an unfortunate change in genre

Part 15

How did Cale forget? One of the very first things that Cale had ever learned about his precious younger brother was that the bastard was a walking menace.

Behind his nonchalance was a devious mind that seemed to think he knew what was best and then acted upon those thoughts with little hesitation or introspection. Roksu Henituse was a menace upon society.

One day Cale would find a way to get back at him for this.

He shifted uncomfortably in the carriage and watched the scenery go by. Alberu, across from him, made no attempts at conversation either.

That also annoyed Cale. Alberu normally had an over-abundance of words to fill up awkward silences with his obnoxiously good social skills. Yet he was letting this silence stretch for ages while Cale ignored him.

And Roksu was definitely up to something. At first it was supposed to be Roksu with him for this trip but both Cale and Deruth had strongly protested and Roksu had uncharacteristically backed down.

Conveniently Alberu had become a secondary suggestion and now here he was, on his way from the Henituse territory in a carriage with the soon to be crown prince of the Roan Kingdom.

Cale had initially been relieved that Roksu wouldn't be going but the more he thought of how easily Roksu had given in, the more sure he was that the menace had other plans. He'd told Ron as much before leaving and now traveled without his beloved butler.

Something that didn't help with Cale's frayed nerves at all.

The purpose of the trip was simple. Roksu knew the location of an ancient power and how to retrieve it. He'd strongly suggested that Cale be the one to retrieve it for his safety and after a lengthy negotiation, Cale had agreed.

There was no reason that the first prince needed to be here.

Roksu had stated that the test to get the power was a bit dangerous and wanted someone trustworthy to be on standby to help out if things got hairy. Ron was obviously the best option for such a role but Roksu wanted to go as well.

No one wanted Roksu to go back to Puzzle City. It didn't matter that the danger he'd been in had been unrelated to the actual location, it had the same stigma against it as the Forest of Darkness. It was a place where Roksu had nearly died.

And then there was some errand that Alberu simply had to attend to within Puzzle City so it only made sense for them to go together.

Of course the prince couldn't openly travel there with Cale so the nineteen year old sitting across from him was in 'disguise'.

That's probably what made it so much harder for Cale.

The memories he had involving Alberu as a dark elf were so much more complicated for him than just the annoying blond prince memories.

It made him itchy.

The stranger smiled at him mischievously, Cale felt a strange sort of freedom that he'd never allowed himself to feel before.

No one knew him here. No one cared about him. He didn't need to put on any sort of act. He could just be himself and enjoy himself.

And the mysterious stranger was easy to get along with. He looked faintly familiar but Cale was sure that this was the first time he'd ever met a dark elf.

He allowed himself to really have fun for the first time in so long without the slightest clue who was accompanying him.

"...asshole." Cale grumbled under his breath, attracting the silent Alberu's attention.