The Beast Within

A King's Game: Chapter Ten

What led me to the prince's room, I cannot say.

After Roland closed his door I wandered the royal wing, my mind filled with the terrible possibilities of the king in wolf form, until something, whether chance or fate, stopped me before the ornate door.

I didn't want to entertain the prince's company.

And I wouldn't have to, for when I peered through the hole in the door I found his bed empty, and no physicians or servants were moving within.

Without thinking, my hand rapped on the wood. I shook my head, feeling foolish for knocking on the door to an empty room.

"Come in," a voice called, almost too quiet to hear.

I pushed open the door, curious to discover who was inside the room while the prince was away. The whelp was reclining on a chair, and when he saw me he moved quickly to his feet.

"I thought you were a servant!" he exclaimed as he gave a short bow.

"Sorry for interrupting," I said, then added a quick lie, "I was looking for the prince."

"Oh, he's not here. He's with a physician for his studies."

"His studies?"

"He has them twice a day. He's got to be clever for when he becomes king." He went to a table and plucked a grape from a platter piled with food. "He spends lots of time with the physicians."

"How long will he be away?"

"Depends on his mood and how strong he's feeling. Sometimes he's gone for hours, sometimes it's minutes." He swallowed the grape and reached for a slice of apple. "You can stay here and wait for him if you want." His brow furrowed. "At least...I think you can."

"Thank you, but I don't wish to intrude."

"You're not! Please stay! Just for a moment." His tone was pleading.

"You wish for me to stay?"

"Only if you want to. You don't have to..." He blushed and lowered his eyes. "You don't have to do anything I ask. It's just a little lonely here."

I considered his request, weighing it against the potential punishment of being caught. As I paused in the doorway, the whelp's attention was taken by something else.

A spider had wandered onto the table he was seated at. I watched as he lowered his hand and allowed the arachnid to crawl onto his fingers. I assumed the boy would slam his hand and crush the poor bug, but he only examined it.

"You're hungry, aren't you?" he whispered to it. "You won't find the food you're after here though."

While carefully balancing the spider on his hand, the whelp stood and walked to a corner of the room. With gentle care, he placed his palm against the wall, creating a bridge for the spider to cross.

"Go on and build a web so you can catch some real food."

He waited patiently for the spider to leave his hand, and watched in amusement as it climbed the wall. When he saw my expression, he gave a bashful chuckle.

"She wasn't hurting no one. She just needed a bit of help."

"Most people would have squashed it," I said and instantly regretted opening my mouth when the whelp's face went pale.

"Would you have squashed her?" 

"I would have done the same as you."

He visibly relaxed. "I can't stand to see things in pain."