bullshit! She risked her life to save me, I won't just let her die and move on. You might have been able to sit there and watch mother die, but I can't. I won’t.”

He knew his words would sting and guilt crept into his mind. His father had loved his mother more than anything. He had done all he could to save her. But he needed him to understand that he wasn’t going to give up, and so he set his resolve and turned to head towards the door.

Josnen stood. "Calder, please!"

He stopped and his father approached him. He felt his hand on his shoulder.

"My son, please."

The last time Calder had heard that kind of pleading in his father's voice had been when his mother was dying. He turned to look at him and saw heartbreak in the King's eyes. It mirrored his own.

"Please, father, spare her. Convince Errant to let her leave our kingdom and live in peace, somewhere far from here. Just, let her live. I can go on if I know she's out there, alive and intact, but if I am forced to watch her suffer and die..." his voice cracked and the King wrapped his arms around him.

"I will try. But you know as well as I that Errant is set in his ways, and I cannot overthrow his ruling when it comes to the laws of magic."

Calder shook his head. This truly was his fault. The day he had seen her in the market, he should have just kept walking. He could have simply moved on, and been left to wonder what it was about the beautiful woman that had called to him so. But he had been selfish. He had thrown caution to the wind, and now, she was paying for it.

He hadn't even realized it but there were tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry." was all he could manage to say.

His father held him tighter. In that moment, they weren't the ruler and heir to the kingdom of Trenue, but a father comforting a broken-hearted son.

"I will speak to Errant. Perhaps if I tell him that I encouraged her to perform the ritual, he will let her keep her powers. But Calder," He stepped back and looked into his son's eyes. "they must find a way to remove the demon. Errant was willing to perform the ritual on the heir to the throne because he truly thought there was no other way. If he deems that to still be the case, you have to accept that there is nothing we can do."

Calder shook his head. "I will find another way."