When the prince finally, with luxuriant slowness, opened his eyes, Elwin’s face was there. Warm brown eyes, eyebrows knitted slightly in concern, nose almost close enough to Prin’s for them to touch. He was kneeling by the side of the bed, looking as though he may have been there for a while.
“Eep!” Prin let out a startled squeak. He wasn’t sure what dreams he had been having but the transition felt jarring.
“I thought you were going to sleep all day.” Elwin said. He touched Prin’s cheek and forehead, old instincts returning. “Are you feeling okay?”
Prin blinked rapidly, his eyes and mouth felt dry. There were bits of sharp afternoon sunlight coming into the room where they could, in between the tapestries, where the walls joined the roof, the edges of the door. It wasn’t a very sound shed.
He looked to the other side of him to see Aster stir slightly in her sleep. She was laying on her side facing the prince, her lips slightly parted, one arm under her pillow and the other laying across the bed as though reaching toward him. The daytime light was flattering, bringing an almost glowing translucence to her complexion making the freckles stand out even more, like flecks of paint, artistically applied.
When awareness finally hit, he felt his cheeks grow hot. He couldn’t believe that Elwin was not going to ask him what he was doing in his underwear in Aster’s bed.
“I am a little jealous, not going to lie.” Elwin said sheepishly.
“Oh no, there’s no need!” Prin stumbled over his words. “You know how I feel about –”
“You got to sleep in a bed.” Elwin said, with a little laugh. Now his cheeks were burning too.
Prin laughed. Elwin was so cute. It wouldn’t be in him to accuse Prin of wrongdoing. Not that kind of wrongdoing anyway.
“What’s all the fuss?” Aster asked, voice low and dreamy. She scootched closer and leaned over Prin to look at Elwin.
She was pressed into Prin’s back in such a way that he suddenly had a squirmy feeling in his stomach. He wasn’t sure whether he liked it or wanted to get away. Is this what Elwin meant by a weird feeling? He could feel her breath on his ear. The red tassels of hair at the end of her braids draped over Prin’s arm, feeling like a whisper sounds.
“Sorry to wake you up.” Elwin said. “Not a good way to show gratitude for letting us sleep here.”
“It’s no problem.” Aster yawned. “Bunny your, Elwin, did you say? Is so well mannered. In addition to being good looking. Well done. He is even better up close.”
Prin could feel her smiling over his shoulder. All three of their faces were close enough to kiss each other.
“I don’t usually give it out for free, but if it was for the sake of an educational demonstration I could make an exception.” Aster said.
The color rose in Elwin’s face again and his eyebrows knitted together in a look like he was trying to school his face away from a glare. He stood up quickly. “We had better be going. Prin and I have to look for work today.”
Aster rolled away from Prin, back to her side of the bed. “I was only kidding, don’t worry. And you can stay with me as long as you need to. As far as I’m concerned anyway.”
“Thank you, hopefully that won’t be necessary.” Elwin said.
At the same time Prin said. “Thanks! That will help a lot.”
“I also have a job lined up, if you’re interested.” Aster said casually, pausing there to give them a chance to shower her with praise and thanks.
“Really!?” Prin asked. “What is it?”
Elwin’s face remained impassive, which was better then outright skepticism, Prin supposed. He stood up and collected Prin’s pants and shirt from the floor where he had dropped them the night before.
Aster pulled the cover up over her face. “First, let’s go back to sleep for a while.”
“Here’s your clothes.” Elwin held up the shirt first, in a pointed way.
The prince took the hint and held his arms in the air so that Elwin could help him on with the shirt. “Aster, really?” He moved the blanket to peek in at Aster’s face. “I can’t tell if you’re teasing or for real.”
Aster laughed. “Okay, alright. I’ll tell you. You have to keep an open mind though.” She sat back up, booping Prin on the nose.
Prin put on his pants. It wasn’t much fun to be back in daytime clothes, but oh well, it had to happen eventually.
Elwin sighed. “No way are we working in there.” He pointed at the pink house. “I am not that open minded.”
“No, no, hear me out.” Aster said. “How would you like to work for a pirate captain?” She directed this at Prin, as though knowing exactly how he would feel about the proposal.
The prince grinned at her. “I think you know the answer to that! Wait, is it dangerous?” He reached for Elwin’s hand and held it, trying to telegraph for him to hold his horses, that Prin had the situation in hand.
“No, of course not, bunny! Captain Thompson is as sweet as pie. I would never send you over there otherwise. This is work at his home, not on the ship.” Aster said. “He has a beautiful home, where he has been spending a lot of time lately as he is now semi-retired, and has some family issues to deal with, I believe.”
“What’s the job?” Elwin asked.
Stolen story; please report.
“He says he has a lot of things to organize, treasures he has collected over the years, interesting artifacts. Oh, and a huge library. He wants all of his things cataloged and shelved.” Aster said. “Wanted me to do it, but of course . . .”
Prin could hardly contain his excitement at the word library. He had always known there must be much bigger and grander collections of books than his at home. “Can you take us there right away?”
“I can’t go, not inside the house anyway. Maybe I can take you to the house, I’ve seen it from the outside.” She twirled a curl of hair absently around one finger.
“Huh, why not?” Prin wondered.
“You aren’t allowed to go inside a client’s house. Mama Kris doesn’t allow house calls. It’s probably just as well though, really.” Aster said. “They might steal you away away away.” She waved her hand at some imagined far distant point, as though to demonstrate how far away she was talking about. But she seemed wistful, as though she wouldn’t mind it at all if it happened.
*
Aster sent them on their way, with promises to meet up later and walk with them to the pirate’s doorstep. That, and a few coins to pay for Elwin’s bath and a shave, so they would make a good first impression on their new employer.
Elwin and Prin went to the lonely cove to retrieve their belongings first, which mercifully had not been disturbed. Although the lifeboat already looked like a ship wreck that had washed ashore a hundred years before, and become full of windswept sand and wildlife. A bird nested underneath one of the benches.
Next, they went to the bathhouse. Elwin was impressed with the facilities, although at this point he wouldn’t have been above bathing in a rusty old tub outside in the garden, whatever got him clean. Prin’s look of envy made him want to invite him into the water, but the stern face of the attendant at the desk, made him think that would be a definite no no which would cause them to not be allowed back in. And in fact, no sharing a bath was on the list of rules on the door. Prin washed his back for him and his hair.
On the way back to the restaurant in town, Elwin counted his coins and vowed to get as much food as it would buy. They needed their strength, and it wasn’t enough money to do anything else with anyway. If at least one of them didn’t manage to get a decent job, they may be stuck on this island for life.
*
Elwin sat brooding over the pirate adjacent jobs they couldn’t afford to refuse, while Prin sat across from him and smiled vaguely, his mind clearly elsewhere. No doubt he was thinking of the pirate jobs too, but in a completely different way than Elwin was.
Elwin was just about to ask if this was the case when Aster came striding towards them. It was true, she could move fast, even with those short legs.
Aster was back in high style, fully put together for the evening’s work. Her dress this time was spring green with yellow and darker green trim, and her curls were snaked all in and out with ribbon wrapped braids. Prin would no doubt be very impressed. Something, something, goddess of spring.
Elwin smiled at her. Even though he had his doubts, the prince had been right about Squeaks, hadn’t he? So maybe this time as well, they could trust his instincts.
“Aster!” Prin squealed, as though it had been much more then an hour since they saw each other.
“Bunny!” Aster waved, a shimmying of her fingers. “Have you had enough to eat?”
“Yes.” Prin said.
“We have nothing for the next meal, though.” Elwin admitted, making the decision to be completely upfront with their predicament.
“Never mind that.” Aster stood behind him and patted his freshly washed hair. “If the captain doesn’t see to it, I will. Could always sneak you a little something from the kitchen at Mama Kris’s, although the food is nothing to write home about.” She smiled across the table towards Prin. “Everything will be alright now, you’ll see.”
Elwin stood up, feeling slightly uncomfortable with her presence so close to him but where he couldn’t see her.
“Well then, shall we?” Aster offered her arm to Prin.
Prin stood up and linked his arm with hers. “Oh! I can’t wait.”
Aster giggled. “He’s just a regular person. Middle aged retiree, with a belly and long beard.”
“A regular person with a dangerous past.” Elwin said. He followed them as they perambulated down the main street, in the direction that he and Prin had not yet explored.
“This is true.” Aster said. “If you think about it, that could apply to anyone and how would you even know it?”
The prince looked over his shoulder and a look passed between him and Elwin. One that said, don’t prod this subject further. Under the circumstances.
Elwin grimaced. He didn’t think of the prince and himself as dangerous. But of course . . . they were.
They walked a few blocks away from the center of town. Was it his imagination, or did the cobblestones become nicer as they went along. More well maintained, and perhaps better quality stones.
While Prin and Aster were chatting of innocuous things, they had begun to go past houses that were increasingly nice and large as they went along.
“This is hardly the center of excitement, but a good place to raise a family in relative peace? Or so I’ve been told.” Aster said. “And can’t you just tell all these people have money with a capitol M?” She added in a stage whisper.
Prin nodded solemnly at this, caring little for rich people unless they were pirates, or maybe witches.
Finally they reached the end of a particularly beautiful, wide, street, and there set a grand house the reddish color of clay, with a double wide stable beside it for the horses. It was the best one on the street, large windows, it was hard to tell how many bedrooms it may have. The house extended backward into its partially wooded lot, causing it to be even bigger than it at first seemed.
“How many staff does it take to run this place?” Elwin wondered.
“That’s the thing. Captain Thompson doesn’t readily trust people, as you can imagine.” Aster said. “So the answer to that is, probably not enough by half. Although as I said, I haven’t been inside the house, so I guess you will have to let me know when you come home tonight.” She winked at Prin. “Here, my love.” She took a silver key from an invisible pocket and handed it to Prin. “It’s the spare key to my room. Keep it safe!”
Prin looked at the key in awe, before holding it to his chest, as though being given a treasured item for safe keeping. “I will! Don’t worry.”
Elwin felt a niggling worry about her use of the term “my love”, which he felt was only something he should say to the prince and no one else. With great effort he tried to dismiss his intrusive thoughts. He smiled in her direction, though it felt forced.
“I best be going now.” Aster said. “See you boys later.”
“Wait! Aren’t you going to walk us to the door?” Elwin was nervous. Did semi-retired pirate captains have loaded muskets at the ready?
“You’ll be fine without me.” Aster assured. “Just be respectful and don’t get overly friendly with the daughter.” She ticked off these two things on her fingers, before giving up and saying brightly. “That’s about it!”
“Thank you, Aster.” The prince said seriously.
“Aww, bunny, you’re welcome.” Aster took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “Just bat those baby blues at him, like you’re doing to me right now, and I’m sure you’ll have him eating out of the palm of your hand.” She smiled at Prin and then at Elwin. “You’ll do just fine. Now go on, best time to do something you’re nervous about is right away.”
She lingered in the street for a moment to make sure they were going. When they stood in front of the pirate’s door, Elwin took a glance backwards over his shoulder. Aster was gone.
Prin lifted the heavy brass knocker, in the ominous shape of an overturned bat, and knocked on the door with it three times. Knock. Knock. Knock.
After a long moment there were some scuffling, shuffling sounds, that escalated to thumps and groans as they got closer. Elwin exchanged a look with Prin.
Suddenly the door was pulled open and, with a final swoosh of sound like the air going out of a large bellows and a flock of birds taking flight, an avalanche of something hurled itself out at them!