The Journey - Part 11

Leiyu and Prince Thallios spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the mirror lake and the moss-covered village. The quaint little houses looked like they had sprouted from the earth itself. Tiny flowers dotted the clumpy green walls. Spiders held court at the center of water-beaded webs. Moths fluttered their paper-like wings through air that smelled of damp soil.

Dusk painted the sky an orange blue. The wind picked up and rustled the trees. Stray leaves touched the surface of the mirror lake and were immediately absorbed.

“Should we just stay here for the night?” Prince Thallios asked as they walked between the earthy dwellings. “The lake is bizarre, but the houses seem okay, albeit ancient.”

“If you wish, Your Highness,” Leiyu replied. “Sleeping out in the cold is probably making you ill, so we could go indoors. As long as there is nothing poisonous about these odd houses.”

Leiyu fed the horses some oats and tied their reins to a nearby post. He and the prince stood in front of one of the houses. The windows were covered in a beige patina. The wooden door was crisscrossed with deep grooves, and creaked eerily when Leiyu pushed against it. The air inside was stale and smelled of damp dust.

At the back of the room was a cobwebbed hearth, ashes piled up like a charcoal anthill. An old metal pot laid upon the stones. To the side was a small wooden table with four stools arranged off-kilter. Along the walls were worn out shelves filled with earthen jars. On the opposite side was a low wooden bedframe with a dusty mattress and crumpled up blanket.

“I wonder how long ago it was when people lived here,” Prince Thallios said.

Leiyu shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine, Your Highness.” His mind was still on the mirror lake, and his lack of reflection therein.

“Do we have anything to eat?” the prince asked.

“Very stale bread,” Leiyu said, reaching into his sleeve. “I could go out and catch something.”

“Oh no, please don’t trouble yourself,” the prince said. “You’ve already done so much. I’m not that hungry anyway.”

Leiyu pulled the flatbread out of his sleeve and tore it in half. It had the consistency of old paper and flaky crumbs fell to the ground. He handed one of the halves to Prince Thallios.

After nibbling gingerly on his portion of the flatbread, Prince Thallios turned to Leiyu. “Well, at least it’s nice to have a roof over our heads for the night.”

Leiyu swallowed the lump of bread that was caught in his throat. “Yes, for now, Your Highness. This place still feels off. We’ll leave first thing in the morning.” He took another bite.

“If the house doesn’t eat us first,” the prince said. Leiyu almost choked and started coughing. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that while you were still eating.”

Leiyu cleared his throat. “Not a problem, Your Highness.”

“I am curious about who lived here before. It seems cozy.”

Leiyu raised an eyebrow. This prince, who lived in an extravagant palace, thinks this is cozy? He decided to hold his tongue, since bringing up Ishkhandar would not be a good idea.

Prince Thallios wandered over to the bed in the corner. He flipped the blanket over and unleashed a cloud of particulate matter. After coughing a few times, the prince swept his hand over the mattress to clear off the accumulated dust.

“This is large enough for two people,” the prince remarked.

Leiyu turned red and quickly sat on the floor. “You can have it all to yourself, Your Highness.”

Prince Thallios glanced over at him. “Oh? Okay, if you’re all right with that. You don’t have to sleep on the floor every time.”

“You are a prince, and I am a commoner,” Leiyu said flatly.

Prince Thallios winced. “But that shouldn’t matter. We’re on this journey together and there shouldn’t be a hierarchy. When we’re in the wilderness, we both sleep on the ground.”

Leiyu sighed. “That’s the wilderness, Your Highness. If there is a mattress here, you can have it. I would hardly be proper if I took it while you slept on the floor.”

“But that’s not what I meant-” the prince began. He sighed. “Sorry, I’m making too much of a commotion over this.” He sat on the edge of the mattress, which immediately dipped.

Leiyu laid on the hard dirt floor and turned away from the prince. I’m not that dense, and I have an idea of what he’s getting at, but it’s better to maintain things as they’ve always been, he thought. I’m still trying to figure out what to do when those demon eyes take over him. He heard a shuffling of feet and felt a presence behind him. Turning his head, he said, “Your Highness?”

Prince Thallios laid down near him. “Actually, the mattress is quite lumpy and uncomfortable. And very dusty too.”

“Oh? But the ground is equally dusty, Your Highness.”

Prince Thallios shrugged. “At least it’s what I’m expecting.”

Leiyu flipped over to face the prince. “Is everything all right, Your Highness?”

Prince Thallios stared at the ceiling. “Overall…not really. I’m still dealing with the loss of everything. Relatively speaking, I’m fine. We at least have a roof over our heads for tonight.”

Leiyu blinked a few times. He was like this at the palace too, talking about sadness and then pushing it aside seconds later. “Is there anything you’d like to talk about, Your Highness? I am not great with words, but I can listen.”

Prince Thallios turned toward him and smiled. “You’ve always been so kind, Leiyu.” He returned his gaze to the ceiling. “I’m just thinking about my father’s final moments when Ishkhandar was on fire. I wonder if it ended quickly for him or…” He took a deep breath. “Or if he suffered an agonizing death at the hands of the enemy.” The prince closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.

Leiyu frowned. Part of him wanted to hold the prince, to comfort him like he did the first night they had fled Ishkhandar. But once again, it was probably best to do nothing. Just stay the course. We have a long journey ahead of us.

“I hope Lord Oganesson didn’t suffer as well,” the prince said as he opened his eyes.

“Lord Og-?“ Leiyu began. “Oh, of course, His Majesty’s advisor. Almost forgot his name since we just met briefly.” He laid his head on the ground. “You had wanted him to join us when we fled.”

“Yes, but he wanted to stay with my father.”

“He’s a very loyal advisor.” He saw the prince look at him with narrowed eyes. Panic rushed through him. “Did I say something wrong?”

Prince Thallios sighed, and then pulled his mouth into a weak smile. “No, it’s all right. You were just a guest at the palace for less than a week, so you wouldn’t be privy to all the hearsay.”

Leiyu blinked. ”I wouldn’t be what?”

Prince Thallios frowned. “Sorry, I shouldn’t use such formal speech. I meant to say you’re new to the palace so you wouldn’t have known about all the rumors.”

Leiyu perked up. “What rumors?”

”About my father and Lord Oganesson.”

“Oh? Was it anything bad, Your Highness? All I noticed was that His Majesty’s advisor was glaring at me that one time when he passed by the courtyard.”

“Oh that? I’m not really sure about that one. Maybe he was afraid for my safety, and you were a new arrival. I don’t…” The prince hesitated before continuing. “I don’t think it was any kind of prejudice because of where you were from or your social status. Lord Oganesson was actually from a humble background himself. He told me when I was younger that I should take my studies more seriously because I had all these opportunities right in front of me, whereas he came from a village where no one could read.”

Leiyu’s eyes widened. “That’s surprising. How did he end up as your tutor and His Majesty’s advisor?”

“Well, I don’t know all the details, but he did not start off as my tutor right away. The Palace Elder, that’s the head of all the palace eunuchs, was my original tutor when I was a child, but as I grew into adolescence, I started to act more rebellious and would pester him with endless questions and neglected my actual lessons. I think it exhausted him, so he brought on one of the servants to assist.”

“Lord Oganesson?”

“Yes, but that was not his name at the time. His name was Izel back then.” The prince took a deep breath. “At first Izel just observed our lessons and wrote things down on paper. Eventually the Palace Elder let him try teaching one of the lessons. A history lesson, as I recall. Izel always had a thing for history, which was ironic since that was my least favorite subject. I always thought it dry and tedious, since I had to memorize long lists of kings and queens, what battles they fought, what treaties they signed.”

“Interesting,” Leiyu murmured. “I’ve never really learned any of that myself, Your Highness.” The prince gave him a look - of pity or envy he could not tell. “But…and sorry if I’m interrupting your story, what were the rumors about His Majesty and his advisor?” The prince was silent. “Your Highness? I’m sorry, I’ve misspoken again. If the rumor isn’t meant to be shared, I won’t ask about it any more.”

“Oh no, don’t worry about it,” Prince Thallios said. “I’ve forgotten to address your original question since I went on a longwinded tangent addressing your second inquiry.” He paused and blinked a few times. “Most of the palace was aware of the rumor anyway but everyone just kept mum about it.” He frowned bitterly. “Ishkhandar is gone anyway, so there’s nothing left to hide.”

Leiyu leaned over, waiting for the prince to continue. Prince Thallios gazed at him poignantly.

The prince finally spoke. “My father and Lord Oganesson were lovers.”