Robin's nerves were shot, and he couldn't quite figure out why.

It wasn't that he had nothing to bother him. He had too much. The guards, who hired them, the new prisoner he and Andragoras kept tied up to one of the spare horses. They'd bound Tobias' hands and feet, then strung the rope through the never-ending maze that held each of the four abandoned animals in a line.

It wasn't an escape that pressed on the prince's mind. It was the words. The knowledge of conspiracy.

With any luck, the boy lied.

A though flew through his head. If he'd kept Erik alive a little longer, he or Andragoras could have pulled the information from him, one way or the other. Either his worry would be justified, or non-existent.

Then, the many names Erik spewed forth surfaced, and Robin regretted nothing.

Ahead of him, Andragoras stopped. Robin kept going for a moment to catch up, passing Tobias and the three other empty horses. Rushing water grew louder the closer he came to Andragoras, water he'd been so wrapped up in thoughts he would have missed. A narrow, wooden bridge, clean and slightly damp from the droplets that jumped onto it, covered a section of the river.

Andragoras dismounted and led his horse over to the water, stopping near a sign held up by the bridge's post. Without reading, Robin knew what it said. Unlike the bridge, it was weathered, the painted words faded and chipped from years taking the sun.

Aderyn. The one town King Eudes cared for enough to personally ensure it was spotless.

Robin, still on his horse, came closer to Andragoras, who rolled his shoulders and neck.

"Why did we stop?"

All left was passing the clay houses and cobblestone streets. Barely any time compared to what they'd accomplished since dawn.

Andragoras looked up at him, sun glinting off the top of his helmet. A droplet of sweat rolled down the side of his face as if they weren't surrounded by blankets of snow.

He pulled one arm in front of his body, then the other. "My horse was tired."

Tired, even though they had plenty of breaks before then.

Robin nearly rolled his eyes before remembering what happened the last time he did that. The captain's scolding rivaled the king's physical punishments.

He gave Andragoras a pointed looked as the man twisted his back. "I'm sure."

There was a pop, and Andragoras turned back to him. "Since we are nearing the castle, public image dictates you lead us." He frowned. In a lower voice, he said "Besides, our prisoner has been strangely silent. You may be able to make him speak."

Ah. That again. In the morning when he asked, Robin declined. His brain traveled in too many conflicting directions to speak with a clear mind. His sleep the night before ended with a knife hurling towards his back, and the morning began with cleaning human guts from the same bed he slept on. 

The fires still burned in his nostrils. Three bodies, engulfed in the flames, withered, melted away to bone. No burial. The Kallans' had their obsession with time. The Erakis' held theirs with the dead. 

He turned to Tobias. The boy, guard, prisoner-- whatever he was-- kept his eyes downcast. His head hung low, as if he slept, but they gaze was one of a man who knew far too well what fate he held. His wrists were raw, red, his face pale, stained with dried blood from Andragoras' fists. 

With the look, every thought that vanished with the racing river came flowing back. 

Robin took a breath. That's all they were. Worries. 

Andragoras took Robin's silence as a resounding yes, and pulled his horse away from the river. He didn't ride the animal to the back, but gestured for Robin to get off his. The prince did, and the two traded. Considering the ropes that secured Tobias were too tight and tangled to undo easily, the horses were in the order they stayed. 

The three began again, and for what felt like forever, Robin said nothing. They passed trees laden heavy with fallen snow, trotted through slush where the sun melted the top away. Each step held more weight, more meaning, sent Robin's heart jumping the slightest until eventually, a voice broke the internal war the prince fought.

"I have a request."

A request, from the one who'd been silent until then.

Robin did not stop his horse, but turned his head so he could see Tobias. "You've spoken nothing since last night, and now you demand when we are nearly at our destination?"

The boy held no shame, and did not back down. If anything, he straightened as far as the ropes would allow. "Please, your highness."

Is that why Andragoras wanted him in the front? A fraction of time left, and the captain knew deals were to be made?

Robin bit his lip for a split second before he realized what he did and quit. No expressions. "You may ask, but I cannot promise an answer you'll like."

A few roofs of houses appeared beyond the trees. Tobias shifted.

"Kill me now or free me."

Out of everything he expected, that was not it. Robin pulled up on the reins, halting every move the group made.

"What?"

A plea for freedom, that was usual. But the beg to die never appeared before. They all wanted to speak with the King or Queen, rather than the knight or prince end their misery early.

Tobias said nothing, but stared down the prince.

"What is it you are so afraid of?" Robin moved closer to the boy, but still well out of reach in case this was some elaborate escape attempt. "You will receive no worse than what you signed up to do to me."

A flicker of fear crossed Tobias' face before he stifled it. "My concern is not with myself but my family."

Nothing.

"You'll have to elaborate as to why."

Tobias turned his head so he no longer looked at the prince. "I've said, your highness. I did this for them."

Did he say? Robin couldn't remember a word of the boy's family back at the inn, though he had to admit his mind was elsewhere the majority of the time.

Robin pulled his back up and started to turn away, back to the castle. "Your family may be questioned, but not harmed. I can swear to that."

"No!"

The shout made Robin jump, adrenaline shoot through his veins for a moment before dying down.

"That's not what I mean, and you know it."

"I know it?" Robin whirled around, the reins gripped so tightly his knuckles turned white. "I know no more than what you've told me, which is hardly anything. The one way to ensure your own safety is to give me the name of the one who hired you, and you refuse even that. As far as I am concerned, you are a man who has committed treason against the crown, and your lies about your family are just to make me feel pity toward you!"

"He'll kill them if I do!"

Fire drew Robin's arm to his waist, made him grip with hilt of his sword and draw it. "I'll kill you if you don't."

"Fine." Tobias lifted his chin so the point of the sword had more area to cut. "It's better me than them any day."

The sword trembled. Shook. He'd not drawn it at the inn and killed him with the other guards. What made him think he could do it now?

A horse's footsteps told Robin that Andragoras came closer. "Is there a problem, your highness?"

There were multiple.

Still, Robin let his arm fall. "No, Captain. Nothing at all."

Andragoras raised an eyebrow that all but screamed otherwise, though he said nothing.

Robin waited for Andragoras to back away before speaking again. "I want either yes or no. If you cannot answer with a yes, say nothing at all. If you do this, I will help you get back home. Is that a deal?"

Tobias slouched, no longer the man he appeared to be moments before. "I cannot answer questions, your highness."

"You're not answering. You're staying silent." Robin flicked the reigns, and the group began moving again. "My mother has the power to protect you from everyone who may seek harm to you and your family. Good favor with her is good favor with the kingdom."

He got no answer, but didn't want one anyway.

"You were hired."

"Yes."

Good. He figured out something that simple. Hopefully, the rest would be as easy.

"It was a man?"

"Yes."

Obviously. Everytime Tobias refered the the person who hired him, it was always 'he.'

Frigid water sprayed up to Robin's armor from the river. He had only a few moments before Aderyn was full of houses, and houses meant people. People mean ears.

"Was he working with anyone?"

Tobias was silent to the point Robin began to mark it as a 'yes,' but spoke soon after.

"I don't know for sure."

Possibly more than one.

Time to see if Andragoras' theory was correct.

"Was this person from Krativ?"

"No."

Robin's heart skipped a moment, then slowed. "The town we were in--?"

That he still didn't know the name.

"Izmena, and no."

A tightness formed in Tobias' voice as he said those words. Surely, he'd begun to catch on to Robin's plan.

"Aderyn."

Nothing.

"The castle."

All Robin heard was the beating of his own heart, which he was surprised Andragoras didn't catch roaring over the horse's footsteps and make a snide remark.

A few houses came to view, with small children playing with spindly dolls.

He had time for one more question.

"The reason you cannot answer is that you were ordered."

The shrieks of the kids gave him the confirmation he needed.

The prince turned to Tobias, all the while trying to keep his face hidden from the family. They'd easily notice the symbol on the armor and the saddles, and Andragoras was far more recognizable than he, but still. The least amount of people he had to speak with, the better.

"When you speak with her majesty, tell her the same as you have told me. She will thank you for it."

He just had to ensure that the king, and his council, weren't in the room.

The rest of the time, they were quiet. Robin didn't ask anything else from Tobias, nor did he really care to hear the story of how he got dragged into starting a war. For some reason that God only knew, he cared enough to try and keep Tobias alive. Perhaps it was the age. Perhaps he just felt generous-- whatever it was, Robin didn't like. It left a pit deep in his stomach that tried to swallow him whole.

Time passed in a blink, and the prince no longer had to worry with keeping his head low to avoid idle chats with people. Instead, he found himself staring head-on at an iron gate, one that was supposed to open within moment of then coming into sight. The crease in the center swayed with a gust of wind, caused some of the snow topping it to fall to the cleared cobblestones below.

Robin looked past Tobias, and he and Andragoras shared a frown. Andragoras came up behind him, still on his horse, and wrapped his gloved hand around the center of the gate.

The iron clanged against the bricks as Andragoras pounded it.

"Open up!" he bellowed.

An underlayer of his voice made Robin almost wish to sink into the ground. He'd heard the voice for years, when he trained, when he fell, when the guards needed direction. Still, he doubted if the mightiest king could hear the captain's shout and not wish to obey.

Sure enough, the gates unlocked and swung open. The three, plus the spare horses, walked through, greeted by a few guards standing straighter than a board.

"Apologies, Captain." He turned to Robin. "And your Highness."

Andragoras, off his horse, took a long step toward the poor guard and opened his mouth, only to be silenced by Robin's fast hand.

"Apologies can be dealt with later." He motioned for the few guards standing close to come nearer. "Please untie everything and lead the horses to their stables, then come back."

As they did, Robin took a long breath. Luck and words had to be his friend. His mouth twisted to a tiny grimace. The council was easy to deal with. All he had to do was order them to leave.

King Eudes was the issue.

A soft tap on his shoulder brought him to reality. Andragoras stood close, his gray eyes dark with knowledge.

"Tell no one of our suspicions but your mother, highness," he whispered. "Deny even a hint of awareness to anyone else."

The prince nodded. "I'll tell you what is said later."

After the words left his mouth, Robin grabbed Tobias' bound wrists and half guided, half pulled him toward the open hallway that would lead to the throne room. Though he hated the lack of doors on the lower hallways in the winter, with the wind always numbing his ears and fingers, he found it useful at times. For one, the servants liked the outside less than he, and always made sure they were there as little as possible. It was less bodies to fight through when he was in a rush.

Second, the throne room was far easier to find from the outside than from the inside.

Robin passed doors and hallways, many closed off instead of hanging open. Darkness lingered over the outside hall, stifled the happiness of the light with hidden horror.

He almost stormed by the throne room, stopping at the last minute to grab the handle. The metal felt strange beneath his hands, like he'd been forbidden to touch it.

He hadn't, unless something drastically changed. There were just two guards that usually opened it for him.

Like the gate.

A sudden click, a realization that everything was wrong came a moment too late, as the door swung open and the two stood alone against the infinite white space and crimson robes.

Robin's throat constricted. Body froze. In a half circle around the two thrones were the council members, each facing outward toward them. Seven or ten men, always changing, ranged from hair whiter than snow to dark as pitch. They wore clothes he didn't even care for, all fine, silk. All the same, defined by the crimson robes with a golden crest. His crest.

It wasn't them that made his stop though. No, they could be handled.

It was who they surrounded.

Because, in the center, was only one person. Short black hair. Eyes burning through the prince's skull, face devoid of all emotions. Head tall.

It didn't take long for Tobias, who looked around the room with a kind of innocent wonder, to notice it too. The power.

Robin swallowed. Straightened. He was no longer a child. No longer should he skitter like a mouse.

The one in front of him was not his mother. She was gone. Where, he did not know, but the one place he needed her, he got her husband. King Eudes.

His father.