She should've been there a half hour ago. Had she forgotten? Had she not meant it? Maybe he should go find her… no, he saw her this morning, she had brought it up again, so she remembered, but she looked so tired. Like, really tired. Like she'd been on a week-long-drinking-bender-like-she-did-when-she-was-seventeen tired. That had been a fun week: Bean threw up on Derek's head, which in hindsight was funny, until the gulls attacked the poor boy… then it was even more funny.
Even Zøg laughed, before he choked on a chicken bone, which he coughed up onto Derek who was tackled by a dog.
But Bean hadn't been drinking that heavily. Pendergast knew that Bean had actually been cutting back on the drinking (by which he meant that she wasn't boozing all day long like she used to).
"Where is she?" Pendergast mused to himself.
The knight had started pacing in front of the Records Room, weighing his options. Maybe he should just-
The man looked up when the sound of approaching footsteps echoed across the stone walls of the inner castle, along with a slight slip, and a curse: definitely Bean.
"Bean?"
"Yeah, yeah… I'm here. Sorry I'm-" Bean paused, coming around the corner and revealing her tired self stifling a yawn "-late. I, uh… I…"
Bean narrowed her eyes as if she was trying to remember exactly what she was doing before she just shook her head and came up to stand beside him. She was wearing her white-hair in a low ponytail and she wasn't wearing a dress like she had been lately, but was wearing her typical blue tunic and leggings: classic Bean. Pendergast was wearing his typical uniform of a Dreamland Knight.
"Whatever, doesn't matter. I'm here now."
"Yyyyes…?" Pendergast said hesitantly, looking over her again and noting the dark bags under her eyes. "So, Bean. Umm, now I'm not saying that you don't look great or anything, buuuuuuut... when was the last time you slept?"
"I dunno… when was the last time you saw with your right eye?"
Pendergast raised his brow at the dry humour attempt from Bean, not because he was insulted or anything like that, but due to the fact that his concern for her rose about ten points.
Bean, looking very tired indeed, blearily looked at the "Records" sign over the door before noticing that Pendergast was still looking at her.
"What?"
"Look Bean, this really isn't that important. You should go get some rest. I can just-"
"I can't," Bean replied weakly, yet firmly at the same time, before she rolled her eyes and opened the door. "Just… come on. Let's solve your life's mystery already," she said before escaping inside.
Pendergast took a moment longer to stand outside the door, once again weighing his options, before he allowed the tiny smile to show on his face. She wanted to be there with him! Okay, maybe her true motives weren't that cut and dry, but hey! He'll take it, if it means being able to spend more time with her. She was there, right? And… he was being selfish by silently celebrating her exhaustion.
Frowning at himself and his selfishness, Pendergast also entered the room, although room probably wasn't the best way to describe the space. It was more like a long dungeon filled with floor-to-ceiling shelves that were heavily laden upon shelves of books, scrolls, and other documents. Papers were spilling out onto the floor, others were sticking out of books, and many looked to have been haphazardly stuffed into crevices and spaces. Bean had already lit a lantern hanging off the wall and had begun to clear away the lone table that was located near the room's door. Pendergast moved to help her and Bean sighed and leaned back, hands on her hips, and puffed out her cheeks.
"Man… I really should order someone to organize in here. Or dust or… get someone to try and find where the scribe that disappeared a few years ago. I wouldn't be surprised if he's in here somewhere under a pile of books and papers."
Bean paused and uncovered two chairs covered by more papers and books from against a wall and pulled them up to the table.
"Yeah, this is going to take a while."
"Which I'm happy to spend with you, my queen! But, I mean, I wouldn't take it personally if you would like to go and I'll-"
"Nope, you're not getting rid of me that easy," Bean declared, going over to the record index and slamming it onto the table, glancing up at the knight and flashing him one of her cocky smirks.
Pendergast slightly smirked back and pulled up a chair and sat down while Bean began to flip through pages of a large book that had been on a nearby bookstand.
"So, in theory, this book should be more or less regularly updated and it lists all the… important people in Dreamland, I guess? Important as in notable people who aren't royalty, so like… knights, lords, ministers… you get it. And by the looks of it-" Bean paused, flipping into the middle of the index at the multitude of names "-we find the name of your dad, track down his record, and… yeah. It shouldn't be too hard. I mean, your records are here too… somewhere, so we should find those as well and see what they say about your parentage."
"Okay," Pendergast confirmed, starting to get it. "Interesting."
Bean looked at him and another smile played upon her lips.
"You can read, right?"
At this, Pendergast feigned being insulted.
"I will have you know, my lady, that all Dreamland knights are taught to read and write as part of our training! Therefore, I am sufficiently trained for this endeavor."
"Okay, okay, settle down there with the bravado."
Pendergast grinned and chuckled, happy to see Bean at least somewhat enjoying herself (or at least trying to). He then motioned to take over the index, which Bean easily slid over to him, before she took a seat. The knight flipped to the index to its first page and his lone eye began to scan the many lists of names. He then realized that they were also organized by reigns, so all he needed to do to find his father was to look under King Xøg.
As he scanned the names and flipped pages, Bean sagged into her chair and watched him.
"What was your dad's name?" Bean asked after a moment's hesitation.
Pendergast glanced up at her before he replied, "Sir Jolon. I've been told that he was a great man and even a greater knight. I told you that he died while serving the king, your grandfather, yeah?"
"You mentioned it, yeah," Bean replied, stifling a yawn.
"He apparently died while protecting the king from an assassination attempt," Pendergast continued, still flipping through pages.
"Wow, really?" Bean commented, her interest straightening her weary posture slightly.
"Apparently so," Pendergast continued. "The war with Dankmire had been going on for nearly a century and would not end until your father signed the peace treaty and married Queen Oona."
"I am aware," Bean added, but had a smile on her lips.
"Well, there were those who thought that the war had been going on for far too long, apparently, and thought that by killing the king it would mean an early end to the conflict. But... my father thwarted that plan and paid with his life. I was still a couple months from being born."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it," Pendergast replied with a smile. "I mean, we're here to determine if Sir Jolon was even my father, so don't apologize yet."
Bean's expression fell a little bit at Pendergast's casualness, but the man was still flipping through pages and scanning through the names.
"Are you, y'know… worried?"
"About what I might find?" Pendergast asked, finally glancing up to look at her.
"Yeah, I mean… It sounds like you hold your dad pretty highly. If it turns out that he isn't your dad-"
"Then I will still be me," Pendergast declared softly, though he did look back down at the book.
"That's true," Bean admitted, "but, trust me: finding out your parent isn't who you thought they were can mess you up. I mean, I just… I mean... umm..."
Bean trailed off as she paused to think: what could she offer him? What could she say? Biting her lip and thinking hard, she missed the knight looking up at her until his chuckle caught her attention.
"I'll be alright, Your Majesty, but I appreciate your concern. Truly I do. Besides-" Pendergast began as he set his finger down on a familiar name "- I'm fairly certain that I already know the answer."
"Oh?" Bean inquired, blinking at him.
However, Pendergast only smirked at her and stood, reaching up to unlatch the lantern from the wall.
"If you would excuse me, Bean, I have located Sir Jolon's name and where his record should be. I shan't be long."
Bean was left without a definitive answer as she watched Pendergast disappear around the corner that led to the long corridor between the shelves, rendering Bean in considerable dimness. While there was a lone window for the records room, it was cloudy with dust and disuse, as well as a few too many cobwebs, so it didn't do the bright morning outside any justice.
"Hm," Bean uttered to herself, suddenly by herself, but she silently admitted that this really was a one person job and that Pendergast didn't need her there.
So why was she there? Easy answer: she was avoiding doing responsible stuff. Hard answer… yeah she didn't want to think of any harder or more complicated answers or excuses. Not now. Bean could admit that she just wanted to be there, end of story. Didn't have to get any deeper or more complicated than that. She promised Pendergast she'd help him and it was the least she could do since he saved her life and all.
Against her better wishes, as Bean was arguing with herself and rationalizing why she was there, somehow her head had fallen onto her crossed arms, which were embracing a book upon the table. Like a drunk at Luci's Inferno, she had fallen asleep right then and there.
Pendergast found Bean this way a good fifteen minutes later, when he returned having finally been able to find what he hoped to be the correct volume. The knight rounded the corner, book in one arm and lantern being held aloft by his other, and just as he was opening his mouth to make a comment, he paused. Bean had her head faced towards him, eyes closed, mouth slightly open and breathing softly. She had looked exhausted, so he wasn't at all surprised that she had fallen asleep already, but he still took the moment to appreciate the sight regardless. As gently as he could, Pendergast hung the lantern back onto its hook and placed the book lightly upon the table.
His mission: do not disturb Bean. He wanted her to sleep, clearly she needed it, and he still felt conflicted about how he should feel about her being there with him. On the one hand, he was ecstatic. One-on-one time with Bean? That's what he's wanted for some time now. But, on the other hand, he wanted her to rest so she should really be up in her room to do that. Then again, thinking about it now he did recall Bean mentioning the day before when they were up on the tower that she didn't want to sleep.
He wondered now, watching her sleep as she was, what she had meant by that. Then he remembered what she had said in the throne room, something about having nightmares. Was that it? Bean was still having nightmares?
Tucking this bit of thinking away for now, Pendergast went over to the other side of the table to his chair. Fortunately Pendergast had not tucked in his chair, so he needed not to worry about the legs scraping across the floor and possibly wake Bean. Taking his seat, the knight silently began to flip through the record listing of knights who were under the command of King Xøg during his reign.
Minutes ticked by and Pendergast searched and Bean slept.
Every so often Bean would stir and Pendergast would freeze to watch her, hoping he hadn't woken her up, but she would always settle back down again, even at one point to snore softly. Each time that Bean returned to her exhausted slumber, Pendergast would smile softly before returning to his search.
And search he did, until he found what he was looking for.
An hour later, Pendergast had found the secondary materials that he hadn't anticipated he would need to find, including his own records. They felt heavy in his hands even though they physically weren't. He resigned himself to read them later… he wasn't quite ready to open them up yet. Once again he returned to the table to find Bean still sleeping. However, now he was faced with a dilemma. He didn't need to search for anything more, therefore there was no longer any reason for him to be in the Records Room and his instinctual loyalty to duty told him to get moving onto the next thing. But, Bean… she was still sleeping and he couldn't just leave her there: even thinking about her waking up to find herself alone in the dark face-to-face with a curious mouse made Pendergast feel uneasy. Then again, thinking about waking her also caused him to hesitate.
She looked so peaceful… as peaceful as one could be if they were asleep at a table upon a large book.
With a reluctant sigh, Pendergast set down his collection of documents and books that he had gathered and stepped around to be by Bean's side. Taking another moment to look into her face, he lightly set his hand upon her shoulder and gave it a gentle nudge.
"Bean? It's time to wake up."
No response.
"Bean, come on. It's ah… time to get up," Pendergast spoke again, slightly louder, and he nudged her a bit more.
The Queen of Dreamland finally stirred with a mumble, shifting in her position and Pendergast released his hand to allow her to wake without him touching her. Except for the fact that she didn't wake up, but simply turned her head the other way and settled back into sleep.
Now Pendergast really frowned and was on the fence with how to proceed. He didn't want to leave her there, but felt that trying to pick her or something would be crossing a line, especially if Bean woke up and then proceeded to freak out on him. He really didn't want that to happen. Pendergast felt that he was gaining ground when it came to developing a friendship with Bean, and the last thing he wanted to do was ruin that by sweeping her off of her feet as she slept.
"Bean!" Pendergast finally blurted out, before shaking her shoulder. "Wake up, Bean!"
The woman jolted awake and upright, nearly teetering back in her chair, but thankfully Pendergast was at least quick to grab the back of her seat.
"WOAH! What? What's going on? What-? Pendergast? Why are you in my room?"
Pendergast felt his cheeks begin to burn as Bean rubbed her eyes and yawned, before he cleared his throat.
"I apologize for having to wake you, Your Majesty, but you fell asleep and… well, we are not in your room. We're still in the Records Room."
Bean slid her hands down her face to reveal her suspicious eyes that gazed around the room, before she blinked and dropped her hands.
"Oh, damn. You're right. I fell asleep, huh?" she asked, yawning again before rubbing the back of her stiff neck.
"Ah, yes. I tried not to wake you, but I'm finished now, and, well, I couldn't just leave you in here," Pendergast explained with an apologetic smile, standing awkwardly beside her.
"You found your dad?" Bean asked, looking up to him, before glancing over to see the stack of books, documents, and what looked like a small journal or something on the table.
"Y-yes…?" Pendergast answered slowly, looking away. "That and more. But, no need to-"
"Well, what did you find?" Bean inquired, interrupting the knight, and half-turning in her chair to look up at him better.
Pendergast felt even more awkward with Bean just looking up at him expectantly, so he moved aside to gather together his stack (i.e. doing something to occupy his hands as he formed words).
"If it's fine with you, Bean, but I'd rather not discuss it. Yet, I mean, or here. I think we've been in this dusty room for long enough."
"That's true," Bean acknowledged though she saw that he was trying to deflect: not on her watch. "Well… since it's…-" she paused to look up at the window, which didn't really reveal what time of day it was "- whatever, how about we just take the rest of the day off, hm? It was nice out earlier. We can head to my favourite spot when I want some quiet time to myself, especially when I'm hungover."
"Ah, really?" Pendergast blurted out, clearly dubious, before he cleared his throat and his bashfulness reddened his face. "I mean, that sounds very kind of you, and I accept-"
"Oh, lay off it, Pendergast," Bean interjected, standing beside him and crossing her arms. "It's fine. I don't feel like being queen today anyways. I'll go and get some food and stuff for us, you go and get the horses,and we'll pick up Luci and head over. Sound good? Then, when we're out there, you can decide then if you want to tell me about your dad or not, okay?"
For a brief moment the knight looked at her as is waiting for Bean to reveal that this was all one big jest, but she didn't. Pendergast grinned wide and with his usual high energy and positivity, he nodded.
"Most excellent idea, Bean! I shall await your arrival in the bailey!"
"Okay," Bean said, though she chuckled at his obvious excitement.
Pendergast rushed to beat Bean to the door so that he could open it for her, and smiling while shaking her head, she passed him and headed out of the door. The knight watched her go before turning to gaze at the table and, more specifically, his collection of research. The man's face fell as he took a deep breath.
"Well, this explains why he didn't meet me in Heaven," he mumbled, before going over to collect the papers and books and headed out the door himself.
The knight had found one answer, but now faced a dozen new questions that buzzed around his head and stirred his anxiety and confusion.
/
"Are ya sure that you want me to come with you kids?"
"Yes, Luci," Bean repeated, this time not finding the energy to roll her eyes again.
"What? Don't tell me that you're afraid to be alone with Pendergast?"
"That doesn't even make any sense," Bean countered, frowning at the small ex-demon who stood on the basket containing a bunch of goodies the kitchen had provided to the queen upon her sudden request.
Bean had found Luci, or rather nearly stepped on him, while passing the throne room. He'd been trying to find her just as she intended to locate him, so their near collision was most fortuitous. Then Bean told Luci of her spur-of-the-moment plans to head to the abandoned tower, which by itself wasn't that special, but… then came the kicker: Pendergast was invited. Luci lost it. The small demon was jumping with barely contained glee on the queen's shoulder, until he cleared his throat, leaned against the side of her head, and smirked mischievously.
"So… it's like a date, huh?"
From that point onwards, while Bean went down to the kitchen, waited for the basket and was now heading up to meet Pendergast in the castle's bailey, Luci had not let up. The teasing, the comments, the nudges, and the looks… Bean deflected them all.
"Just give it up, Luci. There's nothing going on between Pendergast and me."
"Sure, yeah, I get that," Luci replied calmly, tiny hands behind his back. "You're just spending a lot of alone time with him ever since he heroically rescued you, kissed you and told you that he loved you. Yeah, totally platonic…"
"Shut up," Bean muttered before pushing open the castle door.
Pendergast was already out there waiting for them, which wasn't surprising, holding the reins of his black stallion and Bean's bay gelding. Bean noted that it looked like Pendergast had packed his saddlebags with what she presumed to be the documents he had found in the Records Room. She also saw that he had changed from his knight uniform to his casual clothes and on his back was… a lute? Pendergast played the lute? Bean thought that he only sang.
"Wazzup?" Luci greeted as Bean approached Pendergast and their horses.
"Luci," Pendergast greeted with a smile. "Glad that you could join us on this beautiful day!"
"Yes… it is a nice day, isn't it? Things are just… coming together effortlessly," Luci added slowly, once again leaning against Bean's head.
Bean wasn't having any of it. With a disinterested expression, she reached up to pick up Luci only to toss him to Pendergast, who caught him with a blink of surprise.
"Just figured that you two best buddies need to spend more time together," Bean said bluntly, before handing Pendergast the food basket and then mounted her horse.
"Rude," Luci muttered, briefly crossing his arms, before scurrying up to stand on Pendergast's shoulder. "But it's true. Imma right, best buddy?"
"Ah, yes! Of course."
Pendergast seemed confused as to the whole situation, but then accepted it with a smile and mounted his own horse, food basket in hand.
"Where to, Bean?" Pendergast asked, turning his stallion's head so that he was astride Bean.
"It's not far," she replied simply, before kicking her gelding forward into a canter.
Pendergast was quick to follow her lead and the pair of riders were soon riding over the lowered draw bridge into town. Luci remained silent the entire ride, as did the two humans, but the former demon-turned-mortal-turned-angel-back-to-a-mortal was heavy in his thoughts. He had stayed with Bean all night, but when he had awoken this morning, Bean was already gone. Only later had he discovered that she had been found asleep in the Orb Room, curled up over a couple of chairs. When he couldn't find her, he gave up, went down to his apartment, but it had been bugging him all morning. why had she been in the Orb Room? Hence why he was out searching for Bean when she had bumped into him. With no Elfo around, Bean was his only source of true entertainment and friendship.
"Hey, Pendergast," Luci whispered into the knight's ear as they rode on.
"Yes…?" Pendergast replied slowly, glancing at Bean, who rode a few feet in front of him and possibly within earshot.
"Were you with Bean this morning?" Luci asked, still hushed.
"Yes, I was. We were in the Records Room," Pendergast admitted, not sure where this was going.
"And…? Come on, man. Give me some details!"
Pendergast looked aside at the tiny demon when Luci chuckled deliciously and gave him an odd look.
"Ah, nothing happened. I did some research and Bean fell asleep for a couple of hours."
"She slept?" Luci asked curiously, his apparent excitement immediately extinguished. "And like, did she, you know, wake up screaming or something?"
"Umm, no, she did not," Pendergast replied curiously, frowning with concern at Luci. "Were you expecting her to?"
'Is Bean really having nightmares that bad?' Pendergast thought quickly, but before he could ask Luci anything else, Bean's voice cut through his thoughts.
"Hey, you two. Share with the class if it's so important," Bean called back to them, glancing over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow.
"Just gossiping," Luci called back, his usual swagger back in force. "Best buddy stuff, you wouldn't understand."
Bean just rolled her eyes and spurred her horse to run a bit faster now that they were exiting the town. She directed her mount towards the abandoned tower along the cliffside and it wouldn't take the riders long to reach the base of the crumbling tower. She hadn't been to the site since she had ridden up there with her mom.
That felt so long ago… but it really wasn't. Just so much had changed since then.
Arriving at the tower and reining in their mounts, Bean dismounted. Pendergast followed suit and managed to do so without fumbling with balancing the food basket, his lute, and the full saddlebags. Luci remained on his perch upon the knight's shoulder while Bean handed Pendergast her horse's reins so that she could stand beside the cliff and stare out at the sea. It truly was a beautiful day, for now at least, and looking out at the horizon and over at Dreamland castle in the distance… it almost made it feel like all of Bean's worries and problems were nonexistent.
Almost.
Bean was still terribly tired and she hoped that being out of the castle might help her sleep, being in the fresh and salty air and all. That was the true underlying reason why she had suggested that they head out this way for the afternoon. She needed sleep, badly, and that quick, unexpected catnap she had down in the Records Room hadn't really helped how tired she was, only really giving her a slight neck ache.
Times like these, Bean was reminded of what her dad had told her, of why she wanted to get away from the castle in general.
"Something about this castle makes dreams more powerful. You can't escape your dreams, but you can stop a nightmare by working through the issues causing it."
That's what Zøg had told her in a rare moment of true clarity and kingly wisdom. While that in itself was weird, the weirder thing was that he was right. These nightmares that were plaguing Bean, inhibiting her from getting a proper night's sleep, needed to be addressed and discussed. She knew that she could also turn to Luci and Elfo, but with Elfo being gone… Pendergast did fit the bill. Like Luci, he'd been to Heaven and Hell, he knew what Bean had gone through down in Hell with Dagmar and Nick Scratch, so opening up to him shouldn't be that hard.
Right? Yeah… in theory. Too bad that Bean sucked at opening up, or at least she thought so.
"Bean?"
Turning around at the sound of her name, snapping out of her thoughts and tired daydreams, Bean saw that Pendergast had already unrolled a blanket on the ground for her to sit on, the basket was already being pilfered by Luci, the horses were tied up, and Pendergast was standing with his lute in hand gesturing towards the blanket.
"Won't you come and sit and join us?" he asked gallantly, smiling at her.
"Ah, yeah, thanks," Bean replied lamley, before going over and sitting down on the blanket with her back against the tower's wall.
Only once she was settled into her seat, did Pendergast move to sit down himself, though notably a couple feet away from Bean and off of the blanket. Clearly he respected her space.
Luci, uncorking one of the two bottles of wine Bean had packed, smirked at this when he saw the space between the two.
"Jeez, can you make it even more noticeable," he commented with a scoff, before taking a swig of wine.
Either Bean and Pendergast didn't hear or were ignoring him, probably the latter, for Bean simply took the bottle away from him while Pendergast busied himself with tuning his lute.
"I didn't know you played," Bean commented after drinking down some wine. "I mean, I knew that you had that band, but I think you sang? I don't remember you playing the lute… unless I was just drunk and I don't remember, which, if we're being honest, is very likely."
"No, no," Pendergast replied with a chuckle, glancing over at her with his lopsided smile, "you are not mistaken. I, ah… only just recently learned the lute and thought, if you wished, I could play some for you. O-of course it's your choice, Bean. I won't be hurt if-"
"You can play some, Pendergast," Bean replied, making a point to cut him off at his cautious assurance that she might not want him to play.
She had noticed that since becoming queen, people were always adding how it would be okay or not that they did something. Or that it wouldn't hurt the other person if Bean disagreed with their opinion or if she said no to what they were asking. People didn't used to do that with her, not when she had been a princess anyways. Definitely Bean had noticed it more since she had confronted Odval about his past crimes. It was almost like… people were worried about upsetting her: afraid of how she would react or what she would do.
Bean still wasn't sure how she felt about all of this, being queen and such. She was still Bean, she was still the same person… wasn't she?
Luci glanced at Pendergast before looking back at Bean, who had been staring at the lute in Pendergast's hand for a good long minute now. The little demon, slightly frowning with worry, hopped up onto Bean's lap, causing her to blink and look down at him.
"What?"
"Ah, Earth to Bean? I know Pendergast is dreamy and all now that he can play an acoustic instrument around a campfire like any other douchebag, but you don't need to stare like that."
"Like what?!" Bean accused, frowning at Luci, before looking over at Pendergast who was slightly blushing but did have a similar look of concern as Luci had. "I wasn't staring at you," Bean said defensively.
"No, of course not, Bean. You're tired, it's okay," Pendergast said reassuringly.
Luci, on the other hand, set his hands upon his hips and was about to say something else when Bean swatted him away.
"That's enough from you," Bean warned. "I'm tired and not in the mood to be teased or bugged or called "Your Majesty." I just… want to be Bean, at least for the rest of the day."
She started by addressing Luci, but as she spoke Bean's eyes gazed out to look in front of her at nothing in particular and her tone quieted a bit. She then took a mighty swig from her bottle and settled against the tower's wall, closing her eyes with a sigh as a gentle sea breeze brushed her hair.
Luci made a small tsking sound, before hopping onto Pendergast's knee, looking up at the knight, and gesturing to Bean.
"This is what I mean. She hasn't been sleeping and is getting pretty bitchy because of it."
"I can hear you…" Bean said dryly, not opening her eyes, and taking another sip of wine before she sighed. "I'm sorry you guys," she added, opening her eyes and revealing a tired and slightly sad expression. "I wanted to come out here to get away from things but, Luci's right. I'm just tired and haven't been sleeping well."
"There's no need to apologize, Bean," Pendergast assured.
"I accept your apology," Luci said smugly, crossing his arms. The ex-demon and the knight glanced at one another and Luci just scoffed. "Yeah! You heard me!"
"Pendergast! Play us a song," Bean blurted out, waving off Luci and clearly not wanting to hear anymore.
The woman took another sip of her wine and blinked her eyes open to stare out across the ocean. Pendergast glanced at the side of her face before turning to look down at Luci, who had hopped down to sit on the grass and smoke a cigar that now he had somehow. Clearing his throat, Pendergast shifted in his position and lifted the lute, setting his hands and fingers into place.
Then the knight began to play and… holy crap... he was actually good!
Bean turned her head and blinked in surprise and watched Pendergast play. Luci also had turned to watch, but simply smoked his cigar without any other visible reaction. Like, the man could play. Way better than he could sing, as far as Bean's memory served her of the only time she had him sing… and she hadn't exactly been paying attention to Pendergast of all people that night. But she was now and… wow. Pendergast made it look easy with the complex melodies he deftly played. Like...the guy had a sort of distant smile and his gaze was on his fingers upon the lute's neck and he looked so... cool.
Oh my god... Pendergast was cool.
"Holy shit, dude," Luci exclaimed finally, which seemed to snap both Bean and Pendergast from their respective trance's.
"Ah, yeah. Since when can you play that good?" Bean asked, wine bottle forgotten in hand.
"Oh, well…" Pendergast began, smiling sheepishly and even blushing slightly. "In Heaven, actually."
"Whaaaaat?! You said that you did nothing but mope the entire time that you were up in that fluffy insane asylum! Would it have killed ya to mention that you picked up a hobby too?!"
Pendergast glanced at Luci and half-shrugged.
"It's mandatory for anyone in Heaven that they have to play an instrument. Once you choose, you automatically become a master. It's so you can join the Heavenly Symphony Orchestra. Apparently, God really likes the sound of music? I don't know... people kept saying that. They said it was for the good of all but… "
"Kind of sounds like a cult," Luci stated.
"It kind of was. But, I still learned the lute, and then I left… and I still know how to play the lute."
Luci guffawed before laughing maniacally.
"Dumbasses! See? When I left Hell, they took away my powers and immortality. Those losers up in Heaven can't do anything right! Oh, man! With your skills, we can totally make a fortune touring the countryside!"
"That actually sounds like you got screwed over, Luci," Bean pointed out.
Luci opened his mouth to retort, before he thought about it and then dropped his shoulders.
"Goddammit…" he muttered.
"But, hey!" Bean continued, smiling at Pendergast, "Luci does make a point. If you get tired of being a knight and all, you could probably do well being a lute player."
"True," Pendergast admitted, "but being a knight is the only thing I know and the only thing I've ever had to do. Still, it's nice to have something to fall back on, I suppose."
"Speaking of falling back," Luci began with an innocent grin at Bean. "Why don't you fall back onto Pendergast, hm? Totally platonic! You just lay down and use his legs as a pillow. Toooootaly normal! Pendergast then plays some music, you take a well-deserved nap, and so do I."
"Luci-!" Pendergast began only to pause when Bean spoke up as she glared at the little black creature.
"I know that you're just trying to start something, but I don't even care. Pendergast, stretch out your legs."
The knight reacted a half-second after realizing that Bean was serious when she was already repositioning to lay back against him. Straightening out his legs, Pendergast blushed when Bean set her head just above his left knee, her eyes closed, and she sighed out a breach of ease.
"Mm, this is nice, I'll give you that," Bean commented softly, the sea breeze stirring her hair. "Better than the ground, at least."
"That's your cue, dude!" Luci whispered loudly to Pendergast.
"Oh!" the knight uttered, clearing his throat and lifting up his lute once more to begin to play.
As he played a sweet melody, and unintentional lullaby, Pendergast kept his eye upon Bean's face, savoury the gentle smile of relaxation upon her face, before it slowly faded as exhaustion coaxed the fog to smother her wakefulness. The knight softly smiled to see Bean's breathing even out, her mouth to fall slightly agape and her interlocked fingers upon her stomach loosen to slide down her torso.
She was asleep. Bean was asleep… and was using Pendergast's leg as a pillow.
"Your welcome," Luci whispered, grinning a smug grin at Pendergast, who glanced at him as he played and the man's smile broadened slightly. "Man, do you have it bad," Luci commented, shaking his head.
Still, the ex-demon clambered back up onto Pendergast's shoulder and looked down at Bean only to soften his expression. After such a rude and traumatic awakening hours before, Luci was honestly glad to see that Bean had found some relief, at least for the time being.
Pendergast glanced over at Luci, catching his loving gaze, and the knight smiled wider.
"So do you," he replied softly, never pausing with his never ending, seamless melodies.
Luci scoffed and waved him off, before sighing and relenting.
"Yeah, Bean is… she's something else, ain't she? Even when I was still a full demon, I found that I cared whether or not she was dead or not, which was a big deal. Then I even gave up my demonhood for her and Elfo, then I died for her, wound up in Heaven, and… Wow, come to think of it, Bean is pretty hazardous to be around."
Pendergast chuckled softly, careful not to be too loud or jostle lest he might wake Bean.
"Isn't that the truth…?" the knight commented lightly, yet fondly, and mostly to himself.
"But she's also the best of what humans can be," Luci added, softly yet matter-of-factly.
"Exactly," Pendergast agreed, smirking aside at the former-demon upon his shoulder.
"But you're not half bad yourself, you know?" Luci pointed out.
"I… could be better."
"Yeah, and I could be a genuinely nice person, but screw that. No one's perfect."
Pendergast didn't answer to that as he kept strumming his lute, and with Luci upon his right shoulder, the knight kept his expression hidden behind his eyepatch.
Luci revealed his cigar once more, but it was nothing more than a nub now, so he tossed it and curled up on Pendergast's shoulder, listening to the man play. Damn… he was good, like devilishly good, or rather… heavenly good? Why hadn't Luci been offered to master an instrument?
"Pfft, chumps…" Luci scoffed under his breath, before closing his eyes and fell asleep himself.
This left Pendergast to continue strumming to two sleeping souls: a queen and a creature formerly of Hell. He didn't mind though, of course. The main reason was pretty obvious: Bean was asleep upon his thigh. Never before would Pendergast consider this to have been a possibility. So, in all truth, the knight did have very strong feelings for the white-haired queen, and had for some time, perhaps longer than he was willing to admit. Though enough about that. The other rather large reason that Pendergast didn't mind just sitting there and playing his lute originated in the pile of research he'd gathered from the Records Room. The saddlebag that held the documents and a couple of books remained unopened beside Pendergast. With his hands currently occupied as they were, he couldn't take the time in the bright day's light to go over all that he found, but he was also a bit relieved for the current distraction.
His mind was already abuzz with questions, doubts, confusion, and a cold resolve.
Looking down at Bean's sweet, sleeping face, a tiny trail of drool seeping from the side of her mouth, not that Pendergast cared about that, the knight frowned slightly. She had said that she had wanted to know his history, to be there for him as he discovered it, but so far what he had found out… worried him. Pendergast had considered hiding the truth, to stow away the documents or secretly burn them, but he couldn't do that. That wasn't him, who he was. He was loyal to his core, honest in his heart, and even so, he knew he could still be better. For one, he wasn't the brightest of knights, but he had been hit in the head a few times, and his loyalty, while a virtue, had also been a fault for the knight. Bean's execution had been a good example of where he had failed in his loyalty and because of that event, Pendergast had vowwed to himself to never fail in his knightly service again.
So, he would tell Bean, once she woke, or once she asked, even if it meant his knighthood might be disqualified.
Being a knight was all Pendergast knew and the thought of losing his status… terrified the man. Terrified his very essence. Still, a knight was honourable, loyal, chivalrous, and good, so he would do what was right, and what was right was telling his queen the truth.
Until then, however, he could enjoy these precious moments of watching her sleep on this beautiful day, with the sea before them below the cliff, and still Pendergast played.
Hours passed.
The sun slowly fell towards the sea, but its descent was obscured by the front of dark clouds that had formed out at sea: a storm was rolling in.
Glancing above at the darkening sky and hearing distant thunder, Pendergast finally stopped playing. Luci had slept the entire time as Bean, showing that the guy had been pretty tired himself from having stayed with Bean through her night terrors. Bean had rolled over sometime during the afternoon so that now she was curled up facing away from Pendergast, her hands by her face, and he could feel one of her hands had sleepily half-gripped onto his leg.
Again, he hadn't minded.
Setting aside his lute, Pendergast sighed and touched his fingertips together. They were sore, some had gone numb from playing for hours, and a couple had even begun to blister. Well worth it, though.
Between the growing thunder, Pendergast moving or no longer playing, or perhaps he'd been awake for some time now, Luci stirred, stretched catlike, before yawning and hopping down to the ground.
"Well, that was nice, and… wow, shit, dude, you played this entire time?"
"Yes, I did," Pendergats replied, half-grinning at Luci before glancing down at the sleeping form of Bean.
Oh no, she would need to be woken up.
Luci also seemed to think this by hopping up onto Pendergast's knee, just above Bean's head, and regarded her.
"She slept this entire time?" Luci asked the knight.
"Yes, rather soundly as a matter of fact. She clearly needed the rest."
Luci didn't reply, but did make a thoughtful "Hm" sound, before knocking on Bean's head.
"Come on, Bean, time to wake up, you bum!"
Bean did not stir.
"Oi! Wake up!" Luci shouted, hopping onto Bean's head.
Still, Bean did not wake, but she did stir a bit this time.
"I can try," Pendergast offered, and reached over to gently shake Bean's shoulder.
"That won't do anything," Luci declared, before grabbing ahold of Bean's exposed ear and shouted into it. "BEAN! ELFO IS IN YOUR UNDERWEAR DRAWER AGAIN!"
"WHAT!? I'll kill him!"
Bean sat up so fast, eyes wide and crazed, that Luci was launched forward up and over the side of the cliff. Bean and Pendergast only stare wide-eyed at the edge, neither daring to move, until a few moments later Luci's tiny hand followed by his huge head appeared and he pulled himself up; the humans both sighed in relief.
Dusting himself off, Luci regarded Bean and said with a frown, "Okay, rude."
"Dude, speak for yourself," Bean replied groggily, the adrenaline of her rude awakening waning and she rubbed her eyes and yawned before looking around and noticed the change in weather. "How long-? Oh, shit. How long was I asleep for?"
Bean turned to regard Pendergast, who immediately grinned sheepishly and shrugged.
"You slept for several hours, Bean. I hope it was pleasant enough."
"Yeah…" Bean said lightly, rubbing the side of her neck, before stretching it out with an audible crack.
"Yeah, your snoring kept waking me up," Luci said, going over to the forgotten wine bottle to pop his cork and drink it down.
"Shut up," Bean replied with a frown, but her eyes did fall a bit from guarded bashfulness. Glancing at Pendergast, Bean asked quietly, "I didn't snore, did I?"
"Oh, no! Of course not!"
She had snored.
Luci snorted and drank some more.
Bean then glanced at Pendergast's lute beside him before looking back at him.
"Sorry, I didn't really hear you play because I fell asleep. Guess you brought that thing for no reason, huh?"
"Well I don't think so," Pendergast replied with a smile. "I played the entire time you slept."
"Really?" Bean asked, visible surprise brightening the sleep from her eyes.
"Ah, yes! I thought that it was helping you to rest easy."
Pendergast shrugged and Luci scoffed, rolling his eyes, though silently he had wondered the same thing.
"I mean, I guess it did," Bean admitted, looking out at the darkening horizon. "I haven't really slept since the whole Hell adventure, and this was the first time I slept without any nightmares. And, I guess, when I fell asleep earlier too. But, still… you played the entire time? That's… wow, ah... thanks."
"Hm, sounds to me that there's a commonality between those two situations," Luci commented smugly.
"Yeah, I was exhausted," Bean replied, arching her brow at him.
Either she was playing dumb, or she really was that dense and didn't see the correlation that Luci was alluding to. Regardless of this, Pendergast stood and walked over to check on the horses, stretching out his cramped legs, especially the one that Bean had slept on as that had fallen asleep a while ago. Luci and Bean continued to bicker while Pendergast gave his stallion a good pat and he eyed the approaching storm.
"We should head back, Bean," he called, turning towards Bean and Luci, who paused in their headbutting to look at him, "we wouldn't want to get caught out here in the rain."
Bean turned to regard the storm and shrugged, looking back at Pendergast.
"I don't think there's that much of a rush, we still have to eat and-"
As if on cue, a bolt of lightning brightened the sky over the sea and was followed not too long after by a roar of thunder that could be felt within the stones of the tower at Bean's back.
"I'll take that as a sign to get a move on," Luci commented, already moving to jump up to climb aboard Pendergast's horse.
Bean and Pendergast quickly packed up their things and mounted their horses, spurring them into a canter down the hill towards the hill. Closer and closer the storm crept, the winds picked up and the lightning increased with frequency. Just as they were entering the town Pendergast felt the first few drops and after quickly dropping Luci off at his bar, Bean and Pendergast urged their mounts up towards the castle as the rain truly began to fall.
Crossing the drawbridge, which was promptly raised once it was confirmed that the queen had returned, the pair of riders reined in their mounts and guards came to lead their horses to stand out of the rain.
Bean dismounted and swept her wet hair back.
"Thanks, guys," she said to the guards, who smiled back at her.
Pendergast also dismounted and began to retrieve his saddle bags when Bean came up beside him.
"Ah, thanks again for the day," Bean said with a smile.
Pendergast blinked and smiled back, hefting his saddle bags over his shoulder.
"It was my pleasure to accompany you, my queen. Be sure to take care of yourself, I would hate to hear that you got sick because we got caught out in the rain."
"I'm sure I'll be fine," Bean reassured, "but thanks."
"Yes… right," Pendergast began, offering her a smile and nod, "I shall see you later, then."
Just as he was about to walk off to take care of his stallion and go and change in the knight's quarters himself, Bean stopped him.
"Hey, wait! Pendergast, I just remembered," she said, coming back to his side. "We were totally supposed to go over that stuff about your dad. I'm sorry."
"No, there's no need to apologize, Bean," Pendergast proclaimed with an uplifting smile. "It's… really no big deal, and besides! You needed the day off and I was more than happy to oblige."
"Yeah, well, I still feel bad, I guess."
Bean took a moment to think, glancing at the rain, before she turned back to Pendergast.
"How about we meet up later? Or, rather, tomorrow, yeah, tomorrow would be better, but I mean only if you want to. We could go over your dad stuff then, and, I don't know, talk about other stuff that has happened recently. But, like, it's totally up to you!"
Bean added that last part in a bit of a rush and added in another shrug at the end. Pendergast, on the other hand, was shocked and elated and… faintly blushing, which he recognized and cleared his throat to glance over at a couple of nosy guardsmen who had started to glance towards them.
"Of course! If that is your desire, then I would be delighted!"
"Ah, great! Yeah, so, umm, I'l, ah, see you later."
Bean started to walk backwards and offered Pendergast and the other guards a small wave, before turning to walk through the rain to head inside the castle. Time for a bath and probably the pile of documents Odval had compiled for her… jeez, Bean really had become more responsible and it was sickening. She was still pretty tired, but her couple of naps today had really done a number on her exhaustion, in that she didn't feel like she was going to topple over anytime soon. That being said, she didn't feel like doing any work and because she was the queen, she didn't necessarily have to. Let any papers or documents or whatever be tomorrow's problem.
The only thing Bean wanted to think about now was whether or not she should go and get a hot emerald massage too.
/
"This is an honour, Your Majesty, but are you really sure?"
"Yes, Francis. I want you to just play all night, while I sleep, and don't stop, okay?"
"Yes… okay, I'll, ah, do that, Your Majesty!"
The lute player clearly looked uncomfortable but that was too bad. Bean was in her bed, freshly bath, massaged, fed, and a bit buzzed, and she was ready to sleep. She figured that since she slept so well earlier with Pendergast playing his lute the entire time, that maybe that was the key. She was willing to try and Luci was supposed to come in later after the bar closed, so hopefully when he showed up Bean would be fast asleep and Francis would still be playing.
"You gotta admit that this is not the weirdest thing you've been asked to do by a king or queen," Bean pointed out.
Francis chuckled nervously.
"Yeah… remember when King Zøg made us musicians play durin' that cock fight?"
Bean chuckled.
"Oh yeah… good times. Anyways, thanks for this, Francis. Good night."
"Good night, Your Majesty," Francis bid, before he began to play.
Now, even though Bean had fallen asleep earlier, she had heard Pendergast play for a bit beforehand, and she could tell: Pendergast was the better lute player. Francis was good, no doubt about that, but he wasn't a master who was granted prodigy levels of skills by Heaven's touch.
Speaking of which, now that Francis was playing, Bean settled in and closed her eyes. At first she found the playing kind of distracting, but pretty soon she fell asleep.
Only to be shaken awake harshly by Luci.
"Bean! Wake up already!"
Luci slapped Bean across the cheek and the woman jolted awake and sat up.
"What?! Huh? Ow! Luci! What the hell, man?"
Bean looked around and Luci was standing on the blankets before her, concern in his face, and Francis was in the background near the open door along with the couple of guards who were stationed to watch her door, all wearing expressions of concern or fear.
"Bean, jeez! For Hell's sake, you were having a nightmare again!"
"I was?" Bean asked, until she felt her face and felt how hot it was, like burning, and that she was soaked. Like, dripping, soaked. Like her bed was soaked, soaked. Was it sweat? Oh, God... Did she pee the bed?
Then her head was filled with images, horrid, terrifying, and hot of Hell and the Devil. Bean gasped and clasped her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide, as she began to shake. How had she forgotten? Was her mind that broken that it had tried to block the nightmare out?
"I don't really feel bad for slapping you, Bean, but we couldn't wake you up. Like, at all. We even dumped a bucket of water on you, but you wouldn't wake up."
"I…" Bean began, but her voice was weak and hoarse.
She glanced up at Francis and the guards, and she waved them off.
"It's fine, guys. Just… just a nightmare. You can go."
The men didn't hesitate to bow and quickly file out, leaving Bean and Luci alone. Bean freed herself from the wet blankets and stood, going over to her wardrobe to find a dry nightgown so she could change behind her screen.
"What's going on with me, Luci?" Bean asked quietly, her voice still hoarse from her screaming.
"You got some demons, Bean," Luci replied softly, "but you'll get through it. You always do."
"The dream was worse this time," Bean admitted. "The Devil… he actually grabbed me and I couldn't move. I couldn't see, either, or breathe. But when you woke me up, I didn't remember any of it."
Bean came out from behind the screen, her wet nightgown draped over the top, and she went over her bed to begin to strip the wet sheets off: anything to occupy her hands.
"It's a nightmare, Bean. Demons use them to wear you down, make you weak from the inside out."
"So, these nightmares are actually from the Devil?" Bean asked, pausing and looking at Luci.
Luci lowered his head.
"I… I don't know. If I still had my powers, I'd be able to tell for sure, but… maybe? Last night, I did smell Hell sulphur on you, so it's possible. Old Nick might be trying to torment you, but there are limits of how much Hell can interfere with the Mortal World."
"Oh," was all Bean said, though she sat down on her bed and sighed, her shoulders dropping low.
Luci came up beside her and set his small hand on the side of her arm.
"It'll be okay, Beanie," he whispered, but he wasn't sure.
"I miss Elfo," Bean said suddenly, sniffing a bit, and wiping her nose on the back of her hand.
"I was actually meaning to talk to you about him," Luci replied.
"Oh?"
"Yeah, I was thinking… you remember what I said about the Trøgs?"
"Ah, no?"
Bean gave Luci an odd look, but there was curiosity and faint hope in her eyes.
"They have tunnels and passages like everywhere in the castle."
"Oh, right. What about it?"
"Well, I was thinking, since we're their saviours and all and so is Elfo, I wouldn't be surprised if they'd be willing to tunnel to Ogre Valley and maybe even save him."
"You think that could work?" Bean asked, though her face revealed her guarded hope.
Luci shrugged.
"I don't know, maybe? You've been there, not me."
"I mean, it's pretty far…" Bean admitted.
"Yeah, but the Trøgs have dug like crazy far and deep. So, I mean… maybe? We could ask them."
"I guess it couldn't hurt, you know, to ask at least."
Even though Bean shrugged as she said this, she couldn't help but feel the tightening of her chest thinking about Elfo. Looking at Luci, Bean reached over to pick him up and got up off her bed.
"Bean?"
"Let's go check on Elfo," Bean replied, heading to the door and opening.
The guards stood straighter and were clearly looking everywhere but at Bean and Luci.
"It's cool, guys, sorry for freaking you out. We're just going for a walk."
Bean then made her way through the chilly and dark halls until she came to the Orb Room.
"Ohhhh," Luci exclaimed, finally getting it as they entered the room. "This is why you were in here yesterday morning, eh? Good thinking."
"Yeah," Bean replied.
Coming up to the table, Luci hopped down out of Bean's arms and removed the cloth covering the Orb.
"Hey! Is Elfo still alive?" Luci asked the glass ball.
'YES'
"Is Elfo in Ogre Valley?" Bean chimed in, smiling to see that Elfo was indeed still alive.
'YES'
"He's alive and still with the ogres!" Bean exclaimed, relief easing her anxiety.
"Well that's good. We can at least keep tabs on him through this and hopefully the Trøgs can go and get him, since it's too dangerous for you humans to go."
"I tried," Bean admitted, "but the Council won't allow it, and… I get it, but, umm… Luci? Would you be able to ask about Elfo to the Trøgs?"
"Yuuuup! Those little dudes pretty much did everything I said when I was down there," Luci proclaimed smugly. "Let's go get drunk and pass out so you can sleep a bit more."
Just as Bean went to go and replace the cloth over the Orb to leave, she paused and looked hard at the Orb.
"How can I… sleep through the night without nightmares?"
Luci looked back at this.
'ANGEL'S TOUCH'
"The hell does that mean?" Bean blurted out.
'FIGURE IT OUT'
"Hm, the Orb has a sense of humour," Luci commented.
Bean, however, was not as amused and only more confused.
A/N:
Hello everyone!
Thanks for everyone's patience who might have been waiting on this chapter, as it took a little bit longer to get out than I planned. Then again, we did move across the country, I started a new job, so that's been my prioty for the last month or so.
But, hey! Things are happening! Things are starting to come together, and as promised we had a couple of sweeter moments in this chapter.
Next chapter, however... hooo boy ;3 Just you wait and see what I have planned!
As always, I welcome all comments and critiuques, just remember to be kind: this is a fan's labour of love.
Stay tuned and stay classy, folks!
~Sheik