Algernon Black

(Chapter 56) Broken Things

"Selice," Loy called out as Selice continued her hours-long mission of ignoring him. "Come on, why are you sulking?" He whined. The pair had left the midway town though Selice brought along all the resentment and frustrations from the night before.

"Because Loy," Selice said, barely keeping her cool. "You can't just do whatever you please without consequences."

"But I can," Loy said, crossing his hands behind his back to make a pillow for his head to rest. "That's exactly what it means to be a prince."

Selice held her tongue, thinking it was too much effort to correct someone so breed into his faults. But Loy's attitude reminded her of the conversation she had with Lux before they left this morning. The shop owner had pulled her aside to give her some tools and last-minute advice.

"He's a good man." Lux had told her when Loy was out of earshot saying his goodbye to the men and women of the town. "Even though he's not completely honest."

Selice's eyes went wide. "You could tell?"

"I've spent my entire life working on my creations. It makes it easy to spot when something isn't in proper alignment." The shop owner looked at the young prince fondly. "And when someone is struggling to work something out for themselves." Lux knew it would be a long journey for the prince but at least he was finally getting started.

Selice followed his gaze to Loy. "You've got a great mind for fixing broken things," Lux added, handing Selice the two toy mice she had yet to fix, except now one was painted white and the other yellow. "Make sure to use it to the fullest."

Selice looked down at the small trinkets but felt like a great burden had just been unloaded onto her, one she had no idea how to repair.

"I mean honestly Selice, how bad do you really think I've treated you over the years? A little teasing in trade for your comfort and safety at my castle, you're really coming off so self-centered." Loy poked at her, figuring an argument was better than silence.

Selice glared at him through narrowed slits and Loy recognized he was very close to the end of the line he could walk with her today before she seriously got annoyed. "I lived in constant fear for my life for two decades while you were laughing at me and making a game out of it. It was beyond disrespectful Loy."

"Respect? Doesn't respect for others have to be taught?" Loy took longer strides to get closer to Selice. "Like how you have to be taught to care about people other than yourself? Or at the very least have it demonstrated for you?"

Selice gave him half a signal of interest by glaring at him from the side.

"You wouldn't get mad at a child that never learned to speak because it was raised by wolves," Loy added as he played with his chain necklace, "So why get mad at me for only learning the behaviors taught or more accurately not taught to me."

Selice fell short of an immediate response as she contemplated his words. Loy was the only child to a king and queen of one of the most powerful countries in the world. But his parents were always out of reach to him so he was handled by the servants of the house, the all-male servants thanks to his family's rule. It was more accurate to say that had been pampered rather than raised.

"Even though you've been raised differently, you know what right and wrong are Loy," Selice refuted. "But you do what you want despite that. And all these years of making me do all those inappropriate things just to watch me squirm for your entertainment isn't what a prince should do." She finally looked at him and was as annoyed as she ever got with a taut pout forming her lips into a plump frown. "Not a good one."

Loy moped at Selice like she had just taken all the joy out of his day. "You know there's nothing wrong with making light of hard situations," He said, starting to walk ahead of her. "Sometimes it's the only way to keep it from scarring."