The prince gladly accepted the drink, taking it with both hands and a gentle laugh, "Maybe you can stay. As long as you promise to not talk about politics and such then I might be able to make an exception." If he was being honest he liked talking with the Duke as well. He seemed nice, likable, trustworthy. It was hard to find people like that these days as everyone just wanted to backstab you. Especially if you were in a position of power.
Hylas smiled, silently thankful that he wouldn't have to know about the inner mechanism of kingdom politics. "I promise," He said, playfully raising his right hand as if he was swearing it, "And with that– I might also say I am…curious about a very many things, but trade routes…and politics as a whole hold little interest for me." That part was true, at least. Though, Hylas often pondered the idea of different lives he could've led, had it not been for his current line of work, and the idea of bettering a community had greatly appealed to him as a child living in the streets; long before he knew money could sway anything. "So, I'll be very happy to steer clear of the topic," Hylas said with a soft shrug, smiling around the rim of his champagne glass as he took a sip, "If it pleases you."
Cas watched him for a moment, his own smile growing a fraction as he listen to the other speak. He was glad that the other understood, at least a little. Even though all of those things were important to him, for the sake of his kingdom, on a night like tonight it was not something he wanted to trouble his mind with. He'd worry too much and knew that, if he conversed with the wrong people about the subject, he would end up in an argument, "It would please me very much," He said, taking a sip of his own champagne. It tasted slightly.. off but he couldn't place why as he once again, took a sip, "If you're not interested in trade routes, and rightly so, what exactly might you be interested in? And apart from music."
The prince's question prompted a quiet pause in Hylas as he tried to think of something that he was interested in and could speak broadly about. "Apart from music?" Hylas said, his attention had been on Cas' drink, and he hadn't even acknowledged the fact that he was the first to really ask him about his interests, supposing that the prince was just being polite. He had never spoken of his love for the sky and stars above, and he couldn't help but smile. "Why, I'd have to say astronomy, then," Hylas answered, "Stellar astronomy, in particular." The origin of this interest of his was something of a bittersweet memory; drawing back to the day he'd stumbled into the markets looking to buy bread with the coins he'd found, when he spotted a tall stack of volumes in the stand of the bookseller. His eyes had widened in awe when he heard the measly price of each one, and though Hylas had barely learned to read, and gone hungry again because he'd bought them, he had never regretted staying hungry so he could read far into the night– of silver moons and fire in the sky.
That was not the answer he had been expecting. Cas didn't exactly know what he thought the duke was going to say, however astronomy had not been on the list. In his life time the prince hadn't spoke to many people who had taken an interest in the sky, most people claiming that they preferred to know what was under their feet rather then in the sky above us. The prince himself had never had a large interest, however could appreciate the beauty and mystery in the stars and anything else that might lay beyond, "Interesting," He said, "I haven't heard of many who take astronomy as an interest. You'd be one of few in these parts. I supposed that makes you special."
The prince's statement was true; astronomers were not of a great abundance in Hylas' home kingdom or almost any other populated kingdom he'd visited. To his knowledge, nearly all the astronomical texts and monographs had come from the nomadic scholars of the desert– when they first began keeping record of the sky to keep time and direction. "You're right about the scarcity of this field of study," Hylas replied, taking a sip of his drink, "But special might be too flattering of a word to describe me." He smiled, though in his thoughts he felt quietly bothered. To him, 'special' was reserved for happier and perhaps more agreeable things, and the only real adjectives to describe him should be towards the type of person he really was. "The sun, moon, and stars are special, yes, but perhaps not their admirers."
He shook his head stubbornly, taking another couple sips of his drink, "I might have to disagree there." The prince blinked a couple times, looking to say something else but his thoughts were taken away from him, leaving him with only a sense of dizziness that he couldn't explain, "I.. I'm sorry you might have to excuse me for a few moments. I'm not feeling too well all of a sudden." He didn't know why, but his head was spinning. Maybe it was the dancing and the drinking or being too overwhelmed by the party, but whatever it was, he needed to find a seat, somewhere quiet, to sit down and collect himself again. Somewhere he wouldn't make a fool of himself in front of so many people.
The prince's wavering state sent Hylas' heartbeat up, not expecting him to be this affected so soon. It was a high dose, he knew, and the crooked apothecary had assured him it would last til morning, but he hadn't said anything about it working so fast. He shifted his expression into something sympathetic, through he was worried enough that he was sure it showed too. "Oh, are you alr– Here, let's go…" His gaze flickered rapidly over the ballroom, desperately hoping for some exit or balcony they sneak off to. The view from the drinks table was different from the other side of the sea of guests, and with a wave of relief Hylas spotted a carved archway leading outside. "Let's go here, shall we? The gardens, it looks like," He said, cautiously taking Cas' hand and nodding at the exit, "Perhaps some fresh air will help."
Cas didn't protest, letting the other take his hand and using it to keep himself steady. Whatever this was, it couldn't be good. The prince couldn't think back to the last time he'd felt sick, or at least slightly unwell. It was a strange feeling and one that he didn't enjoy in the slightest, "Yes, Yes I think that might be a.. a good idea." He gardens were empty, everyone being too concerned with the ball inside to bother. The chill of the wind nipped at any piece of exposed skin, adding another reason as to why it was a good idea to stay inside. However the cool, fresh air was refreshing, helping his spinning head ever so slightly.
Hylas looked over his shoulder as they left the ballroom, his gaze flickering over the crowd to make sure no one had seen them leave. Candelit lanterns lined the path around the flowers and sheared bushes, casting a warm glow over the paved cobblestone as they walked into the gardens. "Here, let's sit," Hylas suggested, pointing out a long seat of smoothly carved stone beneath a rose trellis, "Are you quite alright?" They were far and hidden enough from the windows and doorway of the ballroom, and with a feverish glance around them, Hylas decided that the gardens would have to be fine enough. The flowerered archway past the small fountain would surely lead somewhere, and if he could make it around the servants' entrance of the palace he could steal a horse to ride them away.
The prince took a seat, leaning over his knees as he tried to stop his head from spinning so terribly, "I'm not sure. My head it just started spinning. I'm unsure as to why, I haven't eaten anything tonight so I cannot be that." He took his mask off, placing it gently beside where he was seated. He made a note to make sure to not forget it if he had to retire early for the night, knowing his father wouldn't approve of such an accident on a gift so beautiful, "Maybe it's just nerves." He doubted it was, but it was the only explanation he had for he suddenly felt so ill.
The mask had escaped Hylas' attention as he placed his half-empty glass of champagne at the base of the seat, making a note to throw his and the prince's glass into into the bushes when they'd leave. "It could be nerves," Hylas softly said as he turned back to the prince, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder as Cas tried to collect himself, "But I'd argue the fact that you haven't eaten anything tonight has something to do with it. The hour is late, after all." A part of him felt good about lying to the prince this way, supposing that at least his last moments would be quiet; calm and hazy, rather than panic-stricken and terrified. "Did you have dinner?"
Cas leaned forward onto his knees, resting his face in his hands with a sigh as he gently shook his head, “No, I didn’t. I was working till late, had some meetings I had to organise and papers that needed signing,” He replied, “I didn’t have time, I haven’t eaten since around midday.” He was probably right, it was just because he hadn’t eaten for a while and now his body was finally reacting. Maybe he should go back in and eat, set a good example. Princes don’t just escape from there own parties.
"Hm, that must be it, then," Hylas said, nodding thoughtfully as he looked down at the prince's weakened state. The night was silent, save for the softened hum of chatter and the muffled sound of music inside. "You really do work too hard, Cas. And it seems like it's taking a toll on you," He added, speaking softly and only half-wishing for the sedative to kick in faster. This was the time Hylas tried to push away his heavy-hearted thoughts towards the prince and what would become of him; working to ignore the slow, creeping guilt that had followed him for days before to the ball. It didn't matter if he wished things were different, because nothing could change what he'd already done and agreed to do. "Take a moment to rest and recover, won't you? Then we'll go inside and get you something," He said, knowing well that Cas wouldn't regain the strength to go back in.
Resting for ten minutes seemed appropriate and Cas was sure no one would mind if he took a moment to collect himself, right? He knew his father might give him slack for 'not doing his duty' or something along those lines but Hylas was right, he needed a moment to rest, "Yes, yes that.. doesn't sound too awful." He could feel a sense of drowsiness settling in, pulling his eyelids down that he forced to stay open. He knew he was tired, but surely he wasn't this tired, right? Taking a nap at a party was certainly not appropriate but he couldn't stop his eyes from gently closing.
Hylas watched as the prince's awareness slowly faltered. "Here we go," He murmured under his breath, getting his first real look at Cas' face as he steadied him from swaying. From here, he took a moment to look at the man he would soon kill, knowing that it would haunt him after but still somehow feeling like this was something he needed to do before the other was taken away forever. He let out a soft sigh as his gaze drifted over Cas' defined features, lingering on the scar through his eyebrow; above those meadow-green eyes that blinked so slow and heavily, waiting for sleep to overtake him. "I'm sorry," He said after a quiet moment, waiting for him to wholly slip away before doing anything else.
Cas was too sedated to respond at this point, even though for a moment he looked like he was going to. Everything felt too distant, as if he was being dragged away from the moment. He tried to keep his eyes open, tried to do anything to fight off whatever was in his system. But he was so tired. He could barely even move his head to try and get a better look at the duke, or the man he thought was a duke. He registered the words spoken, barely, but he did and wished he could have replied. His eyes closed, stay shut as he gently swayed where he was sat, completely unconscious with no control over his body or what happened to him anymore.
The moments after the prince passed out were a bit of blur to Hylas, ironically enough. He figured that his mind had pushed emotions aside to work and had taken care of this ordeal of getting them off the palace grounds, keeping record of the things he'd done without the thoughts or feelings he'd undergone as he carried out each task. So his mind was blank as he threw their glasses into the bushes; his movements calculated and soundless as he carried him out of the gardens, silently past the guards and into the stables where he readied a horse to take them away. No guilt or hesitation had stirred from the palace and all through his journey to the safehouse; the faraway basement that he would use to carry out the job. It was when they arrived that the dispair finally hit him; such a cold and shrill feeling as he lifted the motionless body off the horse, standing beneath the ink blue night and suddenly transfixed on the still figure laying before him. His numb stare was unbroken as he slapped the horse's thigh, sending it into a fluster of neighs as it galloped away before he moved to bring him down into the basement. The door was locked, he checked twice. The windows were bolted, even though they were too small and far up to be a problem. And Cas was still heavily unaware of anything around him. Hylas had placed the sleeping prince on a narrow cot, tying his hands to the steel pipes and his legs to the edge of the bedframe through his pangs of conscience. He threw off his gold mask and embroidered waistcoat, restlessly muttering how this wasn't how he did things as he tried to loosen the collar of his dress shirt. The distress carried out far into the night as he tried so hard to ignore the repeated objections that his mind put forth, standing dagger-in-hand over Cas as he willed himself to bury the blade inside of him, only to shake his head and return to a chair. It was hours of anguishing doubt and near crippling shame, thoughts and murmurings slurring together through his weak attempts to stay awake, blinking hard at the candelit face of the prince before unwillingly falling victim to his own exhaustion.
The prince was unconscious well into the morning. Not that he would know it was morning when he woke, the lack of light in the basement meant it could be any day, at any time. Time felt like it had passed so slowly in his dream-like, unconscious state. His thoughts hadn't registered wholly before he passed out. He had no recollection of what had happened once he had slipped away into the darkness of his mind, trapped there for hours on end before he finally came to. As he blinked his eyes open, he squinted, eyes not adjusting to the sudden change in light. His head was still spinning, leaving him confused as to what happened and where he was. Cas knew he wasn't at home, knew there was a chance that he was very far from home with little chance of him going back. Kidnappings were common with royals and those with power, however he'd never thought it would have happened to him of all people. He was a good guy, right? Maybe he wasn't as good of a leader as he thought he was… Swallowing his doubts he tried to sit up, only to find himself tied down. Tilting his head he looked up to find his hands bound and lifted his head enough to see his feet bound, too. He tugged at the restraints, testing him, seeing if there was any chance he could escape. Nope. Whoever had done this was clearly a professional. The duke. Ronan.. Cas knew that probably wasn't his real name and he was definitely not a duke.
Hylas woke to a gentle shuffling sound somewhere in the room, letting out a pained sigh as he rubbed his stiff neck. He opened his eyes to find the room far brighter than it had been mere hours ago; thick beams of sunlight peeking through the small windows. Looking towards the corner of the room, he felt his stomach drop as he saw the prince and numbly realized their situation. All the memories of the night– or more accurately a few hours ago, came flooding back to him as he blinked at the struggling prince, thinking back to the painful moral ambivalence and dispair of trying to make himself choose between killing the prince or letting him go. It was painful– such a sadistic thing to even consider when he'd paced the room for hours on end, trying desperately to come to a conclusion. But now, here he was, only a few hourfs after his feverish state of uncertainty and staring blank-faced at the man who he should've killed by now. Killing Cas while he was awake would be a hundred times heavier on his heart; seeing those green eyes turn glassy as he would plead for his life, thrashing and screaming for him to let him live. And even if Hylas was right in not killing him, letting himself fall asleep while the prince was still with him– letting him see his face –was such an amateurish thing to do. So all he could do was sigh at his own stupidity as he continued to ponder the dilemma in the back of his thoughts. "So," Hylas said out of the silence between them, absentmindedly twirling the blade of his dagger in his hand, "You're awake."
The words cut through the silence like a knife, like the one Hylas was holding. Cas frowned, turning his head to the side to get a better look at him. His eyes scanned his face, those dark doe eyes, long lashes and contemplative look on his face. For a moment he felt his stomach twist, wondering what he was thinking about. It couldn't have been anything good, not when he was holding a dagger and he had no form of defense. He sighed though his nose, "I'm assuming it was you that drugged me? Unless there's someone else hiding in the shadows?" He hoped there wasn't. The thought of death already scared him and the fact that he was already so close to tipping down that slope? He didn't needed another, what he assumed was an assassin, lurking around and killing him while he was distracted.
His thoughts were a running script of indecision as he faced the prince with a dispassionate look, still debating the problem of what he should do with him. If I kill him– but if I kill him now…Though if I let him go– he's seen my face. If I wait 'til he falls asleep…no. I could drug him again…? But this is still wrong. "I work alone," Hylas simply replied, slowly turning the blade over in his hand. The fact that no one else was involved ensured a thoroughgoing confidence in what he did; as no one knew his real name or what he looked like. But even if no one knew who he was– there was a silent network of people across the continents who knew how to contact and organize payments through his messenger raven. "But clever you for starting off with the right questions; you seemed the nervous type," He remarked, quietly surprised that the prince hadn't woken up in a panicked fit.
You’re not wrong there. Cas could feel his heart rate beating so fast and hard he was sure his soon-to-be killer could feel it. But nerves in front of people he didn’t like or were scared of was something he’d learned to control over the years. The perks of having to speak in front of assholes and men of more importance then he, “The real question is, if you’re going to kill me, why haven’t you done it yet?” Clearly he’d been drugged for awhile and Cas wasn’t an idiot, that would have been a prime time to kill me, when he couldn’t talk or fight back. Instead he was tied down and breathing.
Another question that surprised him. "Hm, right to the point, are you?" Hylas said with a tired smile, still trying answer his own question regarding the prince's fate. The dagger was heavy in his hands as his mind wandered to the flighty thought of running it across Cas' throat, wondering if that image would be too haunting of a memory to carry. All the blood and choking would be a painful sight to remember. Ever since the job was proposed Hylas had been trying to think the least evocative approach to killing him, but even now as he held a blade in his palm, he had scarcely a clue of what to do. "There could be a lot of reasons why I haven't killed you yet," He answered, letting his softened gaze wander around the room as he slowly stood from his chair, "For all you know, I could've been waiting for you to wake up."
The prince tracked his movements, watching him closely, eyes flicking to the blade in his hand ever so often. He released a breath, forcing it to not sound so shaky, "Well I'm awake now," He said, his throat and mouth going dry with the realisation that this could possibly be the end, "If you're going to do it, do so quickly." He swallowed. He was glad he hadn't eaten anything last night because he was sure that it would have come out by now. The prince subtly tugged at the restraints, seeing if there was anyway for him to escape. It was a fruitless attempt, he realised, there was no way out of this one.