Magnus felt like he was floating on his way to his father's room, his mind full of thoughts yet completely blank at the same time. Sylvan accompanied him, but there was nothing he could say or do that could alleviate the crushing weight off of Magnus. Even as he raised his hand to knock on the door, Magnus could feel himself trembling. Cursing at himself for being so weak, he forced himself to pound his fist against the solid wood. The doors were opened by two of the king's guards, and Magnus strode briskly in as the guards shut the doors on Sylvan's face, leaving him helpless to do anything more than wait and hope.

The king was lounging one of his many luxurious couches, snacking on a bowl of blood red juquay fruit. He smiled when Magnus entered, his blue eyes gleaming and juice faintly staining his teeth. Magnus bowed low before the king, avoiding eye contact as usual and clenching his hands into tight fists to mask his trembling. If he wasn't wearing gloves, he was sure his nails would break the skin of his palms.

"Rise, my son," the king ordered, his voice tauntingly gentle and sweet.

Magnus stood, keeping his eyes on the floor and clasping his hands behind his back. "You asked to see me, Father?"

"That's correct. Would you like to guess why?"

He just loved to toy with him, and Magnus hated to play his game. "I don't know. If I have offended you in some way, I apologize."

"No, no, it's not fair for you to apologize or be punished if you've done nothing wrong."

Magnus bit the inside of his lip. If that was true, he'd have nothing to worry about. But this was his father's house and his fathers rules, and things weren't so simple. "I...Apologize for leaving the party early. That was disrespectful and ungrateful of me."

The king tilted his head. "It's not a problem if you left for a good reason."

His words felt like nails stretching against Magnus's protective walls, prodding him further. Magnus swallowed harshly.

"If this has to do with Kydia, I promise—"

"No, of course not."

He paused. "What?"

"She's basically groveling at your feet. She wouldn't dare do anything that would lead to her precious prince getting hurt."

Magnus blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Obviously, I can't let you marry her because of her traitorous parents, but that doesn't mean you can't have some fun with her."

Magnus's eyes narrowed in disgust. "I'd never hurt her like that."

The king exchanged a look with one of his guards. "Well, I doubt she'd object—"

"Father," Magnus interrupted. "Where is the issue here?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Just...curious about your apparent disinterest in women."

He always found ways to taunt Magnus further, as if what he was already doing wasn't enough. It was true that Magnus had never touched, much less kissed, any girl before. At least, not by choice. He didn't like to think about what Cleo had attempted. Regardless, the prince's abstinence was often a topic of gossip among those in court, much to his dismay. Why couldn't people just mind their own business? Maybe it was because it displayed yet another stark contrast between himself and his father, a jarring difference in morals that Magnus firmly intended to maintain.

"I suppose I just haven't found the right person," he murmured. "I'm in no rush."

The king smirked. "Well, you're missing out."

"I wouldn't know."

"But you easily could. We're the most powerful people in the land. We can have whatever we want, you know."

"What if that's not something I want?" Magnus bit back before he could hold his tongue.

The king raised his eyebrows, noting the previously suppressed bitterness seeping into Magnus's tone, but they were interrupted by a knock on the door before he could comment on it.

"Enter."

At his word, the doors opened to reveal a guard dragging in a struggling, crying girl.

"Mina," Magnus gasped, his heart dropping as he assessed her injuries. Her face was bloody and bruised and the scars on her injured hands had been torn off, leaving them bleeding again.

Upon hearing word of Lord Victon's death, Mina felt nothing but satisfaction. Though she had no idea about who could have possibly done it, she didn't care. That monster was dead and he couldn't hurt her anymore and that was all that mattered. At least, that was all she could think about until guards came pounding on the maids' quarters, demanding that she be handed over. Jia and even Sophie tried to protest, but they were powerless as the men stormed in and apprehended her. Mina's first instincts were to struggle, but they made sure to beat her until she was too weak to resist. They didn't have to—they could have just picked her small body up and been on their way—but something in their eyes told her they took pleasure in seeing her in this state. So much for the prince trying to protect her. All he did was cause her more harm.

"Ah, so here's our little troublemaker," the king commented, looking her up and down. "Bring her over."

This was the first time she had been this close to the king since that fateful day. Back at the ball, she could only observe him from afar, but now here he was, right in front of her, clear as day. The pain she was feeling throughout her body dulled in comparison to the growing ache in her chest as she looked upon her best friend's killer. She felt like she couldn't breathe as she attempted to sort through her overwhelming feelings of grief, anger, and everything in between. The guards forced her to her knees before him, her hands bound behind her back. She couldn't help but shiver when she felt his hand touch her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes, those deep, gleaming pools of blue that were almost identical to his son's. His gaze was filled with everything from smug glee to muted rage, but if he recognized her, he made no indication. It had been over a decade after all, and why would someone as powerful as him remember someone as insignificant as herself?

The king clicked his tongue. "So you're the treat Victon wanted so badly, hm?" The way he looked at her made her want to throw up. "I expected someone prettier, but maybe you'd look better without these," he purred, running his thumbs over her cheeks, purposely pressing on the fresh bruises to make her wince. "And these..." he continued, looking down at her tattered clothing.

"Father," Magnus interjected, his voice stronger and fiercer than usual. Mina hadn't even noticed his presence, being so hyper focused on the king, but she could almost feel her heart slow when she heard Magnus's voice. "Hasn't she suffered enough?"

The king paused to look at his son, disapproval crossing his gaze. "Enough? This is the girl who assaulted and, for all we know, killed a lord of my court. Such despicable actions cannot go unpunished."

Magnus gritted his teeth. "She was just defending herself. And she didn't kill him. She couldn't have."

The king pretended to look around the room in a mocking way. "Please, where is the real murder then, hm? If you're so wise, tell me who did it, if not her."

"I...I don't know," Magnus responded, his voice softer than before. "But take one look at the facts. Lord Victon's wounds were too grave to have come from a simple kitchen knife or letter opener. She couldn't have done something like that."

"Well, maybe she had help," the king replied. His hand shifted from Mina's face to her throat, eliciting an involuntary whimper from her. "Tell me, little dove, who helped you?"

She wanted to fight back so badly, but there was absolutely nothing she could do, being bound and feeling too weak to even keep her head up on her own. "No one," she barely managed to squeak out. "I had no part in this."

"Oh, but you did from the very moment you chose to retaliate, my dear." His grip tightened on her throat, and tears began to form in her eyes. "I see no one's properly taught you your place yet." Looking around the room, a sinister smile formed on his lips. "Guards, remind this wench what she's good for, and show my son how it's done."

Mina's blood ran cold, and her head dropped nearly to the floor as the king released his grip on her. Tears began to rush down her face and she didn't even try to stop them. She braced for the feeling of rough, greedy hands on her, but they never came.

Magnus had been listening in silent fury, but hearing what they intended to do to her snapped something in him. Lunging at the first guard that tried to approach Mina's sobbing form, Magnus punched him squarely in the jaw, sending him reeling. The next guard came at him, but Magnus kicked him in the gut before shoving him into a nearby table. When the first guard came at him again, Magnus whipped out his dagger, causing the guard to back up to avoid his swipe. Magnus usually tried to avoid fights, but Sylvan had made sure to teach him how to defend himself and others if it came down to it. The king watched the fight wordlessly, almost in an amused way, until one of the guards managed to land a hit on Magnus's face.

"Hey, hey," the king interjected, causing the guards to freeze in place. "What did I say about touching my son's face? And Magnus, I'd prefer it if you didn't kill my guards"

The guards immediately bowed down, apologizing profusely, while Magnus rolled his eyes in disgust, wiping the bit of blood from his lip. His father was obsessed with keeping his face nice and unblemished, even when he was the cause of most of the scars littering the rest of his body. But none of that mattered if no one could see it.

"Now that your little stunt is over, where were we?"

"I'm taking Mina with me," Magnus stated, meeting his father's gaze for the first time that evening. "And no one's going to touch her."

"Is that so?"
"Your Majesty!"

A commotion at the door thankfully diverted their attention once again. Two more guards entered, dragging a struggling Rook into the room. Sir Orenn followed behind them, his gaze cold. Sylvan took this opportunity to enter as well, a saddened and worried look in his eyes.

"We've found the murderer, Your Majesty. Rook Palladino was missing from his post, so I sent men to look for him. He stole a horse from the castle stables and attempted to flee the castle, but we managed to track him down to the town of Caveldale." Orenn explained.

Rook's face was bruised from a heavy beating and blood ran from his forehead into one of his eyes. His eyes met Mina's just long enough for her to mouth the words 'thank you' to him. Seeing that filled him with a bit more strength and he raised his head to face the king in defiance.

The king clicked his tongue, stepping past Mina toward his new target to torment. "The Palladinos were once a noble and revered family, and look what's become of you."

Rook's eyes narrowed. "We're still the same as we always were. It's the kingdom that's changed for the worse."

"Is that so? Well, thanks to your brash actions, your family will suffer too for what you've done."

"You'll never catch them," Rook hissed through his teeth. "You may kill me, but you won't be seeing the last of us."

The king's eyebrow furrowed. A cold silence filled the room for a moment before he lashed out, striking Rook so hard in the face that it caused an audible crack.

"Take this man to the dungeon," the king ordered, his voice dripping with venom. "And we'll see if he'll still be so bold once we're through with him."

Magnus felt his heart sink to even lower depths than he ever thought possible. What Rook did was brave and perhaps even just, but now he'd face the full force of the king's wrath and there was nothing anyone could do to help him. Magnus knew from speaking to Rook on a few occasions that he had a younger sister and loving parents back home, and he could only hope and pray that Rook was right and they would manage to escape the clutches of the king's guard.

Bringing his mind back to the present, Magnus took the momentary diversion as a chance to inch his way toward Mina who was still huddled on the floor, horror written all over her face. He may not be able to help Rook, but he could still help her.

"Can you stand?" Magnus whispered, touching her arm tentatively. Taking his dagger, he cut through her bonds, releasing her hands. She flinched at first then relaxed a little when she realized it was just him. She nodded, but as she struggled to her feet, she found herself leaning on him for support. "I'm so sorry, Mina."

"What do you think you're doing?"

Mina turned to look back at the king, her gaze full of rage rather than fear. Maybe it was a good thing that she was currently so injured, because she knew she would have lost her cool on multiple instances already. Oddly, Magnus's touch was steadying in more ways than one, keeping her grounded in the moment instead of caught up in her thoughts and feelings. It would do her no good to get herself killed now.

"I said, I'm taking Mina with me. We know now that she's not the murderer, and she's suffered enough for what she's done. You said yourself that I shouldn't have to be punished for something I didn't do, so the same should apply to her." Magnus knew deep down that his father could do whatever he wanted regardless, but it didn't hurt to try to reason with him.

The king eyed him, his gaze so fiery that Magnus felt as if it was melting his skin off. Magnus knew that he didn't take too kindly to being opposed, especially by his own son, but he couldn't just sit back and watch Mina get hurt any longer.

"Fine," the king finally replied. "Send her away, but you come with me."

Magnus felt goosebumps spread across his skin, but he didn't let his discomfort show on his face. "Alright." Craning his neck, he called out to his guard who was still standing at the doorway.

Sylvan approached, worry and sadness apparent in his gaze. He had really hoped Rook would make it, but now, he didn't even want to think about the things they would do to him as punishment. Rook had made it to Caveldale though, and Sylvan knew that was where his family lived. Perhaps Rook stayed long enough to tell them to flee before he was captured. At least, that's what Sylvan hoped was true, though he had no way of knowing for sure.

"Sylvan, take Mina back to the maid's quarters please. Jia can take her from there," Magnus ordered.

Sylvan nodded, but as Magnus tried to pass Mina off to him, she squirmed, clinging onto him before even she herself could realize what she was doing. Though she'd never admit it out loud, his presence was comforting and she had grown to trust that he truly intended to do no harm. She couldn't say the same about anyone else here though.

"Hey, hey," Magnus murmured, fully aware that all eyes in the room were on them. "You can trust Sylvan."

Her eyes didn't indicate any less worry, but she allowed herself to let go of Magnus. He offered her a reassuring smile and Sylvan lifted her up into his arms. She opened her mouth to say something, maybe to express her thanks or something, but her throat closed up. Why would he go to these lengths for her? Why couldn't he just turn a blind eye and save himself the suffering? Seeing her at a loss for words, he simply reached over and wiped a lingering tear from her cheek before turning and joining his father and the guards at the door. As the royals and the guards filed out of the room, Mina heard Sylvan swear under his breath.

"Look at the lengths he'd go for you," he murmured as he began to make his way back to the maids' quarters.

She didn't want to see, but she did. And now it was something she couldn't ignore for any longer.