The Prince, the Thief & the Artifact

Chapter 22: Chocolate

"So you didn't think to question him further?" Al asked as he paced back and forth in front of the fireplace.

Summer glared at him. "No, I was too busy finding a way to kill him before he killed me."

They sat in the circular room. After she'd told them what the man had said in the forest, they moved to the circular room Summer and Ida had gone through earlier.

Lily had disappeared. Logan had made an appearance with a servant who lit fire in the hearth and brought in a tray of tea and sweet treats.

Summer curled on a chair, nibbling on a piece of honey bread. Ida tapped her feet on the carpet next to her. While Leon slumped back on a wide, padded chair, with Logan standing stiff behind him like a statue.

"All I'm saying is that with such an important piece of information, you should have stalled for time in order to find out more," Al added.

Summer didn't bother responding. He would find fault with whatever she did or said. For Al, her past as a thief would always weigh heavier than anything else she did. She wasn't even going to try anymore.

"You're one narrow-minded asshole," Summer said with a smile. Al stopped pacing and stared at her with open shock. Ida snorted, then laughed out loud.

Al's ears reddened. "You- you just-"

Summer waved her hands with wide eyes. "Yes, use your big boy words, Al."

"Your insolence is staggering," he said with a frown, so clearly surprised it was funny.

Summer rolled her eyes. "Well, you know what they say about girls like me."

"What's that?" Ida asked, leaning her chin on her hand with a smile. She was enjoying this as much as Summer was.

Summer grinned. "You can take the girl out of the streets, but you can't take the streets out of the girl."

Logan looked as if he was about to implode. His chest kept puffing up. So someone else was as insulted by Summer's existence as Al was. Lovely.

"Alright, enough." Leon opened his eyes and looked at Al. "Summer didn't have time to interrogate the man. What she isn't saying is that she was trying to kill him as fast as possible so she could get to me. She had left me unconscious in our shelter, and a friend of her attacker was making his way to me."

Al pursed his lips and turned to look at the fire. Summer picked up a honey roasted nut. It was scrumptious. Leon had a weird look in his eyes when she met his gaze. A smile touched his lips before he ushered Logan close. He whispered something in the man's ears. The man left without a word.

"What do you think, Summer?" Leon asked. "Of the man's words."

She frowned. "He did have a good look at me. So I don't think he mistook me for someone else. Besides, my features are pretty distinct." She pointed to her face. Her eyes were still an unusual violet color, her skin paler than what was considered usual in the south of the kingdom, with heavy freckles across her nose and cheeks.

"I have no idea who my parents are," she added. "No one I know does. So maybe the man is right, and that Lady Mauve is really my mother. Who knows?"

"Lady Mauve," Leon murmured, his fingers drumming on the arms of his chair. "We'll see."

"Alright, let's get over the facts." Ida leaned forward with her elbows on her knees. "The man Al had questioned before he died said they were hired by Northerners to retrieve the artifact. Which is coherent with what Al and Summer heard when they scouted ahead and found the ambush. Northerners have stolen the artifact, they've lost it somehow, and they've hired mercenaries to get it back."