The young man struggled against his bonds, gnawing at cloth between his teeth. He felt this strange sense of urgency and desperation flow through his veins. I need to get to her. It seemed so wrong, feeling protective towards a girl whom he barely knew--and the princess, no doubt! Hell, a week ago he was plotting to kill her. Now he suddenly feels responsible for her? What the bloody hell was going on with him?

Silas whipped his head to the left, making it crack in a way that didn’t sound very good. A high-pitched scream echoed through the forest--a scream that was all-too familiar.

Rosemary.

Silas strained against the rope; he could feel it loosening slightly, but not quickly enough. His eyes searched the ground at his feet. Come on, something, anything. He caught a glimpse of shine out of the corner of his eye. Kellan’s dagger. He glanced over his shoulders, making sure he was alone, and slid slowly down the trunk of the tree; bark scraped his arms, but in that moment, he didn’t care.

Rosemary screamed again, but this time it sounded different. Could she be--no, not possible. He listened again, but heard nothing. I could’ve sworn...never mind. He stretched his foot out, barely able to touch the blade’s handle--the heel of his boot barely caught the lip. Silas dragged his foot back slowly, fearing the dagger would slip and he’d never reach her in time. A twig cracked not far from him, and Silas stopped mid-breath. A thick black boot came into view and kicked the blade; a strong hand grabbed his throat and stood him upright, forcing him to look his attacker in the eye.

It was Edmund, Rosemary’s caretaker.

Silas’s eyes widened in recognition, but Edmund only glowered in return.

“Phmph, uh wunh tuh hulph,” Silas pleaded. Edmund cocked an eyebrow. “Wusmry uhs un truhle! Uh wunh tuh hulph!” The caretaker eyed him suspiciously, then he spotted Rosemary’s ribbon hanging out of his pocket.

“What have you done with her?” For an old man, Edmund’s voice was unusually strong.

“Nuphin’! Useeuhs--”

“Lucius?” He nodded vigorously. “Lucius what?!”

Silas nodded in the direction of Rose’s cries; Edmund followed with his eyes. “Deep into the forest, I see.” Silas looked down in disappointment.

“Ihs uhll muh fuhlt.”

Edmund turned back, looking confused. “What was that?”

“Ihs uhll muh fuhlt.”

“Sorry, what?”

Silas sighed, exasperated. Edmund smirked smugly. “Ihs. Uhll. Muh. Fuhlt.”

“I figured as much, you little git.”

He really did take the princess’s capture personally. He’d been with her the entire time; if only he’d walked a little closer--no, he couldn’t have. Strict protocol about keeping one’s distance from royalty. Dammit, Rose, wherefore art thou la princesa?! ...Where the bloody hell did that come from?

“Alright, listen up, you little weasel.” Silas’s eyes widen a bit. “Now, you and I know how important Rose is to the planet, yes?” Silas nodded solemnly. “And, of the two of us, you are the most probable to return her to safety, given your youth and unspoken attraction.” Silas’s eyes widened in astonishment. Attraction?! To that skinny little brat--have you lost your mind?! There is absolutely no way in hell I’d ever be attracted to--.

Another scream, this one more like a mangled cry. Edmund looked at the forest, his face full of concern. He glanced back at Silas and smirked ever so slightly; as he noticed the smirk, Silas also realized his face was contorted into some strange emotion--is that ‘worry’? Edmund stared at him knowingly.

“If I turn you loose, will you swear to bring Rosemary home alive?”

“Uh swuhr.”

“Sorry, what?”

“Uh swuhr.”

“Didn’t catch that.”

“Udmuhn!”

“Oh fine, stop whining.” Edmund picked up the blade and walked around the trunk of the tree. As he sliced his bonds away, Silas stumbled forward and fell hard into the hard-packed ground. His shoulders were sore, and the insides of his arms were rubbed raw from the bark; Silas tore off the gag as quickly as he could, running his tongue over the wounds on the sides of his mouth. Silas looked longingly into the depths of the forest, away from Rosemary and her troubles. This is my chance. I can run now and never have to deal with any of this. She is not my bloody responsibility! I shouldn’t even be helping her, given who she is and who I am. That’s it, I’m done.

But as Silas rose to run the other way, her blood curdling shriek echoed again; instead of feeling the satisfaction he’d grown up with, there was this odd pain where glory used to be. He felt...badly. It was all very strange. Even when he went to take a step forward, something made him stop; this feeling of worry and responsibility was entirely new to the young man, and it took every fibre of his being to not drop to the ground and cry. What am I supposed to do? For centuries, his family’s mission was to destroy the royal family and claim the throne as their own; now, they’ve almost done it. Why would Silas, heir to the throne of Dargun, want to help the very person he’s been trying to destroy?

He thought back to when he had Rosemary in captivity; he felt different there, too. He didn’t really know it, but something felt...wrong there. Rose’s voice pierced the veil of memory: “You don’t understand! It’s not just this kingdom! The entire planet is at stake, here! If we don’t work together, the whole world will drown! Please! I need your help! Silas, I need you--” His head ached. Mother’s going to have me beheaded for this.

Strangely, as that realization dawned on him, he didn’t seem to care. Silas turned around and walked up to Edmund.

“I swear on my own life, sir.”

The old man gazed at Silas in surprise. He held out Kellan’s dagger.

“Suppose you’ll be needing this, then.”

Silas bowed his head and took the blade gratefully. As he turned and ran toward Rose, he heard Edmund shout: “What made you change your mind?”

Silas paused for a moment.

“Circumstance puts everything into perspective.” He smiled to himself as he heard Edmund roar with laughter after hearing his own quote.

And it was true. As Silas sped into the forest, he was filled with a new sense of meaning. The world isn’t just about power and those too weak to seek it; there’s righteousness, and greed, and understanding, and putting others before oneself. That’s what Rosemary was doing: she was sacrificing her own safety for the good of others. She didn’t even think about what her choice would do to those who loved her.

She screamed again, and pain tore through Silas’s heart. He wasn’t going to let her die.


For practical reasons, of course. Not because he liked her or anything.