Hunted 3.1

“Alekos! Are you okay?”

Alekos opened his eyes to see Rebecca Edelwore looking down at him. Her long blond curls almost reached his face and her always calm sapphire eyes were dark. Panic coursed through him. Did he pass out here? Now? Of all the times when a vision could’ve happened it chose this moment.

He nodded and pushed himself up to a seated position. The moment he did, it felt like a sack of bricks smacked him in the face. He groaned and clung his head, fighting to keep himself from crumbling again. He had to remain conscious.

“Take him to the healer,” came the king’s voice. It sounded so far away, but Alekos knew his father stood next to him. “We will find an answer to these fainting spells.”

Rebecca held under one of Alekos’s arms and pulled. Together, they got him off the floor and walking toward the door. He was still stumbling, but his balance was improving. What wasn’t improving was his headache that felt like a brick to his forehead.

His personal servant Lorien jumped from his chair when they exited. “Is everything okay?”

Alekos tried to wave it off, but Rebecca spoke up. “He just fell, eyes wide like last time.”

“Another vision?” Lorien whispered. “The last one was two weeks ago.”

“They’re getting closer together.”

“It’s not by accident then. Something’s going on.”

Alekos’s head already ached. These two discussing his condition wasn’t making it any better. He didn’t want to think about the visions or why they were happening.

“Can we discuss my problems later?” he asked through gritted teeth. “I really need to lay down.”

“Of course, my prince,” Lorien suddenly changed from friend to servant. He led them back up the stairs, keeping an eye out for any passers by who could possibly question the prince’s well-being. Servants wandered the halls and stared as they passed, but Lorien promised the prince he would talk to them later.

Alekos was thankful that his room was directly above the meeting room. He wasn’t up for walking the castle. The headache was still there, but his balance had returned. Even so, he didn’t have the energy.

When they finally got to his room, he collapsed on the large bed. “Get me a rag, will you?” Lorien dashed to the bathroom. Alekos turned his attention to Rebecca who was wandering the room. He had never let her in before.

She ran her fingers across the silk curtains before moving on to the bookshelf. Alekos had a collection from all subjects. Sometimes he couldn’t find anything he was looking for.

When she came across his desk, breath caught in his throat. He didn’t have time to clean before the meeting. All he was working on still lay on the table top. Opened books piled on top of each other with papers strewn across. His pen lay in the middle of his notes, waiting to be picked up and continued.

“What did you see this time?” Rebecca asked.

Alekos was relieved to hear that was the question. Yet is still annoyed him. “We’re not doing this now.” He always told Rebecca everything. She was the one he was closest to in the castle and she kept his secrets. This vision though would bring to light the girl. He didn’t want her bursting into action.

“You have to tell me eventually,” she said softly. “I’m here to help. We’ll figure it out together.”

Alekos sighed. “I was in the woods. Something was burning close by. Couldn’t see anything through the fog.”

Rebecca scrunched her nose. Her gaze lingered toward the open window. The sun was still shining despite the clouds threatening to swallow it up.

“That’s different than the other ones. Make sure you write it down.”

Alekos nodded. “We’ll talk again later.”

Rebecca smiled. “I care about you, Alekos. I want to help.” She leaned down and kissed his cheek, lingering a moment longer than she should’ve. She ran her hand down his arm and gripped his hand. “Get better.” Without another word, she left the room.

Lorien hurried back in and placed a cool rag on Alekos’s forehead. He groaned with relief and sunk his head into the pillow. “Thank you. Now go get some rest. Have you slept yet?”

“No, sir.”

“Then sleep. I’ll be fine.”

Lorien bowed and left Alekos is silence. Alekos cherished times like these, left with only his thoughts and the world around him. Being prince, he didn’t get to enjoy much time alone.

He slid himself off the bed and stood slowly. The room stood still and the brick didn’t push him back down. It tried, but he held his ground. Even so, he stumbled to his desk. Not so gracefully, he sat in the chair and started making sense of the mess.

He picked up a sheet he had written across. The notes looked familiar to him, as he was writing them before his father called him away. He wasn’t getting deep enough into the past, but he was close. He wanted to find out what the necklace was before there was another vision.

There was a stack of books in front of him with one book laying open on top. He pulled it down to remind himself of where he was. It was opened to a page with a portrait of King Marcus. The king sat tall on a throne much like the one Alekos’s father sat on now. Except his father’s had sheep skin lining the back.

Alekos turned a few more pages. There had to be a mention of a necklace somewhere. It was without a doubt an heirloom. He had discovered the lettering not long after his father gave it to him two years ago. MJG. Marcus Jonathon Gyfford. It had to be the king’s emblem.

Five pages in, he stopped. There, in yet another portrait, was a red necklace hanging from Marcus’s neck. Alekos scanned the corresponding paragraphs, searching for the words he wanted to see. He couldn’t get past the first paragraph however, because a hand reached around him and slammed the book shut.

Alekos turned to see Ren standing, arms crossed. “Stop looking,” the bodyguard grunted. “It’s not worth it.”