Chapter 2: Princes Fight Their Own Battles ALONE
The horse smelled worse then Drentath, I wasn't used to not riding on Dragon's back, it was slow going, it had been three days in stink, filth, and angry mutterings that always seemed to revolve around my life. Where was Calker's Inn, anyway?
Yes, I sound spoiled. I don't care. I am a Prince, and I have been spoiled all my life. I never said I wasn't. I just said I was human, and humans like me don't usually do this sort of thing. Suddenly, after going to the top of the hill, I saw town up ahead, the first in eight hours. It was almost noon, and I'd ridden since dawn at a steady pace, and I found that this was just as the directions had said: This was Baysphille, the town in which was just about 15 minutes from Calker's Inn!
In town, I stopped to refresh my self a little. I didn't want to spark the bad side of Kanani. No matter how angelic she had been described to be, no woman or man ever stayed gracious to a grumpy Cody for long.
After I had eaten and washed at least my face, I headed out toward Calker's Inn. I was abruptly nervous, so I began to rehearse what I would say: "Hello, my name is Cody, and I can do any work you set me to, and all I request is to sleep here and food once a day. I need to work here one month, and that is all. I don't request pay. Well, I personally thought that was a pretty good deal!
Then I saw the polished wood building, with a stone pathway. It looked large for an inn, but the sign said, Calker's Inn. I put my horse in the stables, and wlaked back to the entrance.
I knocked loudly on the inn door, hoping someone heard. I was right. A middle aged man who was heavy, but with more muscle then fat, answered the door.. But his face was gentle, but was creased with worry lines.
"May I help you?" The man asked in a tired voice.
Suddenly, my lines didn't comes to mind. I couldn't remember. Curses to whoever made me more like my forgetful mother then my actor of a father!
"My name is Cody, and uh, I need work," I mumbled. I didn't mumble very much; I only mumbled when I felt nervous, which I hadn't been since I was eight years old ay my first ball. This was totally new to me.
The man's expression brightened. "What can you do?"
Again, I didn't know how to answer. "I don't know," I admitted. "I learn extremely fast, I'm strong, smart, and if it helps me get any job here for a month, I can fight extremely well."
The man looked at me thoughtfully. I was startled to find we were almost the same height, only this time he was taller. Not by very much though. "Alright. You can help in the kitchen; I am Jeavaelon. You can call me Jeavy though." The name struck a cord in my memory; something about how only friends call him that. I smiled at him thankfully; I was considered a friend already. Well, probably not. But I got the job! "But first you need to meet Calker."
I nodded enthusiastically. I had the job, I had the job, I had the job, I had the—
My mental song of rejoicing was cut off as I focused on following Jeavy, who was surprisingly swift on his feet.
The Inn was bigger on the inside, I realized with Chagrin. It was quite a number of steps later that I was hurried into a dark room where an old, old man lay in bed. His eyes were sunken in, and he had no facial hair. His eye brows were thick and bushy, only a light colored gray. His hair was in white wisps on his head, his skin sagged. His chin was weak, so he looked much like a dead tortoise. But this "tortoise" was very much alive, as he gasped and shouted in a very airy, weak voice, "BY DRENTATH'S FIRST TOOTH, HE LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE KING EVIDEN!"
I grimaced. I had never been compared to my Father in looks other then height. I had always looked more like my late mother, Cassrean.
"Father, this is Cody," Jeavy began. I winced as Calker's eyes widened even more at that other similarity. Calker himself had called me Cody when he had never met me. "He will be staying here a month, and he'll do everything we tell him to, pretty much." The intro was insultingly more short then I was used to.
"I want to speak to him alone!" Calker announced. Jeavy didn't move. Were they so close that when Calker said "alone" he mean "us"? Envy sparked right then and there, for my Father and I were no where near on the same page as they seemed to be. "That means you leave, Jeavy," Calker added, pointedly. Jeavy flushed slightly, and nodded as he walked out. "What are you doing here, Prince Codagon?" He demanded as soon as he was gone.
I sighed, and decided to avoid the question. "Well, I've never heard that I look like my father," I confessed. "I was always told I looked like my mother, Cassrean."
He rolled his eyes. "Nobody knew the boy when he was your age; I'm 30 years older then him, you know. Everyone who has a good memory as me is dead! Now what are you doing here?"
I groaned. "Fine! My father has made me come here and to get to know Kanani. If I like her, she goes back to the castle with me and lives happily ever after with the stupid prince who is stupidly handsome who will get a stupid dragon and gets a stupid kingdom his stupid father doesn't want!" I ranted.
Then suddenly Calker started to laugh, which was a surprisingly more youthful sound then his voice. "Yes, that would be your father. Retires as king and still gets to have the perks of being one while giving all the bad to his son." Of course, Calker would only truly listen to the part about my father.
"It doesn't matter," I shrugged. "Now, can I work here or not?!"
He laughed. "Impatient; just like your father too." I glared at him until he sighed. "Yes, yes. You can work here. You'll be the kitchen scullery boy." I scowled at the title, but then smoothed my expression and nodded. "Fine." He was trying to irritate me, and I hated being played. Ask anyone who knows me; oh wait, the only one who cares enough to know me is my father, and he is the stupid reason I'm a stupid scullery boy!
Jeavy was waiting about 10 feet from the door, respectively giving his father privacy. "Alright, just follow me, Cody, to the kitchens."
After a very long walk with many twists and turns, we finally stopped at entry way with warm air floating toward me. It almost felt nice, even though I had been baking in the heat outside before I came here.
"Ho, Cook!" Jeavy greeted to the stereo-typically plump cook. He wore a ridiculously colorful apron with hideously mismatched clothes; what, was he color blind?!
"Ho, Jeavy!" The man responded, waving his spatula toward us. He beckoned us in, and I followed Jeavy in.
"I have a kitchen boy for you," He announced. "He'll do whatever you ask."
'Cook' frowned at me. "At what pay?"
I was surprised by the question. I could have easily said, "Nothing." But that would have been suspicious, so I settled for, "One meal a day, and a place to sleep."
He nodded. "Looks like I get more out of this then you, so I accept. And here is task number one, little boy. I want you to make sure Kanani stays out of trouble as she goes to the market. KANANI!" He called. My heart skipped a beat. This would be easier then I thought it would be. Maybe, if I was lucky, I would be able to actually judge her fairly!
Then a girl strolled in easily. She wore a simple dear hide dress with a cotton white apron on her. She had shoulder-length brown hair that stayed neat easily and she had warm brown eyes that were bright and vibrant. She had a dimple on her left cheek that peeped out as she said, "Yes, my dear and wonderful father?" She asked as she practically danced to him. She hadn't noticed me yet, obviously.
He rolled his eyes at her fondly. "In another one of those 'moods', Kanani? What triggered it this time?"
She laughed. "I just when on a ride on Sugar, and I found the most beautiful view of the lake, and then I just got so-so have!" I guessed that Sugar was a horse, and that Kanani wasn't being fake. She really did get into "moods."
"Kanani, I need you to get—" Then they started speaking a whole different language that my father called 'cook and servant.' I never understood how they knew the difference between two red apples with a glance. "And this boy will accompany you to ensure your safety," He ended, pointed at him. For the first time, Kanani looked at me. She flushed slightly.
"Oh," Was all she said. I gave her an encouraging half smile.
"Follow her," He ordered. I nodded, and followed Kanani as she took long, strong strides out the door, and through the wet, squishy, tall grass that made up the back of the inn. It was almost ugly, but the dots of wild flowers helped some.
When we got to the stables, she started speaking. She started with an easy enough question. "What is your name?"
"Cody," I replied. I headed for my nameless horse, as she headed for a tan horse with white main and tail.
"Where do you come from?" She asked. I decided not to shed any more light on my real life.
"Somewhere," I said evasively. As I began to tack my horse, I called to her, "Don't you care that your father is making you take a body guard that is your own age?"
"Do you think you know more then my Father?"
"Well….No, bu—"
"Do I think I know more then my Dad? No. So I think it's better if we listen to the one who knows what he is doing." Her motto was to accept without question, I realized, while mine was to argue and to complain. I didn't speak again. She must have thought she had shamed me into silence; let her think what she wants. But that thought wasn't far off.
I followed her out of her house. For one so short, she sure did ride such a big horse better then I did. I mounted, though it was obvious I had struggled to do so for it took three times as long for me to mount then she had, not counting the 10 seconds of hesitation before I even tried. She gave me a questioning look, and I shrugged.
"Horses aren't my usual mode of transportation." I was proud of myself. I had been successfully evasive of what my life was really like.
I followed her down the dusty road, only she moved at a faster pace then I was used to, and I had to hold back winces as I bounced in the saddle, my legs burning with a cold fire and friction begged for control. Never the less, I did not once urge my horse to slow, or give any indication that I was feeling pain.
When we finally dismounted to guide our horses carefully through the crowded streets, she turned to me, her expression worried, her gaze searching. "Are you alright?"
I stared at her, shocked. Had my façade not been as perfect as I had imagined? Cures again to who ever made me more like my mother then my father.
She noticed my shock and have me a half hearted smile. "I'm extremely observant; to anyone else you would have seemed fine."
I cleared my throat after a sighed and told her, "I'm okay, thanks for asking." Then I took my place in back of her horses rump as she gather the things on her list.
It wasn't very long into the expedition to the market before I was pushed to the ground; hard. I was completely shocked at the sheer force of it.
"Oh, I'm sorry," A voice leered. By the expression on my attacker's face, I knew he was not.
I glared coldly at him. "Oh, it's okay. And because I like you so much, this won't hurt as much as it should." Then I punched him square in the jaw. He was shocked and stumbled back. He lunged at me, and I easily dodged to the left, glad that this was something familiar to me. This time he lunged for my legs. I simply jumped back, kicked his shoulder. We proceeded to do this for about 30 more seconds; me expertly dodging his weak, grade D attacks, when Kanani stepped over and shouted at him, "BACK OFF!"
The boy immediately stopped seeking revenge on me, and bowed his head meekly to Kanani without hesitation. "I'm sorry, Kanani," He mumbled and he backed away into the cheering crowd.
"I was doing just fine!" I whined.
Kanani laughed and spoke in a quiet, strangely gentle voice that nobody had ever used on me. "I know."
Psssh! What does she know? Princes can fight their own battles…ALONE!
