Sacrificed to the Dragon

13. Prince Lear

Prince Lear rides off from the palace in the early morning light. Alone, so utterly alone. He only took two horses, some provisions and a stable boy. None of his usual company of friends and relatives were invited and he told his parents he is going hunting. He just forgot to tell them what he is hunting. It is his private mission to hunt down the dragon and demand to see his sister. He doesn’t want anyone around for this either. Even the stable boy is here only because he claims he knows someone who can direct them to some people who know the dragon.

It has been five days since his beloved little sister was sacrificed to the dragon. And life just goes on as if nothing has happened. Nobody talks about her, they even had her rooms cleaned out. It is as if she never was. They just erased her from the family. He can’t believe that he is the only one missing her. The only one who even thinks about Katherine any more. They all still mourn aunt Leanna who died a few years ago, but not even one of the hypocrites mentions Katherine.

“How far will we ride today?” Lear asks his companion after a few hours. He does cherish the boy's silence, but he is getting tired and hungry. “The horses need rest and we need food.”

“We can stop in a meadow I know. It’s just a short ride up ahead.” The boy answers. “The closest village is still a few hours ride.”

“Sure. We can stop in a meadow.” Lear nods and rides ahead.

The path is twisting among the tall trees of the forest that looks like prime hunting grounds, but he is not here to hunt any animals that live in the forest. He might enjoy the ride and the scenery, who knows if he will ever see these forests again. The dragon might just kill him for the audacity. If he even finds him. He knows the chances are slim, but he needs to try. He thinks that Katherine would do the same for him.

They stop in a nice small meadow in the forest. It looks like it is frequently used with travelers as there is a circle of stones around a burn spot. He can smell ashes, too. Lear jumps from his horse and lets the animal graze on fresh grass. He takes the bags from the saddle hooks and sets them down near the fire pit.

“What’s your name?” Lear inquires. He knows it’s late to ask, but he never gave much thought to the servants in the palace.

“Trey, Your highness.” The boy answers.

“Can you gather some wood? We need fire to warm up this stew our cook gave me.” Lear pulls out a container and winks to Trey.

“A stew? Wow!” Trey exclaims. “And I thought we’re going to have stale bread and whatever we find out here.”

Lear laughs at the boy's enthusiasm. He never went anywhere with only bread in his bags. He probably shouldn’t think of Trey as a boy. He is not much younger than him, if he even is. They are in this together. Come to think of it, Lear wouldn’t even be here if not for Trey and the friend he mentioned. 

He needs to stop idling around, Trey is back with firewood and they can get a nice warm meal in their stomachs. The tents won't pitch themself either if he does nothing. Lear decides they will spend the night here and ride on to Lorren in the morning. It does them no good to come there at night. Lorren probably has an Inn, but he wants to avoid being recognised.

Lear pulls the tents out of their bags and wiggles his fingers. He did learn a few useful things in his magic studies. Why work if magic can do it for you. The tents are up in a flash and then it’s dinner time. Late lunch? Whatever! He can’t even think any more.

“This is good.” Trey comments on the stew. “And I love how you put up the tents. I wish I could do that.”

“Can you do magic?” Lear inqiures.

“I can levitate things for about a minute. That’s all.” Trey shrugs. “I was never good at it so I just stopped.”

“Huh.” Lear shrugs. “I’m lazy. I hate to get my hands dirty, so I learned to do things with magic.”

The easy way of talking and no secret agenda from Trey, makes Lear believe in the good of people again. He always thought that Katherine was too naive, because she always saw the good in everyone. So he keeps talking with Trey well into the night. He learns a lot about the ‘normal people’. The image his father painted of the lower classes can’t be further from the truth. Just people with everyday lives and small problems. Some are magic users and some are not.

Lear wakes up in the morning to the smell of baked fish. He crawls out of his tent to see Trey preparing breakfast over the fire. He really likes the stable boy now that he got to get to know him better. And he never expected from him to make breakfast, yet alone go catch some fish.

“Morning.” Lear smiles at his companion. “I never had fish for breakfast before. But they do smell delicious.”

“Good morning, Your highness.” Trey greets. “The stream is right through the trees, if you want to go freshen up. The fish will be ready in five minutes and we still have some bread left from last night.”

“Thank you.”

Alone by the stream, Lear thinks of Katherine again. Is she alright? Is she scared? Where did the dragon take her? He doesn’t believe that the dragon eats the girls. He is thinking that there is some truth in the small booklet that he found in the attic. The dragons can take human shape and they were the rulers of Loredan long ago. The little book is actually a diary of a palace maid. She was the handmaiden of a queen. And the things she wrote made Lear seek out the dragon. If he’s right, there is a chance to get his sister back. Or at least see her again. He is willing to go to the end of the world for her.

After breakfast, They break the camp and make sure the fire is really dead. They don’t want to burn the forest down with carelessness. There is one thing Lear hates most of all and it’s carelessness. He never does anything impulsive and he likes the planning process as much as executing the plan. This mission of his was planned to the point of getting to Lorren. Then it’s up to Trey to get more information and they will plan the next step of the mission together.

The path they ride on changes from forest to fields and it begins to look like a real road. Lear is surprised to see farmers with horse drawn carts on the road. He always had the impression that Lorren is a small village with no prospects, but he sees now that he was wrong. Was his father so ill informed or was he spreading false information about the villages further out from the capital? It seems to Lear that Lorren is doing much better than the capital city itself. 

The village is prosperous and colorful. The houses are big and painted in bright colors and they even have paved roads and a well fortified wall running around the village. He can see a mill and even a big marketplace. Some of the townhouses look like villas and they are all adorned with flowers in pots. Even streets are decorated and the shops down the road look like the capitals, bright and full of nice colorful things. There are even four juweliers in a row. Too bad he can’t just stay here and explore this wonderous small city. He nudges his horse to catch up with Trey and there are questions forming in his head.

“Trey?” Lear calls to his companion. “When did Lorren grow to be a city? This doesn’t look like a small village to me.”

“I don’t know. I was last here ten years ago with my father. They expanded quite a lot. And I don’t remember any walls.” Trey answers.

“Do you remember where to find that friend of yours?” He inquires and glances around for guards as they pass the gates, but there aren’t any.

“He should be in the market. He sells the best quality cloth. He even supplies some merchants in the capital.” Trey points to the market. “But we have to leave the horses at the tavern first.”

“Do you think we can get a room?” Lear wonders out loud.

“Sure we can. It’s not even the start of the trading season yet.”

Trey gets the horses situated in the tavern stables and he pays the stable boy to keep an eye on them. They have decided at breakfast that Trey will do all the talking and he will handle their finances, too. Lear doesn’t want to be recognised, it will just bring more trouble to his mission. He observes the bantering for room prices and smiles invardly. He would have just paid the first price, but more and more, he thinks, the innkeeper enjoys the bantering and the more of a challenge Trey gives him, the wider the man’s smile is. In the end they get a nice big room on the first floor and even dinner for the price of a small room.

The tavern itself doesn’t look like some Lear has seen close to the capital. It is big and bright and well kept. There is no dirt on the floor and the tables have nice clean linens. The innkeeper is a cheerful older man with a green suit and he can see a few more people dressed in the same manner. Uniforms in a tavern? He wonders what new and exciting things he will discover on this journey. The excitement would be so much better with Katherine around to share it with her. And the room they were given is almost as big as his back home in the palace. There are two beds, two dressers and a big window to let the light in.

“I have no idea how real life works.” Lear whispers to Trey when they leave the tavern and go search for Trey’s friend.

“Yeah, I know. I think I got a great price.” Trey laughs. “The man cherishes banter, he should be a seller in the market.”

“Well, I appreciate your care for our limited funds.” Lear tells Trey with a wink. The easy camaraderie on the road is still with them. This is the beginning of a lifetime long friendship. 

“I see Kathy at the stand, but not Markus. I hope he’s not out of town.” Trey says as they enter the marketplace and Lear keeps looking at the stands not the people.

“How much of a setback would that be?” Lear wants to know.

“Honestly? I don’t know.” Trey shakes his head. “Let me talk to her. And you try not to buy anything.”