When William woke up the next morning, he abruptly buried his head in the pillow. He didn't want to get up. He didn't want the new day to dawn, because that meant he would have to start his journey home. He would love to just pretend that time stood still. So he could stay in the Magistrat forever.
Why did he have to be a prince? Couldn't the gods have given him a life as a normal citizen of Sylve? Then he would have the freedom to live his life the way he wanted. Why did he have to constantly conform to others and couldn't do what he really wanted?
Be an Anuxer?
Travel and see new places?
See the world with his own eyes?
The thought of giving up his freedom to prepare for war made him sad. But equally, he had to think of his friends who were going through the same thing. Aletta had been traveling around Exarion for weeks as a healer, Philippa often accompanied the mages to the south as a scout, Miguel trained as a sword instructor almost every warrior in the city, and Ben... Ben also wanted to fulfill his responsibility and help Sylve. William could well understand why Ben felt that way, but he didn't want to go home.
The mere thought of the palace made him nervous.
But he had no other choice. There were dozens of people on the move because of him, and he couldn't just run away from the responsibility, even if it made him uncomfortable.
"That reminds me...", he muttered quietly to himself as he slipped on his pants and stepped back into the hallway. <...where is Cale, anyway?>
Quietly, he opened the door to Cale's bedroom, but the only thing he discovered was a large, empty bed. It didn't even look like Cale had used it tonight. His comforter was spread flat and his pillows were neatly arranged in order - just as he had left it.
"What are you doing again, Cale?", he commented, annoyed, looking toward the large window. He'd barely gotten to see Cale in the last few weeks, so he wished Cale would take the time to spend the day with them today. At least until they left. Was that too much to ask?
A soft mewing snapped William out of his bad mood and irritated, he dropped his gaze back to the bed. Amidst the sea of pillows, he spotted a black blur with bright eyes staring directly at him.
"Fengari! I didn't see you at all", he replied with amusement, closing the door behind him and climbing onto the bed. With a broad grin, he began petting the small, black cat, who seemed to enjoy the massage. Quietly, she began to purr, while William watched the small figure with satisfaction. "At least one spent the night here."
He received another mewl in response.
"You really seem to understand me", he commented, accompanied by a smile. "Then maybe you know where Cale is right now?"
At the question, the cat raised its head and looked at William silently for a moment before straightening up and stretching. William held his hand in the air, waiting for Fengari to lie back down, but she did not. Instead, the cat leapt gracefully down from the pillow and stomped to the end of the bed. Puzzled, William watched the cat before it turned to him, mewed, and jumped onto the floor.
"I must be crazy", was all William could say as he sat up and followed the cat downstairs. For a moment he thought she was just hungry, but Fengari stopped at the front door and looked expectantly in his direction. Silently, William opened the door and followed Fengari down the hall to the eastern part of the Magistrat. Having never been in this part of the building before, he was a little uncomfortable staying here, especially since he had no idea where he was in the first place. But when he spotted the large library down the hall, he guessed. Aaron often went to the library or the state archives when he wanted to look up something. It was quite possible that Cale did the same and that Fengari knew about it.
Quietly, he opened the door, but again, Fengari did not turn into the library. Instead, she ran straight out and pressed her body against the glass door that led to a covered balcony. When William followed her outside and opened the door, he froze at the sight.
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Before his eyes slept Julius Venlan, his teacher and advisor to his father.
The mewing of Fengari caused him to take his gaze from Sir Venlan and he spotted Cale and Aaron. The two High-Magicians were also sleeping in the weak morning sun, with Fengari having jumped onto Cale's shoulder and slapping her paw against his face.
"Fengari", Cale muttered softly, trying to scare the cat away with his hand, but the cat was undeterred. For a moment, therefore, no one stirred, when Cale jerked his eyes open and looked at William in surprise. Probably, Cale had just unconsciously noticed his mana.
"Morning, Cale", William greeted him politely and stepped outside.
"Morning", the dark-haired mage merely replied, straightening up so that Fengari jumped off him and hopped onto the railing. "What are you doing here?"
"I was looking for you."
"Did something happen?"
"Does always something have to happen?", William replied with a smile as he took a seat on the other side of Cale. This gave him the sun at his back and a good view of the three men who had apparently spent the night here. "I didn't find you in your room this morning, so I came looking for you."
"I see. And Fengari led you here", Cale concluded, stretching before his gaze fell first on Aaron and then on Julius Venlan. "Your escort arrived last night."
"I can see that, but what is Sir Venlan doing here?"
"Coincidence. Yusuf's students had an unauthorized bonfire out here yesterday and woke up half the Magistrat with it", Cale explained, pointing off into the distance, causing William to turn backward and glance over the railing. In fact, he spotted the burned out campfire, accompanied by glasses, some blankets and clothes. It seemed like someone had been celebrating here yesterday. "Are the others awake yet?"
"No."
"Then we should wake them up and have breakfast", Cale announced, accompanied by a yawn. William's gaze, however, wandered to the king's light-haired, sleeping advisor. This early in the morning, he hadn't expected to be confronted with the unpleasantness of his childhood. "Is something wrong?"
"Huh? No, no", William immediately evaded comment.
"Is it about Sir Venlan?", Cale caught him nonetheless. "Must be strange, isn't it? Seeing him again after all this time."
"Have you spoken to him?"
"I have, yes", Cale confirmed. "But I have to admit, I knew a lot of the things you did as a kid beforehand."
"I would have been surprised if you hadn't", William replied, slumping back with a sigh. "It's super awkward to see him."
"You're going to Bellator with him."
"I know. Still, it's awkward for me."
"Do you think you're the only one? Did you ever wonder how Sir Venlan would feel?", Cale threw back, causing William to look up at his friend in surprise. "A friend of mine always says that you shouldn't keep the problematic issues dead quiet. Just talk about them. For the good of everyone."
Supportive, the mewing of Fengari spoke up, causing William's gaze to wander upward. The cat was crouching directly over his head and was cleaning her face when she noticed William.
"Must be a good friend if you trust her words so much. Do I know her?"
"No."
"Will I meet her someday?"
"For sure, but not today", Cale replied, standing up. He stretched extensively in the sunlight one last time before bending down and waking Aaron. Sullenly, the High-Magician turned to the side, but ignored Cale's voice. "Didn't I tell you not to fall asleep?"
"I'm not asleep", Aaron defended himself, without opening his eyes in the process. Only when Fengari spoke up again did Aaron look up and focus his gaze in the cat's direction, noticing William. "William..."
"Morning Aaron."
"How long have you been here?", the High-Magician replied, sitting up, while Cale turned his attention to the other sleeping man.
"Not long, a few minutes, maybe. We're going out for breakfast, do you want to join us?"
"Gladly", Aaron confirmed and straightened up, causing William to stand as well.
"Sir Venlan", Cale spoke up quietly, shaking the advisor gently so that he opened his eyes and looked at him. "It's morning already. We should be going."
"Is it?", the advisor threw back into the room, rubbing his eyes in exhaustion.
Fengari leapt gracefully onto William's shoulder, causing William to pet the cat and come to a stop in front of Sir Venlan. Irritated by the sudden shadow, Julius looked up and abruptly turned white in the face when he noticed William.
"Prince William..."
"Good morning, Sir Venlan", William replied, forcing himself to remain calm and polite. He would have preferred to just walk ahead and ignore Sir Venlan, but that would only cause a tense situation throughout the trip. Instead, he tried to take a step in the right direction and approach Julius Venlan first. "It is good to see that you are doing well. When you didn't arrive in Exarion in the afternoon, we were a bit worried about you and your companions."
Politely, William extended his hand forward, which Julius Venlan looked at with irritation before accepting it and standing up. Aaron and Cale, on the other hand, had passed behind him and were already standing with one foot in the library.
"We were a little late, please forgive us."
"That's all right. You should wake up your escort and put some clothes on."
"We will do the same and prepare breakfast. If you wish, you are welcome to join us", Cale spoke up, causing Julius and William to look in his direction. "The mages here know where my apartment is. Just let them lead you there."
"Gladly. Thank you, High-Magician Leuen", Julius replied, easing away from William, so that William pushed past everyone and stepped back into the building first.
"Don't mention it."
It was clear to William why Cale invited his escort to dinner. He wanted to make sure William talked to them, but inwardly William was not yet prepared. After all, he knew full well that the tense situation was entirely his fault.