Chapter 4

Aloys woke from a nightmare, his body was covered in sweat and the sound of his panicked breathing resonated in the air. He tried to remember what had frightened him so but the nightmare was gone. All he could recall was the fear. Trying to shrug off the nightmare he examined the room he was in. He could not remember how he got here. He had fallen asleep in Sara’s lap after crying for a long time. He assumed he had been carried to this bed. The room itself was simple but well furnished. The bed was soft which felt odd after so many days on the cold ground. There was a large mirror, a wooden wardrobe and a small cabinet with several drawers. The walls and roof were painted white while the floor was a dark wood with the majority of it covered by a fancy red, orange and yellow rug. Getting out of bed, Aloys stumbled towards the lavatory.

Washed and in clean clothes Aloys stepped into House Domita’s dining room. At the moment only Sara was there, she sat drinking something hot, he could see the steam rising from the cup. From the mess beside Sara it seemed someone else had been at the table. Seeing him arrive Sara proclaimed, “I’m surprised to see you, I thought you would sleep for a week after what you’ve been through. Come eat something, I’ll go see about having something brought through”. Aloys smiled and simply said, “thank you”. To both of them it was obvious he meant thank you for more than for the food. She smiled as she left the room. Several minutes later Lady Domita returned carrying a tray, on it were several slices of toast, some ham and a bowl filled with orange slices. “It is a pity you just missed my son Adam, he’s the same age as you.” Aloys was surprised, he never realised she had a son. “How come I’ve never met him?” “I think you did once but that was quite a few years ago now.”, she replied. “Ever since your mother died I’ve been scared to take him out the city”. She sighed, “the Empire’s not as peaceful as it appears, as you now know”.  With that she left him to his breakfast.

After breakfast Aloys spent most of the day exploring the grounds of the manse. He soon learnt that he had a shadow. “Why are you following me?”, he asked. “Orders my lord”, answered Jason. “Lady Sara wants to keep you out of trouble.” “Come closer then Mister Jason” Aloys sighed. At least now I have someone to talk to, even if he is an adult. “It is a pity that it’s Winter. The flowers are lovely in the Summer.”, said Jason looking around. “I was thinking the same. It’s also cold.”  “Well in the Summer it’s a lot warmer”, smiled Jason. “Is that so, I would never have guessed”, said Aloys smirking now. Inside he smiled, having someone to talk to cheered him up. He had been alone for a week and was desperate for conversation. “Jason?” “Yes my lord” replied Jason. “Where is Lady Sara?... I haven’t seen her since breakfast”. “I am not certain but I believe she is making arrangements to ensure the right people know that you are alive”, he answered. “How about her son Adam? I would think that I’d have seen him by now”. “He’s at the park my lord, it’s also possible he might be at his great grandfather’s manse” Isn’t great grandfather like really old, Aloys pictured the oldest man he’d ever seen. “His great grandfather?”  “Yes my lord, Lord Anthony has begun tutoring Adam.” “but… aren’t great grandfathers like really old?” “Usually my lord” smiled Jason.  “Usually?” “Well those in House Domita usually live at least 120 years my lord.” How come I’ve never heard this before. “How’s that possible?” “Well my lord It’s something to do with their halfling blood. Most live longer than 120, There was a Lady Evelynn Domita that lived until she was 153.” Halflings? Losing interest in exploring as the conversation piqued his interest Aloys led Jason into the house and through to one of several sitting rooms. Sitting down with a soft moan of appreciations, rubbing his legs he asked, “What do you mean when you said halflings Mister Jason?” “Well, it’s said that in one of the immortal planes resides a species we named halflings.” “What do they look like?”. Jason smiled, “they look just like us, only smaller and perhaps happier”. Realisation dawned on Aloys, he had always assumed Sara was just really short. He felt slightly stupid. “But how does that relate to the Domita family Mister Jason?” Jason seemed to be struggling with that one, it took him several minutes accompanied by several face expression changes. Which made Aloys giggle a little. “hmm well it’s something to do with Domita’s immortal patron. As you are probably aware most of the noble house and several of the guilds and academies are sponsored by one of the fae. Well as it happens House Domita is patroned by Cnaeus the Lady of Happiness and Joy and she appears as a halfling in all the paintings and statues of her.” Aloys remembered the girls he had met at the park. Wasn’t the little one named Cnaeus? Hmmm something to think about. He decided to not mention it to Jason. “Where are those paintings Mister Jason?”. “As you may have noticed my lord this house is newly built. All the paintings are in the older Domita houses. The one I saw was in Anthony Domita’s study. You may get to see it if you visit him at some point”. Aloys was curious about whether the girl he met would look like Cnaeus in the painting. Thinking about it he realised she could probably look how she wished so anything he saw would be suspect. A little disappointed he sat in silence for a few moments. Realising Jason was waiting for a response he decided to say, “What about the statues?” “There are quite a few of those my lord. There is one in each of the parks. Some of the public schools have one. A big one is outside Lord Anthony’s house.” While Jason had answered his question he remembered something his father had once said. ‘While those with the talent can change their appearance eyes stay the same’ With that he remembered that was why nobles held such an importance on eye colour. Why it was now included in names. Just like how his own bright purple eyes meant that his name was Aloys Lilla Estrisden. Thinking this he believed that if he saw a painting of Cnaeus he would remember her sky blue eyes. He felt certain that he would be able to tell if she was truly an immortal fae. “Can we go to the park mister Jason? I would like to meet Adam, what has he been doing at the park all day anyway?” “My lord, I’m afraid until Lady Sara says so you are not to leave the grounds. She is planning to make extra security arrangements. I think the world has gotten a lot more dangerous in recent years. Even in happy Luna. As for meeting Adam, you should meet him at dinnertime. I heard the Lady Sara instruct him to be back by then.” It was interesting. Sara had said something similar about danger when she had left him at breakfast. Perhaps the attack he experienced was not an isolated incident. Remembering his earlier question. “So… what is he doing?” Jason looked a little proud. It was an odd expression on the big man’s face. “He is practicing with his new sling.” “Your idea I suppose Mister Jason” Aloys felt himself smirking again. “But why is a noble son practicing with a sling? Why not a sword?” Jason nodded along with the questions. “It’s because of his halfling height and weight. As a child on top of that. He has been struggling to keep up with his instructors with the sword. I had the idea of the sling, most of his family learn with either the javelin or the sling before they progressed to the sword. At the park we’ve cordoned off an area and set up targets. He’s gotten scarily good. I even put in an order for lead balls at the blacksmith. Though Lady Sara doesn’t want to give them to him until he’s a little older.” Now Aloys found himself nodding. It was rather logical. He himself always struggled against the adult instructors when he sparred with them. “Does he still practice the sword? I once heard that its best to learn the sword forms early.” Jason smiled at that obviously remembering something as he got a distant look in his eye. Shaking his head suddenly he responded “At the moment he rotates between a session with the sword one day to a session with the sling the next. Perhaps you shall be joining him in-” A bell or possibly a gong sounded from deeper in the house. Jason smiled at his confused look. “That means dinner”. Standing Jason beckoned him towards the door. As Aloys exited the room Jason called, “remember to wash your hands!” followed by what has possibly an out of character laugh.       

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