78.

The carriage is silent, nerves roaming inside of Elai’s empty stomach. Arlon hasn’t taken his eyes off of the prince even once, the sharp look on his face enough to tell Elai he shouldn’t make any sudden moves. It has been half a year since he had left Lyle, since his father had exiled him. his life had spiraled into the hands of his enemy, who now has somehow become more than his friend. Much more. Only yesterday were they sharing a bed, sharing laughs and stories. But, after the encounter in the dungeons, he is not so sure about those moments anymore. Arlon seems to be furious; he truly believes he had something to do with the attack at the border. Still, his eyes do something to him, and so Elai isn’t even able to look up. He can’t.
“We’re here.” Arlon opens up the door, the empty space around them as quiet as Elai remembers Lyle. No. Something is different. The sun is out; but the sky is raining. Elai knows as well as any other Lylenian; it never rains in Lyle. Elai steps out of the carriage, hand slipping into Arlon’s. He didn’t expect to get help from Arlon, neither did he expect to accept to take his hand. What is this horrid feeling?
“Look at me.”
Ah. There it is. The moment Elai had not been waiting for. He ignores Arlon and puts the hood over his head. He’s lucky no one knows what the unknown prince looks like. This makes it easier for him to travel down to the castle. Arlon’s strong hand suddenly grabs a hold of Elai’s chin, the boy’s eyes now looking right into those dark colors of the king’s.
“So disobedient.. I wonder if you have a death wish.” His eyes remind Elai of yesterday once again. His hands were rough yet felt so soft. His embrace was warm, wanted and kind. He can still feel his teeth sink into his shoulder, he can still feel his own nails dig into Arlon’s skin. Fuck. Stop. “Someone’s nervous.. are you even listening? Or are you having second thoughts? I will have no problem with executing you right here, you-“
“Just let me get rid of him. No reason to make a whole scene out of it.”
Elai pulls his face away from Arlon’s pretty hand.
He wishes he could rip the gloves off and kill him right there and then. It would be the perfect timing; they’re over the border between Lyle and Turi. If he kills Arlon now, he can get to the castle in ten minutes and prove he’s worthy of coming back. He will be able to forget the fact that Arlon distrusted him so easily, that he thought of his betrayal so mindlessly.
“Ah-“ Arlon stops Elai from pulling his dagger out, a grin appearing on the older man’s face. “I know you don’t want to do that.” And even though Elai just betrayed him twice, all Arlon does is nod. “Get going. I’ll be here.. if I’m not.. you know where to go.” The king watches as Elai puts the dagger back in his pocket, a shocked look rushing onto the boy’s face. why the fuck did he just try to grab his dagger? He wasn’t really about to try and kill him. He’d rather watch his own father die than betray Arlon. Where did that come from?
“Elai!” Chay steps off of his horse, hand already searching for the bottle inside of his bag. “I almost forgot to give you this.” Something about Chay’s appearance is calming to the prince. He feels at ease around him.
“What is this?” Elai looks at the blue substance in the bottle, the smell terrible.
“It helps you with your core-focus. I know you and Arlon have been training a lot.. but it’s just to be su-“ Chay’s eyes widen when he feels the embrace of the exiled prince. His body is frozen in place; is this truly happening? He eventually hugs him back, eyes looking up at Arlon. The king is looking right back at him, a nasty look spread out across his face.
“Good luck, Elai..” The alchemist whispers, eyes still focused on the king. “Thank you, Chay.” The smile that appears on Elai’s face somewhat breaks Arlon from the inside. Something about them isn’t right. Something about Chay isn’t right.
But he has already shown his anger towards Elai, so why now turn it into jealousy? He fucked up; he has to deal with it. Whether Elai had something to do with the attack or not.