To Catch a King

10.

Talehaven was by far the liveliest place that she had ever ventured to, and on this trip she had ventured a lot. There were colorful banners adorning every building, with different symbols on each door.

Andreas explained that since many different tribes lived together (in apparent harmony, she could see), there needed to be a way to differentiate between tribes. In his opinion, there was no need to, since everyone was family and tended to know one another. This was evidenced by the fact that every few moments, Andreas was approached by people old and young, being congratulated on becoming an Elite and commenting on how he’d grown into a strong young man.

Jask merely stood to the side, away from the crowds. When Andreas was done speaking, she joined him once again. He led her through various alleyways, and she was delighted to realize that she enjoyed all of the smells and sights that she encountered. She’d been given no dirty looks, only pitying ones. For that reason, she didn’t know. Glancing at Andreas, she could see that he was relaxed and happy, glad to be back in his old home.

They made their way to the coast on foot, with Andreas explaining more and more about his home. It made her smile inwardly to see how excited he was at showing and telling someone about his history and culture. She learned that festivals were commonplace, and that celebrations for one person up to however many was a common affair that brought the entire city together for celebration. It was so unlike Hena that she was a little shell-shocked.

Andreas’ house was rather large, and sat mere yards from the ocean. It was only a story, but long and spaced out, made of plywood and colorful glass. It was very open, with large windows gracing nearly every corner and colorful plants that Jask had never seen surrounding the home. To her, they didn’t look poor.

Actually, with all of the liveliness of the town, she barely noticed how rundown it seemed. She felt a bit guilty.

“Sahna!” Andreas called, suddenly running toward the home. Jask froze as a young woman came outside, a basket in her arms. She looked around before her eyes settled on Andreas and she let out a startled, happy cry.

“Baby brother!” she cried, dropping the basket and running toward each other. The crashed together into a tight embrace that made Jask feel a bit awkward. She’d never seen a bond between family members such as this.

With Sahna’s exclamation, people started clamoring out of the enormous house. Jask’s eyes widened as Andreas was enveloped into hugs, kisses, and yelling in their native language. The most obvious people stood at the doorway: his parents. From far away, even Jask could see that Andreas closely resembled his mother. She wasn’t tall, but stood straight with a quiet dignity. His father also stood, but with the stance of a battle-hardened warrior. From afar, Jask could see his parents in him.

Finally, after a few minutes, everyone calmed down, and Andreas introduced Jask. Once again, there was noise and Jask was very awkwardly inducted into the family, as if she’d been there her entire life. She felt a small sliver of helplessness, but that went away as she was introduced to Andreas’ parents.

His mother, after giving him a long hug, took her hand and led her away from the chaos. Jask was grateful, if not a little afraid. She had no idea what Andreas’ mother would say to her, if she was going to say anything.

“You must be his partner,” his mother said as they walked into the kitchen. The area was cleaner than she thought it would be, since it was obvious more than four people lived in the home. It was rather large as well, with pots and wooden spoons hanging from hooks, and something cooking in a small pan on the stove. “He wrote to us shortly before the two of you left Hena, explaining that he was going on a trip and that he had a new partner.” She paused, and pointed at something behind Jask. “Hand me that rag, my dear. Thank you.”

After that, Jask just helped around the kitchen. She learned that his mother’s name was Meilani and that his father’s name was Tahsul. Tahsul wasn’t born in Talehaven, but his family had moved there from Daemis shortly before he hit adulthood. Meilani was raised there, with three brothers and four sisters, her being the youngest.

By the time Meilani was finished cooking, Jask felt fully immersed in the culture and was starting to enjoy being in Talehaven. She wasn’t entirely comfortable, as she’d gotten dirty looks from many of the elderly citizens as she and Andreas walked through the town.

Andreas loved the fact that he was back home. He missed his family, and they obviously missed him. He hadn’t visited in three years, and had missed countless births, birthdays, parties, and celebrations. Celebrating his holidays in Hena was lonely. Though the city welcomed Natives and was more liberal than most, there were still very few people that he wanted to celebrate with. And the Natives in Hena refused to keep their culture alive, instead erasing it to fit in with other citizens.

He didn’t mean to put down his people, though. He just wished that they had tried to keep their culture alive. If they’re race died out, then it would be the end for them. He focused on his home, though. He hadn’t been home in three years, and it was good to be back. He liked that the bakery near his home was still open, and that people trusted each other enough to open their houses up.

The only thing he disliked was the looks they sent to Jask as the two of them walked through the town. The looks she’d been given were menacing, threatening harm. Parents had ushered their kids away from her and he could see vendors ready to close their doors to her.

Even though he praised his culture for being open-minded and welcoming, at this moment it pissed him off that they were being so hypocritical.

Even so, when his people sent those looks at her, he wanted to pull her close and claim her as his fiancée, even though it wasn’t true. So far, he’d done a good job of hiding the feelings that he had for her. He didn’t say anything about the bathing incident, though it had been on his mind. He didn’t say anything about the way he felt when Wick stared at her the way a man did when he was interested in getting cozy with a woman. He didn’t say or reveal anything about that. Instead, he acted as a soldier: kept his feelings off of his face and said nothing.

Sahna walked with him on the beach later that night, informing him on what had happened in the three years he’d been gone: there were more Native kids going into the military, following his example; three children had died when a small plague went through the town; and the city expanded as a whole since new people kept arriving.

Talehaven was already a big place; they’d only used less than an eighth of the land the government had let them keep. If more people kept arriving—not that he minded, because he loved when more people joined the family here—they’d have to keep building and cut down the trees that held the meat for their people. Already, some of the trees were gone that was at the gate of Talehaven, near the expansive woods, to accommodate the new plots of farmland that was being cultivated.

“Andie,” Sahna said, pushing him. He nearly toppled over into the sand and glared at her. “You weren’t listening to me, were you?”

“Nope,” he answered with a smile. Sahna put her hands on her hips and glared. Though she was the youngest of his sisters, and the closest to his age, she still tried to act more of an adult than he. “What ever were you saying, dear sister?”

She smacked the back of his head. “You idiot. I was talking about that girl—your partner?”

“What about her?”

“She’s beautiful,” Sahna said. Andreas’ heart skipped a bit as her face, her smile, drew itself in his mind. “You never told us your partner was a woman.”

He shrugged. “I didn’t think it was important.”

“But you could have been with her!”

He raised an eyebrow. “Really? You had to go there?”

“She’s beautiful! Have you two slept together?”

He stopped walking and stared at her. “Did you really just…?”

Sahna nodded. “Brother dearest, you’re twenty. You need to get married already! Everyone else already is! Well, of your friends at least. And Dema and Gerida are engaged! Your partner is perfect for you! And me and Mother can already tell you have feelings for her!”

“No,” Andreas said sharply. “Jask is my partner, nothing more. And while I may have…feelings for her, she and I are on a mission. We didn’t come here to relax, and I certainly didn’t come here to get talk of marriage pushed on me.” As Sahna opened her mouth, he signed. “Nana, I know you and Mother and Dema and Gerida want the best for me, but can we not talk about marriage? At all? Jask and I are only here for a short time, and this is the only rest that we can get before we go back to Hena.”

Sahna shut her mouth into a stern line and looked away. Andreas knew that she was frustrated. Along with her, he wasn’t in any kind of relationship, and while he looked, he was pretty sure it wouldn’t happen anytime. The two continued to walk in silence, before turning around and heading back to their home.

“So, we’re going to Lenham to scout around for anything suspicious,” Andreas said. It was late into the night, and he and Jask were the only ones still awake. “Are you okay with that?” When Jask nodded, he continued. “If we find nothing by the end of the day, we come back here and then repeat the next day. Way had said something about a woman with a limp being able to give us clues.”

Jask nodded and Andreas looked closely at her. “Are you okay?” She opened her mouth to say something, but a knock on the door interrupted them. Andreas opened it to see his father standing there.

“We need to talk, son,” he said in their language. Andreas glanced back at Jask, who had started pretending to pay attention to her nails. He narrowed his eyes and then looked back at his father.

“If it’s about my becoming an Elite, then I’m not joining you,” Andreas replied, speaking in his language as well. “I know how you feel about it.”

His father grasped his wrist and physically pulled the young man out into the hallway, politely closing Jask’s door behind them.

“You know how I feel about those people,” Tahsul said, grinding his teeth. “They hurt, mock, and are cruel to our people. Yet you love one of them, you become one of their soldiers?”

“I would think you’re proud of me, Father,” Andreas said, crossing his arms. He felt a flash of anger at his father’s mention of Jask—Sahna must have said something to him. “And I like what I do. I’m trying to get people to see that we aren’t the savages that they think we are. The fact that I got promoted after three years can attest to that.”

“They’re using you,” Tahsul growled. “When they’re finished with you, you’ll be forgotten and thrown away like garbage.”

“Why can’t you be proud of me?” Andreas asked. “I’m trying to make a difference for our people.”

“You trying to make a difference for our people gets us mocked, Andreas. The people of Ferilis have no love for us. Why didn’t you just stay home and make a family?”

“I would not have been happy,” Andreas replied. “I like what I do, and I like the changes that I see coming about. I would’ve lived and died here in Talehaven had I done what you wanted me to do. This is my life we’re talking about.”

Tahsul glared at his son. “Fine. I can see that I can’t talk sense into you.”

“You’re trying to talk nonsense into me.”

“Boy…”

“I need to leave,” Andreas said. Tahsul blinked at the clear dismissal and at the dangerous undertone of his son’s voice. “Jask and I are working a job at the moment, and we were in the middle of planning out next move.” He opened Jask’s door. “Good night, Father.”

Lenham was a small area. Andreas had never been to the town, although it was just a day’s walk away. He figured that his parents didn’t really want him to live the safety of Talehaven, since there was a possibility that he could be kidnapped or killed. It had nearly happened before.

From what he knew, it was an agricultural village, small enough to be ignored by the rest of Ferilis. Not much came from the village, but it may have been where Vincent was being held. No one—not even the smartest person—could suspect that the missing prince would be living in a small village just outside the capital. That’s probably a good thing, as well. There’d be no outbreak of a war.

Jask and Andreas took two horses, both laden with light supplies, and traveled to the town. Both were quiet; Jask, though she couldn’t speak Andreas’ home language, had figured that the conversation from the night before had been about her; and Andreas was still angry as his father for not respecting what he did and what he tried to change.

Andreas looked over at Jask. It seemed that she had gone back into the shell that she had been in when they first met.

When they arrived at Lenham, Jask noticed the abrupt change from Talehaven. Whereas that city was lively and bright, Lenham was dull and murky. The citizens looked grim and overworked, pale and exhausted. She vaguely heard that while Lenham was a small fishing village, their catch hadn’t been as good as normal lately and they lacked food, since they didn’t live near a forest. When Talehaven offered help, the people of the town rejected it, saying that they didn’t want food from “filthy savages.”

This made Jask a little angry, but she dismissed the emotion and focused on the mission at hand.

While Andreas went to get a room at a tavern, Jask searched the town. It was deemed better for the both of them, as Jask was easily accepted in society while Andreas obviously wasn’t.

She walked around the town and happened on an infirmary. She felt a pang in her chest, where her scar was. The injury hadn’t healed as well as she had hoped, and the scar looked jagged and ugly on her chest. She was terrified that, if she ever got married, her future husband would look upon the scar with disdain and leave her, as she wasn’t perfect.

Thankfully, in her line of work, there was rarely any marriage. Too bad she was no longer a thief, and enjoyed the privileges that being an Elite got her.

The infirmary was run down, the building looking as if it would collapse at any minute. Tired people gathered around the entrance, and she presented her badge as she moved through the crowd. They murmured quietly, but let her pass.

Entering the infirmary, Jask was hit by the stench. The small hospital was dirty and unkempt, with dirty rags gracing the floor and stagnant water in puddles on the floor. Sick people groaned in pain and she watched as a “doctor” used utensils on one patient and then another without cleaning them.

“Excuse me,” she said, speaking up. The doctor turned, the dirty utensil still in his hands. “What’s going on here?”

The doctor looked at her warily, eyeing her up and down before noticing her badge and straightening up.

“A boy arrived not a fortnight ago, and we don’t know what’s wrong with him,” the man explained. “The people are worried that whatever the boy has will spread.”

Jask felt a bit of hope burgeoning in her chest. This may be the prince. “May I see him?” she asked, keeping the excitement from her face. The doctor stared at her before sighing.

“Yes, you may,” he said.

Jask held up a finger. “Wait—before I see him, this place. Why is it so horrible?”

The doctor put down his utensils and looked around, refusing to let his eyes linger on any part of the hospital. “Well, we’re poor.”

Jask nodded, prompting him to continue.

“I’m sure you’ve heard that our catch is…unsubstantial, these days. Because of this our people are working harder and starving to pay taxes here. Add on the fact that there’s a small epidemic…” The doctor trailed off.

Jask nodded in understanding. A small part of her felt bad for what these people were going through, but the bigger part told her that she needed to focus on the situation at hand and get information on the mysterious patient.

“I’ll try my best to help,” she promised. “Is there a…cleaner building around here?”

The doctor gulped, a small glimmer of hope entering his eyes. “Yes, but it’s near the water and much too expensive to get on our own.”

Jask nodded. “I’ll take care of that. I’ll come back tomorrow with news. Let me see this visitor, please.”

The doctor nodded and beckoned for her to follow. He led her to the back of the building, where an area had been cordoned off. As they walked, the doctor rambled on about the hospital and its history of how it had been passed through his family.

As he pulled the curtain, he stopped and glanced at Jask. “I daresay that this boy looks like the prince,” he muttered, loud enough for only Jask to hear. “But I wouldn’t know. The royal family has kept their family closely guarded and we’ve had many people pass through here masquerading as royalty.”

Jask nodded and the doctor left her. When she was sure that she was alone, she stepped forward. A sleeping figure laid on a makeshift cot, asleep. He was deathly pale and thinner than a normal boy should have been, but Jask recognized him immediately. It was Prince Vincent.