The Tower of Nearness

Chapter 16: What was Sent

"Yes, yes!" Seren laughed, "I missed you too, but I wasn't gone that long! It was only for two days! Now did you behave for Lucian?"

Lucian smiled despite himself as she continued talking to the duck. It was strange and even a literally frightening to admit that the Tower felt warmer with her presence near. Lucian knew that she added to the magic of the Tower, with her own kind of magic. He would always be grateful and awed that he could share in such magic.

Eventually, after they settled Ian down and put away the little bits and pieces that Seren had brought back from town, Seren and Lucian stood together at the window like guardians of the Tower. They watched the butterflies waltz in the wind, through the grass and trees. They took turns pointing out the little animals poking their heads through bushes, checking for either food or predator.

"So they believe I'm a farmer?" He inquired, his brows furrowing quizzically at the news Seren told him. Seren smiled mischievously.

"Yes, but I told them that you're often too busy to visit the village."

He chuckled softly. "A farmer... what a simple life. Do you think I would make a good farmer?"

"The prince turned farmer?" She pondered and considered him.

He held still as she assessed him. She observed him like a he was a new species of animal. Even though there was no need to, he felt the manly urge to puff out his chest. He resisted it, knowing she would probably think he'd lost his mind.

"I think you'd make a good farmer." She decided. 

He blinked, "what?"

"What do you mean 'what'?" She repeated, rolling her eyes, "Lucian, you have to green thumbs, and you love the land. You respect it." 

"Yeah..." he admitted. 

"So what's the problem?"  

He hesitated, chewing on his words as he tried to align them. She was right, there wasn't a problem. It just seemed impossible to go from prince to farmer!

"I'm a prince..." he shrugged, "I don't know the first thing about farming. Besides! What about caring for the animals!?" 

"Animals?" Her brow furrowed.

"Yes! The farm animals. As you may have noticed I'm not blessed with the powers to charm fowl." He gibed. 

"Oh please!" She snorted, "Ian and you get on very well now." 

"True." He conceded, "but I still hold the belief that Ian is not a-."

He lowered his voice when he noticed Ian staring at him. "normal duck." 

She laughed and leaned her shouldered against his.  

"Alright." She said in a soft tone, "I'll stop trying to convince you to turn to a life of farming. Pity. You could have gotten a straw hat." 

"Ha!" he scoffed.

"Oh!" She exclaimed after the brief pause. "I can't believe I forgot!"  

She turned away from him and made a brisk walk to the kitchen. Lucian followed her; curious to see what was so important. He waited patiently as she dug through the basket.  

"Aha!" She called out animatedly as she found whatever she was looking for. She held aloft a long rectangular paper that had been folded up. 

"A letter?" He guessed. 

"Mmmhmm." She nodded and handed it over to him, "While I was in the village, one of the kids from the orphanage found me and asked me to hand this to you."

He took the letter from her and opened it up. He smiled as his eyes lit upon the drawing of him. He was represented as a stick figure with a simple, but straight lines. Lucian the stick figure was sitting on a stick figure version of Brute. Lucian's chest tightened when he saw the little yellow crown outline over his head.

"Sweet, isn't it?" Seren smiled, as she looked over his shoulder at the drawing. "I think they must have taken a shine to you when you visited them for me."

She turned and started unpacking the rest of the basket. Lucian turned as well and couldn't help but notice that there was another folded piece of paper. He reached in over her shoulder and snatched it up.

"What's this?" He asked, examining the paper.

"Oh, it's a letter." She tugged it gently from his hands, "from my parents."

"Your parents?" He murmured in surprised.

"Yes, I told you they write to me occasionally write, didn't I?" She said, looking over the letter. Her eyes shimmered with joy as they scanned the letter.

Lucian felt an unreasonable tug at his heart. It took a moment to realise what the emotion was. Surely he couldn't be jealous of Seren getting a letter from her parents? Or was it guilt seeping its way in because he hadn't even thought about his own family in a long while?

"Lucian?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you ok? You're frowning at me." She asked, her head tilted to the side.

"Yes, no," he said, "I mean no, I'm not frowning at you. Sorry, I was distracted by my thoughts."

"Must be pretty dark thoughts." She held his cheek in her hands, "want to share and lighten them up?"

He nuzzled her hand, his lips tilting into a smile. "Thank you, but I'm ok. Let's finish putting away everything."

They did so, quietly tucking away the conversation for another time, but not so far that Lucian could completely forget about it.