CHAPTER 29
Axel
T
he rest of the performance had passed without incident. Whatever had caused his temporary discomfort didn’t reappear, for which he was grateful; it had been most unpleasant.
But the show itself was everything he’d dreamed of, and except for those few brief moments that could have been indigestion, it had passed without a hitch. No accidents, no disasters.
“I could paste the report to the glass, but it might be difficult to clean off.”
Axel jumped at Katy’s dry voice in his ear. Dragging his eyes from the window, he rubbed the back of his neck and grinned down at her. “Are you telling me to get back to work?”
“You’ve been staring at the clouds for longer than you think.” She bumped his side with her elbow. “Standing, so not even pretending to attend to your responsibilities. What are you thinking so hard about?”
“You admit that I was thinking. Why are you so certain that I was not thinking about my reports or other matters pertaining to the kingdom and its efficient operation?”
Instead of replying, she arched a knowing eyebrow.
“Fine,” he sighed, returning his gaze to the barren gardens beyond his study window. “You are correct; my mind was far adrift from royal concerns.”
While he gathered his thoughts, Katy slipped her hand into his and leaned her head against his shoulder. Her nearness helped him give voice to his words. “The performance at the theater was as smooth as before The Tanner’s Secret. And there have been no strange occurrences or notes since the fire.”
“Mm-hmm,” she agreed. “But that doesn’t explain such deep thinking.”
He traced the distant trees of the arboretum with his eyes. “Helena is back. She is still catching up on her studies, but barring a tragedy that steals my father before his time, she will be suitably prepared by the time she would be called upon.”
The concept had been swirling in the back of his mind for months, but he hesitated to present it to Katy.
Remembering how he’d felt as he sat in the audience, he pushed on, “And as we have a child on the way as well, Ralnor will soon have two heirs apart from me. What if I returned to the theater? I could audition for the next show.”
Keeping his eyes trained out the window, he breathed into his muscles to relax them as he awaited her response. Expecting his child to fill the role he didn’t want felt almost as bad as her deal with Fabian, but joining a show wouldn’t remove him from the line of succession.
Her other hand wrapped around his arm as a heavy exhale gusted through her nostrils. “What about Lord Ulrich? Otto may be working for him, but while Otto should catch any plans for havoc at the theater, a subtle band of assassins might evade his notice.”
“Given our history, I’m sure Otto is extra vigilant for assassination plots,” Axel assured her.
Finally facing her, he wrapped a finger in her curls.
“But if I were openly participating in a production, I could take more guards. And if I keep to the main road, rather than wandering the back streets looking for Lotti, it would take a very bold set of men to attack me.”
“Perhaps.” She gave him a wan smile. “But you can’t openly participate unless your father agrees, can you? I know he planned to let us perform before our wedding, but that was a special occasion. I can’t see him saying yes right now.”
Father had supported him in a council meeting a few months earlier, but Katy was right – that didn’t mean he would let Axel skip out to rehearsals and the full run of performances. It would be a month or two before it was an issue, since A Home for Howard had only just opened.
But Axel ached to stand on the stage again. The occasional song at a castle event wasn’t the same.
You could abdicate. Then the time commitment and the council wouldn’t matter.
He could. It might cause more unrest than a crown prince on stage, but it would be temporary. In the long run, his people would be better off with a ruler with more backbone, like his sister.
Once she grew up a little and accepted that she couldn’t break the rules to get what she wanted, even when a curse stole twelve years of her life.
The thought drew a frown. Was he as guilty as Helena of excusing poor behavior in pursuit of his desires? Was he being irresponsible to want to escape the crown and spend his days on the stage?
“Stop beating yourself up over it.” Katy increased the pressure on his arm. “I can see you blaming yourself for not being the perfect prince you think you should be. He doesn’t exist.”
“Wise beyond your years, my love,” he said, forcing a smile as he dropped a kiss on her forehead. She was right; even if he gave up on the theater, he would never be the prince his people needed.
The struggle inside him filled his chest, tugging his heart in opposite directions. Someday, he would have to make a choice.
But not today. “I suppose I should comply with your wise instructions and return to my desk to delve into the stack of papers awaiting my attention.”
“Or…” Her hand drifted up his arm, then trailed across his chest. “We could spend a little time learning that score that you’ve been ignoring. A little time being musical might help you settle down to work.”
Or increase his reluctance to return to it. But for years, learning the show on his own had dampened his need to be on stage; perhaps it would work again today.
~
“Another council meeting,” Axel sighed, taking a moment to wrap his arms around Katy before he stepped into the council room. They stood in the small anteroom, waiting for his father.
“Would you like me to come with you?” She leaned into him, one hand resting on her stomach. “I can keep my mouth shut when necessary.”
Chuckling, he brushed his lips over her soft, bushy hair. “No need to do that to you. Pregnancy has made your temper less predictable.”
“I resent that comment,” she huffed without heat. “I have as much control over my temper as ever.”
“Which means little for you, my love.”
Behind them, the hallway door creaked open. Three sets of footsteps crossed the stone floor, surprising him. Had Father brought guests?
“Axel, Katrin.” Father’s deep voice boomed with his disapproval. “Ulrich insisted on a moment of your time before the meeting.”
Axel turned to face his enemy, keeping one arm around Katy’s waist. Lord Ulrich’s oily smile was as pleasant as ever. Next to him stood a beefy man with short, black hair, blue eyes, and a scar on his left cheek. “To what do we owe the pleasure, Lord Ulrich?”
The nobleman stepped forward with a shallow bow. “I wished to introduce you to my new assistant, Your Highness, since you expressed displeasure with the last one.” He grinned. “This one comes highly recommended.”
“Is that so?” Axel kept his voice steely, eyes narrowed as he eyed the newcomer. The new assistant scowled back. “And does he have a name?”
“Kaspar.” The man’s voice was coarse and carried an accent common to the poorer areas of Himmelsburg. “Used to work in the royal guard.”
“And why did you leave?”
Kaspar cast his eyes sideways to his new master. “Personal reasons.” He locked eyes with Axel again and added, “Someone close to me got hurt. I was told Lord Ulrich could help me resolve the situation.”
Katy fidgeted in Axel’s arm, but her polite smile stayed mostly in place, even though Lord Ulrich’s grin stretched. Casting his eyes toward the nobleman, Axel allowed a hint of anger to escape onto his face. “Indeed? And did he?”
One side of Kaspar’s mouth curved up. His eyes skated sideways to Katy, looking down her form and then back up again. “He did.”
The anger became more pronounced. “Is that so?” Axel snarled. Stepping forward, he set his left hand roughly on the other man’s shoulder. “I don’t know how you were wronged, but you leave her out of this!” Then pulling back his right fist, he flung it at the other man’s face.
“Axel!” Katy gasped as Kaspar stumbled backward and dropped to the floor. “What are you doing?”
Axel’s shoulders heaved with his heavy breaths, but he kept his glare focused on the fallen man. Father’s hand landed heavily on Axel’s arm.
“What do you think you are doing, boy?” King Steffan whispered angrily. Grimacing, he turned to Lord Ulrich and said, “My apologies. I don’t know what has overcome my son today. I will call a servant to—”
“No, let me.” Pouring repentance and contrition into his face and tone, Axel reached a tentative hand toward Kaspar.
“I am unable to express how sorry I am. I have had much on my mind, and I allowed previous trouble with Lord Ulrich’s employees to cloud my judgment.
Please, allow me to prove my goodwill by escorting you to the infirmary myself. ”
Kaspar eyed him warily for a few moments before grasping the offered hand and letting the prince to pull him to his feet. “I’m not sure that’s wise.”
“I’ll come with you,” Katy hurriedly said. She gave a tight smile to the other three men. “I promise I’ll keep him under control this time.”
If anything, Lord Ulrich looked amused by the turn of events. Father was still glowering at Axel, but he nodded in acceptance. “Very well. I will fill you in after the meeting.”
“Yes, Father.” Lord Ulrich would twist his absence, but Axel hid his wince. He swept toward the door and gallantly held it open for Kaspar. “If you please, my good man.”
Lord Ulrich’s assistant kept one hand over his nose and maintained his distrustful gaze, but at Katy’s urging, he followed Axel out into the hallway. They walked some way in silence.
“You couldn’t have found a more subtle way to get us away from him?” Kaspar complained once they were out of sight. He pulled his hand away from his face, revealing the blood dripping from his nose. “That hurt!”
“You were supposed to dodge,” Axel replied quietly, smiling pleasantly at a passing servant. “That was the point of the hand on your shoulder – so I could punch it to provide the smacking sound.” Flexing his right hand, he added, “I would have preferred that as well; you have a very solid face.”
“I didn’t expect you to take a swing at me!”
Next to him, Katy struggled to maintain an unbothered expression. “I almost gave him away! Really, Axel, how did you think that would play out?”
“Calm down, Kat; it’s not that bad.” The dark-haired man pressed his hand to his face again. “I rolled with it a little, but my employer would question it if I came back without any visible injury.”
“So you let him hit you?”
Axel and Kaspar exchanged a look. “Sort of.”
When they reached the infirmary, Axel requested a private room. Once the physician finished cleaning up his patient, Axel firmly closed the door and turned back to face his wife and the injured man.
“So, what news do you bring us from the dragon’s lair, Otto?”