The Mechanical Crown

A fine coat

The problem would be the squad of King's Eyes stationed just outside the room, who would cut him down or have him in chains in moments. He hadn't missed the gleeful look on the guards' faces who had arrested him in the palace gardens - the prejudices of the valley were not confined to the muddy lower streets of the city.

Besides, he liked Kirya. She'd have potential if she wasn't chained to her family's legacy. Silt was a pain but seemed like an honourable man. And the boy was nothing to him - but was still just a boy.

"He didn't like his drink," the boy said.

Tranton examined him more closely. He didn't recall seeing him around the palace. "Who is your friend? Is he an idiot?"

Silt and the boy looked at each other, clearly so unsure of how to answer the question that Tranton wondered if it were catching.

"We'll talk about him later," said Kirya. "What are you doing here? Where did you go?"

Tranton smiled, adjusting his posture in the seat so that he'd be better positioned to leap to his feet. "Does any of that matter? You can ask me as many questions as you like once I'm in one of your comfy cells."

It occurred to him at that point that it was largely nonsensical for the heir to the throne to have attended his arrest in person. This odd trio made less sense the more he considered it, and the gnawing comprehension that he was missing something vital started percolating at the back of his mind, even while he was visualising the layout of the rooms to best plan an escape route.

"Our situations are more alike than you realise," Silt said in his overly serious tone.

"You're not the one wrapped head to foot so nobody recognises you while fighting apparently not mythical beasts."

"This is true," the old man continued, "but we have had to take steps to avoid being recognised. Our position is more tenuous than you might realise."

"I'm happy to swap if you like," Tranton said, growing exasperated. "I'll be head of security, you be the man trying to scrape together enough cash to buy a pass out of this damned valley."

"Before you two embark on a prolonged argument," Kirya interrupted, "I think it's worth me jumping to the end. We have left Treydolain because we are also fugitives. I wanted to find you. Fenris feared for his life after you made such a mess of things by disappearing. I helped him get out of the city. This is Tarn. He escaped from the machine rooms below the palace."

Nodding, Tranton looked between the three of them, wondering at the circumstances that had brought them together, before leading them back to him. Kirya's explanation sounded ludicrous but there was no reason for them to lie, so perhaps they had all gone rogue. Still, none of it gave him reason to prolong their conversation - although he did have one question.

"What are the machine rooms?"

The boy, Tarn, steppe forward, seemingly excited to be talked about. "It's where I'm from."

"Yeah, I got that," Tranton said. "What are they?"

"They are where mined source is processed," Silt volunteered, "which then provides the power which drives most of the valley. The machine rooms and the mines are operated primarily by slave labour."

Tranton raised a hand to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose, squinting his eyes shut. "And there was me thinking that you not liking black people was your biggest problem."

"Many of the slaves are in fact descendants of original Headland settlers and prisoners of war," Fenris confirmed, "so many of them will have darker skin, though being underground has influenced their pigmentation over the years."

Staring at the old man, Tranton was at first nonplussed. "Well, that makes me feel much better, doesn't it?"

Releasing his grip on the sword hilt, he got to his feet and paced the room. If they weren't going to arrest him, then their presence here would only risk revealing his identity, which wasn't something he could risk when he was so close to raising the funds for a gate pass.

"Listen," he said, "your little rebellious streak is intriguing - don't think I'm not impressed - but it's really nothing to do with me." He turned to Kirya, shrugging apologetically. "I'm flattered that you wanted to find me, but me leaving had nothing to do with you, or your father, or your one-valley kingdom. I just needed to leave - that's what I tend to do."

"We need your help, though," Kirya said, "especially now that we've found you."

"Your skills would be invaluable to our cause," Silt confirmed.

"You see, whenever people mention causes," Tranton said, "is when I leave the room."

And on that note, he left.