The Lupine Saga 44

Posted on November 7, 2020 by James Ashman

Aoi continued sitting as the fourth member of the table arrived. She squirmed uncomfortably, and constantly looked down with a shy look on her face. If Fidel could only see me now, he would surely say something embarrassing, she thought.

“Miss Aoi, have you ever had crab? It’s quite a delicacy you know,” Jane Melonscone, sitting to Aoi’s left, said.

“I’m from the water kingdom, after all,” Aoi said very softly. Even though she wasn’t loud, it didn’t matter, because she was going to be ignored anyways.

“You must try this restaurant’s crab. It’s from the western seas. The duke’s territory, I believe, for this particular establishment. Quite good. An area just above one of my beaches. Correct, Duke? Interested in selling?” Jane laughed as she called the waiter over and started ordering.

“Anything for Madam,” Duke Tourney replied in his usual submissive voice to Jane. He smiled happily, as though he enjoyed being ignored by Jane. He sat across from Aoi, and was constantly looking to his right.

“And Eason, how are you? Wonderful of you to join us, even if it is a little late,” Jane said while she turned towards the table. The waiter ran off to place the order.

“Disgruntled and unhappy around you, Madam Melonscone,” Eason said with a toothy smile. His sincere voice betrayed his pleasant look. He sat across from Jane.

“You always have been such an honest person. A pity, that.” Jane pleasantly smiled at Eason. Aoi looked up and watched Jane’s face. Aoi couldn’t help but feel shocked as she watched Jane smile. Her words aside, it was hard to be unimpressed by Jane Melonscone’s incredible beauty. Aoi was very familiar with Jane’s words; as she often had to listen to Jane speak during governmental meetings. She hadn’t ever familiarized herself with anyone other than then a few of Fidel’s closest advisors, so Aoi had never met Jane personally before. She had only seen Jane at a distance as she yelled from the gallery, and had never taken a closer look. Her personal image of Jane, before, was that of a stereotypical noble woman. Expensive jewelry, amazing clothing, and pounds of makeup were used by noble women to seem more attractive than they really were. Remove it all and all that was left was something that could come out of the poorest parts of the fourth district. Yet Jane was different. Perfect in every way, on the outside, with no need of jewelry or makeup to create the illusion of beauty. Yet the jewels and makeup that were used perfectly accented Jane’s face in just the right parts. It was shocking to Aoi, who had never met a noble that had looks that could truly match their vanity.

“You know Madam, just why did you decide to invite me?” Eason spoke as he sipped from a freshly poured glass of wine. His furry ears twitched in Jane’s direction, expecting a good answer. Aoi thanked Eason internally, as she had been wondering the exact same thing, but didn’t have the courage to ask.

“Why did you attend?” Jane asked in jest towards Eason.

“Why shouldn’t I?” Eason replied in like manner towards Jane, with an ounce of force in his voice.

“Now now, I cannot tell whether you two love or hate each other,” Duke Tourney said in a casual voice. Aoi froze in fear, expecting that he would soon regret his words.

“I don’t really mind him,” Jane said as she settled into her seat in a relaxed manner.

“She’s fine by me, recently,” Eason said with a glare. Still, he had settled down.

“Years, Mr. Eason. Only recently makes it seem like it was only yesterday.” Jane spoke while rotating a glass of wine with her right hand. “She has been quite good for a while now, as your monthly visits confirm. She’s become more obedient, so there hasn’t been as much need for discipline. Of course, we never have too long of intervals in between each time, to keep the memories fresh, you know. Oh, glare all you want, but discipline is quite necessary. Why, compared to when I was a child, my parents, I’m soft. I appreciate it now, though in my youth I hated it. I suppose that’s why I’m even still too lenient. I should revise my earlier words. She appears more obedient, but I know that she still does things behind my back. The royal guardsman that I have assigned to her actually does a good job, as well as the bear can do with a noble. He goes along with her whims, yet keeps her just within my boundaries, and then reports back to me. As long as I have a tab kept on her, I do not need to reveal that little secret to her. I do hope she matures a bit more, and afterwards she just might be ripe enough to, hmm, that’s all I’ll reveal.”

“Yes, quite more than enough, Madam. Though, as much as you talk about her that way, I have to ask, do you love her?” Eason asked Jane seriously.

“I love her royal blood,” Jane said with a smile.

“Nothing but a tool for you. Aren’t there more important things than your name?” Eason resisted the urge to become upset, and then sighed. “Why do I bother?”

“Indeed,” Jane said, amused, “it’s foolish to argue with me. But I really quite like you, dear Eason.”

Aoi was prepared for it this time, and the pretty face and smile that Jane showed didn’t shock her nearly as much as before.

“Madam, you do that too well,” Eason said while sounding wholly unimpressed.

“Well then, would you prefer that Aoi smile at you?” At Jane’s comment, Aoi’s concentration broke, as the conversation that she was finding herself engrossed in suddenly involved her. She, and quite obviously Duke Tourney, hadn’t understood much of the previous conversation.

“What?” Aoi spoke, and would soon be thrown into the midst of another strange conversation. She regretted, at that moment, opening the letter that she had received a few days ago.

Posted in Books, The Lupine Prince | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Lupine Saga 43

Posted on October 31, 2020 by James Ashman

“Oh dear, I’m sorry!” she said as she closed the door. The boys quickly stood up and called for her to come in.

“It’s alright, he’s got a hard head,” Zeick said, which prompted a thud on his own head from Pete’s hand.

“So does he,” Pete said while smiling. The girl laughed at the comedy duo of felis and swine. They took a bow, and then a step back.

“Please come in, Madam, er… Miss, um… what?” Zeick was bowing, but his head was up and he was looking at the girl.

“Teena Fen, daughter of Alen. Pleased, really. You’re too funny.” She did a small curtsy with her orange skirt that ended just at her knees.

“That’s a noble’s introduction, yet you’re a hostess,” Kelin said.

“How rude! Don’t mind him, he’s just a noble as well,” said Zeick.

“No, it’s all right,” Teena said. “I’m no noble. It’s just that my parents gave me an additional name, and told me to introduce myself like that. It’s a habit, now. I’m a bit annoyed that I have an extra name, but I think I’ll keep this habit for a while longer.”

“Interesting,” Va’il said, “it’s a nice name. Oh, mine’s Va’il. Anyways, ignoring our ridiculousness, you’re welcomed in with the best of entertainment. A smile is guaranteed, even if the actors are frowning.” Va’il smiled widely at Teena, his teeth visible yet not intimidating. He turned to the other three, and two of them also smiled. Kelin kept his composure.

“Thank you, Va’il.” She smiled in return. Sharp fangs gleamed in the dim light of the room, those of a real lupus girl.

She sat down, along with the boys, and they all continued playing cards again. This time, with five people, they changed to a game that didn’t have teams. A while passed while the shuffling, moaning, yelping, and snorting that was customary with every game continued.

“Drat, I lost again!” Teena tossed the cards down and scrunched her face.

“Ha, what’s with that face,” Kelin said. He was sitting across from her. Instead of replying, she repeated the motion, but directly at Kelin this time.

“It seems that games that involve bluffing don’t turn out well for such an expressive woman,” said Zeick.

“Exactly! Thank you, Zack,” Teena said innocently.

“It’s Zeick, Teena,” Zeick said.

“Oh, sorry Zack,” Teena replied. She said it with such sincerity that the boys didn’t for a second think she was teasing Zeick.

“It’s… oh never mind. Say, it’s getting kind of stuffy in this room, with the five of us being so active,” Zeick said with a casual air.

“Yeah, it is kinda hot,” Pete said. Pete looked at Va’il and made a motion with his eyes.

“It’s cool outside, but really warm in here, strangely enough,” Va’il echoed the sentiments.

“Really? I feel just fine. Maybe my tail and ears are feeling a bit warmer though,” Teena said thoughtfully.

“Then it’s settled. Let’s go outside,” Kelin said as he stood up. He took Teena’s hand and pulled her up as well without another word.

“No, you can’t go outside,” Teena said in firm opposition.

“And just why not?” Va’il asked as he rose.

“It’s not safe, at night. And I was told that your group is special, and shouldn’t be let out,” Teena said.

“Ah, you think we’re a bunch of troublemakers!” Va’il scowled as he spoke.

“No, really. Please believe me,” Teena said with deep concern in her voice, “it’s really not safe out there.”

“Why?” Va’il asked.

“They might come. They stopped a couple nights ago, but they might come again. The creatures that bang on the walls.” Teena spoke very slowly.

“Creatures?” The boys asked in unison.

“Could it be?” Pete asked.

“That’d make sense,” Zeick said as he nodded.

“Excuse me?” Teena asked, confused.

“Well,” said Zeick, “you yourself just said that we are special, and shouldn’t be let out. We may be quite young, but we were entrusted with a very special, and secret, mission. Our safety is of the utmost importance when others are around, since we don’t know if any citizens in the city are dangerous or not. However, for our mission, all of that is to be forgone, and we are to go immediately to the scene to assess the situation. Until we have done that, our safety should be assured. So, surely you can understand why we need to go, now.” Zeick spoke quickly and without hesitation as he lied. He hoped that Teena wouldn’t see though his deception. He didn’t need to hope for long.

“Um, well, I don’t understand, but if you need to go then I should stay out of the way. Anything, anything to stop them. Please.” Teena’s voice had started shaking. It was obvious that she was deathly afraid of the creatures she had mentioned. Thus, she readily believed when presented with any hope, false or real.

The boys all nodded in unison at Teena, who was no longer standing in their way. Then it happened. Off in the distance, a loud crash was heard. At the sound, Teena covered her ears and looked down. She closed her eyes, and her breathing became heavy. The sense of fear that she had was overpowering the boys in the room. Kelin was especially sensitive to the atmosphere. He walked over to Teena and placed his arm on her back. He patted her twice, firmly.

“It’s going to be alright. Nothing will happen to you.” Kelin forced her to walk forward, and then maneuvered her to the closest bed. He had her lay down, and then he turned to the rest of them.

“Ready Kel?” Zeick asked.

“Let’s go on an adventure,” Kelin replied.

Va’il, hearing the sound of more crashes in the background, with his voice full of excitement, said, “Alright guys. I don’t know what lies ahead, but it’s not for cowards, Pete. Adventure? No idea. Danger? Probably. Will our parents scold us later? Definitely, that’s why we will refrain from telling them more than necessary. The army? We’re going to find out why they are here. Our motto? ‘Hard work. Effort. And love. We can do anything.’ Let’s go, you ruffians!”

“Lame,” Zeick said.

“Utterly embarrassing.” Pete echoed similar sentiments.

“I don’t know you anymore.” Kelin sighed and shook his head. To top things off, Va’il had put his fist in the air, expecting a hurrah from the rest of them. The miserable failure didn’t deter Va’il, as he led the group outside. For a lame speech, it had actually done a great job of relaxing and motivating the group, but they weren’t willing to admit it.

Posted in Books, The Lupine Prince | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Lupine Saga 42

Posted on October 24, 2020 by James Ashman

The next couple of days passed quickly. The weather was clear and dry, and there were no additional stops to make before reaching Tendal, which happened without event.

“Darius, Royal Commander of Rising, is hereby welcomed by Governor Jess of Tendal.” A lone deeri spoke with Darius just outside the gates of Tendal. He alone had walked out of the gates to meet Rising’s procession. It was a strange sight, to see a single person exiting the gates, the entirety of the city behind him. The walls were still there surrounding Tendal.

“Thank you. Are you it, to welcome us?” Darius asked.

“Sorry sir, it’s been, well, you understand, I hope. We cannot make much fanfare right now,” the deeri replied.

“Acknowledged. In fact, that’s what I was hoping for, it’s only right that we scale back anything unnecessary. Can you bring us in?” Darius asked. The deeri bowed, then went back to the gates. The gates opened fully, and the entire procession from Rising entered.

The boys entered the gates, led by Var. Va’il noticed that the walls were extremely thick, much thicker than the walls that Rising had. Guard towers were every fifty meters, and three guards were always on duty. The walls, as thick as they were, did have one problem, which Va’il completely overlooked. On the outside of the walls were several small dents in the stone. But Va’il would learn, soon enough, the reason those dents existed.

Tendal looked like it should have been a very calm city, but the tension in the air was easily felt by the children whose natural instincts informed them of everything that went wrong around them. Even Pete, who didn’t notice things the same way as the three descendants-of-hunters did, could tell that something was wrong. Walking through the streets, none of the locals smiled or ran. Everyone had a determined look on their face and calmly but briskly walked from one place to the next. More noticeable than that was the lack of children.

Var took them to an inn, where they were confined to a single room upstairs. It was large and had four beds, and every hour a pretty lupus girl would enter the room and see if the boys needed anything. Food, drink, and a warm place to sleep were all provided to the group.

“What do you think, Kelin?” Zeick asked the lupus who was sitting upright in a bed, reading.

“About what?” Kelin asked with an exasperated tone.

“That girl, pretty, isn’t she, for a lupus? Looks like someone we know, right?” Zeick asked with a twinkle in his eye and a smirk.

“Not really,” Kelin replied.

“Right, right? See, she’s just about right. She’s been looking your way each time, too.” Zeick spoke with a smile, and had his lip twisted in one corner; something was stirring in his head.

“You sure you want to be tempting him? After all, his one true love still awaits him at home!” Va’il said.

“That’s enough!” Kelin said with a howl. “I swear I’ll bite off a finger or tail if one of you mentions it again!”

“Oh, but hear me out first,” Zeick said with a whine. His persistence and feline nature were showing. “I’ll just start it off when she comes next, you just follow along. Trust me!”

“Start what off?” Va’il asked.

“You’ll see. Kelin just needs to follow along for a bit. You’re quick; you’ll see where I’m going with this soon enough. Besides, this late at night, she’s probably only coming in once or twice more.” Zeick finished, and the group silently acknowledged his unspoken plan. Kelin’s interest was piqued by Zeick’s words, so he didn’t object to what Zeick wouldn’t reveal. The boredom of the day was wearing on his already trip-weary mind.

There was a knock at the door after another hour had passed. The boys were seated in the middle of the room, playing with the cards that a previous patron had left. Zeick got up and walked over to the door. He put his hand on the handle, and then turned to look at the rest of them. He nodded once, and the other three boys nodded as well.

“Come in,” Zeick said as he opened the door. He held it open very wide as he moved with the door. He stood with his other arm outstretched, inviting the lupus girl in. She had green eyes and straight brown hair down to her tail. She walked in with a slightly confused look on her face, but she didn’t hesitate because she had always walked in before. Unexpected though, was the door closing behind her.

“Hello again. Are you all in need of anything?” the girl asked. She sounded very earnest and polite.

“Just another player, our fourth just left,” Va’il said while looking over at Zeick, who was still standing at the door. The girl looked back at him.

“Aren’t you sitting?” she asked Zeick.

“Why don’t you have a try, do you know how to play?” Zeick smiled and put out his right hand with the palm up.

“I know, but I’m a little busy,” she said.

“Just one game, we’d all be quite pleased if you would. Especially my friend here, since I was his partner till a moment ago.” Zeick walked behind Kelin and put an arm on his shoulder.

“I guess it couldn’t hurt. I’m not very good though,” she said as she picked up the cards.

Twenty minutes passed as she played two rounds of cards with them. She and Kelin won each round with significant margins over Pete and Va’il, which made her quite happy. After the second round ended, she very quickly stood up, and said with a straight face, “I must work! I will play with you again later. A little while, then I’m free!”

“Ah, she ran off,” Zeick said as the door slammed behind the bouncing girl.

“She’s a bit…” Va’il started.

“Straightforward,” Pete finished. The two of them laughed.

“She just completely relaxed once she started playing. She’s a very single-minded person, isn’t she?” Zeick said.

“Hmm, I like that.” Kelin said with a thoughtful look on his face.

“Mr. Complicated likes a direct girl, how ironic,” Va’il said. He was feeling very self-satisfied to be able to tease Kelin.

“Well, it matches him well. Who really wants someone who thinks the same way as they do anyways?” Pete asked.

“You,” the other three boys said in unison. Pete leaned back a bit as they all peered at him knowingly.

“Well, maybe it would be nice to have someone who knew how to cook and liked to eat. She should be intelligent, too. Huh, you’re right.” Pete closed his eyes to think, and the other three sighed.

“And if she is humble, then you’d both be a complementary match. Though I wouldn’t want to take you out to eat.” Va’il smiled as he spoke to Pete, who laughed at his words.

“Humble, I’m humble! But I don’t need to be around you three! Arrogance incarnate, mischief maker, and a trickster, what am I?” Pete asked.

“The token nice guy,” Kelin said with a straight face. The other two nodded in agreement.

“Token? You’ve been reading too many strange books again,” Pete said indignantly.

“Oh, but somehow you really fit the part, Pete. The single person who is nice and calm in a group of wild people, the voice of reason in the eye of a storm, the character type that is required just simply to fill space and to balance an otherwise top-heavy group out.” Zeick’s speaking was stopped by a swine jumping on him and pinning him to the ground.

Thus, the wrestling match began. The boys all wore smiles as they tussled, knocking each other back and forth. The first thing that happened after Pete jumped at Zeick in a belly-first manner was Va’il and Kelin moving things out of the way. Zeick had managed to throw the large swine up and onto one of the beds, and at the same time Va’il and Kelin finished moving everything to a safe corner.

Zeick had jumped and landed on Pete. Pete grabbed Zeick’s leg and tossed him towards the next bed over. Zeick landed on his back then quickly turned over. Kelin and Va’il watched as the two boys continued with the tossing and jumping.

“You want to join in, right?” Kelin asked Va’il.

“Yeah, but we can’t,” Va’il said, dejected.

Va’il and Kelin had a certain trait that wouldn’t let them join in this particular fight. Claws didn’t lend themselves well to childish playing. The chance of poking an eye or otherwise seriously injuring another was one they couldn’t take with their friends. At home, Pete’s ever-understanding mother had made strong leather gloves for the boys, ones that wouldn’t let a claw through even on purpose. It wasn’t an item that either expected they would need on a trip such as this.

The scuffle continued for quite a while and ended with a thump. Zeick had thrown Pete towards the door from across the room with the most strength he could muster as a half, which resulted in Pete hitting the ground quite hard. Zeick jumped across the room and landed on him.

The thump was the sound of the door hitting Pete’s head, twice. The second time, the door stopped moving and the girl from earlier was seen.

Posted in Books, The Lupine Prince | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Lupine Saga 41

Posted on October 17, 2020 by James Ashman

“One, two, three, four! Four of you! Fine, I’ll deal with this once we are back in Rising. For now, you all stay with Var. Fine mess you’re in, all of you! Babysitters, that’s what my men are being reduced to!” Darius stormed off, leaving the four boys with Var and the surrounding crowd of soldiers.

That morning, Darius had every basket, every supply case, and every cart checked from top to bottom. It was only a matter of time before Va’il, Kelin, and Pete were discovered. Though captured, in a sense, they each knew to keep quiet when being interrogated by Darius. Darius, for his part, didn’t particularly know what to do with any of the stowaways. He decided to place them all with Var and attend to the kids later, assuming that he would remember. Personally, he didn’t think he would be able to think about them at all for the next few days, considering the important mission ahead of them. All the thought he could muster in regards to them was that he hoped nothing terrible would befall them once they entered the dangerous territory ahead.

Var turned out to be a better caretaker than the boys were expecting. Var had met Va’il before, and the two shared a look of recognition. Var didn’t mention that to Darius, and simply accepted the boys into his care without a word. By noon, the expedition was ready to leave Dindalnor, which they did as quickly as possible. Darius wasted no time in continuing his mission.

“It’s been a while,” Va’il said as they walked.

“Yes boy, sure has. Hard to forget you,” Var replied.

“He is quite strange, right, that makes him stick in your mind whether or not you want him to,” Zeick said while laughing, though he was the only one.

“Ignoring the fool, mind an introduction, Va’il?” Kelin looked up at the creature who was more than a few heads taller than him.

“Ah, Var,” Va’il said, “he walked me home a few years ago, you remember, back when we had visited Lake Tershi, when we were all in the same class. Met Mum for just a second, but she said that she thought the world was coming to an end when he knocked. He isn’t carrying it now, but he has a spear so large, just enormous. Course, I still don’t know why that alone would mean he’s the one that the commander wants looking after us. Var, does your commander look down on you or something, to have to deal with kids like us, after all?”

“You’re all quite forthright, just about right for your age,” Var said. “Commander has a good amount of respect for me, methinks, it’s because of my duties in the city that he chose me for this. I’m commissioned to watch another certain person, who happens to be around your age as well. So I have experience, you’d say.” Var laughed as the boys looked at him with doubtful eyes.

“A certain person? Nobility?” Kelin asked.

“Yes, a noble,” Var said.

“A child, at that. Younger, older than us?” Kelin asked.

“She’s a little bit older, but not by much, I suppose I can tell that much,” Var replied after some thought.

“‘She,’ so you watch a girl?” Kelin kept pressing Var for answers, who realized he shouldn’t be answering these questions. But he did anyways.

“Yes, been watching a noble’s daughter for three years now. But why does that interest you common folk so much?” Var asked, puzzled.

“Common?” Kelin and Zeick exclaimed in unison.

“We aren’t common!” Kelin said. “Sure, Va’il is, but we’re noble children! This even happened those years ago at Lake Tershi, being told by a certain high-noble girl that none of ‘us commoners’ had seen her, for our protection even. Since when have I ever been a commoner? Must I be insulted for a second time in my life?” Kelin spoke with a touch of dignity and arrogance, both of which seemed real to Var. Va’il laughed to himself.

“My apologies, I’m not too familiar with other children of all the nobles, forgive me,” Var said. The large bearan stopped walking and bent down on one knee. The sight was too much for Kelin, who started to laugh.

“No no, forgive me, I don’t mean to make a fuss over it, I’m just getting you worked up. You should get up, be dignified. I may be a noble, but it doesn’t mean much to me. You haven’t insulted me, unlike the high-noble I just mentioned. I was forgotten, and then called a commoner, by someone I had met before. Your comments are purely innocent.” Kelin smiled at the bearan, who stood to his full size again, and returned the smile. They kept walking, just barely keeping up with the rest of the procession.

“No offense taken,” Var said, “by either of us, then. Really, the day-to-day suffering I endure at the hands of the noble child I watch had given me quite a bit of patience with children. She’s impulsive, whimsical, and bored; therefore, my job is not easy. This excursion has been a vacation, compared to watching a high-noble’s child.” Var spoke without considering the words he spoke.

“You watch the female child of a high-noble who is just a little older than us, Var?” Kelin asked. His tone was flat.

“Um, yes, that’s correct,” Var replied, though he was becoming very worried.

“I see.” Kelin didn’t speak about the matter again. The conversation he had with Var didn’t register with Va’il in the least, since Va’il had no understanding whatsoever about nobility. Pete and Zeick hadn’t paid much attention to it, but neither of them would have realized the important part of the conversation at all. Kelin did not reveal to any of his cohorts or Var that only a few of the nobility in Rising were of the highest class, about a dozen families in total. Among them, there weren’t too many young children. Kelin had met most of those children in the past. He opened a book he had kept with him, opened to the middle, and started reading. No one could hear him whisper “Melonscone” under his breath, behind the pages of the book. Nor could anyone realize he was smiling and laughing to himself at the irony of it all.

Posted in Books, The Lupine Prince | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Lupine Saga 40

Posted on October 10, 2020 by James Ashman

Most of the soldiers were quiet now. They had either turned in for the night, or fallen asleep in their chairs. A few though had stayed awake. Four of them, each sitting with a different waitress, were still enjoying their surroundings.

“You boys, pleasure time is over. Time for some work!” Darius commanded the men in a stern tone. The four looked at Darius, a hint of contempt in their faces. One asked if they had to.

“Get up and repay these fine people for their company. Get me a basket of apples, one of the reserves. We shall pay with fruit, then you can enjoy more leisure time, I promise,” Darius said with a twinkle in his eye. The group seemed to sober up at the words, and quickly got to their work. The four of them walked out the door.

“They seem to be having fun,” one of the waitresses said to Darius.

“I hope they haven’t been too rude,” Darius said while averting his eyes from the woman’s revealing outfit. She wasn’t much younger than his own wife, he noticed, which made her older than most of the soldiers there.

“Well, they are just boys, fun to tease,” she said while laughing heartily. The other girls were also about the same age or a little younger. On average, though, they were older than his soldiers were. Darius chuckled to himself at the thought, but at the same time realized just how effective their age made them at swindling money from his men. He felt that such skills deserved whatever tips they ended up with. He continued conversing with the hosts until the four soldiers returned carrying a single large basket that required all four of them to carry. They were all human, thus too weak to carry it alone.

“Sir, apples, at your request!” One of the human soldiers spoke, bowed to Darius, and then was led back to a table by one of the waitresses, as were the other three.

“Splendid, really. Shall we have a taste?” Darius stood up and the bartender followed. Darius, though wobbly, walked over to the basket. It was nearly as tall as he was, and three or four feet in diameter. Darius put his arms up on one side of the lid.

“Can you get the other side?” Darius asked the bartender. The man went to the other side. They slowly pushed up on the lid. The basket rumbled, and both men jumped back. “What was that?”

“Sir, you didn’t mention anything about your apples rumbling.” The bartender laughed. Darius though, was concerned.

“That’s really odd. Try again.” Darius walked back over to the basket, with slight concern that he wanted to overlook. The alcohol was telling him to ignore the issue and just move ahead with what he was doing. He and the bartender pushed up on the lid; this time it popped off. The basket shook from side to side.

Darius stood back, and the bartender had no joke this time. The shaking didn’t stop until the basket fell over. Out rolled a few apples, mostly whole, and a few that were only cores.

“What the…” Darius sobered up quite quickly at that point. Out behind the apples rolled another odd object. It rolled a few feet, and then stretched out on its back. It was a boy with a cat’s tail. Zeick had arrived.

“Wow, a tavern,” the unfazed Zeick said. “I suppose all of you are drinking.”

“And you are?” Darius had put a firm arm on Zeick’s shoulder. Zeick looked up at the man and smiled, but he did not speak.

“I didn’t realize you were in that kind of business as well,” the bartender said. It couldn’t be told whether he was serious or joking.

“No, no! A stowaway, I’m assuming, right boy?” Darius looked down at the smiling child who wouldn’t respond. “Are you going to speak or not?”

“No, because I might say something I shouldn’t,” Zeick said honestly.

“But you just did,” Darius said.

Zeick remained silent after that. Darius walked upstairs with Zeick in tow. He entered the third room from the left of the stairs, without knocking. Inside was a normal room, with one very massive occupant sleeping on a bed.

“Var! Var! Wake up!” Darius shook the massive bearan, who slowly woke with a snarl and a yawn.

“What are you needing? Sleep,” Var mumbled.

“Var, wake up!” Darius said in the form of a command.

“Yessir, sleep no more.” Var opened his eyes and slowly focused on the people inside his room. “Oh, sorry sir. Didn’t realize you were Darius.”

“That’s alright. Var, I’ve got a bit of a problem now. We got a stowaway, I think, from Rising. This boy here was in our supplies. But I don’t know who he is.”

“Oh, yessir, that’s a problem.” Var nodded his head. “What shall you do with him?”

“That’s why I’m here, asking for you, Var,” Darius said.

“Me? Why’s that, sir?” Var put his hand behind his head and scratched a couple times.

“Aren’t you a personal bodyguard for another child, about his age? Are you any good with kids?” Darius asked, hoping that Var would understand what he was implying.

“Oh, the little misses, yes. Only away from her cause this mission was so important. Ma’am objected, but royal guard orders are important. The miss is a bit older, I think, and I don’t know if I’m any good with her or not. Only obey her whims, that’s all. And keep her safe, though she isn’t one to need it, being as she’s too hard to pin down at all. Suppose she could be stopped by someone with bad intentions, but she’s fast, even though she’s pretty. In fact, I do think she’d be quite good at getting away. But I have to guard her, play with her, being there and all.” Var got out of the bed and stood tall, though his knees were still bent so that he wouldn’t hit his head on the ceiling.

“I’m not sure I understood all that, but anyways, you take care of a kid in Rising, so for now I want you to watch over this boy.” Darius, though stumped by Var’s small speech, still had his main points in mind.

“Certainly, provided that he can be entertained by me.” Var looked at Zeick, who seemed to be awestruck at the bearan’s giant frame. Var reached down and patted Zeick’s head with two fingers. Zeick froze in place, fearing that he may be toppled at any moment.

“You don’t need to entertain him, just watch him. Don’t let him out of your sight. We’re going to have to take him with us on the rest of the mission,” Darius said while sighing again.

“No transportation back to Rising?” Var asked.

“No. We need every last transport available for the mission. He can go back in a cart, I suppose, but before that there is nothing I’m willing to sacrifice. Not only that, but I want to make sure as to whether he is alone or not. I’ll be searching tomorrow, hopefully he will say something by then,” Darius said. Zeick looked down and decided to keep quiet.

Posted in Books, The Lupine Prince | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment