Why did the hatred in that man’s eyes bother him so very much. He could see the hatred in the man’s eyes as the girl dropped the tray, and knew that there was a sort of deep disdain. Was the man so hardened to not take pity on the small maid? Collin looked down at himself and sighed, he was covered in tea much like the other man but his reaction was different, more controlled.

Abigal at this point was a frantic mess. Not only was she shivering from head to toe afraid that Collin would hit her or worse, she was crying as if afraid he would have her killed. “I’m s..s…s…sorry, s..s..sir” she had said through huge gaping sobs, the site was a rather pathetic one. Collin, whose shirt was so drenched in tea it simply didn't matter, took a dry piece of the bottom of his shirt to wipe a bit off his face before looking to Abigal, who was now frantically trying to clean as much as she could before he could hit her. “Abigal please, no need to be on edge, I won’t harm you. The days of my father are over”

To this point he had hardly been paying much attention to the other man in the room. It was only when the other man had spoken that he turned his attention back to the other man. What else? The words rung out in the prince’s mind as deeply as if the man had stabbed him. Collin thought over the words as the man stood before him. The hatred that the other man felt seemed to radiate to Collin but also to anyone else. Did the man never know laughter, or joy? Had the man who abandoned the country caused that. Briefly Collin found himself thinking about the other man in front of him in a different situation, one with laughter and with joy. The mood would suit him much better than the anger and hatred. It caused Collin to smile briefly before shaking his head and bringing himself back to the present.

He looked up at the man, knowing that he should let him go, knowing the man did not want to be there. What else did he want from the man, Collin could not figure it out. Why couldn't he just let him go? Part of him knew the reason, deep down in the pit of his stomach he knew the reason he couldn't just let the man go, but he couldn't admit it. The man represented everything that Collin longed for. The ability to do what you wanted when you wanted without a care in the world. His heart said, 'please take me with you when you leave the castle,' but his mind knew better. Even if he left he would only be found and dragged back again, and anyone who helped him to escape would be in trouble as well.

Minutes crept by as Collin struggled with the words to use. He knew he was making himself look indecisive and weak, but at the moment it mattered not. A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts and he looked up. "Come in" another servant, Gastov to be exact, entered the room and looked nervous but did not react as abigail had. "You are being awaited in the audience chamber your highness, for your final verdict."

Relieved to have an opportunity to postpone what he wanted to say to the silver haired man he nodded to Gastov, "Come, let us all return to the audience chamber." he turned to the man, "you as well"