Hollow Kingdom

Alec had absolutely no idea what he might have done to make Lily so upset with him. She’d been absolutely fine until she got sick. Everything had seemed so perfect before that. Now she was sticking close to Belle, and as far from Alec as she possibly could. He decided to give her that space, but quickly regretted it when everyone woke up to find that Lily was gone. Belle was unusually quiet. Alec suspected that she may have had an idea as to where Lily might have been, but he could tell from the look on her face that she wasn’t about to give any clues.

Warren had a different idea. He seemed mad, and hurt. Physically hurt. He stormed straight over to where Belle was sitting, glaring down at her and pointing a finger in her face accusingly. She just kept her poker face on, though there was a look of pure hatred in her eyes as she locked eyes at him.

“You know where she is, little girl,” Warren said. “Now, you’re going to tell me where she is, because if you don’t, it could jeopardize everything.”

“I don’t know,” Belle said slowly. “I don’t have a tracker on her. She doesn’t tell me everything.”

“You know,” Warren snapped.

“Warren, she doesn’t know,” Tobias told him.

Warren ignored him, suddenly grabbing Belle by a fistful of her hair and pulling her forcibly to her feet. She shrieked in pain and Alec felt his blood turn to ice.

“Tell me where she is!” Warren yelled.

Alec grabbed Belle and Tobias grabbed Warren, and they tried to pry the two apart without Belle’s scalp getting ripped off. Everyone around them had gone dead silent, and only the sound of Belle’s frightened sobbing could be heard. Tobias shoved Warren away, and everything calm and zen about him had disappeared with the sight of someone trying to hurt Belle.

“She said she doesn’t know!” Tobias yelled at him. “You lay a finger on anyone again, especially my daughter, you’ll wish it was the queen’s guard that catches you!”

Warren took the hint, taking a step back as Tobias rushed to take Belle from Alec. Alec was tempted to hit him too, but held back, just watching Belle. She’d cried far too much as of recent. Warren paced back and forth, slipping a hand through his hair.

“We have to go,” he muttered. “Now. We have to get there before she does. Sam Denholm can let us in. Everyone pack it up, we’re leaving right now. Right now.”

Everyone got up and started moving. Alec and Tobias reluctantly followed, coaxing Belle onto a horse and letting her ride behind everyone so she didn’t have to be near him. They went a different route than Alec knew of. Apparently, there was a secret entrance. It was a heavy stone blocking the entrance in the wall, and it took four large men to move it enough to get everyone through. They were forced to abandon the horses, and Belle cried again, clinging to hers and burying her face into its mane.

“This is ruining my life,” she whimpered.

“I’m sorry, Belle,” Alec said softly. “We have to go, before we’re caught.

She reluctantly followed him in, where the group was quietly rejoicing at being so close to their homes and families. Close, but it wasn’t over yet. They wouldn’t be free until the fight was over. Warren sent out a messenger, and by nightfall, the messenger returned with none other than Samuel Denholm. The man looked bewildered to see everyone, especially Tobias. Tobias chuckled and shook his hand, then turned to Alec and Belle.

“You two can go home,” he told them. “If you have a place to be, you should be there. We’ll let you know what our plans are.”

Alec wanted to stay, but he knew he had to take Belle home. Alec held Belle’s hand as they ran through town to get back to the tailor’s shop, staying hidden as best they could. She was tired, and struggled to keep up, but they finally arrived back. Belle seemed relieved, still holding tightly to her brother’s hand. It was dark, and eerily quiet.

“Alec?” she whispered.

“Yes?”

“Where’s the tailor?”

Alec frowned, looking around and listening. There was a creak in their room, and Alec hurried over with Belle following close behind. He slowly opened the door enough to see, and sighed in relief to see that it was just Evan. He was on his knees by the window, with what looked like a rosary in his hands, muttering something under his breath. Belle started to say something, but Alec pressed a finger to his lips to signal her to be quiet. Evan was doing something he hadn’t done since his mother and father were still alive. He was praying.

Belle nodded, leaving to check the rest of the shop for Mr. Hale. Alec waited until Evan suddenly stopped and opened his eyes to see who was standing in the doorway. He seemed to be afraid. Evan stood and put the rosary around his neck, tucking it into his shirt. Alec noticed that he had some things packed.

“Are you going somewhere?” Alec asked.

“I don’t have a lot of time to explain,” Evan said. “I have to go. I can’t- Well, things have changed. A messenger came by. There’s going to be an attack on the castle, and… well, you understand. I can’t be a part of it.”

Alec just stared at him, then nodded slowly. “You’re right. Things have changed. Even I have a bad feeling about it. Where are you going?”

“I can’t tell you,” Evan sighed. “Look, Alec, you won’t see me again. Not for a long, long time. Maybe I’ll write to you when everything is over. I just won’t leave unless I’m sure that you know you’ve always been a brother to me, and I’d never make your life difficult on purpose. It’s just something I have to do.”

Alec was speechless. He and Evan had their rough patches, but he couldn’t imagine life without him, even if they were beating each other up. He just nodded, giving Evan a weak smile. Evan returned it, holding his hand out. Alec gave it a single shake, then decided to swallow his manly pride and hug Evan, who seemed glad for the positive response, hugging back. They both cleared their throats awkwardly and let go before it lingered too long. Evan picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder, and Evan followed him downstairs. Belle was standing in the corner of the room, eyes wide.

“What’s wrong?” Alec asked.

“There’s guards outside,” she whispered.

There was no time to react before the guards burst through the door, weapons aimed at Alec and Evan. Evan dropped his bag and raised his hands, and Alec did the same, confused.

“Alec Spaulding,” the chief said, looking from Alec to Evan. “Evan LeBlanc.”

Alec exchanged a somewhat panicked look with Evan, which only confirmed their identities in the eyes of the guard. Shackles were places around their wrists.

“You’re both under arrest for treason,” he announced.

“No!” Belle screamed, grabbing the guard’s arm. “You can’t do this! You can’t do this to me again!”

The guards ignored him, roughly shoving both Evan and Alec out to where a cart was waiting. There were a few others in the cart, which Alec recognized to be rebels. Someone had tipped the guards off. Another guard by the cart examined the two of them.

“Ah, this is the one we’ve been looking for,” he said, looking at Alec. “Top of the list. First time you’ve been there, eh Spaulding?”

Alec said nothing, just glaring at him. He shrugged, turning to Evan.

“This one… no, he’s not going to the same place as them,” the guard said. “The queen wanted to see this one, personally.”

Evan stared at Alec, terrified, and Alec gave him a reassuring look. He could still hear Belle screaming inside, and he knew they weren’t letting her out of the building. Evan was ushered into a different carriage, still shackled. Alec was forced into the cart with the rest of the rebels, and they started down the road. The others in the cart had sad eyes, looking at Alec with sort of a mournful look.

“What, we’re headed to prison?” Alec muttered to the guard between clenched teeth.

“Yes,” he answered smugly. “Well, they are. You’re headed somewhere quite different, Mr. Top-of-the-List.”