Lucas swallowed as he stood before the king. He’d asked Rosemary not to speak, as he wanted to do this on his own, but how does one tell a man his son has passed? How does one tell a king his son has passed? He glanced at Prince Emrys, who stood next to his father’s throne and gave Lucas an encouraging nod. “Y-your Majesty,” he said, making a quick bow, “um…” why was talking to Prince Emrys so easy and talking to King Arthurus wasn’t?
“Speak up, son. I can’t hear you,” the king said, sounding rather impatient. Lucas cleared his throat, raising his voice a little, “My Lord,” he said, “we are from the town of Rustborough, the one which your army marched through about half a moon ago. An army of a hundred strong. But on the fifth day of the Waning Gibbous, only one knight returned. Wounded and dying, his horse panicked. While I sent my companion to fetch the town’s doctor, he begged me with his dying breath to return a medallion to his father. Therefor, here I am.”
He pulled the pendant from his pocket, showing it to the king, who slowly rose from his throne. He couldn’t believe his eyes. He stepped off the heightened floor, approaching Lucas so he could take the pendant and confirm whether it really was the one he gave to his eldest son or not. There was no mistaking. “Oh Enoch,” King Arthurus said as he started weeping, clutching the pendant in his hand. Prince Emrys stepped forward, placing a supportive hand on his father’s shoulder. The king composed himself, blinking away some tears, yet not bothering to dry his face. “This changes everything,” he told Prince Emrys, “send someone for the ambassador of Arathmel. I need to speak to him first thing in the morning. And you two…” he turned back to Lucas and Rosemary, “thank you kindly. If there is anything I can do for you to repay you, say it now.”
“It was just—” Rosemary started, but Lucas stepped on her foot, interrupting her. “You cannot give us what we wish for,” he said, “our home was destroyed by Thanatos. We merely decided to return this medallion before trying to figure out what to do next.”
“Then by all means, please stay at Olympus, and take all the time you need to figure it out,” the king said, placing a hand on Lucas’ shoulder, “it’s the least I can do to thank you. The doors of Olympus are always open for my friends.”
And so our hero stood amazed, as he earned the king his grace.
Rosemary pushed against Lucas’ chin to close his mouth. “Thank you kindly, Your Majesty,” she said, more as a courtesy than in sincerity. The king nodded. “I’ll have some servants take you to your chambers,” he said, “there you can freshen up, as I’ll be inviting you to dine with me tonight. Emrys.”
“Yes, father,” Prince Emrys said as he stepped forward, “this way, please.”
Lucas and Rosemary bowed at the king before following Prince Emrys out of the throne room. Back in the hall, he beckoned one of the blue-robed maids to come over. “Yes, captain?” she asked, as Prince Emrys was still wearing his uniform. “Would you bring Miss Miller to her chambers?” he asked, “I believe the Artemis Suite will suffice.”
The maid bowed at him, and then turned to Rosemary. “Please, follow me,” she said, before going up the stairs.
“Well I'll see you at dinner, I guess,” Rosemary said, before following the maid, “if I'm up to it,” she added. Lucas sighed, followed by a gasp when Prince Emrys suddenly smacked his hand on his shoulder. “Come,” he said, “I'll show you your chambers myself. They're near mine anyway.”
They climbed the stairs, but while Rosemary had gone left, Prince Emrys went right, further up the stairs. Lucas followed him, looking around at all the decorations. He still had to realize that the king now deemed him a friend, and that he had said that he and Rosemary could stay at the palace as long as they liked. “So your friend doesn’t seem too fond of us,” Prince Emrys said as they walked through a brightly-lit corridor.
“Um...well, she thinks it’s your father’s fault that Thanatos destroyed our town,” Lucas said, “she was ranting on about how he doesn’t have a single regard for his people when he decided on actions like those.”
“My father meant well,” Prince Emrys said, “he was convinced Enoch could do this. Convinced the knights would return victorious. No one could’ve seen it coming that the Knights of Elysium would fail such a simple quest as slaying a dragon.”
“Someone saw it coming,” Lucas thought to himself, remembering the stranger and his tale. He cleared his throat, trying to find distraction in the present. “So what should I expect of this dinner? I wasn’t exactly raised around nobility, let alone royals,” he said.
“Don’t worry. I’ll help you,” Prince Emrys said, “here. These are my chambers.” He gestured to a silver-plated door. There was some writing on them, but Lucas had no idea what it said. Prince Emrys opened the door, and let him inside. “Table manners are not the main issue here,” he said, as he placed his beret on a dresser and started undoing the belts that kept his vest closed, “but your appearance does.”
“Well he did say something about freshening up,” Lucas noted.
“Yes,” Prince Emrys said, “you should take a bath and tidy your hair and pick a fresh set of clothes to wear for the banquet tonight.”
“Banquet?” Lucas repeated, “aren’t those for celebrations? What’s there to celebrate?”
“Life,” Prince Emrys simply said, “it’s a rather fresh tradition my mother started. It was written in her will that when she passed, she wished for us to celebrate her life before we mourned her death. So we did, and it made it easier for us, Enoch and I...I hope it’ll be the same this time.”
“Your mother sounds like a wise woman,” Lucas said. Prince Emrys nodded, looking a tad bit sad for a while, but then composed himself. “Come. Let us bathe and have some wine to relax. You’ve had a long journey, haven’t you?”
And so Lucas found himself dragged into the largest bathroom he had ever seen, stripped of his clothing by a prince, and sharing a soapy and perfumed bath with that very same prince. Luckily the bath was the size of a small pool, so it wasn’t too awkward as they sat next to each other, sipping wine while enjoying a head massage as maids rubbed some soap in their hair. Lucas sighed relaxed. “This...is life,” he said contently. Prince Emrys nodded in agreement. “For me this is the best way to just forget about everything for a few minutes,” he said, “royal duties, political matters, my marriage…”
“Ssh,” Lucas said, “don’t talk about it, or you won’t forget.”
The maids washing their hair exchanged some surprised glances. Did that peasant just shush the prince? And the prince didn’t even seem to mind, as he simply laughed and agreed with a nod.
Meanwhile Rosemary was still debating whether she was going to join the others at dinner or not. The bathroom of the Artemis Suite wasn’t as grand as Prince Emrys’ bathroom, but what one doesn’t know can’t harm them. She was perfectly content with her copper tub, the warm water soothing her sore muscles. She’d added some of her herbs, spreading a pleasant aroma through her chambers. A maid knocked the door before walking in, putting down some clean clothes for her to wear before leaving again with a polite bow. Rosemary sighed and let herself sink deeper underwater, stopping when the surface was hardly an inch away from her nostrils. The king had called her a friend...and she hadn’t even really spoken to him. Would her parents be disappointed if they knew she was bathing in his palace...as a guest, a friend. Her parents had always had something against the royal family, but maybe they only felt that way because their little town was hardly acknowledged. It laid on a road towards the elven kingdom Arathmel, but that road wasn’t often used. Not since the two kingdoms build a grand road to improve the trade between the two races...two different worlds. People about as old as her father, or Lucas’ mother could still remember the days that Arathmel and Elysium were in a constant feud. The king’s army would frequently march through their little town, recruiting any young man who was strong enough to lift a sword, no matter how young they were...the elves would then retaliate by raiding border towns like Rustborough, capturing humans and keeping them as prisoners of war...or selling them as slaves on the black market. And now this. Sending an army to slay a dragon. The action clearly hadn’t been thought through. Rosemary remembered her mother’s tales. Dragons were invulnerable to mortal weapons. Not even an army of a thousand men could’ve slain that dragon.
She sat back up as she stretched. The water was beginning to cool. She should probably get out. She wrapped herself into a soft bathrobe and examined the clothing the maid had left for her. A light blue dress looking rather simple, but she could imagine it was more expensive than she could ever afford. She walked into her room as she dried herself off properly and started to get dressed.