"Aldrec, long time no see!" Rolonga beamed excitedly, not an ounce of apparent sickness in him.
"Your highness, might I ask why you called me here…again?" Aldrec resisted the urge to clench his fists and smiled politely through gritted teeth. "And, pray tell…why are you holding a sheep?"
Aldrec pointed to the fluffy lamb cradled in Rolonga's arms with exasperation. Despite arriving at the palace three hours earlier, Aldrec had been running around on a wild goose chase while trying to find the prince. Edwick, his favorite head butler, just looked down in despair and sighed when asked. Finally Aldrec found him after learning the gardener had spotted the prince rushing out towards a field of sheep a few miles from the castle.
How come every time I see this guy he's holding a different animal?
"Don't tell me your brother likes sheep too…?" Aldrec locked eyes with the gentle lamb and couldn't possibly imagine the terrifying second prince liking such a pure creature. It was far more feasible that his younger brother would eat the thing whole rather than pet or take care of it.
"I'm not sure, I haven't asked him…" Rolonga trailed off, imagining his brother frolicking with a group of sheep before answering Aldrec's question, "Sometimes the sheep get out of their grazing grounds. I saw them here and came to bring them back home!"
One answer just opened a multitude of questions for Aldrec.
How did he know the sheep weren't supposed to be here? Why was he the one to come over here to herd them? Wasn't there a shepherd paid to do this sort of thing?
But the biggest question of all was plaguing his mind, "I thought you weren't feeling well…?"
"Oh, I'm not!" Rolonga beamed.
"...so the healing didn't work?" Aldrec was incredibly skeptical, but he couldn't just accuse the prince of lying outright. Implying such a notion meant that he would be slandering a royal, not the most ideal action if one wanted to keep their head connected to their neck.
I just want to go home, it's hurting my brain filtering my words like this…
"No, it worked great! It just wore off I assume? The illness came back the next day like you were never here," Rolonga explained. Aldrec was only more confused. Something like this had never happened before and he found it increasingly hard to believe that this prince was ever sick at all. Aldrec groaned, wishing he could pretend to heal the prince and leave. Since real healing didn't work it seemed pointless to waste his powers, even if they were bottomless. Perhaps Aldrec would be able to figure out if the prince was lying if he only pretended to heal him, but it would be hard to hide that he wasn't extending his power since it was visible. It's not like he could show it and not use it. Aldrec couldn't stop the power from flowing out once it turned to thread like how blood can't stop flowing from a wound. Lacking proper sleep from five days of traveling with three more still upcoming, Aldrec decided to just play along with the facade and find a place nearby to stay for the night.
"Your hand," Aldrec bluntly asked, far too exhausted to deal with formalities anymore. Rolonga didn't seem to mind his attitude and shifted the lamb to rest in one arm. Once the lamb was comfortably situated–with its head resting on his shoulder and its legs pressed into the crook of his arm–the prince extended his free hand for Aldrec to take. Another quick session of healing took place, Aldrec just doing the same thing he did before. As the threads slowly traveled through Rolonga's body, Aldrec watched as his face eased up even more than it already was. The previous session had surprised him with the odd sensation, but within a day he craved it once again. A brief moment of silent intimacy was shared between the two. Aldrec had held hands with countless people of various size, age and gender due to his profession, but Rolongas was the first to strike a lasting impression. Maybe it was due to the disparity he had noted before or because Aldrec felt that their hands fit so perfectly against one another. The grooves and dips of both hands allowed space for both to rest comfortably against the other.
Once the healing concluded, Aldrec ripped his hand away quickly from Rolonga's. It felt too comfortable. Their hands together that was. Almost as if the longer they clung to one another, the harder it would be to separate them. Aldrec was unsure if Rolonga felt the odd connection he did or if the prince had especially nice hands that made everyone's heart pump a bit too fast.
"You should be good now. I'll be going." Aldrec found himself wanting even more desperately to leave. This prince was dangerous to be around. The cute sheep pressed against his shoulder reflected the golden rays of the sun across his face with its white wool. The sun's caress outlined indications of bone that were often hidden under the normal light lack of care. In his eyes–the ones that reflected two tiny Aldrecs dancing alongside the sun, disappearing periodically to be held only by Rolonga's eyelids for a moment–even Aldrec was made to appear sinless and gentle. Something about this prince's gaze stole Aldrec's breath.
"Where are you going?" Rolonga tilted his head with a relaxed smile before continuing, "You're not thinking of heading back in that carriage of yours? Who's to say I won't feel that crippling disease again tomorrow? I'd prefer you staying here, saving you and the poor coachman some time."
"Pardon? Stay here? Where exactly is 'here?'"
"My palace of course! I'll have a room made for you. You'll be paid generously I'm sure, so come!" Rolonga slid his arm around Aldrec, another brief heart attack for the young priest. It seemed a different kind of heavenly trial awaited him. He brushed the prince off before looking aghast.
"I'm not staying here. I have other matters to attend to, people to heal–"
"You can still heal others. You only need to heal me once a day after all. You can even use our coachmen to go to and from wherever you wish as long as you return to the palace before nightfall."
Aldrec bit his lip, annoyed at how the prince cornered him. It was honestly a good deal. There were lots more people living in the capital who probably needed his help. In order to reach the church Aldrec worked at, people usually needed to travel long distances. This wasn't exactly recommended for those with a crippling illness and Aldrec begged countless times to be the one traveling instead only to be shot down everytime. The only reason they had agreed to let him go to the palace was because, well, it was the palace. Even if they were powerful, no church was in any position to rip the crown prince himself from the palace, especially when he was allegedly ill. However, that was with the idea that Aldrec would return as quickly as possible. The church wouldn't like their cash cow being headhunted and surely would not take such a thing sitting down.
One problem after another…doesn't this prince realize that this could start a war between the clergy and the crown? Sure the palace is powerful but the church is slowly creeping up to the same level…I'd hate to be in the middle of such a thing.
Aldrec groaned internally, in no position to refuse a crown prince. He was starting to get sick and tired of being pulled from one side to another by these powerful factions, no matter how handsome one side was. Either way Aldrec was eternally a puppet to other's wills, did it really matter who was controlling the strings?
"I appreciate the offer, your highness. I'll move in right away…"
"Excellent! Let's head to the castle then!" Rolonga grabbed Aldrec's hand and began dragging him along. Aldrec stared blankly at the dipping sun against the castle, then at Rolonga's hand once again pressed against his, and finally at the sheep still resting in Rolonga's underarm.
Are you seriously taking the sheep too?
_______
The trip to the castle wasn't particularly long. In the moment Aldrec subtly hinted at his displeasure of such a long trip back with the prince he had mixed feelings about, but was surprised that they arrived so quickly. It had felt much longer when he had been stomping over in search of Rolonga.
"None of my long-term belongings are here…how long do you suppose I'll be staying?" Aldrec asked with slight hope that the prince would let him go after a month or something. There must have been some end goal for Aldrec staying if Rolonga wasn't sick and surely he wasn't–what kind of sick man climbs trees and chases sheep? Aldrec huffed to himself.
"Until I feel better without your help" Rolonga smiled with a lax attitude, his charming demeanor not breaking through to Aldrec this time.
If anything you need to get better at lying. Aldrec thought with a plastered smile that held no warmth, "I'd be my honor your highness to aid you for as long as you need."
I hope that sheep bites you.
As they approached the palace entrance, both hardly had a moment to breathe before Edwick rushed out with as much grace as a frazzled butler could manage.
"Your highness! The queen has been awaiting your arrival." Edwick began, he kept to himself how he sent soldiers to search for the prince and how he groaned into his hands as the gardener–curious about the commotion–revealed the situation. Edwick almost had half a mind to scold the man for such a preposterous conclusion of the prince rushing off to fetch sheep, but it was Prince Rolonga in reference and not only that evidence was clearly apparent tucked away under his arm.
"Your highness…please unhand that poor creature," Edwick couldn't even reach normally with shock as he had far too much experience with such scenes. So much so that Edwick skillfully slid the sheep from the prince's arm without fretting the thing in the slightest. Adlrec watched, slowly getting used to this scene himself. Rolonga appeared to bring odd animals back to the palace often. The place was certainly big enough for them but Aldrec wondered if they were kept or released.
"Where's mother waiting?" Rolonga began after handing off the sheep to Edwick, he peered inside wondering which of the many rooms she had opted to linger about for however long she'd been waiting.
"I'll escort you" Edwick replied before pausing and looking dead straight at Aldrec. Surprise was prompted by the sudden attention, especially when Edwick spoke his name, "Sir Aldrec."
"Yes?"
"Please take good care of this on behalf of his highness," Edwick smiled with either a hint of sympathy or teasing, perhaps both, as he handed over the pump sheep into Aldrec's arms. The sheep wriggled and cried, apparently like the butler far more. In a matter of seconds, before Aldrec could hand back the sheep to either, both had scampered inside like cockroaches.
What kind of hot potato is this?
Aldrec wondered, standing with a sheep that was growing with aggravation. In an attempt to soothe the sheep, that Aldrec argued was probably scared or lost, he petted its soft head and cooed to it like a baby "Calm down now…–"
The sheep bucked him flat in the face, hopping to the ground before snorting a bit with satisfaction. Aldrec held his nose with annoyance and vengeance festering in his eyes. Soon the sheep was rushing after where Edwick and Rolonga had disappeared off to with a fuming Aldrec close behind it.
"You damn sheep!" Aldrec groaned under his breath, blinded by anger for the first time in awhile. Not only had the prince been off in some field and decided Aldrec was staying in the palace without ever consulting him, but then the butler even used him as a sheep holder without any warning and just left him to deal with it! Was this any way to treat the apparent savior of the crown prince? Or any doctor in that manner? Holy or not?
"Where are you even going?!" Aldrec panted as he sprinted after the sheep that was now making a ruckus all around, bumping into tables and almost knocking over expensive looking things. Aldrec quickly followed behind, catching everything last minute or pushing the tables back in time to save whatever was wobbling over. Soon the sheep made a swift left turn, causing Aldrec to follow and accidentally slam the side of his body into the wall. He continued unfazed, sliding his hand to his side and running the smooth threads of his power over the broken blood vessels. Soon enough, the sheep had reached a dead end and Aldrec lunged forward in order to wrap his arms around the thing once more. It worked, his arms chinching firmly around the sheep. It continued to fight but was quite tired as well. He slid against the back wall the sheep had found itself cornered against and cradled the sheep for a moment to catch his breath. That was until he heard the familiar, playful and almost mindgrating voice nearby. Only a few feet away, Rolonga was sitting behind one of the many doors locked in front of Aldrec. It was hard to tell which one but it didn't matter since his voice traveled through the excitable and loud Rolonga into the hallway where it collected sound and bounced towards others to infect with knowledge.
"Yes I told the healer to stay here for the time being, mother." Rolonga's voice was clear, formal but relaxed. It seemed the rumors of the royal family being close were true. He heard no indication of the queen speaking for a long while. Aldrec, curious about the two who were talking about him, leaned closer to the wall he believed the conversation was hidden behind. A shifting sound, most likely a dress or long garment moving from a crinkled position to a standing one or vice versa, was heard close to Aldrec's ear.
"Are you sure that's the right call? His healing last time was somewhat…lackluster. I had heard it was a miracle but it only staved off your illness somewhat. Even now, how do you feel?" The queen's concerned voice began.
"Well…he healed me recently but even now I've begun to feel the pain creep back into my bones…even so I want him here. None of the other doctors could do anything before…at least Aldrec provides me some relief."
"Perhaps you don't trust me to find you skilled enough doctors…"
"No! Mother, that's not that case!"
Aldrec felt a bit of anger and shame upon hearing this conversation. He'd never been faced with an illness he could not heal, mental or physical, and the queen reminded him somewhat of his own mother. She had written to him constantly, including notes on behalf of his other family members since most of them had only started learning to write after receiving enough money from the church to allow each to go to school, and began visiting him once his sisters grew up enough to join her. His father often tagged along, attempting to read the signs of each store while his daughters corrected him and his wife teased him. Even if Rolonga was lying about such an illness, Aldrec felt a regained sense of determination after hearing the queen's concern. Rolonga had a family that cared for him too afterall. Aldrec was about to move away from the wall, ashamed of eavesdropping until he heard something that shocked him.
"Do you still not see me as your mother?" The queen sounded quite upset, almost tearful.
"No…mother, I assure you…it's not that I don't trust you…you can still search for doctors, just let Aldrec stay here until one of them heals me…you've always been a mother to me, even if not by blood." Rolonga was a lot closer to the wall now, presumably closer to the queen. Aldrec had not known the two weren't blood related. Sure Rolonga didn't look very much like the queen, but Aldrec had just assumed he looked more like his father. His interest was incredibly peaked and he began to make his way out of the palace while covering the sheep's mouth so it wouldn't give away his position. There were no servants around oddly enough, but that was most likely to keep Rolonga and the queen's conversation out of their ears. The only person Aldrec did run into after walking down a few hallways was Edwick.
"Sir Aldrec? What are you doing in the palace? I thought you were waiting outside."
"I was but…the sheep here ran inside, it must have missed Rolonga…" Aldrec laughed awkwardly, hoping he didn't let it slip that he overheard a royal conversation about himself.
"I see, and you were able to apprehend it before it reached the prince I assume?"
"Yes! Of course! It was just running all over the place in no particular direction, it couldn't find the prince if it tried I'm sure…" Aldrec held out the wriggling sheep to Edwick, hopeful he would take the creature after hearing of the trouble it was capable of. Thankfully he did and the sheep eased against the butler's embrace, "Edwick, I have a question that might be a bit rude…"
"I'll keep it a secret," Edwick replied flatly. Aldrec was sure the butler would tell Rolonga if he said anything suspicious, but it was good enough.
"Does the prince look more like his father?"
"No, both princes look more like their mothers," Edwick responded with a bit of nostalgia in his eyes. The butler seemed nonchalant sharing this information, meaning that it was common knowledge.
"So Rolonga has a different birth mother? One that isn't the queen I'm assuming?"
"I'm surprised you didn't know…it was national news more than once. Prince Rolonga…" Edwick glanced behind him to make sure the royals were still engaged in their conversation far away before continuing, "his mother passed when he was young. The king was devastated, but he soon remarried with the current queen."
"So she caught his eye?"
"Not exactly…the current queen is the daughter of the Florents' head," Edwick said with some weight to his words. Aldrec may have not known about the marriage, likely before his time in the country, but he did know about the Florents family. Mostly because they were often stingy with church donations as opposed to other high ranking noble families. The clergymen often grumbled under their breath when the Florents donated a few coins, comparing them to the others who sent enough to fill a river. Despite their meager donations, the Florents were the richest family in the country outside of the king. They held massive sway over the common people and other nobles, so it was no wonder the king chose to marry one of their daughters.
"So it was for power…" Aldrec nodded along, placing the pieces together.
"And to keep the Florents in check. They constantly opposed the king's declarations until they were welcomed as in-laws to the king. Now they keep their becks shut." Edwick almost laughed a bit under his breath.
"So Prince Talon and Prince Rolonga are half brothers?"
As Edwick nodded and began to open his mouth to give more insight to their relationship, Rolonga slid the sheep from under Edwick's arm. The queen passed by, staring at Aldrec with a hint of disapproval.
"Come on Aldrec, I'll show you where you're staying!" Rolonga lifted the sheep as if it was a child and spun around to begin down a hallway. Edwick nudged Aldrec to follow and so he did.
The walk was short, filled with Rolonga talking at Aldrec without fishing for a response. Aldrec, half listening and nodding along to whatever whimsical story the prince was rambling about, attempted to memorize the route to his room from the entrance way. Certain features of the hall, a painting of great mountains, a statue holding a sword, were archived away in case he got lost. Aldrec had done a similar thing as a child when he was first introduced to the church. He'd never been in such a large place before and the height of the ceiling scared him more than he would like to admit. One day he had scampered away from his lessons, rebelling in whatever way he could at the time, only to find within ten minutes the church's grand halls ate his sense of direction.
Aldrec had stumbled upon unfamiliar pillars and room entrances that loomed over him with the remainder he was meant to be somewhere else. Not at the lessons, not at the church, but back home with his family. With his father's random sword battles, or his sister's stories that spanned generations of dolls. And above else his mother, the one who supported him and the one that abandoned him to the church because of her beliefs. Aldrec curled up against one of the walls when he thought about his family and how they'd let him leave so easily. It was hard to reject their wishes, especially when the church kept whispering in his ear that he would be able to support them financially from afar. So he accepted, but he regretted it the whole way. Now he was here in this unfamiliar, divine and all consuming building filled with people staring at him with either reverence or greed. He was sick of it and had contemplated finding the exit to sneak out of when he had heard a faint laugh in one of the rooms next to him. The young Aldrec, far too curious for his own good, stood to peer through the doorway into the room with the sound.
The ceiling swooped up into a glass dome, pouring light in from all directions that coated hundreds of seats that were fused into the floor. A cascading set of drapes framed an intricately designed window in the shape of an exaggerated sun. Aside from the flourishes of unnecessary grandeur, the room was beautiful and it knocked Aldrec back with its presence. The chairs were empty aside from a few figures dotting every other seat. Once more a low laugh, accompanied by a muffled cry echoed from the front of the room towards Aldrec. He crept closer, passing each person on his way to the source of the wailing. A similar style of dirty, ragged clothes covered each guest and Aldrec could not help but think of his own family who until recently had very similar attire. There were no more chairs ahead, just the window, drapes and a small statute he hadn't seen from afar. On his left, leaned over herself slightly, was a woman pressing her arms tightly to her chest.
"Miss…are you alright?" Aldrec asked softly as he touched her shoulder, about to use his healing on her. Her face shot up to look at him unexpectedly and Aldrec stumbled back with surprise upon meeting her tearstained gaze. "A-are you alright?"
"How can anyone be alright?" The woman turned her head away once more, appearing as if she wanted to be alone. However Aldrec was young–not young enough not to know better, but young enough to ignore such inhabitants in favor of satisfying his own curiosity–and so he pressed further.
"What happened? Perhaps I could help?"
"If God refuses to help me how can you? I've devoted my whole life here, donating, volunteering, praying…but what does it matter? When that "God" of mine snatches away what's most dear to me, what I've wanted all my life…" Aldrec struggled to hear some of the woman's words, covered with sobs and laughs. He had never seen someone so broken in his life and it was then, when Aldrec slightly looked away from her face, did he see it. It wasn't just arms against the woman's chest, but it was a bundle she was holding. It was a baby.
"...you have a child?"
Those words seemed to injure the woman, "Not for long." Was all she could manage, sorrow morphing to anger, morphing back to sorrow. A few moments of brief reprieve clouded her senses here and there, her brain fighting to self destruct.
"May I see?"
The woman instinctively tightened her grip on the child before slowly easing up. A deathly quiet baby. Its skin was slightly blue and Aldrec was not even sure if it was breathing. He placed his hand against the child's forehead with a featherlight touch. He slowly unfurled the thread in his chest. Aldrec found it odd, others had always begged him to help them or his mother had accepted on his behalf but this was the first time he healed something according to his own will. The infant's skin warmed, a slight pink hue filling its face and reddening around its eyes. A loud cry emerged after being spurred by the shock of blood flowing once again. Aldrec moved his hand away in fear he'd hurt the small child and watched the baby cry with concern in his eyes. The mother was shocked, examining the baby with blurry vision and almost unable to believe it. She rocked the baby softly against her arms until its breathing returned to normal and the cries stopped.
"The doctors said it was hopeless…" She mumbled absentmindedly while gently smoothing her baby's hairs back. She looked up at Aldrec after a moment, "Who are you?"
A voice behind Aldrec answered before he could, "A blessed child."
Behind him was Cedric, the man whom Aldrec was supposed to be in class learning from. Aldrec shifted nervously at the thought of being in trouble for ditching, but Cedric merely placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Cedric, sir…I'm sorry about-"
"Don't bother, you've learned more here than you could ever in my class. God blessed you for a reason, Aldrec. I know you won't let him down."
And those were the words Aldrec carried with him from place to place, whenever he healed. Perhaps the church had never truly felt like home, but that room did. The room where Cedric continued the lessons in and the one that had sparked Aldrec's purpose in life. It was peculiar to him, because the hallway he was currently walking down with Rolonga had not only sparked such a vivid memory, but it reminded him of that room. The ceiling was similar in shape, the drapes lining the windows were the same color, but that was not it. Something else he could not quite place made the palace feel different.
"And this is it!" Rolonga paused in front of a door. A small bird was carved in the center of it, a sparrow was Aldrec's best guess. Inside were the necessities, a bed, a nightstand and a dresser. The main feature of the room was the large window the bed was pressed against. It was certainly larger than his room back at the church and it seemed far more comfortable as well.
"Thank you, your highness…"
"Oh yeah, and stop calling me that. We're going to be around each other a lot more so it'll be easier to be informal. Just call me Rolonga."
"But isn't that…I mean won't the servants and your family be…" Aldrec began, hopeful to drop some of the mannerisms but knowing such a thing was not normal or usually accepted.
"Just call me 'your highness' or whatever around others then," Rolonga shrugged, quite nonchalant about the whole matter, "I'll be getting healed by you in private practically everyday, so no need to keep up the formalities then, alright?"
Aldrec sighed, even more rules to follow. He wasn't sure if it'd be easier to always call Rolonga by a formal name or only on specific occasions. Either way he wasn't about to refuse a prince who could have him imprisoned for fun.
"If you wish…Rolonga."