Chapter 167

167 Chaotic Source

Marco was talking with a tense Lawrence when Tidas had come out of the room after assisting Skye to dress. He didn’t know what they were talking about, all he knew was that there was no reason for Marco to be in the medical ward at that time. If anything, he should’ve been down in the throne room with their father, tending to the matters of the kingdom.

“Why are you here?”

“Hello, Tidas; nice to see you too. I’m here to check on something with Doctor Stein, why are you here?” Marco replied with a placid tone.

Lawrence shook his head lightly like he was dazed, then glared at Marco like he really was about to attack him. If Tidas hadn’t of placed his hand on his shoulder when he took a step towards Marco, he would’ve at least hit the bastard. Which would’ve triggered a war.

Technically it was treason to lay a hand on the royal family, even if it were done by another member. The only one who could punish the princes was their father, King Magnus. He couldn’t do much to Lawrence except banish him, or completely cut ties with Ruscovic. Considering his people depended on their trade with Alcon for most of their produce, Lawrence generally had to stay on the good side of his father and brother. But Marco had gone too far this time.

Lawrence wasn’t a magic user, but he’d been around them his entire life. He had a good knowledge base on it, so he could tell when someone was trying to use magic on him. When Marco first arrived and started asking about why he was there, Lawrence could feel his thoughts becoming hazy. The only clear thoughts he had were the ones about Skye and Shasta. He mentioned that they had been training, but tried not to speak further on it.

As Marco questioned him, Lawrence realized why his mind felt so muddled. He was in the process of trying to break free from his hold when Tidas had come out. Marco seemed surprised to see him. He covered it with his familiar placid look before Tidas could see, but Lawrence did. It was strange to him that he’d be surprised, but brushed it off. He was too busy trying to clear his head.

After Marco answered Tidas, Lawrence nearly yelled; “What the Hell did you just do to me?!”

Marco glanced at Lawrence and said; “I have no idea what you’re talking about..”

.....

“What were you doing to Law, Marco?!”

With a devilish smile, Marco replied, “I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about..”

Dr. Gohan was coming out of another patient’s room when he heard and saw the three standing around. They were staring tensely at each other, and looked ready to fight. He’d known the three princes for nearly their entire lives. He knew a fight was brewing, so he tried to step in.

Tien tried to cover the nervousness in his voice by forcing a chipper tone; “What going on, my boys? Nothing that can’t be solved with a little conversation and understanding, I hope?”

“Answer the question, Marco! What did you do to our brother?!”

‘Oh, gods, help me..’ Tien prayed inwardly as their voices began to rise in both volume and hostility.

******************

Skye stared at the shard in her hand with growing anger. The material from Marco’s amulet looked exactly like what was in her hand. The type of magic that seeped from it was definitely Ether. The dangerous and chaotic force that had affected Tidas earlier must’ve come it. As Skye’s ire began to build, she could hear multiple voices from the hall.

As the princess focused on the voices, her hearing suddenly sharpened. The clarity of their words made it seem like she was standing out in the hall with them. Her gut bottomed out as one of the voices sent a stark chill up her spine; Marco was outside the door.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Skye contemplated what to do. If she told Tidas her theory, he’d most likely beat his brother half to death, if not all the way. The only thing she could really do was subtly confront him. Skye wasn’t crazy enough to speak to him about it privately, but she also wasn’t dumb enough to accuse him in public either. Slipping on her shoes; the princess formulated a plan, then headed out into the hallway.

Walking into the hallway was like walking into a bowl of soup, the tension was so thick. Tidas and Lawrence stood next to each other as they stared down their older brother. Tien looked like he wanted to run, but stood his ground between the three.

Skye had no idea what was going on or who started what, but she was ending it. Nurses, patients, and the other two doctors were all in the halls watching. Their faces full of anticipation as they waited for the impending conflict. The princess huffed in exasperation before walking over to Tien.

“Either drop whatever is going on here, or take it into the room; everyone is staring at you..” Skye motioned with her head towards the groups of gathering spectators.

Knowing the princess had a point, they all moved into the room Skye had just exited. They took the same positions as they had out in the hall, except Skye was in Dr. Gohan’s place. She stood between Marco, Tidas, and Lawrence as a buffer, much to Tidas’ dismay. He didn’t like how close his brother was to Skye, and it aggravated him further.

Keeping her own rage in check for the moment, Skye began to chide the royals; “I know yer brothers, but for cryin’ out loud! Must yer meetings always have to be so, so-”

“Unwanted,” Tidas snipped.

“Unpleasant,” Lawrence commented.

“Awkward,” Dr. Gohan had said it under his breath, but everyone had heard him.

“Ridiculous! You three Supposedly fully-grown men, are ALL actin’ like children! Yer princes! Can ye not figure out a way to be diplomatic with each other?! At Least for yer father’s sake?!”

The three men shuffled their feet and exchanged looks of abating hostility. They still wouldn’t get along, but they did need to be less openly hostile to each other. Skye crossed her arms, and began to lecture the MacArthur men like the children they were acting like.

“Lawrence is a king, and an ally to Alcon. It doesn’t bode well if brother kings can’t get along. Many issues from disruptions to trade, to Actual war could happen if either side’s nobles pushed hard enough for it. If they feel their king or home is being disrespected by an ally, it could get extremely ugly, very quickly..”

“Tidas, Marco; yer situation is even worse. Open strife between you two could divide the kingdom if ye don’t rein it in! Instigators from both foreign and domestic kingdoms could use yer animosity to trigger a civil war!”

Marco tilted his head slightly as he spoke; “Are you saying that you know who would prefer my brother to me on the throne?”

Skye looked at Marco flatly as she avoided his attempt at entrapment; “No, Ima sayin’ it’s common sense not to hand yer enemies bullets to shot you with.. Tidas would never betray the crown, and ye know it. But that doesn’t mean others won’t try to use him in such a way. Most likely to clear a path for themselves.”

Marco smirked as he commented; “You’re saying that while Tidas may be loyal, others may try to use his rank and position in the family to create an unsanctioned coup d’état. Is that right?”

Skye nodded in agreement, then Marco added; “Historically speaking, it has happened in other kingdoms before. You’re quite intelligent, Skye.. You would’ve made an excellent queen..”

It took everything Tidas had not to punch his oldest brother in the face full-force. He knew what his brother had meant when he’d said it. That Skye would’ve made an excellent queen for Alcon; for Him. His blood boiled as Marco smiled at his wife. Like he was imagining her by his side instead of Karena.

Every muscle in Tidas’ body tensed as he watched his brother’s eyes roam over Skye’s body when she turned towards Lawrence to ask where Shasta was. As he explained the VC’s trip to the arena to gather her clothes and horse for her, Tidas and Marco exchanged a wordless conversation of their own.

Tidas was threatening his brother, whom simply scoffed at him in return. Marco felt no need to fear his brothers, or anyone else for that matter. The only thing he came close to worrying about was whether Skye would ever fall for his tricks...

After some back and forth, Skye stated; “Well, if we don’t want to be late for dinner, we best head back to our quarters now. It was nice seeing you, Prince Marco. Enjoy your evening.”

“Will I not be seeing you in the banquet hall tonight?”

Skye was as rigid and proper as she could be as she replied; “No, we’ll be dining in our quarters tonight as a private party for King Lawrence.”

Marco maintained his smirk; “Do I not get an invitation as well?”

“No,” came Skye answered curtly.

Marco chuckled, but it was devoid of humor. He obviously didn’t want to go, he just wanted to make Skye uncomfortable. Both Tidas and Lawrence knew this, and were about to say something, but Skye beat them to it.

“Well, it’s not like ye really Wanted to go anyway.. I’d say sorry for denyin’ yer fun, but Ima really not.”

Marco’s chuckle died out to be replaced with a purely evil smile; “Oh, don’t worry. I always have plenty of fun whenever my brothers are around..”

Taking a step closer to Skye, Marco practically whispered; “But I must say, I think I’ll enjoy playing with you most of all, dear Skye.”

Skye raised her head slightly to lock eyes with the crowned prince before she said; “Then ye must like to lose, because I Don’t.”

Marco took a step back from the princess as he grinned and replied; “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see..”

After a nod to his brothers and Tien, Marco walked out the door and turned to walk towards the other two doctors. Skye took a deep breath and bent over like she was picking something up. She then took the few steps towards Marco, and tapped his shoulder to gain his attention. A pleasant expression covered his face when he saw it was Skye. However, it immediately disappeared as she opened her hand to reveal the shard from his amulet.

Surprised by her returning it to him, the shock actually showed on his face as Skye said; “I think you dropped this.. Might want to be more careful; next time I Won’t be nice...”