Chapter Eleven
Information

It took longer than Robert would have thought to actually locate an inn, mostly because it seemed that a lot of them had already filled their capacity for the night.  He didn’t think there were that many people traveling, but he wasn’t much of a traveler, so he wouldn’t really know.  Clover never seemed all that surprised, moving onto the next one while Robert trailed behind her listlessly.  They were all different from what he expected, loud and seeming bursting to the seams with people dining, which stuck Robert as a little odd.  Clover was quick to point out that most inns also housed restaurants and pubs for the locals to wine and dine in.  Robert expected them to just be a play with a bunch of beds travelers could use for the night.

Eventually, Clover found one, although it was of questionable nature to Robert.  But he knew beggars couldn’t be choosers, and he was just grateful for a place to actually rest for the night.  And he was sure Clover was grateful for the chance to not have to babysit the prince for one night.  She acted like it didn’t bother her, but he was pretty certain it was all just that – an act.  She had to be getting tired of him.

He inquired about a bath, which Clover sort of balked at.  The innkeeper quoted a price that Clover shook her head at, so Robert haggled it down to a price that she shrugged at.  But it meant that he had to take a cold bath in about five minutes  But considering all he wanted to do was be clean, and didn’t need it to relax, he was perfectly happy with the arrangement.  He was sure it wasn’t going to be something Clover was going to approve of often, but she could feel disgusting if she wanted.  He sort of hated the feeling, and had been looking forward to a bath.

It wasn’t the most pleasant bath he had ever taken, but he did feel remarkably better and more human afterwards, even if he was freezing.  Clover had gotten them a smallish room with only one bed, but the innkeeper was nice enough to toss in another straw mattress, which Clover reassured him was perfectly fine with her.  He pulled the covers over him and pulled them tight in order to heat himself up, since he was shivering violently at that point.  But he still thought it was worth it.

Once Clover determined that he was warm enough to venture outside the blanket, they headed downstairs for their dinner, which apparently was included in the price of the room.  The innkeeper explained that the only people who usually stayed in their inn were travelers, the sort that hadn’t seen a good, homecooked meal in several days.  They were the ones that needed it the most, and were most appreciative of it, so it just made sense to him and his wife to basically give the travelers dinner and breakfast free of charge.  Both Clover and Robert were grateful of the fact.  The meal wasn’t anything fancy like he was used to, but it was delicious, and had more of a comfortable charm to it.  And it wasn’t some random rodent that Clover managed to kill and stew.

Clover deemed the inn relatively safe, and settled herself in for the night.  She was snoring slightly before Robert could even climb into bed.  He shook his head.  Elves might not need to sleep as often as humans, but if Clover was any indication, they crashed when they actually went to sleep.  Robert himself stayed up reading for a short while, something he hadn’t actually been able to do while they were outside because he didn’t feel comfortable doing it.  He missed it, and the way the world around him seemed to melt away for a short while, at least until he forced himself to stop, like he did every night, or else he’d spent the whole night reading until he ran out of book.

He couldn’t say he slept more comfortably in the bed than he did outside, because he slept just as well in either place.  He was rather surprised with himself, considering he was a prince, that he was actually able to sleep in such rough conditions.  Maybe it was because he didn’t think too highly of himself, and thus didn’t have the same sort of expectations that other noblemen had when traveling, that allowed him to relax enough to sleep.  He woke to find the sun shining slightly through their single window, and Clover sort of staring at him.  “What time is it?” he asked as he struggled to get up.

“The sun just rose about fifteen minutes ago,” she told him.  “It’s not that late.”

“Then why are you up?  Shouldn’t you sleep a little longer?  This is the first time in a week you’ve slept, after all.”

She chuckled, amused.  “I did say we didn’t need as much sleep as you humans.  I woke up about ten minutes ago.  I’m perfectly rested, and probably won’t need to sleep again until we reach the next village, depending on how long it takes.”

“If you’re sure,” he said, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.  He paused once he realized that she was no longer wearing her armor.  Last night, she had merely taken off her breastplate and shoulder guard before passing out, but today she was wearing something he had never seen her wear before.  She had traded her skimpy skirt that bared her midriff for a pair of black leather pants, a feminine looking green shirt that laced up, and a brown leather jacket.  It wasn’t one hundred percent normal, but at least she didn’t stick out like a sore thumb like she did before.  Now, she just looked like a traveling elf.

A traveling elf carrying a sword, but whatever.  It wasn’t uncommon for traveling to be mercenaries, and carry around their weapons with them.

“What’re you wearing?” he found himself asking, but being awake enough to be fully aware of his question.

She laughed again.  “I should have thought to change sooner.  I figure my armor would draw more attention, but this makes me look more like a traveling elf.  Sure, a human and an elf traveling together is a bit strange, but not unheard of.  It’ll make things easier on us in the long run.”

He nodded.  “That makes sense,” he agreed, pulling himself out of bed.  It was still freezing in their tiny room, so he hurriedly put on the clothes Clover had warming by the fire.  The cold woke him slightly, as once his pants were on, he was ready to tackle the day.

Breakfast was a more subdued affair, since most of the patrons staying the night were still slumbering.  A few were already up, and breakfast was being served in steaming pots.  It wasn’t anything fancy, but again, it wasn’t rabbit stew, so Robert enjoyed it immensely.  “You act like you don’t enjoy my cooking,” Clover teased as he inhaled his potion.

He gave her a sheepish look.  “One can only take so much of the same thing day in and day out.  This is different, and thus, it tastes better at the moment.  Your cooking’s fine.”

“I know,” she preened.  “It’s about the only thing that gets approval in my tribe.  But sadly, even I have to agree.  I can only prepare rabbit in so many ways, and I’m running out of ideas.”

“So what’s our plan of action?” Robert asked once he swallowed his porridge and was able to talk properly. 

“Mostly, I was thinking today shall be dedicated to gathering supplies.  Usually, on trips like this one, we’d save that for later, but the marketplace is the best place to gather rumors and information.  We’ll kill two birds with one stone by shopping and listening.”

“How much money do we have to buy supplies?”

She felt the purse he had handed her after the second day, since he figured she’d be able to handle the finances better, since she was used to this kind of traveling.  What he didn’t tell her was that he had about four more pouches like that still in his bag.  He knew it was dangerous, but this way, they wouldn’t spend everything they had at once, or at least he wouldn’t be tempted to.  “Considering your insistence that you bathe, not as much as I would like.”

“I’m sorry,” he told her.  “Its pretty much the only luxury I’ll refuse to get rid of.  I can’t function all that well if I feel disgusting.  And I was feeling pretty gross by the time we came here.  That’s why I didn’t care about the deal I managed to break with the innkeeper.”

She nodded.  “I was rather impressed with that, which is why I allowed it.  I think it might be cheaper, though, if we just buy you cleaning supplies and find a river every now and then on our journeys.  A bath is a luxury that can get expensive.  Every now and then is one thing, but every time we stop in a village would be pricey, and we don’t have that kind of money.”

He wanted to say that they had plenty, but he wasn’t sure how long they were going to be traveling, so it was probably best just to heed her words.  Once they were finished, they paid for their night, and told the innkeeper they were planning on spending one more.  This allowed them the whole day to search around and listen without having to worry about their things, or leaving the village at a certain time.

The first thing Clover did was search out a vendor who sold cheap soaps, although Robert had to stop her from buying the absolutely cheapest sort.  His skin was sensitive from years of using only the best, so there were certain ingredients that he couldn’t allow to touch his skin unless he wanted to break out in a painful rash.  The soaps he chose were a bit more than Clover wanted to spend.

“I feel like I’m just wasting money here,” he grumbled after Clover paid the man.

“I don’t mind, since these are all reasonable expenses.  You needed a bath after several days traveling without one, and agreed to take a cold one in order to make it cheap.  And finding the right soap isn’t a bad thing.  I’d rather pay a little bit more than have to buy something later to help with a rash.  A true prince would demand only the best of everything.  You’re just looking for the best way to keep yourself comfortable without going over the top, and really, that’s what any normal human would do.”

He gave her a wry smile.  “You act surprised at this fact.  I thought you had gotten to know me these past few months.  I thought I was better than most princes.”

“Well, I never really said I was surprised by this fact.  I wasn’t too sure, though, considered I had no idea what you’d be like out of your element.  I do have to say, if I were human, I’d much prefer a prince who could ‘rough’ it over one who could fight.  But that’s just my own opinion.”

He grinned.  “It’s greatly appreciated,” he assured her.

They moved on to the next vendor, more shopping them information gathering at that moment.  Clover only had a few things to pick up, really – mostly some food so they wouldn’t have to eat the same thing every meal like they had before.  Robert just followed her, not too sure about this part of the trip.  He kept finding things he knew Caroline would love to have, to which Clover would declare they didn’t have enough to buy.

“I know this,” he said after the fifth item.  “I’m just so used to shopping with her, that’s all, that I tend to notice things that I think she’d like.  I do sort of wish I could buy her a little something in every town we visit, so she’d have a souvenir.”

Clover shook her head.  “Sad that you think of your sister rather than your future wife.”

Robert made a face.  “With luck, she won’t be my future wife,” he pointed out.  “I’d rather not think about her.  These past few days have been great because I don’t have to worry about her at all.”

“You never know; she might be tracking you down as we speak.”

“Please don’t,” he said.  “I’d rather not think about that, please.”

She laughed.  “In that case, what we really need to do is find you a good woman.  Someone you can marry before you’re twenty-five and get her off your back for good.  But it’s so difficult when you’re already married to your books.”

He gave her a sheepish look.  “Are you going to play matchmaker now?” he teased.

“Possibly.  I don’t like that girl anymore than you do, and if I have to deal with her for the next six years, I’d rather find a way out of it.  I doubt she’d let you keep an elfin bodyguard once she’s your wife.”

“You have creeped her out more times than I can count,” he agreed.  “Really, she shouldn’t have any say in the matter.  Father assigned you to me, after all, and he should decide who my bodyguard is until he’s not king anymore.  I like having an elfin bodyguard because it’s not something people expect, and they’re a lot more observant and accurate than human guards are.”Still, it probably wasn’t wise to make an enemy out of her.”

“The only reason I’m an enemy is because I’m female.  She feels threatened by any member of her sex who gets close to you, save for your sister and your mother, because there’s no way in hell you’ll decide to marry either of them.  Maybe your sister, but that’s more of a foreign practice.”

He made a face.  “No offence, but I’ve never viewed you as anything but a friend and protector, Clover.  That’s an insane thought process.”

She shrugged.  “I’m not offended.  I never expected us to get involved. But Selene, sadly, is the jealous type, and she won’t see reason in the matter.  The fact is that I’m female, and I’m close to you, which means I must be a threat.  I do not understand the thought of women like her, but I see it all the time within the court, and sometimes with humans in general.  The best thing to do is to find a woman only slightly insecure with her feelings for you, and who trusts you.”

“As far as I can tell, there aren’t many women like that in the world.”

“Oh, I’m quite sure that they exist, and one’s just waiting for you to sweep her off her feet.”

He shook his head, a little unsure why he was having this sort of conversation with his bodyguard.  But then again, he viewed her more as a friend than anything else, so it was really just friendly banter with the person sworn to protest him.  Still, he never had a friend to actually talk about this stuff to, so it just struck him as strange.

Unfortunately, they quickly found that this town didn’t know much about the disappearance.  It seemed their biggest worry was the fact that traveling season was almost over, what with the cooler weather coming in, and their sales were going to drop.  There were always going to be people traveling no matter the weather, but most people did their traveling in the spring and summer, and partway through the fall.  According to the gossip he overheard, as soon as the first snow of the season came, they pretty much boarded up for the season, and waited for the snow to melt.

He hoped they wouldn’t get too caught up in the snows, but considering it was early into fall, there was a possibility it could happen.  He didn’t worry about it, though, trusting Clover to know how to survive any sort of weather.  For now, he had only one thing to worry about.

Their stay that night was about as uneventful as the first night, although the difference was that Robert didn’t have his bath, and Clover had no need to sleep.  She flipped though the books she picked out from the library as Robert lost himself in a fantasy world, where he got to be the knight in shining armor and save the day, and everyone loved him for it.  He wished greatly for a life like that, but sadly, he was the prince that would hire the knight who would accidentally fall for the woman he had intended to marry.  He always felt so bad for those princes.

He was a little disappointed in the fact that they had to leave the next morning, practically because they hadn’t learn anything, and partially because he loathed the idea of spending day after day just walking.  But he knew it had to be done, and collected Tiana as Clover settled with the innkeeper.  The mare looked a little better than she had previously, and she seemed to have been given a bath.  All the rough patches in her coat were gone, and she seemed shinier.

“What do I owe you?” he asked, digging at the pocket of coins Clover had given him.

The stablehand waved him off.  “Nothing extra,” he insisted.  “She just needed a little extra love there.  And she’s such a gentle beast.  I really hate the man who treated her so horribly.”

“Yeah, she was the ‘cheap’ horse.”

The man covered Tiana’s ears, which caused them to lay flat against her head.  “She is no cheap horse, sir!  She is a princess among horses!”

Robert grimaced.  “I’m not saying that she is, but that’s why she was treated so horribly.  The man who sold us this horse merely saw her as a cheap horse.  We’re trying to find ways to make her happier and healthier.”

The man relaxed.  “Oh well, in that case,” he said before listing off some care instructions for the horse.  It seemed simple enough, although Tiana seemed to be a simple horse who merely wanted love to be happy.  Healthy would just come in time for being treated well.  Not like Robert knew all that much about horses, but it just seemed sensible that would happen.

The duo quickly fell back into the same routine once they passed through the village’s gate along with all the other travelers that were leaving that day.    Robert was a little surprised at the number that was going the opposite direction they were, heading to Acerbus of all places.  He knew they have a lot of out-of-towners visit, but it wasn’t until he started this journey that he realized exactly how far they needed to travel to get to the capital.  This, after all, was the closest on, at least on this road, and it had taken them several days to reach.

“At least we have fresh bread now,” Robert commented when they finally stopped for the night.  He figured they made good progress, but he could be wrong.  “I know it’s just a treat, but it always tastes best when it fresh.  Or a day old.  Not that stale crap we’ve been feeding on before we came to that village.”

“Hazard of travel, my prince.  But yes, it’s always great to have fresh bread.  This, though, we don’t really need to make last until we come to another town.  We have more than enough supplies to last us a while.  Like you said, it’s more of a treat this time around.  See, I used a bit of that meat we bought yesterday to make some beef stew.”

Robert grinned.  “Not much different than rabbit stew, but somehow more satisfying.  I suppose this is a way to ease us off the luxury of staying in a village overnight?”

She laughed.  “You could look at that way.  I just figured it would be best to use this now before it goes bad.  At least you don’t have to deal with my make-shift rabbit stew anymore.  Like I said, even I was getting tired of it, and I was the one making it!”

Robert grinned, giving Tiana a few of the oats the stablehand have given him as a treat for the horse.  Those the poor beast were going to get sparingly, since they had to last them until they got to the next village and were able to get some more.  Which worked out, because it did become more of a treat.  Otherwise, she was just allowed to graze on the grass between the camp and the road, and she seemed content to do just that.  After all, horses were grazing animals.

The unfortunate thing was that their routine wasn’t actually interrupted that often.  They would spend days traveling along the road, occasionally stopping a fellow traveling looking for information on both the Angelus Dei and how far it was to the next town.  Robert was rather surprised that the villages were that spread out within Lumentis, but Clover didn’t seem to be.  “It’s where the other creatures live,” she pointed out.  “All these forests we pass though are the homes of fairies, which is why they are untouched.  They won’t allow for humans to take over.  Sometimes, elves will live between the villages as well.  You also have a few dwarves digging around down there, and of course, a few dragons have found homes in the hills near the northern border.  Sometimes, in the plains are the centaurs.”

“The centaurs?” he asked, confused.  “What are centaurs?”

She blinked at him.  “You’ve never heard of the centaurs?  I thought you of all people would have at least read about them.

He shook his head.  “I only know about the six races – the four the gods created on their own, and the two that’re a joint effort.  I didn’t realize there was a seventh race.”

“They’re a race from a foreign land, usually very beastly and not something you want to come across, especially if you’re a female.  But a few of them were more peaceful in nature, and opted to come to the Five Kingdoms for sanctuary, and created their own herds.  They’re rare and few between, and it’s very unlikely we’ll see any.”

“Oh.  But what are they?”

“They’re half man and half horse, and they’re supposed to be great warriors.  It’s said that they sometimes take on human children to train, and they eventually become heroes.  Which I find ridiculous, since no one would be more qualified to train anyone in combat than elves, especially the Warrior Elves.”

“I can’t picture it,” he admitted.  “Wouldn’t they look a little strange, being half man and half horse?  Why would someone do that, anyway?  Create a race like that?”

She shrugged at him.  “Like I said, they come from another land with another god.  They weren’t created by our gods.  No one would be able to answer that question except the people who follow that religion.”

“That’s another thing – why do people think I’m insane for not believing in our gods when there’re multiple religions in the world?  Who’s to say our gods are the real ones and that ones who created our way of life?  It could be one of the other gods who did it.”

“That’s true, I suppose.  But there’s a reason why so many people believe in our religion, and I’m inclined to believe our story is the most correct.  Again, the only way to know for sure is to ask.”

He sighed.  “I apologize.  I get irritated whenever religion is brought up.  I’m surprised how much the elves know about these sorts of things, though, and how you can still believe even though you know there are other religions and beliefs out there.”

“We live longer lives, so we remember the events longer than humans do.  Some of us have lived them, and we can go and ask them what happened.  We are also more world wise than you, opting to expand our knowledge rather than hiding ourselves within one set confide.  Sure, you travel, but you only travel though human towns.  You lose a lot of information that way.”

“Are you suggesting that we find an elf village and ask them what’s going on?  Or maybe go into the forest there and ask the fairies?”

She looked a little horrified at the suggestion.  “I wouldn’t dare step foot into a fairy forest right now.  If she has disappeared, then all the fairies will have lost their reason, and would attack anything and everything entering their forests.  And they may be small, but they are nasty little creatures if they want to be.  And humans aren’t really allowed in elf villages, not unless they were invited.  I may be an elf, but I’m not the sort of elf that’s welcome in any other tribe except by own.  There’s a reason we’re keeping to human villages.”

“If we want to learn more…”

“Then we have to keep asking around.  Eventually, some clue will reveal itself.  We just need to listen very carefully.”

He was listening very carefully, but he wasn’t hearing very much.  It took them a month into their journey before he even heard anything about the Angelus Dei being missing.  Of course, when word did get out – and it seemed the priests had done an excellent job on rumor control, since it took so long – word spread extremely fast.  They left one town with absolutely nothing new for information, and it was while they were on the road that they finally got confirmation.

They had stopped a man to see how many more days they’d have to spend traveling to get to the next village.  “It’s about another day’s walk from here,” he admitted.  “How long have you been traveling?”

“About two days,” Robert said, thinking the man meant from the last town.

“You might not have heard the word then.  It’s been going around that the Angelus Dei has disappeared.  No one’s sure why or how, or what that means, but it’s still worrisome.  It’s not like it’s a common occurrence that a goddess disappears, you know?”

Robert glanced at Clover, who shifted her weight so she could finger the sword hilt at her side.  She wasn’t about to attack the man, but that was just her nervous stance.  He decided to play along at the moment.  “Oh, really?” he asked, acting highly interested.  He sort of was.  “That’s…troublesome indeed.  When did this happen?”

“No one quite knows for sure, but it seems it happen a while ago, like a month or so.  The Temples have been locked, and a few of the priest are talking to their families about it now.  They’re trying to keep it quiet to keep people from panicking, but at this point, they’re tactics are making it worse.”

“So no one knows a reason why she might disappear?” Clover asked, stepping forward.  The man frowned at her for a moment before he realized she had green hair and pointed ears.  Yes, a woman was being forward with him, but it was an elf women, and that didn’t count.

He looked a little uneasy. “Well, there’s one theory floating around that she disappeared because the prince is apparently a nonbeliever.  Which is utter nonsense.”

Robert was taken aback.  “What do you mean, that’s utter nonsense?”

“I doubt the goddess would care if the prince was a nonbeliever or not.  None of us care, anyway.  He can believer whatever the hell he wants, you know?  I honestly don’t get the negatively about the prince from the capital.”

“You don’t?” Robert asked, unsure if he wanted to hear the answer.

“Hell no.  I mean, granted, I don’t know the guy or anything, but he’s still our prince.  If he’s anything like his father before him, I’d be more worried, but considering he’s actually a learner rather than a fighter, I think he’ll do good in the kingdoms, you know?”

“You want a scholar rather than a fighter?”

“Look, kid, having a fighter of a king hasn’t done a lick of good for the Five Kingdoms.  Sure, it’s kept other countries from invading, but he doesn’t know a thing about proper decision making.  He doesn’t know what’s good for the kingdom as a whole.  He fixates on the capital, and leaves the rest of us to suffer under his lords’ control.”

“That’s…that’s interesting,” Robert mused before the man pointed out he needed to be on his way.  Robert spent the next day they were traveling pondering what he had heard, since this was the first time he had heard any of the peasants support him. 

“It’s a good thing, though, right?  It means that not all your subjects hate you.  Just, you know, the ones who actually see you on a day to day basis.”

“I’m a little more worried about the negative feelings towards my father.  I didn’t realize that he was hated.  I always got the impression that the people loved their warrior kings.  The lords always had positive reports to give.  I was under the impression that they wanted another warrior king.”

“Who wants some meathead king who punches before he thinks?” Clover teased.  “Think about that peasant you saw before you left.  Caroline told me about it – the advice you gave benefited both of them, and yet your father would rule in favor or one or the other.  He doesn’t ever see both sides of the problem, just the one he agrees with more.  You, on the other hand, just look for the more peaceful and beneficial solution.  That right there means that you’ll be far superior to your father.”

“That’s just one man’s opinion, though.  He could be the only one.”

“I doubt it, but I suppose it’s just something we’ll have to find out about later.”

They followed the same routine they always did once they entered the village proper – they found a stable for Tiana, where the stablehand seemed to fall in love with her, and then searched around for lodgings.  Sometimes they would come early enough that they found them in the first place they searched, but others it was a while before they found something with an opening.  Today was middle ground – it was the third place they asked that had a space for them.  Clover allowed Robert a warm bath this time, since they were saving more than she had expected, and Robert sort of linger in there for a bit, merely thinking.

The following day involved their usual shopping trip to restock on supplies.  They also needed a bit of cloth to do some minor mending, but that was the only bit of unusual shopping they had to do.

And, as expected, the marketplace seemed to be abuzz with rumors and talk about the Angelus Dei.  “I heard all the Hummingbirds died last month, and no one bothered to say anything about it.”

“I heard the prince is the cause, because he doesn’t believe in her.”

“That’s ridiculous and you know it.  The prince is just another human to her.  In her eyes, we’re all exactly the same.  She wouldn’t care if one or one thousand didn’t believe in her, because she’d love us all the same.”

“I know that.  I’m just saying that’s what I heard.”

“I heard that the Alterians took her.  They’re planning on holding her for random for their land back.  They’ve been spending all this time developing a spell to ensnare her.  I hope the capital does something about this soon, because I’m not sure how long the world has before it falls into chaos when her brother fills the void.”

Robert glanced at Clover, since this seemed like the most likely scenario.  The Alterians had always been bitter about the Lumentians taking over their ancestral lands, although the Lumentians had won those wars time and time again.  She shook her head, though, and Robert decided to focus on the other problem at hand.

Of course the people would be looking to the capital for a solution.  The problem was, of course, that the capital was planning to do nothing about it.  Robert felt a surge of anger towards his father, since he had predicted this very outcome.  He had never realized that his father was a bad king until this situation.

But all it made him do was want to prove that he’d be a far better king than his father ever was,

Angelus Dei
Chapter Eleven