When Lou woke up, her face felt wet. Tears stained the bed below her. She looked up to see Cael had left. He sat in a corner of the cavern, reading quietly. Lou stood up and padded quietly over to him.
Cael watched her the whole way. He sat, unblinking, as the knight sat down next to him and stared at the ceiling. She put a hand on his shoulder and tried to be as reassuring as possible.
"Listen, Cael, I-"
"We have to go to that college." Cael said. He stared at the book in front of him with spiraling towers and small dragons floating around it.
"Are you sure?" Lou said. "If it's too much trouble, I can go home and we can forget all of this ever happened."
Cael put the book on the ground. He shook his head ever so slowly. "We have to. Didn't you hear that stupid dragon?" His voice broke. "We have to."
Lou puffed out a laugh. "She's not stupid, she's the epitome of wisdom." She rolled her head back and rested it on the wall behind her. "I understand. When do you want to go?"
"As soon as possible. I want to get this whole mess over with." Cael said. He clenched his fists.
"Do you know the way?"
"Yes. It's in this book. The damn stupid Sixth left it on your head when I woke up."
"That's rude," Lou said. She tried and tried to lighten the mood.
"Yeah." Cael said. He kept his sentences short and tense. He seemed to out of it, not the cool, calm, and collected version of himself Lou had learned to care for.
"You're going to be my guide again?" Lou said softly.
"I guess. Although, it seems like this is more for my benefit than yours." Cael said. He laughed slightly.
Lou let out a sigh. Cael gave her a shocked look, which Lou promptly waved off. "Sorry, you were just very tense."
"No, I wasn't." Cael said.
"Yes, you were."
"No."
"Yes."
"Shut up, let's just go." Cael said and paced out of the cave. The sun had set hours ago, there was no doubt about that, but the two of them didn't even care. Cookie looked as shocked as a horse could be. She ran up to Lou and nibbled on her ear. Lou stroked her mane and cooed.
"Yes, Cookie dear, I'm sorry. It was scary, being alone, wasn't it." Lou purred. "I know, I'm here now."
Cael stood still next to her. Lou turned to him and opened her arms. Cael's face broke. He ran towards her and hugged her tight. He sniffed and kept back tears while Lou stroked his hair. His braid was loose and almost unraveled.
"Look, your braid is all undone. I'll have to fix it, won't I?" Lou said quietly.
Cael nodded and sniffed again. A tear tore it's way out of the thief's eye and down his cheek. The two sat down in the midst of the forest while Lou undid and redid his braid.
Cael's hair was nasty and greasy. His oily skin rubbed against Lou's hand and left a smear of oil on it. Lou breathed out soothing words to her friend while she redid his braid. She finished by tying a small string around the end and let the braid fall next to his face.
"Better?" Lou said.
"I guess." Cael breathed. His voice was hoarse and scratchy while he spoke.
Lou looked down to the ground. "It reminds you of your mother, doesn't it. That's why you keep it."
Cael sucked in a deep breath. He nodded and stood up. He looked off into the distance and sighed. "Yeah."
The thief jumped onto Cookie and waited for Lou. She climbed up after him and set Cookie off. The Sixth's cavern disappeared, and Lou vowed never to step foot in it again.
Cael spent the night guiding Lou through the forest. Cookie dragged her feet through underbrush and branches, but Lou pushed on. They needed to get to the college, for Cael's sake.
The pitch black night was the worst to navigate. Cael put his hand on Cookie's reigns and let out a long breath. They glowed with a faint blue light and led Lou forward. She never questioned it. This is what the Sixth was talking about.
"This is what you can do?" She asked. She didn't pry, unless it was with her friends.
"Yes. I know, it's grotesque, but..." Cael started.
"No," Lou said. "It's a pretty light. Like the fae were. I like it."
Cael shoved his face into Lou's back. She laughed, a pure and hearty sound, while the thief continued to guide her. It wasn't as far as it seemed, not even a whole day's journey past the mountains and to the coast.
The forest was gone and large plains of farmland spread out across the landscape. The sun rose above the expanses of land at a slow and leisurely rate, decorating the sky with hues of orange and pink.
They had found and road and Cookie strode proudly across it. Farmers woke from their sleep and began work on the land. Children gawked at the glowing reigns, although Lou remained as neutral about as she could. She was proud of Cael for having such interesting powers.
The sun continued it long ride across the sky as it passed time from morning to noon. The glow on the reigns had stopped by then, but Lou still felt the eyes of commoners on her and Cael as they made their way through farmland.
"What do you think they want?" Lou asked. Her back was straight as a rod while she rode.
"They think you're weird, princess." Cael cooed. "You look so commanding, like a knight or something."
Lou hummed in agreement. "Is it just me, or do these rides across the countryside keep getting shorter?"
"You're from Verrville. That's on the other side of the country," Cael said. "We're getting closer and closer to the east coast."
Lou attempted to jump on the horse. "Oh! I've never been to the east coast! I'm so excited!!!"
"You're just full of new expectations to be met, huh." Cael said.
Although they had left the terrible, grief-ridden cave behind them, but they still felt as tense as ever. Lou tried her hardest to keep her mind off of all of it. She wasn't the child of a dragon, that didn't make any sense.
And Cael... A prince? That didn't make any sense either. He spent his time in slums and shady bars and to think he's a prince? Lou leaned her head back and put it on Cael's shoulder.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
"No." Cael responded. He looked ahead. His eyes glossed over the landscape and shone against the sun. They still seemed to be watering. Lou worried for him, too much stress was going to give him premature grey hairs.
"That's unfortunate." Lou said slowly. The mage's college crawled across the skyline until Lou could see each bony spire the towers were covered with. Lou led Cookie in the direction of the towers.
The college was perched high up on ledge hanging over the coast. Water splashed against the precipice and ripped dirt off and pulled it into the water. Each spire of the college's castle was painted a deep black or purple, Lou couldn't tell, yet they all seemed too sharp to touch.
Cael sucked in a small, quiet breath. "It looks like a terrible place to live."
"I don't know, the castle in Cattail Rue looks even worse." Lou replied. She immediately regretted it.
Their final thoughts upon nearing the college were tense and ridden with worry. Cael said nothing, and Lou was too nervous to try and ease Cael's tension.
The college was exactly how Lou expected. A long pathway led up to it's iron gates while a young man stood next to it. Lou hopped off Cookie and guided Cael off the horse. Lou handed the reins off to Cael and rushed up to the young man.
As she gets closer, she can see him: tousled black hair, a red cape, high-waisted shorts, and bandages wrapped all around his bare feet.
"Hello," Lou said. "I need to speak to the dean of this establishment? It's fairly urgent, and-"
The young man held out his hand. Inside of it, there was a small powder.
"What's this?"
He grinned and pushed his hand towards her. One of his eyes was a shocking shade of orange.
"Do you want me to eat it?" Lou asked. She really didn't want to.
"Yes." He said. His voice was slightly raspy, but gentle.
"What..." Lou said hesitantly. "What is it?"
"Taste it, and I'll show you to the dean."
Lou gulped. She picked up a pinch of the powder and sprinkled it on her tongue. Cael had finally caught up to her, and when he saw the grin on the young man's face and the powder in his hand, he rushed to try and stop Lou from eating it.
The powder hit her tongue and burned. Her whole mouth went ablaze in a tortuous flavor. She shook her head and nearly screamed.
Another boy popped up behind the first. His hair was just as black, but a pale white hood covered his head while a blue cape draped down his back. Other than that, the two looked identical.
He held out another powder. It was pale white and almost looked like sand. Lou was so caught up in the moment the grabbed a handful and shoved it in her mouth.
Her whole body turned ice cold. She froze in place. She gulped and stared at the new boy. He jumped and rushed back behind his friend.
Behind the gates a large man with squarish shoulders turned towards them. He saw the two young men and sighed. The iron gates flew open as he made his way out.
"Leos! Ophion!" Square Man yelled. He rushed towards the two boys and frowned. He turned to Lou and bowed slightly. "I'm sorry, hold on."
He scolded the two boys for a minute. By then, Lou's icy-hot dichotomy had faded and she felt she could form normal sentences again. Square man turned to her and bowed nearly to the ground.
"I'm so sorry. These two are known for being troublemakers." He smiled sheeply. "Can I help you with anything?"
Lou opened her mouth, but Cael filled the words for her. "I need to talk to one of the students here. He's got a particular talent."
The easygoing look faded from the square man's face. "What talent?"
"Oh," Cael said. He spun on his heel and gave Lou a curious look. "Are you his caretaker? Do you baby him?"
"Yes. My name is Atwell Burnett and I am the knight attached to Hayden Michello." The knight stood up and stared Cael down. Cael smirks and shifts on his feet, but his demeanor is faltering quickly.
"Hello, Sir Burnett." Lou interjected. Her words had finally returned to her. "I am Louanne Verrmien, first of her name, knight of Verrville." She held her hand out for him.
Burnett grasped her hand and shook it twice. "Glad to meet you. What're you here for, really?"
"We're here for what my companion, Cael, said. We need to talk to a student here with special talents." Lou said.
"Oh. Michey might actually want to meet you." Burnett cooed.
Cael leaned over to Lou. "Michey?"
"He'll like you -- Cael, was it? -- You're exactly his type. Cool, calm and collected. What's your blood type?" Burnett asked. He led the two inside the college with the pranksters, Leos and Ophion, shortly behind.
Past the gates, a small fountain spewed out water. To the left and right there were a handful of doors being opened and closed by an arrangement of ages. There was what appeared to be a ten year old looking up to someone much, much, older like they were equals.
The actual tower's doors, a dark wood, swung open with mighty grandeur. Burnett went on about the school, although Lou mostly tuned it out. She looked at Cael, he seemed to be paying attention.
Cael is a prince. Cael is a magic prince that spent his life that should have been full of fluffy pillows and warm drinks on the streets not knowing if he'd survive the next day.
That might have been because the time he spent in the castle was even worse than the streets. A strict father Lou could understand, but an actually abusive father was something she just couldn't comprehend.
Lou's head was high so high in the clouds, she didn't register where she was going. She also didn't notice when she bumped into someone (who's head bonked off her chest, they must've been really short), or when said person was on the ground, glaring up at her.
Cael kicked her shin. She blinked her consciousness back and looked down. Burnett was keeping back laughter behind him. The small boy had the angriest face someone of that size could have. He was wrapped up in robes that looked stitched together, large brown eyes glaring up at Lou with disgust.
Lou cleared her throat. "Sorry." She held out her hand for him.
He stared at her hand for a long time and grabbed it. She pulled him up and got a good look at his eyes. They seemed far too old for his small and innocent frame.
"I'm Louanne Verrmien," she started.
The boy held up his hand. "I know. I'm Hayden Michello. Don't call me Michey."
"O...kay?" Lou said as she shook his hand.
"Before you ask, yes, I know why you're here, and yes, I can help." Michello turned to Cael. "You. Come with me."
Lou looked at Burnett, but he just shrugged. Lou watched in horror as Michello grabbed Cael's hand and dragged him off.
"Don't worry about it." Burnett said. He placed a warm hand on her back. "He's the kid who knows everything before it happens. There's no way he'd hurt your friend."
Lou sighed. "I do hope that's true."