SGE His Broken Heart (Sequel to His Darkened Heart)

Chapter 21 Not So Empty After All

"Japeth recalled Aric had died here in this forest, alone, on the ground, and he wondered for the first time if he was going to die here too, just like Aric had."
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~ JAPETH'S POV ~

"Your majesty, have you heard the rumors that Tedros is gathering an army to attack Camelot?"

Japeth should've been trying to think of a correct response to the following question, but all he could think of was what a stupid question that was. After the way Tedros and Agatha crashed his wedding, how could Japeth expect Tedros not to gather an army?

Currently, Japeth was plopped in a stiff wooden chair as a young girl, one of the many reporters for Camelot Courier, blasted him with question after question. Sophie was perched in an identical wooden chair beside him, struggling to keep up with the many questions being thrown through the air.

The rulers of the other kingdoms who'd attended Japeth and Sophie's failed wedding had convened together to come up with a strategy that would help catch Tedros, Agatha, and the other rebels. Japeth had been present at the meeting and so far nobody had come up with a solid plan to catch the pesky heroes. There were decisions to secure the borders of the kingdoms and amp up royal security, but so far there was no solution of actually catching any of the heroes.

The meeting had been held the afternoon of the day that Japeth and Sophie were meant to be married after Japeth had emerged from his thinking place, his mind clear, but his heart heavy.

So far, five days had passed since Tedros and Agatha crashed Sophie and Japeth's wedding. Since than, Japeth had been busy mostly trying to come up with a way to deal with his biggest problem at the moment; catching Tedros. In his efforts to get the prince, Japeth had ordered warrants to be sent out on Tedros and Agatha's heads. There was a reward that would be granted to anyone who managed to capture Tedros and Agatha and any of their allies.

Tedros was the one boy Japeth needed to capture to get his hands on the final ring. The final ring whose destruction would bring Aric back to life. Needless to say, Japeth was a little desperate when it came to wanting to capture Tedros.

News spread fast across the endless woods about Camelot's failed wedding, and many people were demanding to know what happened. To get word out that Tedros and Agatha had crashed the wedding and to solidify his reign as king, Japeth decided it would be best to give some statements, and the many reporters straining for a juicy story were all too eager to question him.

That's how Japeth and Sophie ended up outside the Camelot palace, sitting on wooden chairs whilst being bombarded with questions.

"Your highness?" The same voice that had asked the previous question about Tedros's army spoke up, snapping Japeth from his thoughts, and he shifted in his chair, struggling to get in a comfortable position.

The speaker was a young girl, a pencil tucked behind her ear and a notepad clutched in her hand like a true reporter. Except the girl didn't even move to write anything down, and Japeth noticed that the front page of her notepad was blank.

"Of course I expected that Tedros was going to build an army to attack me," Japeth hissed. "They're not rumors—it's the truth. It's inevitable, really. Sooner or later, he's going to make his next move, but I'm counting on it. When the time comes, I'll be ready for him and his idiotic army."

The dozen other reporters that were gathered behind the young girl reporter instantly dotted down notes in their different notepads, copying down Japeth's exact words. The girl still didn't move to touch her pencil and her mouth opened wide to ask another question.