pietá

Better

(Y/n) clung onto William's arm as they exited the front doors of the building. And he liked having her by his side for once without protest. It was as if they were an actual couple. And soon enough he was sure she'd realize they were meant to be.

As for now they entered their coach that waited upfront. William able to enjoy some alone time with the girl for a brief second. But then Elliot showed up.

The white haired male was unamused as he rolled has eyes and let out a sigh of annoyance. "Not you again. Shouldn't you be following you father around?"

The young man took his seat across from the female. Ignoring William's comment as he grinned and greeted the girl charmingly. "Hello, (Y/n)."

She smiled and nodded at him, irking William just slightly.

As they waited for the carriage to pull away, the door was unexpectedly opened. "Here you are, your highness." They heard the coachman say.

Elliot and William both made strange faces as they heard this. Soon after, none other than Gossamer stepped into the now crowding wagon. He went and sat next to Elliot much to the dismay of the other men.

There was tense silence and no one spoke.

The long haired male had a stern expression as usual. He glanced towards Elliot for a second then folded his arms. "Nice shiner." He simply said causing the young man next to him to grow upset. "Who polished it? Him I'm guessing." He jerked his head in William's direction now wearing a smug smile.

"Oh, you're so funny." Elliot retorted. "And why are you here? So we can babysit you?"

Gossamer tilted his head and raised his brows. "Yea, kinda. My father would prefer if I didn't ride in the same coach as he and my brother."

William eyed the male across from him with suspicion. He saw what his intentions were, both of them. He intertwined his fingers with (Y/n)'s and crossed his legs over each other. Leaning closer to the girl and resting his head on hers.

It was as if he was marking his territory. Making sure that they both knew (Y/n) was his. And he was certain to guarantee her feelings for him to be true. It was only a matter of time.

Elliot watched the pair with malice. His anger from their infamous altercation was still fresh. As fresh as the bruise on his eye... But it was alright for now. The young man turned away and faced the window, staring outside to avoid upsetting himself.

'All in good time...' He thought to himself. He took a subtle side-glance to William again. 'He'll get what's coming to him...'

••••

The carriages arrived at night as Gossamer's father said they would and they reached the outskirts of Mox. The kingdom a few miles from Arden.

Normally the kingdom would be bustling with people. Mox was known for it's shops and for selling lots of unique items uncommon in the other kingdoms. But at this time of night everyone had retired into their homes. The streetlamps were on and all streets were void of citizens.

They reached the castle quickly due to the lack of people. However, their visit was unexpected and it was a while before the guards were able to find servants to wake the king and take their luggage inside. They waited outside listening to the sounds of crickets and night animals in the trees nearby. The halfmoon above them acting as the only source of lighting as they waited outside the grand structure.

Finally, the doors were opened and a small amount of servants rushed out. Respectfully greeting the royals and their staff.