"They executed someone yesterday" Raven said. " A blind servant from Arcton Palace"
Loulou
Two years ago, on a cool summer evening ,River dragged himself to his sleeping chambers after a long day of toiling in the workroom. That's when he saw a man , possibly around thirty years old ,standing awkwardly at the door of his room.
River's first thought was that he was going insane from being in isolation for so long. How else could this man have conjured in his living quarters?
As River walked up to the man he saw that he had a messy ,short balck hair and choclate colored eyes. In the hindsight there was nothing remarkable about him. He looked like a normal servant.
"Good sir," River called out to him,making the man flinch a little "You are not supposed to be here"
The man's brown eyes darted around and then he turned to his side and bowed.
" This lowly one was appointed to serve My Lord"
River was dumbstruck "Who sent you here?"
"His Majesty "
When he talked River could catch a glimpse of a black sigil on his tongue. It appeared that the Northern King had branded this man before sending him here.
"That's a pillar by the way , Im standing over here "
The man turned nervously. He appeared to be almost blind. As he spoke he squinted his eyes real hard, as if he was trying to see River with more clarity.
"Do you know who I am? "
The man's eyes widened like he was not expecting him to ask such a question.
"If I speak of My Lord's position or name , the sigil will instantly kill me " he answered.
River scrutinized the man. "Are you aware that one day you might lose your life, simply because you know of my existence ?"
"I am aware, My Lord"
At first, River kept distance from the man, whose name he found out to be LouLou. It was partly because he did not trust him and partly because he did not want to get attached to someone who was going to get killed one day on his account.
But the life in the East Wing was a painfully lonely one. River had already spent two years in complete isolation. Valour had gone to East boarders. No one came to East wing anymore.
In the echoing corridors , solitude had became his only companion. The stillness was broken only by the distant echoes of his own footsteps on the marble floor. He had picked up the habit of reading in the library and designing artifacts just to keep himself busy..just to stop himself from going insane.So River was grateful for the company of another soul, regardless who he was and what his motives were.
After sometime he realized Loulou was a person of pleasant and mellow temperament. He was easy to get along with and had a great sense of humour . After few short months later their master-servant relationship developed in to a friendship.
Loulou was River's first ever friend.
Loulou was allowed to be out in the main palace. He was the one who would go around and collect news and political gossip for River. What is happening in the Kingdom? Are there marriages or funerals? Is everything peaceful ? Which Royals got in to scandals? How are civillians doing? Is there any news from Valour ? He would sit on the floor by River's feet as he talked and laughed , at times mimicking the shrill voice of a gossipy maid, at times doing an impeccable impression of Mireya Huxley being pissed at her lady in waiting.
Loulou would sneak in books and parchments to East wing for him to read . If he found something interesting , he would bring it over to River to show him. If he found something tasty, he would bring River his share. Most of the time he would split it so River got a bigger share and blame it on his bad eye sight.
Loulou would talk about places he had seen . He talked about sea, the limitless body of salt water that ripples for all eternity. He talked about Northern mountains . He spoke of the stars, the Eastern deserts and Southern coasts.He talked about life outside stone walls and River listened like a curious child.
One day he asked LouLou how he ended up in Arcton Palace. The man smiled at him .
"I came,"he said. "So that I can die wothout regrets"
River snapped out of reminiscence when he heard Raven calling out for him.
"Why are you making that face?" He asked River.
River gulped down the painful lump in his throat. He shook his head, even though it was impolite. If he spoke now, his voice would break and tears would fall. Last thing he wanted tonight was to cry infront of Raven Alistair .
The goose was served shortly after, but River's appetite had vanished. He only wanted to go to his room ,where he can curl into a ball and cry his heart out in private behind closed doors. He clenched his hands under the table, hoping the pain of nails digging in to his palm would distract him from the pain in his heart.
He wished he had spoken to LouLou before he came. Now he will never see those kind eyes again. He tried to remember what they last talked about. He could not remember clearly.
"Was he someone important ?" Raven questioned. His voice was soft.River bit his bottom lip and gulped thick. His eyes burned .
River Verlice did not have the luxury of having important people in his life.
He sighed and schooled his expressions. "He was my only friend "
Raven hummed but kept silent. River was grateful that he dropped the subject.
Raven silently started cutting up the goose. He soon got tired of struggling with the knife and started pulling the meat off its bones with his bare hands. He piled the meat up on a small plate , seemly engrossed by the task. After there was an acceptable amount of meat on the porcelain plate he pushed it towards River , his eyes still fixated on the ripped up goose like it was the most interesting thing in the world.
"Eat up" he muttered. " I'm..sorry"
"My Lord has nothing to apologize for" River assured him. "I knew this day would come"
They ate in awkward silence after that for sometime.
The goose was indeed, very flavourful. It was fried until the skin was crisp and golden and was glazed in a sweet,sour sauce.
Raven was devouring his share with gusto. He voraciously teared in to the fried goose, snapping wings and legs off the joints. He did not seemed to mind the grease running down his hands at all. He would even gnaw on bones, making a spectacle of uncouth dining.
Good sir, did you learn table etiquette from a pig pen?
"Damn those Wendigos !" Someone said rather loudly from the next table.
Although eavesdropping was very shameful ,it was a very efficient way to gather information . So River listened carefully.
"Three gold coins! Not one ,not two ,three! Each person! " he complained , slapping the table top.
"My woman had to pay with her jewelry !" Another man joined the conversation." Those were family heirlooms ya know. She was heartbroken "
Raven had started listening in by now too.
"Pah!" The first man spat in disapproval " bloody rascals ! "
A woman at the table tried to shush him down. " Do not speak ill about god's children"
" I dont care if lightning struck my bald head today ! What injustice is this!?" He kept noisily banging the table in irritation "The taxes used to be 10 silver coins per month! "
"Not even Vorine hoarded gold like Wedigoes do now !"
Raven and River shared a glance.
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Raven eating , minding his business
River- My lord has truly mastered the art of eating like nobody is watching. Absolutely impressive
Raven - ....
River- The way my Lord eats matches his charm..truly impeccable
Raven-...
River - My lord and his manners are such art..abstract..art nonetheless
Raven - I think River is hitting on me .
Aithan - I envy My Lord's ability to see things through the lense of pure, unadulterated confusion .
Raven - Thank you..I guess?
Raven Alistair