The prince's statement quietly schocked Hylas. "It sounds like you've excepted the situation," He softly observed, looking down at Cas with a curious look; a momentary crack in his calm façade as he slowly moved to the other side of the room. He was at least expecting him to scream for help, maybe beg for his life or tug at Hylas' conscience in a desperate attempt to stop him from carrying out his murder. And though there was still time for the prince's panic to escalate into hysteria, these final moments had been a main worry of his while considering the assasination– whether the prince's pleas would nullify his plans or linger around his mind after he was killed. It didn't matter, anyway, he decided. Either way, he'd be unhappy with the choice he'd make, but killing him this way would at least be the easier option, so that's what he would do.
He let out a dry laugh, turning his head up to the ceiling, "Well you know, I don't want to have to except the situation but seeing as there is no way out of this it's the only option I have. You seem experienced, meaning there's no point crying for help or whatever bull. Begging won't work so I can only except death as it comes… and the fact that all my hard work I've done for the past few years will go to Hell and Eirus won't have an heir anymore but hey, want can you do now…" Cas knew he was rambling, knew that his nerves were showing through whatever mask he'd tried to put up. Confidence maybe? He didn't know, but his head was spinning with thoughts about what would happen after he was gone and none of them sat well with him.
Hylas almost frowned at the prince's words. It enraged him for some reason, to hear Cas speak of his situation through such a helpless lens. Almost every single person he'd killed before had put up some type of a fight, however small. The rare few that had the strength to speak would try desperately to negotiate some type of payment, or any other means of self-preservation that would, ultimately, fail. "You really don't understand what's happening, do you?" Hylas asked after a quiet moment of scrutiny, slowly reaching down to pick up a folded tarp of thin canvas, unfolding it and laying it out next to the cot, for the mess, "You still must be a little doped up or something." He glanced down at Cas impassively, softly shaking his head before turning his attention to his own sleeves, slowly beginning to roll up the black fabric, quietly unveiling a scattered arrangement of scars, "I know what terror does to people, and you aren't there. Yet."
"Have you ever killed a royal before?" Cas asked out of the blue, eyeing Hylas again, "Do you know what we're trained to do since birth?" Reject fear. Any fear. Fear of failure. Fear of letting everyone down. Fear of not being perfect enough. Fear of war. Fear of death. Sure, he was an anxious nervous mess when he was on his own. However in front of a crowd? In front of his father? Fear wasn't an option. He couldn't be scared because if a kingdom saw him crumble it would soon follow with. This situation was no different. Well, it was, he was either about to be tortured and killed or just downright stabbed. He couldn't be scared, couldn't give in to the terror that he felt striking through his veins.
Hylas pondered the idea of what they might've taught Cas as he was growing up when it came to putting on a steady face. He'd seen it the few noblemen he'd killed over the years– that shift in their presence. As soon as they'd entered a room of people their demeanour would so subtly change; like a switch, their shoulders would straighten and their mouth would twitch into a well-wishing smile that never seemed to fully reach their eyes. "I'm guessing you've thought about this, then?" Hylas prompted, facing the prince as he leaned on the edge of a table, "What to do, how to act…when you find yourself in such a position?" He felt that perhaps he was stalling, but his own questions had quietly provoked a concern for his own preparedness towards the moments that would follow, along with his employer's possible regard for how the royal family anticipated kidnappings. The prince's desperate confidence would only make things easier for Hylas, seeing that emotion wasn't being put into play– but he couldn't help but feel doleful towards this moment, where in the most vulnerable minutes of his life, Cas still had to play the part of a prince.
"'To fear death is to accept failure. To let a mask of confidence slip is to sign your kingdom over to the hands of the malicious.'" It was ingrained into him. For years it was all he heard, one of the main points when learning to rule. Repeated over and over and over, the phrase becoming worse whenever there was an assassination in another kingdom or continent, even with dukes. To die for your country, even in the worst of ways was supposedly 'good.' To be assassinated was less then ideal but one must keep their head high, to respect the honor of your kingdom, "I may not have been expecting to be assassinated, I may not have thought I'd ever be in this situation but I can't- I won't be scared of death." No matter how strongly he wanted to reject that statement and scream and beg for his life he'd follow the rules, follow the handbook.. even if it got him killed.
"I see," Hylas said after a moment, quietly considering the prince's words. He thought about what those words would mean to him, if he was the one facing death. What honour did he have? Honour couldn't possibly fit itself into his life now, when he was about to kill the beloved prince of Eirus after a lifetime of doing the same to others. "Well, I admire your bravery, Your Highness," He said, peering down at the blade of his dagger as he spoke, catching his reflection looking back at him, "Though I would argue that pride and honour has no place in dying– that perhaps it's fitting to go out of this world crying; the same way we came in." Death was a part of him, he knew. He could never escape the lingering acquaintance of what he'd done, and what more he would do. "And if it's a comforting fact; know that I'd let you go, so you might hide behind this mask of honour for another day, If I had a choice." He let out a halfhearted sigh as his gaze flickered to the prince, biting his lip as he slowly shifted away from the table, "But I don't have a choice."
“I’d rather live my life hiding behind a mask then lose all my honour killing innocent people,” Cas loosed a breath, one he knew was too shaky to pretend he was anything but scared but he wouldn’t let anything else show, would try not to let anything else show even if a slight glimmer in his eye said otherwise, “Everyone has a choice. You made the choice to accept killing me, made the choice to bring me here. You can make the choice to stop it here.” It was a last, slightly desperate attempt to be let go, knowing that this man, would let him go if he had a choice. Everyone had choices in life, this was just one of his. Hopefully he was a slightly reasonable man.
Hylas' grip tightened over the handle of his dagger as he slowly moved towards the prince. "Honour is a privilege that some can't afford," He bitterly replied, thinking of the other orphan children he'd grown up with; all crooks, thieves, and harlots now. Along with liquor and opium, they had all resorted to the only means of living they could hold. And as for Hylas– some might even say he was one of the lucky ones; bearing what gold he had for the horrors that he would inflict. I could buy as much honour as I want after this. He knew the prince was right about this choice in some way, but the doubt and uncertainty in his heart was heavy as he looked down at Cas, pleading with himself to kill him and be done with it. "But you still don't understand–" Hylas said, willing his hands to not shake, "If I don't do this, I won't stop. There is no other option. We're both going to die if I let you go; you've seen my face, and someone else will come for you."
The prince eyed the blade, forced himself to take his gaze away from the weapon and up to the others face, “They’d still be time between you and the next. Time to do some more good in this world. There’s always another option, you can put down the blade, let me go and make a new life for yourself. Wouldn’t that be better then killing me?” He prayed, he prayed that he’d get out of this. He’d been through war, lost people he was close to, he couldn’t let their sacrifices and all that he’d done for his kingdom go to waste. His life wasn’t supposed to end here, he was supposed to become king and build Eirus into the kingdom it was known to be, but better, “If you kill me it’s not just my life you’re taking, but so many others that will end if I don’t become king, if Eirus doesn’t have an heir anymore the kingdom will fall.”
Hylas swallowed, shaking his head as he looked down at the prince, those pleading eyes so full or fear. "I know what will happen to Eirus– but I just have to do this. I don't want to, I swear, I just…" He grievously replied, letting out a nervous breath. Freedom was so close, he could feel it in the way his hands ached to bury his blade into the prince's chest. Just this last killing and he wouldn't have to do it anymore; the money would be more then enough to last him and no one else would get hurt. The Raven would disappear, and so would the prince. "This is the only way for me to make a new life for myself," Hylas told him, running a shaky hand through his dark hair, "You'll come for me if I let you go– but not before they find you. Eirus will fall, then. They want you dead, and they'll have you that way."
“I don’t have time for any of this, time to worry about who might come for me, whoever your employer might be and whatever their associates are. Not when I might not have the time to make sure my kingdom is safe and prepared if it falls if they do,” Cas was desperate now, practically ready to beg for more time, more borrowed time to do something good for his kingdom, for his father and his people, “If they want me dead then they can do it themselves and not get someone else to do it for them. Please.” He had to get home, had to make sure everything was okay back there, make sure his father was okay. It was all borrowed time and he hoped he’d be able to steal more.
The prince's desperate words were painful to hear as Hylas stood before him, clutching his dagger so hard that his knuckles turned white. "I can't let you go back," He said, his mind flickering back once again to the question of if he should kill him. The thought was unbearable now that he could see how all Cas wanted was to protect Eirus– without barely any regard for himself. He was exhausted from agonizing over the decision for weeks and only sleeping for a few hours last night, and his mind felt so numb he was worried that he might kill him without wholly meaning to. "I can't let you go back," Hylas repeated, clenching his jaw when his hand twitched. I have to kill him. I couldn't live with myself if I killed him. Killing him will make things stop. "I have to kill you or– or something. But you're not going back. People know that you're missing, but if you return they'll know you're alive, and you won't last a day."
The prince tugged at his restraints, desperately trying to do anything that might let him escape, might get him home, might be able to convince Hylas to stop this, “One day is all I need. It’s enough to put regulations, restrictions, laws, plans in place that could at least protect the people I care about.” Please. Please just let me have one more day. He knew it was getting hopeless now. Knew that there was probably no hope in begging and pleading when the knife was so so close to being plunged into his chest and the life being stolen from him, “Please.”
The racing thoughts in Hylas' mind were so loud he could almost hear them. There were pleas of a collapse, begging him to just walk away from this whole thing because it was too much– too loud and taxing on his emotional state because he wasn't used to feeling this much. There were despairing pleas to push aside his exhaustion, to do what he needed to do and worry about the guilt later. But most emphatically were the pleas to have mercy on the prince– in whichever way he knew how. "They'll come for you, when they hear you're still alive," Hylas told him again, his mind a flurry of overwhelming distress as he shifted on his feet, turning the dagger over in his hand, "The second you step foot outside you're on borrowed time. Time that might not even be worth the pain in the end. There are eyes everywhere, and if they see you–"
“If they see me then let’s hope I’ve done everything I can to ensure that my kingdom can survive, if only for a few more months. If only to let my people watch the sunset one last time. To see the stars one last time. Their families…” Cas swallowed, grabbing at the ropes above his head as if he could simply cut through them with his own bare hands. If only for a few hours, hell even one hour was good enough at this point. It was enough time to get a message home to tell his father what happened and give him time to prepare the kingdom. If he died now then everything would fall apart, everything he’d worked so hard for in recent years would disappear. He couldn’t, he wouldn’t let that happen, “If you have some ounce of honour, even if it’s just a kernel, if you have any morals you’ll let me go. Let me do what I do best before I die.”
What morality did he have left? After all these years of killing and running away? The question had plagued him for years, and now that he was hearing it in the words of the prince, he couldn't escape it. He wanted so badly to let him go back to the palace– to give him more time and let him help his kingdom. But what he little knew of his employer was too disturbing to let him give into the prince's pleas, however compelling they were. "You can't go back, you just can't. Going back would be the condemning you, and your kingdom," Hylas said, shaking his head and slowly moving back to sit on the chair, overwrought with emotion as he thought of all the people, all the children that would suffer if the prince was killed. He swallowed, shakily setting down his dagger next to scraps of parchment and an old quill. "But there has to be another way– for the– the people to…" Hylas shook his head again, letting himself sit with his frenzied thoughts for a long moment, "If there was a way to pass on what you know, without people knowing you're alive…"
Cas released a breath when the dagger was set down, more relieved then he thought he would be. His heart rate was faster then he'd hoped, too but with the weapon now out of the others hands it slowly started to calm down, though not at great speed. He closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths before he replied, voice quiet and throat dry, "Take me somewhere, anywhere. Somewhere I can write a letter," He started, "I can send it back home, tell them what to do , what notes of mine to look for, how to protect the kingdom better then it is already. Then kill me." The ending wasn't exactly what he wanted, in fact the plan was far from what he wanted however he had no other choice. There was no other way out of this situation. This man didn't seem inclined on the idea of letting him go, and he was only going to die by another hand eventually anyways and he had to get some communication back to his father. To help protect his people in the last few days of his life. Cas just prayed that his man would agree to the idea, would let him have a few more days before he had to die.
Hylas looked down as the prince spoke, wearing a soft frown as he considered his words. Take him? Take him where? Away from Eirus? His home kingdom was more than few days' journey on foot from the southern border of Eirus, but he knew they would be safe there– staying in his home city, where the people might not notice the royalty in their midst. "A letter?" Hylas prompted, though it was more of a statement than a question. It was an interesting proposal. Only the king and trusted high officials might know the truth of the prince's state, and if he was thorough in his warnings, there would be little risk of the news getting out. He nodded slowly, thoughtfully, letting out a soft breath as his gaze flickered back to Cas. "How do I know you won't tell them where we are?" Hylas asked after a pause, his paranoia subtly making itself known, "–And how do I know you won't try and kill me the second I turn my back?"
Cas chewed his lip, "You can read the letter before it gets sent off," He offered, knowing that it might not be enough, "You have my word on that, and that fact that I'm not going to kill you. I have no idea where we are, anyway, I'm not going to kill the only person who does, even if they might be an assassin." The amount of distrust the two of them had made this whole predicament a lot worse. If they could come to an agreement, or at least agree on the beginnings of a plan without worrying about killing one another then maybe this could work. Maybe the last few days of his life wouldn't be so terrible. If there had been another way he would have taken it, but Hylas wasn't going to let his go, let his job go, apparently so bargaining for a few more days was the only option. The prince was far from happy about it, but he could accept it.
The prince's proposal was a dangerous thought in his mind. Hylas didn't like the idea of letting his guard down around someone skilled enough to take him in a fight or potentially even kill him. It was a hard gamble, anyway. Full of risks and uncertainties— hardly any room to make mistakes when the lives of thousands were at stake. And even if he was terribly conscience-stricken and paranoid about what he'd started by accepting this job, he knew that trusting Cas was the only way for the plan to work. "…Okay," Hylas said after a quiet moment, wearing a softened look of doubt as he slowly stood from his chair. "We leave Eirus…" He began, taking a few nervous steps around the room, "…And from a safe location, send a letter to the king…about what's happened and what to do. Is that right?"
Cas nodded, closing his eyes as his tried to relax a least for a moment. Okay, he'd essentially agreed to the plan, that was all he needed. A step in the right direction, "Yes, that's correct. I'll get a message to my father, tell him about the protocols he needs to put into place, about what's happened to me and… and to not come looking," He sighed, "From there well.. I guess you can fulfill your job then." He tried desperately to think of another way to convince Hylas to let him live. But even so, if he was let go, he'd by killed by another assassin, anyway before he could even reach Eirus. Death was the inevitable ending to any plan he thought of.
My job. The reminder brought Hylas' gaze to the floor for a moment as he turned to retrieve his dagger. "…Right," He said, trying to sound indifferent about it. He knew in his heart that he really didn't want to kill him anymore— or even see him die; not after the sea of emotions he just about drowned in since he'd accepted the job. Though the money was still on his mind, however wrong that felt, and he would be lying if he said he wasn't still considering it. But all in all, Hylas was too exhausted to argue with Cas, his own morals, or the time-sensitivity of his grim task at the moment to do anything other than go along with whatever ill-concieved plan they had. "Right," Hylas said with a feigned assurance, nodding as he made his way to the foot of the cot and beginning to cut through the thick rope, "…We can make it to the border by tonight, if we leave before noon."
"You better make quick work of the ropes then." His wrists were starting to hurt and knew he was going to have marks once he was able to see them again. Cas had dealt with worse injuries, however this was just an inconvenience. His mind was racing so fast he thought it was going to explode. There too many possibilities for this plan to go wrong, to many opportunities for it to fail and then what would become of his kingdom? Cas didn't want to think about it, about the guilt that he'd feel if he didn't get the letter back, if he didn't save his people. He wasn't going to end like that, he'd do his best to make sure of it.
Hylas let out a quiet sigh, raising a shoulder in a faint shrug as his blade sawed through the twisted strands. "It's far into the morning, yes. Could be because someone needed their beauty sleep," Hylas said, meaning it to be lighthearted though he realized soon after that it sounded rather ill-timed considering their current situation. "Ah— damn this thing," He hissed, seeing that his dagger wasn't cutting through as fast as he'd liked and switching it for one of his throwing knives that he'd recently had sharpened. They cut through much easier, and he moved on to the second set of restraints around the prince's hands.
