The next day was a council meeting day. Darius only came to Echo's room to tell him he was going to be busy all day with "conquests" and to care for himself. Echo decided to walk the castle halls, forgoing his court clothing for the nicest of his regular clothes. The guest wing of the castle had several rooms of art, sculptures, and old trinkets from generations past. Not many people were in these rooms so deep in the castle -it was a beautiful day outside- but Echo had wanted to avoid the sun for a while and pretend to be anyone other than Echo Eldric.

     He meandered through the gallery of paintings, a small labyrinth that had dozens of masterpieces covering the many walls. There were small alcoves of art hidden among plants and corners, couches and curtains lining them so you could view certain art in private. Echo had never gotten the chance to try painting, but he thought it couldn't be so hard to do some of the more simple paintings he passed. He had been staring at one particular painting of a triangle, square, and circle slightly overlapping when he heard someone else enter the gallery. He was on the far side, in a small alcove, so nobody should see him unless they made their way through the dozens of other paintings, so he let himself continue enjoying the art.

     He looked at the next painting, a dark canvas with red thrown across it in an angry swipe. He could do that. The red paint looked like it was smeared by hand, dripping down the canvas in long beads. The longer he stared, the more uneasy the painting made him. It reminded him of his own eyes, red and black... red the same shade as blood. He saw the blank space where the face of the man he killed should have been. The black background of the painting faded into the darkness of night. The red started glittering like blood in candlelight. Echo was no longer was looking at a painting, he was reliving a memory. A memory he tried to forget, one he never wanted to have. He could still feel the way the blade scraped along the man's ribs. Echo would always remember his wide eyes, the redness seeping through his shirt. 

     He jumped as a hand landed on his shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?"

     Echo turned, eyes wild, and had to lift his head to see above a wide chest. He made eye contact with Prince Alaric and immediately kneeled. Alaric grabbed Echo's arm and heaved him back to his feet.

     "None of that, are you okay?" Echo was confused as to why he was asking until he noticed another man staring at him from behind Prince Alaric, face screwed up in disgust. He must look wild, he thought. Echo brushed his hair back and realized he had been crying, tears coating his cheeks.

     "What is a commoner doing down here?" The man asked, then he leaned into Alaric while batting his eyelashes. "I thought this place was private, otherwise I would've dragged you somewhere else."

     Echo blinked with realization. "Oh, God. I'm sorry. I'll go."

     Neither man could move before Echo made a frantic escape, retreating to his room and vowing to wait for Darius before leaving again. When Darius showed up a couple hours later Echo was thankful to see him. They talked about Darius' morning; the people he met, the deals he was working on, the woman he caught eyes with on his way to fetch Echo. It felt normal, and yet not. It felt like this was what normal should be, not him ignoring Echo as if they weren't friends at the manor.

     They eventually made their way down to the garden, which was teeming with people despite the late afternoon clouds. Darius sent Echo to grab drinks, as usual, and Echo made sure to look around this time before sneaking a macaron and stuffing it in his pocket for later. He had yet to try the other treats, but he already knew that one was his favourite. On his way back to Darius he was stopped by a messenger from Prince Lysander.

"You may return to Ser Taris, and give him a message to meet the prince, over there, when he is able to." He gestured to a large cloth tent in the center of the field before walking away.

     Echo hurried back with the tray, passing the refreshments around as Darius cozied up to the same woman as before.

     "Excuse me, Ser. The-"

     "Not now, Echo." Darius waved him away.

     "Ser, the prince-"

     "Walk away, Echo." Darius snapped, and the command took hold.

     Echo couldn't help walking away until the distance lessened the burning in his legs. Lord Ferin's control over Echo's blood curse was much stronger when he was in his presence, and Darius wouldn't have had any control over Echo if it wasn't for the command Lord Ferin had issued before they left, since he could only use the blood curse for punishment. Follow Darius' orders unless it endangers the lives of you, him, or myself. It whispered in Echo's blood constantly. He could have resisted Darius', but Echo was accustomed to obedience and didn't want to anger his brother.

     After Echo thought he waited long enough, he went to find Darius again. He had moved to a more secluded section of the garden, a different woman sitting next to him. He was finally able to tell Darius the Prince's orders, to which Darius got flustered and asked why he hadn't said anything sooner. He quickly kissed the woman's hand and excused himself, dragging Echo along like a child.

     "I swear to God, Echo. Don't embarrass me in front of these two." Darius' voice was clipped as they walked across the field, Echo's wrist in a painful grip. "They're the key to this kingdom if I can't woo a princess into marriage."

     When they approached the Royals tent Echo fell into his commanded kneel. Nobody else kneeled for the Royals, their deep bows were respectful enough. It made Echo feel silly that he had been trained to kneel instead, but that was his job. It made Darius look good. The King was nowhere to be found. Instead, the Queen was lounging on his arm rest, a glass of wine in her hand.

     "Rise, please, young Eldric." She stated, waving Echo up. "You're much too formal for afternoon tea, darling boy."

     "Your Grace, you look magnificent as ever." Darius charmed his words out. "I was summoned by your son, Prince Alaric."

     "Oh, yes. Please see Ser Taris around back." She motioned to a guard. "A pity your father couldn't make it, would he approve of you attending council meetings in his stead? We missed the Taris seat being filled this morning."

     "Yes, Your Grace. It would honour my father for me to attend." Echo knew that was a lie, Darius only wanted the influence, not the responsibility of the council.

     "Very well, my sons should be around back. I will see you in the next meeting." She dismissed them with a slight nod of the chin.

     One of the Queen's guards led Darius and Echo around the tent where he was once again kneeling for the two princes. Darius stepped ahead, bowing deeply as he greeted them with grace.

     "Lysander, Alaric. It has been awhile, hasn't it."

     "Darius," Lysander locked arms with Darius before Alaric followed. "About time, Alaric had sent a messenger an hour ago. I see you truly took in an Eldric. How reckless."

     "Nonsense, he was raised as a ward and my attendant. His honour lies with House Taris." Darius looked up at Alaric. "You've grown since I saw you last, or at least filled out."

     Alaric shrugged. "I was a late bloomer, I didn't finish growing until I get hit twenty-one." His eyes roamed Echo's small frame. "How old are you, Echo?"

     "Uh, I'm twenty, I believe, Your Highness." He tried not to fidget, worried Prince Alaric would tell Darius about seeing him in the art gallery. He wasn't sure why he wanted to keep that part of his day private.

     "Oh wow, I thought he was your younger brother, Darius." Prince Lysander looked between the two of them. "He's small for his age. He looks frail. Did you forget to feed him?"

     "He has occasional fevers, but they're not life threatening. He has always been sickly, no worries." Darius lied, Echo wasn't always sickly. He was slowly deteriorating from having a blood curse for so long. Most blood magic was used for only minutes at a time, enough to overwhelm your opponent and restrain them. Blood curses were different. They were illegal, as was any magic that removed conscious choice. His family had risked everything for Taris' help, and he had done the same for them, which was one of the reasons Echo would never betray his Lord.

     "That's a shame. We have a healer on retainer, though. If he falls ill we can take care of it."

     "No, no." Darius said, too quickly. "He doesn't like healers. He just needs to be left alone when that happens." He shot a look at Echo, who nodded in agreement.

     "I don't expect it to happen while we are here, though," he said, eyeing Echo. It was a warning. Darius lacked the control of his father when it came to his punishments, the bruises were almost always apparent. Echo couldn't afford failures here, and he had made sure to listen to every command so far, leaving no room for Darius to punish him.

     "My sisters really want to meet you." Lysander told Echo, and Darius jerked his head to look at him.

     "Why? He's just a servant."

     "Because he's hot." Alaric deadpanned. "They want to see the Eldric eyes that have everyone talking." 

     Darius gasped, offended. "I'm hot though!" He looked at Echo with a steely glare. Darius wasn't a fan of sharing attention, especially not with his servant.

     "Well," Lysander clapped his hands together. "It looks like it's time for a drink. I have to enjoy my princehood, maybe make father jealous enough to hand over the throne even sooner."

     Alaric threw his hand over Darius' shoulder. "Drink with us, we haven't celebrated your coming of age yet."

     "Fine, fine. Might as well." He laughed as Alaric led him to the drink table.

     Echo watched them go, his head aching from the constant whisper of Lord Taris in the back of it. Lysander had hung behind, despite being the one who suggested drinks.

     "You're being treated fairly, Echo?" Lysander stepped in front of him. He wasn't as tall as Alaric, but his stocky build was somehow more intimidating. Echo nodded.

     "I'm glad Lord Taris found you when he did, I guess. I was almost your age when father ordered our forces to take the Eldric and Ellis manors." Lysander sighed. "We looked for survivors, but there were none. I'm sorry for your loss."

     "No need to apologize, Your Highness. They sent me away before their demise, so I didn't witness anything myself."

     "I have no idea how you made it to Taris' land, but you're lucky you did. Whoever took down your house didn't want any survivors."

     Echo's hands had been shaking just speaking to the prince, but they worsened at his comment. "Lord Ferin said it had been an accident."

     "That's the official story, but I'm not surprised he wanted to shield you from the truth. Nobody talks about it, but everyone knows it wasn't an accident. It seemed plan-Hey, are you okay?"

     Echo's vision blurred with tears. What was he talking about? His family had been killed? Lord Taris was his only ally, he had told him that. He said the crown wanted to take him because of his violent nature. He said that the only reason Echo wasn't killed was because of Taris' family power, their ability to control him, the fact they were the most powerful house after the Eldrics. He had said his family died before they could even try to surrender to the crown. He didn't say it was intentional.

     Echo swayed on his feet as Lysander repeated the question. His head hurt. The harder he tried to dig at the memories before his father took him to the Taris manor, the worse his head hurt.

     "Echo." A voice snapped him out of his daze, Darius was back with Alaric. "Go to your room, do not leave." Echo nodded, stumbling as he turned.

     "Is he okay?" Alaric asked from behind them.

     "He'll be fine. You just can't talk to him about his family like that. Anyways, let's drink!"

     Echo made it back into the main courtyard before tears finally escaped. He wasn't sure why he was crying, he was mostly just confused. Had Prince Lysander been messing with him? Lord Taris wouldn't lie to him like that, he was the most brutally honest person Echo had met. He started spiraling, gripping the wall as his breath sped up. A hand on his shoulder made him jump.

     "Sorry." A smooth voice offered. Prince Alaric. "Didn't mean to scare you. Are you okay? Your brother just let you walk off but you were swaying really bad."

     Echo was mortified that he had been caught crying again, but didn't dare shrug the prince's hand off. He shook his head instead, before switching to a nod, and finishing with a shrug. "I-I don't-" His crying hiccup cut him off.

     "Okay, that's not reassuring." He tried to guide Echo to a bench to sit, but Darius' order made him stumble towards his chambers.

     "I have to go to my room." He said, steadying his voice. He could cry later.

     "Okay. Want me to walk you?" Echo shook his head, but nearly lost his balance at the movement, reaching out to the wall to steady himself.

     "Let me walk you." The command compounded with Darius' so Echo had no choice but to allow Alaric to take the lead. Falling into step behind him was natural. When they reached the top of the stairs Alaric went left and Echo stopped following.

     "My room is this way." Echo motioned to the other hall of doors and Alaric's face screwed up in confusion.

     "That's the servants and attendant's quarters." Echo nodded. "Shouldn't you be with your brother?"

     "No, I'm just a servant." Echo said as Alaric caught up with him again.

     "You're an Eldric ward of Taris house. You are anything but a servant, Echo."

     They stopped outside of Echo's room and he turned to stare up at Alaric before shrugging. "I'm whatever my Lord commands me to be."

     "Is that what you want?" When Echo didn't answer he continued. "I'm aware of Taris magic. If they're somehow inserting themse-"

     "Thank you for the escort, Your Highness." Echo interrupted. He couldn't talk about Taris magic, Lord Ferin made sure of that years ago. He slipped into his room and closed the door in Alaric's face, hoping he wouldn't be punished for the disrespect.

     He changed out of his court attire, hanging them to prevent wrinkles, and threw on his regular clothes before sitting in front of the window. From his angle he could make out the royal tent and part of the garden, the rest cut off to his right. He tried to look around the royal tent to see if Darius was still talking to Lysander, and if Alaric had gone back to them. Darius had been more charming around other people, more confident. It was nice to see him thrive while away from Lord Taris. The castle was full of life, the garden beautiful, the mattresses comfortable. Echo loved being able to learn new things every day. He loved hearing about the different families and occasionally listening in on gosspip. He just wished people stopped bringing up his family.