The next day I am not woken by Briareth’s normal, ‘Get up Faladel!’ I wasn’t even woken up by Adamar commenting ‘We're going to be late to breakfast, Faladel.’ In fact neither of them woke me up at all. When I woke up, they were both still asleep. Seeing as how late Adamar and I stayed up last night, it’s no surprise that he is still abed. But Briareth is normally an early riser, and as far as I know he didn’t stay up late last night. So why is he still asleep?
“Briareth?” I call shaking him slightly. “We're going to miss class.”
“What’s dat? Dere’s no classes today, Faladel it’s a holiday. Le me sleep…” Briareth mumbles. I frown, confused. A holiday? Today? Really? I mean it is quite possible that I wouldn’t even remember. I don’t even know what day it is, much less the date of any holidays. Being in prison will do that to a person. I shrug and go over to Adamar, he’ll probably be far more forthcoming than a tired Briareth. I tap his shoulder gently.
Adamar bolts upright, green eyes wide and startled. One of his hands grabs mine on instinct, and the other reaches under his pillow and pulls out a knife. I blink at him and raise my arms defensively, shocked by his reaction.
“Whoa Adamar, calm down, it’s just me. Where did you get that knife?”
“Faladel!” Adamar says when he realizes I was the one who touched him. “You scared me. Don’t creep up on me like that!” He sticks the knife back under his pillow.
“Sorry.” I say, carefully putting my hands back down. “Didn’t mean to freak you out, just wanted to ask you a question.”
“Ask away.” He replies.
“Briareth said today was a holiday so he could sleep in. Is that true? What’s the holiday?”
“It would be coronation day if it were an election year. I’m surprised that you of all people forgot that.” He lays back down before adding on, “It still counts as a public holiday even though no one is being crowned king or queen, so we don’t have classes. We can sleep in, so I’m probably going to take that option. Most people won’t be up yet, but you're allowed to wander around if you want.”
“Thanks.” I tell him.
“You're welcome.” Adamar curls back under the covers and rolls over as if he’d never pulled a knife on me. I head out the door to explore the rest of campus; there is still so much of it I haven’t seen.
As I shut the door behind me, I notice that Adamar never answered my question about the knife.
I wander out of the dormitory and onto the lawn. Where should I go first? I’ve explored the north L thoroughly, but I’ve never been to the south L. I’ve been around the boys’ dorms, but I don’t know where the girls’ dorms are, though a lot of this area seems to be symmetric, so they would probably be across from the guys. I haven’t really explored the grounds at all, if I’m allowed outside the walls, I might try a picnic lunch by the river later. Then again there’s also the greenhouse on the schoolyard that I haven’t even seen yet, and plenty of classrooms. Perhaps I can even find a way to the top of the wall, and cross the floating bridges up that lead to the flying building where we first met the HeadMaster. I bet the rest of that building is quite interesting.
My stomach sloshes emptily at me, reminding me that there’s something I have to do before starting my quest to figure out the locations of everything on campus. Eat breakfast.
There are only a few students in the Grand Dining Hall. They are still in the two distinct groups from the past week, but with obvious subgroups inside them. I glance at the table I normally sit at with Briareth, Folas, Adamar, and Valkallyn. It is devoid of faces I know. Apparently I’m the only one who got up early, either that or Folas and Valkallyn have already eaten.
I head to the buffet, wondering where I will sit when I get back. I grab some hot oatmeal, note for Briareth that the donut plate that just refilled is almost empty, then spend some time loitering over the fruit selection. Strawberries or blueberries; where to sit; sugar, syrup, or honey; where to sit (again); all these thoughts and more chasing each other around in my head. Eventually I can decide on two of them, strawberries and honey, but where to sit is still a question as I re-enter the dining part of the Grand Dining Hall.
I glance around, searching for a familiar face. If people are really splitting up around me, sitting with the wrong person might aggravate things. I could always sit by myself, but that would be rather lonely, and people might get the wrong idea from that too. So where to sit remains a dilemma.
“Sit with us!” Calls a slightly familiar voice. I wonder if I said my thoughts aloud accidentally.
“Over here!” calls a voice that is only slightly different from the last. I glance towards where the voices are coming from, and see two familiar half-green-half-orange-haired grinning faces, two pairs of yellow and blue eyes radiate mirth, and I smile back. I bring my bowl over and sit down beside them.
“So, how are you adjusting to school?” says the one I think is Eldrin.
“It’s probably very different from what you're used to growing up in the castle and whatnot.” Says the other, who would then be Erryn.
“I wasn’t even expecting to be here in the first place, so everyday holds some new surprise, but I feel like I’m adjusting well enough.” I respond.
“Did you really meet a dragon on the way here?” Erryn bursts out.
“I thought we agreed that we would bring that up gradually!” Eldrin scolds him.
“We did, but I can’t stand waiting through niceties any longer.”
“But the niceties just started!”
As the two bicker, I chuckle at their antics, it’s obvious they both want to know the answer, and are probably just arguing out of habit. I let them bicker while I begin to eat my oatmeal. I definitely think strawberries and honey was the right choice.
“Well?” they both turn to me at once. I guess they must have cleared things up while I was eating.
“Well what?” I ask bemused.
“Did you actually see a dragon?” They chant in unison, wearing identical curious and excited expressions.
“Yes we did.” I take another bite of my oatmeal.
“Well, what was he like?!” Says Erryn. “You can’t just say, ‘yes’ and then go back to eating. We need details! Details, Prince Faladel!”
I grin, “He was big.” I pause like I’m done with the topic, Erryn and Eldrin groan in unison. “He was copper and bronze,” I continue, “with golden eyes. We stayed with him for a while.”
“What was his name?” Asks Erryn
“What did he have you call him?” Asks Eldrin
“His name was Smayhellionthostvalisonknoll, but he let us call him Smay.”
“Tell us more!” Says Erryn.
“Tell us what it was like to be in a Dwarven prison.” Says Eldrin
“Were the Dwarves awful?”
“Were they evil?”
“Did they torture you?”
The questions come thick and fast. I can’t even answer one before they ask another.
“Woah, woah, slow down you two. Briareth’s the one who tells the story. Not me. You can ask him all your questions.” Not to mention those questions seemed rather skewed to a certain political side. It could just be a mistake, or upbringing. Perhaps I’m just overreacting since I now know there are different sides trying to influence me. These two seem harmless enough after all.
“But Briareth’s not here.” Complains Erryn.
“And we wanted to hear your side of the story.” Adds on Eldrin.
I look at them, what would be the harm really? I mean the memories are unpleasant, but if they get too inquisitive to certain parts I could always shut down their line of questioning. Also do I really want Briareth as a spokesperson, with his word going around as the only truth? That might be a bad idea… Nevermind, that is a bad idea.
“Fine.” I sigh, wondering if I’ll regret this. “I’ll tell you guys my version. Where do you want me to start?”
“The very beginning!” Says Erryn
“Not the very beginning, that would mean his whole life story, Erryn.” chastises Eldrin, “How about the day you got captured?”
I start my tale, one that many others will probably ask after. It comes to me a bit smoother than my first rendition of it at the outpost. I skim over my twenty-two years in prison, go more in depth with the mines to stem their curiosity on Dwarves, and stop to take a break when Briareth and I escape without Vol. He still went by Golik back then, so as I work on finishing my oatmeal Erryn and Eldrin bombard me with questions about him. They want to know what happened to him, where he is now, if he betrayed me like Vol, where Briareth came in. I tell them all their questions will be answered, if they would let me finish my oatmeal first. After that, they shut up with only a little blustering about how they hate cliffhangers.
As soon as I’m done with my food though, their wait ends, and I begin to tell my story again. Eldrin and Erryn are a good audience, laughing at all the right parts, gasping at Smay’s dramatic reveal. They even seem mildly disappointed when the Icer isn’t a doomsday device after all. I wonder if they think this is just a fairy tale, or if my story is so unrealistic that they don’t associate the fact that if it was a doomsday device- instead of it being a dramatic reveal- we would all have never been born.
After the tale is over and the fictional Briareth and I have arrived at Mossblossom Central, the last scraps of oatmeal are crusted onto my bowl.
“That was epic!” says Erryn.
“He steered you guys over a waterfall?” Is Eldrin’s comment.
“I was shocked too. Though really I shouldn’t have been, that is a very Briareth move to make.” I respond smiling.
“I was shocked that you mistook Vol for a good Dwarf! Those don’t exist after all.” says Erryn. Upbringing, or attempted manipulation? How does one tell the difference? I stay silent.
“So for your journey overall, what do you think?” Eldrin butts in, shooting his brother a glare over my head that I pretend not to notice.
“What do you mean by that?” I ask.
“Are you glad it happened? Sad it happened? Mad that it happened?” he replies.
“If you could redo your life would you go down this track?” adds Erryn.
“Or would you take a new one?” Eldrin finishes.
I frown softly. I don’t know, I’ve never thought about redos because they don’t exist. There are no second chances at life, so why waste time obsessing over what you could have done differently?
But would I take a different path if I knew that twenty two years in prison awaited me? If I did, I would lose the good friends I met along the way, the experience of blowing up a mine, meeting a dragon, being a hero. Would it be worth it to get rid of the nightmares? Could I sacrifice all that I’ve gained, with no promise of getting it back, and with no promise that I won’t bring further pain upon myself? I don’t think I would. The nightmares are now a part of me, along with the experiences and friendships I’ve made along the way.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Of course while I was reminiscing, Erryn and Eldrin moved on from that set of questions.
“So what were the Dwarven prisons like?” is the next question Erryn throws at me.
“How did they treat their prisoners?” asks Eldrin
“Were you kept in the same room as murderers?” Erryn wonders.
“The prison was cold. We were ignored most of the time. Yes, some people in the prison were killers, but not most of them.” This is definitely getting to opinionated questions, it almost feels like a press conference. I feel mildly uncomfortable answering these, but as long as they don’t get too specific-
“Do you think Dwarves are naturally evil?” Asks Erryn, his brother doesn’t butt in, but l can feel an increased scrutiny from both of them. I could go two ways on this, answer with a question to gain more info, or back up and avoid it all together.
“Why do you ask that? I thought you said that good Dwarves don’t exist?” I reply, pushing for info.
“They don’t, at least we haven’t met any.” Answers Eldrin “Then again, we have only heard of them fighting. You’ve been to the heart of Dwarven territories, so surely you’d know if they aren’t naturally evil. I mean you’ve seen their scum, and you might have seen their young before they are trained for war, are they pure evil?” Definitely time to play my delaying card.
“Could any race ever be pure evil? Wouldn’t some traits be culturally held in higher regards than others, creating some sort of internal agreement on what is good that everyone in the culture strives for?” That should stump them for a bit, for what is evil to some is good to others. I don’t want to make any sort of political statement on the potential morality of Dwarves, at least not until I’ve gotten my thoughts sorted out and have been briefed better on the political situation at home.
While Eldrin and Erryn are still befuddled by my logic, I say goodbye and pack up my dishes, then leave to explore the campus and clear my head. I start walking towards the south L, and begin to sort my thoughts.
From my experience most Dwarves aren’t pure evil, but neither were any of the ones I met saintly. Of the ones that I knew from prison, most of them hadn’t done things I would consider to be evil, sure there were your serial killers in the jails, but there were also those like Bablok. He definitely didn't seem like he was pure evil. He was curious and polite, and he wasn’t even pissed at me when I got to go to the mines instead of him. He had stolen a loaf of bread for his family and got caught. Not really evil, just hungry. Most were probably like that, driven to crime because of poverty, debtors who had fallen behind on payments, falsely accused, I remember Anslow had been part of a plot to assassinate someone in power and hadn’t gotten away. Should I count that as evil morally, or should I say that is a good thing because my country is currently at war with theirs? After all, the more dead Dwarves, the better it is for my people. But do those like Bablok really deserve to die?
This world isn’t black and white. It’s all in murky shades of grey, so I don’t think anyone is truly evil. Everyone was loved once right? A murderer doesn’t start killing as a baby, and most have reasons for their actions. With the common Dwarf, they probably fight in the army because they are forced to, or an Elf killed someone they loved, not because they are evil and love to cause others harm. There could be a lot of Dwarves out there who do feel that way, but they are a minority in the prisons. So either those Dwarves are executed, are in the army, or they still walk free because they are high up in the government. A mix of all of those is most likely.
As I get close to the south L I hear soft nickers. Are the stables around here somewhere? I don’t see any entrance on this side, so I start to go around it. Eventually I find the entrance and, sure enough, there are the stables. Housed within them are a surprisingly large number of horses. Another surprise joins the first as I go inside. Apparently Briareth decided to go here first thing in the morning, before his breakfast.
As I go towards him, I see the reason for his delaying food. Myrddin is here, and is very happy to see him. He feeds her a sugar cube, and chats with one of the stablehands, like they are on good terms. I walk forward as the stablehand turns to return to his duties.
“Briareth, I didn’t realize you had gotten up.”
“I wanted to see Myrddin here before I went to breakfast, make sure she was okay and settling in properly.”
“Any reason she wouldn’t be okay?” I ask glancing around the stables, they are a bit cleaner then I’m used to, and I’m from a castle. Surely they lavish more care on their mounts here then they do in most stables, Myrddin should be fine.
“Well apparently, pets and smaller animals have been disappearing lately and turning up dead. From what Torish” He gestures to the stablehand “told me, a horse disappeared this morning, and they haven’t found him yet. I’m worried for Myrddin’s safety.”
“Myrddin will be fine.” I say reassuringly. “Someone probably took the horse out for a ride, and forgot to sign it out; or perhaps it just wandered off because someone forgot to close its door. Pet’s going missing and turning up dead is a far cry from horses being in danger. Their relative size alone...” I trail off as Briareth looks at me doubtfully. I’m not convincing him, time to change the topic a bit. “Where did you get the information on the pets anyways?”
“School rumor mill.”
“Which of course is always right.” I say sarcastically. Briareth smiles slightly. “If the horses were in danger, the HeadMaster would put up more protections around the stables, after all horses are more expensive than pets. Myrddin will be fine.” I repeat. “Now would you mind grabbing some breakfast, and then showing me some cool places on campus? I think I have a lot left to explore.”
Briareth grabs a bagel for breakfast, and then takes me around the campus, pointing out the girls' dorms, telling me that the top of the wall is off limits to younger students, that the tower contains the teacher’s private quarters. He shows me the greenhouse where we pop in to say hi to Master Cellica, who was watering her plants. We are allowed to wander around outside the gates, but not to cross the bridge over the moat surrounding the school.
Eventually we go back inside for lunch. We run into Adamar, who is grabbing brunch at the buffet, and decide to go back outside for a picnic. Briareth rushes over to storage to grab a basket and blanket. Then he has to go find Folas and Valkallyn to invite them to join us. Eventually we all make it outside, with all of our friends, lunch, assorted swimwear, and blankets to sit upon.
Briareth and Folas immediately run forwards and dunk themselves in the moat. Valkallyn takes off her shoes and goes wading.
“Come on in and join us, the water’s lovely!” Briareth calls out to her.
“What you call lovely I call freezing!” Valkallyn shoots back. “If I immerse my whole body I’ll have to get out fast. This way I can enjoy it longer.”
“What about you two, Adamar, Faladel? You gonna join in?”
“I’m eating first, and then I have to wait a bit, and then maybe.” I call back.
Adamar shrugs. “I might, I might not. Depends how I feel after eating this sandwich.”
As Valkallyn, Folas, and Briareth splash in the water, I turn to Adamar to ask him about somethings that have been on my mind.
“Adamar?”
“Hmm?”
“Why are the sides becoming more defined? Why aren’t they going away? Erryn and Eldrin literally asked me if I thought Dwarves were pure evil today. They were also asking really prying questions about life in the Dwarven prison. They seemed to want me to say that Dwarves were completely evil, and I’m not sure how to talk to them now.”
“Wow.” Adamar looks at me. “I wasn’t expecting you to hit me with a question that requires that much thought during a holiday break Faladel.”
“Sorry, I just thought you might have some information about this that might help, or some advice since you have a hundred more years of experience than I do.”
“I do have some information for you Faladel. Dealing with troubles never gets easier, no matter how old you get.” I laugh, then he continues. “The sides are probably becoming more defined because you haven’t said anything yet. You can’t just outwait these people Faladel, you are their best chance to get their ideas heard at the palace. They will keep trying to get on your side, and the harder the grins try, the more the glares will hate.”
“Grins? Glares?”
“My names for the people trying to manipulate you. Grins are the suckups, glares are those across the divide. I don’t know how to deal with Erryn and Eldrin, only you get to choose what you will do there. But the way I see it you have three options: Ignore what they did, confront them on it, or ignore them. I do have a little information on those twins, if you want to hear it?”
“Please,” I reply, “maybe it will help.”
“Probably not. I have a bit of background and gossip, like I have for most people. From what I’ve heard those two aren’t the best students, but not the worst either. They are smart, Erryn is smarter than he acts, but pretends to be an idiot to make people let down their guard. Eldrin plays along, pretending to correct his brother when he says something idiotic. Those two are the heirs of the Wydin family. Their parents are warhawks, and many of their relatives have recently invested in an arms company that is on it’s way to greatness if the war doesn’t end yet.”
“You have a ton of info on them.” I say, surprised as Adamar stops to take another bite of his sandwich. “Do you have information on everyone that’s that thorough?”
“Practically.” Adamar says. “I have a couple of people who I haven’t completed my evaluation on yet. You're one of them because you're new and all.”
“Could you tell me what you have on me?”
“You wish.” Adamar says laughing. I laugh as well, though I really am curious, and change the topic.
“Do you think I could somehow stop being a focal point of conflict, and just stop the feud by saying I’m not interested?”
“I don’t think you have a choice in this matter. The public will has spoken and dubbed you as a figure of controversy. If you protest, a lot of the grins will desert you and join team glare.”
“Public school is a lot more complicated than I imagined.” I sigh.
“You may be forced to make statements on some issues, otherwise the rumor mill will go wild and start blabbing things that you don’t believe as your stated opinion.” Adamar sips his tea and then continues. “Tread carefully Faladel, for the road will only get rougher from here.”
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As the sun goes down and curfew draws near, we make our way back inside Mossblossom Central. I yawn widely. Today was fun, I had a good talk with Adamar, got to explore some more of this wonderful school, and was able to relax with friends. I’m not sure when the last time I’ve been able to just sit down and enjoy myself with friends was. In Smay’s cave, I was trying my best to figure out how to get home, but all I can do here is relax, kick up my heels, and wait for the Dwarves to pass. This place is amazing. I look up to the sky and smile at the sunset, the brilliant orange of the setting sun casting the trees behind us in a golden shade while the clouds turn to magnificent purple and pale pink balls of fluff.
I’m startled out of my sleepy state by Briareth’s gasp, and his tug at my arm.
“Look all y'all! It’s a baby bunny, and it’s asleep!” He whisper-squeals to me. I look down at the grass covered ground and see a small still white figure lying on the ground.
“It’s so adorable! Do you think we can keep it?” Valkallyn says.
“Shh… you might wake it.” Folas cautions her.
“I think it already belongs to someone. See, it has a tag.” Says Adamar.
“Well we can still return it.” Is Valkallyn’s response. She goes over to the bunny and I follow her. Something about it seems off to me. The bunny’s paw twitches, like it is in a dream. It’s possible I could just be imagining things. Valkallyn carefully scoops it up, and lifts it in the palms of her hands.
“It’s heart is beating so fast.” She whispers, carrying the little creature over to us. Then she gasps softly as the bunny opens its eyes. They are soft and black, and as I watch a small glimmer leaves them. Something is definitely wrong with it. A small drop falls onto the bunny’s head. I look up to the drop’s source, and see Valkallyn crying. Another tear lands on the bunny’s body.
“It just- died.” She whispers in shock, not even trying to wipe away the tears that are streaming down her face. “It was alive and breathing, and then it’s heartbeat just stopped. As if it was too tired to continue.” Her hands separate and the lifeless bunny falls to the grass with a small thud. She runs to her equally shocked brother, and he opens his arm and hugs her softly.
One minute ago we were happily going inside after a fun day full of swimming and friends. The bunny was alive and kicking, or at least pawing at the air. Now that tiny, beautiful, life is snuffed out; never to come back. That little life was so fragile, to be fine one moment, and then to disappear the next. I knew life was fleeting from fighting in the war, but not that it could be snuffed out with barely any fight like that. What happened to the poor thing?
“We should probably return the body to its owner.” Adamar says solemnly. He seems less shocked than the rest of us. “Someone is probably looking for the little guy. Who’s name was on the tag?” Valkallyn just continues sobbing in her twin’s arms.
“I’ll go check.” Briareth says. He walks over to the dead bunny and kneels down beside it. “The name is… wait, that’s strange.”
“What’s strange?” I ask.
“Well the owner’s name is Lathai, but that’s not the strange thing. The strange thing is that I don’t think this little guy should be dead. He doesn’t have any wounds, or broken bones that I can see. Perhaps we should have someone do an autopsy.” Folas and I give Briareth a look, probably for different reasons.
“Briareth, animals die without wounds or broken bones all the time: infections, disease, heart failure. Also, who would pay for an autopsy for their bunny?” I say.
“So what are we going to do now?” Adamar asks.
“Some of us should go and deliver the bunny. Folas, Valkallyn doesn’t seem ready to go searching across campus for its owner, so you can guide her to the dining hall.” I answer. “Adamar and I can deliver the bunny, and Briareth, I assume you are going to want to check up on Myrddin. We’ll meet up in the dining hall at our normal table after we're all done.” Briareth, Folas, Valkallyn, and Adamar nod, then split up and go the different directions that I assigned them. I’m so stunned by their immediate obedience without any questioning of my idea that I’m almost left behind.
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When Adamar and I arrive back in the Great Dining Hall, Valkallyn seems to have recovered a bit from having a cute baby animal die in her arms. Her eyes are still red, but she has stopped crying, and is munching on a donut. When Adamar sees the donut a small frown crosses his face and he pushes his glasses higher up on his nose. I wonder why he doesn’t like the donut, but do not question it.
“Hey where’s Briareth? I would have thought he would have arrived before us.” I say sitting down next to Folas. Adamar sits next to me.
“Haven’t seen him.” Folas replies. “You going to grab some supper?”
“Probably when he arrives. I want to ask him about some things he mentioned earlier.”
“Would ‘those things’ have anything to do with the other missing pets that have been disappearing around campus recently?” Asks Adamar, I glance at him, shocked.
“How did you know?”
“I’ve heard something about that from my sources.”
“Well it might not just be pets anymore. Apparently a horse went missing earlier, that’s why Briareth went to go check on Myrddin.”
“There is no evidence that the two are connected.” Adamar replies.
“That’s what I said originally, but I’m not so sure about that now.” I say.
“Apparently others have been finding dead bodies as well.” Folas comments. “I heard a couple of people talking while they were going to the buffet. They were talking about how they almost tripped over someone's dead dog on the way here.”
I glance up as the door swings open, crashing into the wall. It’s Briareth, his face looks distraught. I know what he is going to say before he says it. He stumbles over to our table, tears streaming down his face, and collapses onto the seat next to Valkallyn.
“Myrddins missing Faladel! Myrddin is gone!”