Claiming The Remnant

Chapter 82

[ Garrett ]

THWACK

Something connected with my face, HARD. A fist was my immediate deduction. I should know - I’d taken enough punches to the face to grasp the feeling. A sharp prickle accompanied by a painful throb and watering eyes radiated from the blow.

Instinct was to bring a hand to my face. Training had me raising fists before taking a quick step back to put space between myself and my attacker. Off duty and in the castle I didn’t have a weapon on me but one more step back and both my dagger and sword would be inreach.

“Ye Gods, Captain…” A familiar voice piped up with a panicked pitch. “I’m so sorry, very sorry, I don’t know what came over me. I, err. Shit.”

“Prince Ethyn?” My vision was still blurred but I could just about make him out. Quick as they had gone up my hands went down. Lady Esther might have met with no consequence for cracking the Crown Prince in the head but that wouldn't be the case for me - self defense or not. "Can… I help you with something, Your Royal Highness?" It seemed odd that he had come all this way just to punch me. In the face no less.

"f**k, you're bleeding."

"So I am. Not the first time, Your Highness. Shan't be the last." Although I certainly hoped getting suckerpunched when I opened the door to my quarters wouldn't become a regular occurrence. "Tea?" The Prince sighed with a wince.

"I really couldn't impose after that, and it appears I have interrupted you on your way out." The Prince babbled. Ethyn needed to stop being so unsure of himself- afterall he would one day be King.

"At the risk of offending I must insist." I looked down at my bloody shirt. More blood was dripping from my nose; a weird hot trickle that spilled down my lips blooming on my white shirt. "Can't exactly go out like this anyway."

"Truly, I'm sorry Captain."

"It's fine, you can tell me why I deserved it over a brew." Popping a button on the collar I reached over my head, grabbed the back of the shirt and yanked the whole thing over my head before holding it to my bloody nose. Leaving his Highness at the door, I flipped the switch on the already full kettle. The imbued metal would heat the water now the nullifying block had been moved. "Watch the kettle please, Prince Ethyn."

Not checking whether he had followed me in, I went straight for the bathroom, dumped the ruined shirt in the sink and pressed an imbued metal bar to my nose. It was for shaving cuts, healing magic of course, but this was a small enough wound that it would easily repair it. There was still blood sticky and congealed in my nose but at least the dripping had stopped. After washing my face I got a fresh shirt - Ye Gods, if Jo turned up and I was sitting shirtless with anyone I was sure there would be some unraveling.

"Next one over, Your Highness." I assumed he was hunting for mugs or maybe teacups but he wouldn't find any of those. Dainty tea cups weren't for me. All the crockery in this suit was plain terracotta, zero affiliation to any shade, unlike my previous, modest set. It had been white; a gift from my brother. "Here, let me."

The Prince took a seat, flopping down into the wooden chair heavily as though the weight of the whole world were on his shoulders. Steeping the tea I contemplated the day. A long day. That's what it had been and it appeared the day wouldn't lighten up anytime soon. It was the first day since finding Jo with that woman in our bed I'd felt okish. Apparently the world thought 'okish' was a good time to pounce. From Zach, to Jo, to Esther, to the Crown Prince.

"Thank you, Captain." Prince Ethyn took the tea with both hands and another sigh.

"You're welcome, Your Royal Highness." He seemed to cringe a little. It reminded me of Jo when people had the wrong them. Had me wondering. "Garrett is fine, I'm off duty." I said, testing the waters. He looked slightly wishful so I pushed my luck. "Did you want to be off duty for a while…" Taking my seat I watched his eyes. Soft grey, they stared into the steaming mug of Rose tea before flicking up to meet mine. He nodded. A slow thoughtful nod coated with relief. "Well then, Ethyn, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

"No point calling me Ethyn if you're still going to bullshit me with pleasantries."

"I was aiming for sarcasm." With a sigh I sipped my extra strong 'basic b***h' tea.

"Fair." Ethyn shook out the hand he had hit me with. "Benton suggested I pay you a visit."

"To punch me?"

"That wasn't the plan…" Ethyn smiled apologetically. "He asked me to bring you this while implying you might answer some questions about Esther."

"I don't know Esther." I took the box that he had pushed across the table.

"But you knew her before."

"Esther isn't Taiya." I was itching to open the little box but the conversation required my full attention.

"But what if she is?"

"She isn't."

"Yes but Esther came from somewhere and that somewhere was this Tayia." Ethyn pushed. "Perhaps her past self holds some insight into who she is now."

"Why not just get to know her as who she is now?"

"I very much intend to do that but there are things about herself that seem to be lurking just beneath the surface. Memories, feelings, preferences. I want to make her happy - truly happy and knowing who she was will help with that." Ethyn emplored but seeing I wasn't convinced he continued. "Today I gave her a tour of the gallery - she was shy to admit it but her overwhelming interest was in which painting was worth the most."

"That does sound like Tayia." I admitted, albeit begrudgingly.

"She hates to blush as well…" Ethyn had gone all dreamy eyed.

"Umm, you only met her yesterday, right?" An idea was forming in my head. After what Zach had told me and my previous discussion with the King about my own relationship I was starting to feel rather certain of this notion I was having.

"Yes, such a cute first meeting." He sighed again but with a fondness rather than appearing fed up.

"Have you spoken with the King about it?" I tried, carefully.

"Yes, I've spoken with my Father." I caught Ethyn's tone. His emphasis on the word 'Father' had me adjusting my words. We had agreed on being off duty.

"And what did your Father have to say?" It made me feel uncomfortable to pry into such matters but I didn't want to speak my thoughts without some more information. I had accepted the concept of Jo being my Mate for myself but it was still a fable. It was in the Fae texts and people believed in it but they didn’t believe in it. If I started spouting the idea of Mates to the Prince he might think he hit me a little too hard.

"I have his blessing to pursue a relationship with Lady Esther if that's what concerns you. He only asks that I keep the ruse in place and don't allow her beyond the grounds." It wasn't what I had been getting at. Useful to know but didn't help with what I was thinking. While it was looking like I was going to have to say the craziness out loud, which I was uncomfortable with, it also looked like Ethyn wasn't best pleased with his Father's rules.

"He tell you why?" I was delaying the whole 'mates' conversation. Given King Leoré had bought the subject up with me it seemed likely he would have done the same with his son but what else did he know?

"He tell you why?" Ethyn countered, giving nothing away.

"Ye Gods, man. I could get in to some serious trouble if - "

"Relax, Garrett." He interrupted. "I didn't come for that. Just to know the woman she was before, that's all."

"Ethyn, I don't know how much you know, how much I can tell you or even if I should. You're the higher power here but I'm not about to go divulging things unless I'm sure that firstly it's information you're privy too and secondly that, well, secondly the first point again." I blew out a big stressed breath. "There's an easy solution, you check with your magic if I'm telling the truth about knowing, then you tell me what you know so then you know I know and I know you know and no one is getting in any trouble."

"Um, that sounds rather complicated and I'd rather just trust you." He closed his eyes and just breathed. "I'll go first, if anything I'd say I know less than you because the moment my Father realised my feelings he stopped expanding on the situation. I know she was a criminal. I know she was in your custody. She had an adverse reaction to a drug causing her to shift and lose her memory. I'm also aware that she has the Remnant. Everything else I know about Esther is from her perspective, other than Benton telling me you knew her from before."

"Well, now I know what I'm working with." I tapped the table, aggravated that he hadn't mentioned mates. "Zach said that it was love at first sight according to you." It was the long way round, but felt like a more comfortable approach.

"Yes. There is no doubt in my mind."

"Love at first sight is rather a romantic notion, much like the idea of -"

"Mates?" He finished for me. My poor pounding heart was soothed.

"Yes, that."

"Mmm, truly if there is such a thing, this woman is beyond a doubt my Mate. Father said the same thing."

"And you didn't think that was an important thing to mention?"

"Well, I didn't want to seem crazy so… it's only because it sounded like you were going to say it that I did. Why didn't you just say?"

"Well, I didn't want to come off as crazy either." We laughed. Taking this moment of levity to think I contemplated the implication of Esther being the Prince’s Mate. "That why you punched me in the face, huh?"