After expanding on the supply list and extracting promises from Dolce to do the best she could under the circumstances, they finally said good bye to her and were on their own again.

“I wonder how soon there will be a ship leaving from the harbor?” Prin wondered, having not properly factored in that delay when settling on his one day limit.

“Something is coming or going just about every day, as far as I know.” Elwin said. “Although the type of ship will vary, and I don't know if just any would let us catch a ride.”

“El, I don't have any money.” Prin fretted. “None at all. Sometimes in books, I have seen them sell a piece of jewelry or some other trinket of great value. I am worthless, I have nothing.” He looked at his hands, long fingers that would be suited for piano or harp (but had only been used to turn the pages of books, primarily. As giving any kind of lessons to one so sickly would not have been thought of), unadorned. “I bet my brother and sister have rings.” He said.

“I don't have any either.” Elwin said. Having not much need for money so far in his young life, and not exactly a paying job, Elwin had enough money to buy approximately a sandwich to split between them. “I guess it wouldn't be appropriate to charge any of this to the castle accounts.”

“You can take money out sometimes, right?” the prince asked.

Elwin took one of his hands in his. He wanted to put many rings on those fingers, but not for selling. Just to see how they sparkle in the light, and to see if the gifting of them would make him smile.

“Only relatively small amounts?” Elwin said. “I never tried to push the limits of what was allowed, and they never exactly ask what it's for either. Saying it's for you has been enough. I could try it again with a larger amount this time? Or . . . we could come up with a reason that sounds good, for wanting the large amount of cash.”

“Something that wouldn't cause undue scrutiny.” Prin considered. “I can't think of it!” He threw his hands up in the air.

“Aren't you tired?” Elwin asked. He had no idea of the time but it had to be late. The fire was burning low, running out of fuel, and the candles too, were getting short and fat in their nests of melted wax drippings. The moonlight shined in from the window draping it's silvery veil over the prince. “And you aren't even dressed, and your hairs wet!” Elwin tsked.

He got up and went to the trunk to rummage out a clean linen night shirt. He held up one with a pretty detailing of embroidery along the neck and hem. Green vines with blue, pink, and yellow flowers here and there, all in the finest, smallest stitch deftly applied. He had never noticed before what a marvel such things were. It was suddenly in him, after all this, to notice such things? He also couldn't fail to notice that night shirts were pretty much all that were in the clothes trunk, aside from a few sweaters and shawls to be worn over top in cooler weather. When had he ever had need for anything else?

“I'm fine, really!” Prin protested. “Nanny.”

“Haha.” Elwin said. He brought the night shirt over and put it on the prince, in the same way he had helped him get dressed many times before. “Maybe we could say you need a new wardrobe? After all it's true. And something like that would be very expensive for someone of your status.”

Prin smoothed his soft night shirt down over his body. “That kind of thing . . . Wouldn't it require fittings? And choosing fabric, and tailoring? We don't have time for all that.”

“I kind of meant we would just say that's what the money was for, but actually use it for our supply list instead.” Elwin said. “Eh?”

“Oh.” the prince perked up. “Now there's a thought!”

“You should go to bed.” Elwin suggested.

Prin clumsily began to get down from the bed, putting weight on each leg carefully. Even though the bed was a low one, he was clearly still not very sure of his standing abilities. “Hey, you know what? We should take an inventory of everything we have to work with. And there might even be some things in the other rooms, as I don't think they were ever cleaned out. Because who wants to carry things away down the stairs?”

He stood up beside the bed, giving Elwin a triumphant smile.

Elwin sighed. “It's very late. What about in the morning? Even though I slept a lot, I guess.” He really didn't feel like he had slept a lot. “I'm tired, and its dark now.”

“But we should get some things done.” Prin started out into the room, though it was clear his legs were shaking and threatened to revolt. He started to fall sideways but righted himself.

Elwin got up and stood near, ready to catch him. He hugged him from behind and rested his head on his shoulder. “Have some mercy on us mere mortals.”

The prince laughed. “You're silly.”

Elwin picked him up and carried him back to the bed.

“Hey! I worked hard for those seven point five steps.” Prin said.

Elwin tucked the blankets in around him. “You did great.” he said. “We just have a huge day tomorrow, right? Lots to do. So so much to do.”

“Wait.” Prin said. “If I go to sleep are you going to leave me?” He looked up at Elwin so pitifully, that Elwin had a jolt of the pain of it all. How lonely he must have been in his tower, all this time. Someone who seemed so mentally self sufficient, even while physically he was falling apart. And all he really wanted was to not be alone anymore.

“No way that's going to happen.” Elwin assured. “In fact, I think it would make me feel a lot better, personally, if we could make a pact right now, not to ever sleep apart at night. Never again. Deal?”

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Prin's blue eyes narrowed, and he gave his friend a little smirk. “You're humoring me aren't you. There's no need to treat me like a child.”

“We're the same age.” Elwin said. “Can't you humor ME, for once?” He lay down beside the prince on top of the covers. “I just want to keep you close to me always. Agree, but only if you mean it.” He put his arm up over his face, half drama, half exhaustion.

The prince moved his arm and peeked under it. He stuck his tongue out. “A pact is serious, you're really locking yourself in with this one.” he teased.

“I'm not the one who won't agree to it.” Elwin winked. “Are you afraid out on the road you'll find someone else you'd rather sleep beside?”

“Okay, fine, I agree.” Prin said, laughing.

They lay there quietly for a while, until finally Elwin was lazily wading into the shallows of sleep, when Prin spoke again.

“I forgot about her, and now that I remembered I wish I hadn't.” He scooted closer to Elwin.

Elwin's eyes shot open wide, as the sudden image of the red barely fleshed skeleton under the bed, concealed in her blanket flashed in his mind like the light at the top of a lighthouse. Only, perhaps not concealed completely? Perhaps some boney fingers or a lock of long dark hair clumped together with a sticky dark substance, had come free from the haphazard wrapping and edged towards the pool of dull light that separated out here from under there? Elwin shuddered. He put his arm around his prince. “It's okay.”

“Not much we can do about it now, right?” Prin said.

“Right.” It would be a long time before Elwin could close his eyes again. When he finally did the thought couldn't help but arise from somewhere, that there was more then one pact they had made that day.

*

Elwin awoke with the sun. In fact, it was more grey then anything outside, the false dawn before the real one came about, or the beginning of a very rainy day.

The prince was in his arms, sweetly sleeping. Elwin hugged him gently to his chest because he couldn't resist, even though he didn't want to wake him up. He felt oddly, like this was a moment he had dreamed about without remembering the dream when he awoke. Maybe something he had been dreaming about for years. Not just the intimate comfort of having him tucked against his chest, a good portion of the length of their bodies touching, but the even deep breathing, the soft cheeks not so sunken as they were and the skin not so deathly pale. In fact, seeing him like this almost made it seem like Elwin should have been more alarmed before, because clearly he was nearing the bottom of a long downward spiral. Before the witch. But Elwin had been in denial, or at least so accustomed to the prince's illness and frailty that it was just normal. Just the way it was.

Dolce was right, the difference was extreme, and whatever the witch had done had surely worked. If only the cure's fuel was not the gruesome death of another. Elwin held back a shudder.

He lay still as long as he could, trying to be in the moment and enjoy it, but his thoughts and his heart would not stop their racing. He needed to be doing something.

Elwin got out of bed slowly and tucked Prin in, fluffing the pillows up behind his head. Prin didn't stir, too comfortable in the ocean of sleep and nowhere near the shoreline. As well he should be at this time of morning.

Elwin went into the hallway but immediately retreated backwards from the pitch blackness in front of him. He lit a candle from the sputtering remains of the night's fire and took it with him out into the hallway. He used it to light the candles in the wall sconces along the hall, until he had achieved satisfaction, though it wasn't exactly very bright.

They had to get rid of that body. It was the thing that was weighing on him, and stealing his last few hours of sleep. It was bad that it had happened. The god's knew you shouldn't take the life of an innocent person, especially one who hadn't even wronged you or threatened you in any way. Morality aside, it had happened, it had already happened and it was done with. There was no reason for his precious prince to be made to suffer, or even be killed, for something that wasn't even his fault and was already over and done with.

That being settled the only thing left was to conceal that a crime had even happened. The evidence left was the skeletonized body of a woman and of course a pile of her blood soaked garments. He tried to think of it dispassionately like this, not a person, or a ghostly figure to be scared of, just evidence. That needed to disappear.

Elwin opened the door next to the prince's room and a little poof of dust came from the top of it as it creaked towards him. He had not entered the room since their Nanny's death three years before. There was no reason to and besides it had been a painful subject for both himself, and Prin.

The room was lit only by a twin pair of high windows, similar to the one in the prince's room, and it left a lot in deep shadow. One of the windows cast the shadow of bars onto the floor and the other didn't, them having fallen out or been removed at some previous point in time. However the windows were still inconveniently high, and the drop to the ground below quite substantial. People would notice the loud thump of something being thrown from up here, and easily figure out where the object had come from. Not to mention the path below was one frequently traveled from the gardens and farm behind the castle toward the staff houses and then the kitchen.

No, throwing a body out would just not do.

The bedroom, though once neat and tidy, whispered with disuse. A spider's web trailed from the corner of the dresser to the wall and it shined in the scarce light the way they do. The rocking chair beside the bed was draped with a quilt. Elwin had the sudden impulse to sit down in it and rock for a minute, but he didn't.

In his mind's eye he could clearly picture nanny rocking the prince on her lap in that chair, when he was very ill and couldn't fall asleep from pain and coughing. Even when he was too old for it.

The death of the one who loved him more then any others may have been what set him on this final long spiral. Because Elwin was convinced now, after thinking about it carefully, that Prin would have died very soon. It was impossible that he could have held out much longer, despite being a very stubborn guy obviously. His tenacity being one of the things Elwin admired about him. Still, though, what a blow to lose your mother figure, and you still needing her so very badly.

Elwin wondered if he even knew that there was someone else who loved him more then any others. As soon as the thought passed through his mind he was embarrassed but not in any position to deny its truth.

If they did find the old witch, and he was not at all sure that was even possible, he would not let her do anything that would cause Prin to become sick again. He was determined on this, no matter what may happen in the meantime. Even if it meant he had to make sure they didn't find her.

Elwin shook the thought out of his head, it tasted too much like betrayal in the back of his mouth, so he didn't want to spend any more time considering it.

Something caught his eye against the foot of the bed, Nanny's old cane. It was nicely made of twisted darkly polished wood, though nothing fancy. But it would do in a pinch. He took it back with him to Prin's room and leaned it up against the foot of his bed for later.

Strangely the prince remained asleep as Elwin pulled the body from beneath the bed, and took it to the other room, stashing it under Nanny's bed for safe keeping. It wasn't exactly getting rid of the evidence, but people were even less likely to come into this room then they were into Prin's, so it seemed okay as a stop gap measure.

Elwin left the room the way he had found it (minus one item and plus another), and headed off for the day. He needed to meet up with Dolce if possible and maybe split the tasks, as well as do something about getting cleaned up and changed into fresh clothes. A strange sense of optimism had come over him. Even if he didn't know that everything would be okay, he at least had a plan for what to do next.