“Can you smell the ocean from here? Salt in the air?” The prince asked his young charge.

“I don’t know. Am I about to walk into it or something?” Valor raised his head and sniffed the air.

“No, silly. You know you’re in your own back yard.” Prin said.

“I can show you around the back gardens!” Mrs. Frances suggested. “The kitchen garden, and the fruit trees.” She took a small set of pruning clippers from her apron pocket and clipped a pink rose from one of the bushes lining the back of the house. “Here, sweetness. Is this what you’re smelling?” She put the flower in Valor’s hand.

Valor brought the rose up to his face and smelled it. “The petals are soft.”

“There are a lot of nice things out here.” Prin said, encouragingly. He reached out and took Elwin’s hand, just as natural as can be.

Elwin squeezed his hand. “I would love to see the gardens.” He said.

They walked through the close cropped green lawn and further out to where a small fenced in kitchen garden stood beside an orchid of six miniature fruit trees.

“It doesn’t seem like much. But it’s enough to keep us in pies all year and then some!” Mrs. Frances assured.

“The sunshine is so exhausting.” Valor said. He had been quiet during the whole walk, moving his head slightly this way and that, as though listening to the bird calls in the trees, and other further off noises.

Elwin was willing to bet it was the tantrum he threw earlier that had really exhausted him.

“Are you okay, darling? It’s a bit cool out here, I should have made sure you put on a sweater first.” Mrs. Frances said.

“He’s fine.” Prin assured.

“I don’t think nice things agree with me.” Valor said.

“Sure they do.” Prin said. “Shall we go back inside now?”

Valor turned and led the way back towards the house, with his entourage close behind him.

“After all, we wouldn’t want you turning to dust and blowing away in the wind.” Prin said.

Valor stopped walking for a moment and tilted his head to the side. “Ah, that’s a vampire joke.” He said. “Because I am so odd and my wardrobe is mostly black. Haha.”

“You are also very pale.” Prin pointed out.

“You’re a bit on the white-ish side yourself.” Elwin pointed out. It may be his imagination, but was the prince being a little hard on Valor?

“True.” Prin said agreeably. “I am working to correct that, though.”

“I prefer pigments to keep their distance.” Valor said dryly.

“Oh you funny boys.” Mrs. Frances gave a cautious laugh, as though afraid if she wasn’t careful the eggshells she had been forced to walk on around the young lord would surely break. She hurried ahead of them. “It is past lunch time! I will prepare some plates.”

Lunch was thick sandwiches made up of meat and cheese (sans meat for Valor), and fresh bread. Along with home made pickles that Mrs. Frances was proud to announce were made according to an old family recipe. She was excited to learn that Elwin came from a family of chefs, although Elwin himself wished that Prin would not give out any personal details about their past. For obvious reasons. They would have to have a talk about that later.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Afterwards, while Valor was still picking at his food, Mrs. Frances showed them to a bedroom where they could store their things. She seemed relieved when they insisted on staying together in the same room. Elwin thought perhaps it was the only spare bedroom that was cleaned out and fit for habitation at the moment.

And fit for habitation it certainly was, with a large bed that had a four post wooden frame of dark wood, and a wardrobe with a painted scene of small children herding goats up the side of the mountain, as well as a desk or vanity with a small bench to sit on.

She insisted that any laundry they put in a pile outside of the door would be washed and hung out to dry by her assistant, and returned promptly when the sun and air had done it’s work and it was dry and sweet smelling again. Elwin was not sure those clothes could ever smell nice again, and was more then a bit sorry to make the poor girl try to make them. By the look on Prin’s face, he felt the same way. But it would seem to go against the etiquette of the household to insist on washing their own clothes, and they didn’t want to insult Mrs. Frances.

After they set all their sweat stained and bedraggled extra garments out in the hall, Elwin and Prin went to Captain Thompson’s office to see if they could find him there.

The captain came down the hallway towards them, as Prin was raising up his hand to knock.

“What are you sniffing around my office for? I told you that room was off limits!” Captain Thompson was now dressed. A nice linen shirt straining over his belly, and his pants help up by suspenders. He looked more grand dad then pirate.

“Just looking for you.” Prin said.

“We have to redo our negotiations.” Elwin said. He felt like when it came to business the captain would like to get it out of the way quickly and settled.

“That we do!” Captain Thompson. “I heard you were staying. And I also haven’t heard a peep or cry from my son since you got here. I don’t know how you did it, but well done is all I’ve got to say.” He grinned at them.

“We just treated him like a normal person.” Prin said. “And expected him to act like one, in return.”

“A normal person that needs a little help.” Elwin added. He didn’t want Prin to downplay their assistance and get them less generous pay.

“Right, sure.” Prin said. “But he can do a lot more then what has been expected out of him. He’s very smart.”

Something troubled flashed in the captain’s eyes, and his smile turned sheepish. “We do give in to him every time he wants something, that’s true. But it’s not like there’s no reason for it. Come on, lets sit down a minute.” He led them back to the sitting room they had used before, and shut the door behind them.

Captain Thompson settled his heft into a chair and sighed. “Sit down a minute, fellows, and we will discuss your pay and duties.”

Elwin set cautiously on the sofa opposite the captain, but Prin remained standing, casting a look towards the closed door. “It is said that blind people have excellent hearing.”

“Not that good, you’re safe to speak.” The captain reassured. “The door is several inches of good hardwood.”

“Okay.” Prin said. “I think you are doing Valor a disservice by letting him get away with bad behavior.”

Elwin winced. Was it really their place to say how the captain should treat his own son? They wouldn’t be here forever. And perhaps he was doing the best he could . . .

“That’s very blunt!” The captain chuckled. “I like you.”

“He needs to be treated as a proper young adult.” Prin said. “With an assistant to help him, he could overcome any limitations.”

“That’s enough.” The captain said firmly. “Sit down. You seem to think you have the situation completely lined up after two days.” He narrowed his eyes at Prin, who finally sat down meekly beside Elwin. “The boy has more troubles then just not being able to see. I am fully aware that people have over come the lose of one, albeit, most important, sense.”

“What is it then?” Prin asked.

“The loss of his mother?” Elwin winced even as he said it. He didn’t feel it was their place to get personal, but here he was, already in it.

“That’s part of it.” The captain said. “Though he was very young at the time, and old Frances is about the closest thing to a mother he has ever known. Listen, lean in here close.” He leaned towards them, his long red beard reaching forward as though with a mind of its own.

Prin leaned in, further narrowing the gap between them.

“Can I tell you a secret? No one else is to know this, not even Rose. Got it? For some reason I trust you boys. And if it would help you understand Val better . . .”

“I’m listening.” Prin said softly. “We both are.”

Captain Thompson took a deep breath. “As long as you know I’m not the type of person who’s trust you betray.”

“Understood.” Prin said, without hesitation.

Captain Thompson spoke the next sentence without a pause between words, in one long swoosh as though anxious to be rid of it and exhale it into the atmosphere far away from where he was sitting. “Valor is cursed and it’s all my fault.”