A.N. I'm just cranking out the chapters here. Three in one week is good for me.
I forgot something last chapter. The line about Emeth rather liking his ears and only having two of them is a variation of a reply given to King Henry VIII by a woman he proposed to. Sorry 'bout that. Without further ado, here's chapter five.
Despite having no idea how he would tell Princess Aravis of his suspicions, Emeth proceeded as he normally would: by questioning people carefully. He decided to start with Prince Corin, as the prince seemed the most forthcoming of the royal family. Emeth and the ambassador were invited to lunch with the king, his sons and his daughter-in-law. To Emeth's delight, he was seated next to the person he most wished to speak to, Corin himself. The prince looked slightly better than he had that morning, and the bruises Emeth had noticed the day before were more faded. Still, the prince was ravenous and ate more than Emeth thought possible.
Archenlandish food, Emeth decided, was a good deal better than Calormen, given that in Calormen half of what you eat is soaked in spices and oil. Archenlandish food was fresher, and the tastes were different, a difference Emeth was rather fond of. There was also something called butter, which supposedly came from the juice of a cow, like cheese came from the juice of a goat. He warily tried it, before discovering that it was rather good on bread. All in all, an excellent lunch. He also managed to get some information out of Prince Corin.
"Has Princess Aravis ever mentioned who her sire is?" he asked innocently, in the way that irritating fourteen year olds have.
"She might have, but it would have been long ago. Aravis doesn't care for genealogical declarations. You might ask her or my brother if you're curious." Emeth would rather ask that of Prince Cor than Princess Aravis. She did not seem like one to reveal much about herself.
"How did she come to live in Archenland?" he asked in the same innocent tone. Prince Corin muttered something, all the while looking awkward.
"It is a long, boring story, not often told. You may hear it, if they tell it at Aravis and Cor's second wedding anniversary, two weeks from now."
"When is her birthday?"
"You are very curious about her," Corin said suspiciously. Emeth knew he had better come up with a good lie, and quickly.
"I am," he admitted, buying himself some time. "I am interested in her because she is a lady of my land, obviously of noble birth, and I'm wondering if my father would know her family."
"Well, when her birthday is is no secret. It is two days from now. The celebrations are being planned even as we speak."
"Excellent. Thank you for your information, your Highness." Their conversation drifted to other topics, but Emeth felt he had gotten a good deal of information. The only issue that rose from that was the fact that he had alerted Prince Corin to his interest. No matter, the questions he had asked had been harmless enough. Or so he thought.
OoOoOoOo
Later that night, Cor, Aravis and Corin met in the kitchen for a late snack, as they were wont to do. Corin was flopped on the floor, while Aravis sat on a clean counter. Cor was riffling through the pantry in search of chocolate for himself, his wife and his twin. When he found a large slab, he brought it out and broke it. While Corin munched on a large chunk, he remembered his earlier conversation.
"Oh I say Aravis, you know the young one, Emeth Tarkaan? He was asking a lot of questions about you earlier."
"Why?" she asked, sucking on her own piece.
"Apparently, he was interested in a lady, obviously of noble blood, from his country. But he was lying."
"I'm impressed Corin," Aravis said. "Your skills of observance are better than I thought."
"Well, you and Cor never did notice when I saw you two kissing in the garden three years ago." Corin ducked as a large chunk of chocolate was thrown his way. He considered himself lucky that the knives were too far away for her to reach earlier.
"I take back my previous statement, iditot."
"Cor, control your wife. I might've died." This time Corin was pelted with chocolate from both directions as his brother joined his sister-in-law. No one controlled Aravis.
"Cor, you're lucky I've never had a knife near me," Aravis informed her husband angrily. "As you would have been an only child again." Cor rolled his eyes, not that he denied what she said. It was very lucky that he was always the one who discovered Corin at his worst, or Corin would have more people than Aravis after him with a kitchen knife.
"Why am I always in the middle of these things?" Cor muttered to himself.
A. N. So this chapter is dedicated to my younger brother, who will be fourteen soon, and has that irritating fourteen year old manner. Love ya, Little Brother.