Chapter Seven
THE WALK TO the royal gardens wasn’t a long one. Alina paced at Caro’s side, letting him take his time walking down the lush carpet in the richly understated and tastefully decorated hallway. This palace was completely different to the royal wing his father and brother occupied. They had covered every inch of their royal apartments in gold and jewels to emphasize their wealth and power to themselves and to anyone who they felt might need a visual representation. The simple elegance here in Toval really emphasized the difference between being secure in one’s power versus needing to flaunt it because of insecurity.
Thankfully, before Caro could dwell too long on more of his birth family’s faults, they reached a glassed door at the end of the hall with a guard standing in front of it.
“Prince Caro, Healer Alina,” the guard said with a short bow. He brandished a key and unlocked the door, pulling it open and holding it wide for them. “Please enjoy.”
“Thank you,” Caro replied, echoed by Alina.
Caro hadn’t needed to tell anyone about his new name. Alina had known it, all the servants had addressed him correctly, and now even the guard knew him. Caro suspected all three princes had been busy ensuring he would feel comfortable, and Caro had no idea how to express to them how much it meant to him.
“You look like the walk so far hasn’t taxed you,” Alina said, eying him critically as they went down a long, narrow hallway and then stepped out into the sunlight.
“I feel okay, actually,” Caro admitted, tilting his head back to let the heat of the afternoon sunlight bathe his face. The air was crisp with the promise of the coming winter, yet still warm enough in the sunlight that Caro was comfortable in only a light jacket. “My legs aren’t tired and my lungs don’t ache.” He still felt unsteady inside, enough to know he wasn’t completely healed, but this was the best he had felt since before joining the mercenary companies in the woods all those weeks and months ago.
“Then let’s walk for a bit longer until we find a bench.”
Alina let him lead the way down the path, which wound throughout the rooftop garden. Small dwarf trees were brilliant shades of red, yellow, and orange, flaunting what remained of their late autumn colors. No fallen leaves littered the ground, so the gardeners must come through regularly. Bare branches were taking over from those covered in leaves, but the glory of the mix of bright colors was still evident. The last vestiges of late summer and fall flowers were in bloom, the mums vibrant and as multicolored as the trees. Dahlias and other flowers Caro couldn’t name dotted the mulched beds. A narrow stream meandered through the garden, culminating in a small pond in the center. They stopped at the bench there where they could watch small, multicolored fish darting around.
“I thought the public gardens where the nobles and such gather were nice, but this is glorious,” Alina breathed out, her voice awed and happy.
“I do think it’s quite pretty,” another voice called, her tone bright with laughter.
Caro and Alina spun around to see a woman walking toward them, two small children toddling down the path ahead of her, a nursemaid serenely trailing them.
“Don’t get up!” she admonished when Alina started to jump to her feet. “I am here in an unofficial capacity. I snuck away from the office to take my children for an afternoon walk as a break from their lessons, so no need for any formalities. Besides, I’m tired of my brothers monopolizing you. I’m Shairon, second oldest after Ayer.”
She looked like Braxton, with the same light brown hair and hazel eyes and general shape to her face, but she was willowy where he was stout, although Caro definitely believed she was just as strong.
“It’s lovely to meet you, Prince Caro,” she finished saying with another smile.
“It’s lovely to meet you as well, Princess Shairon,” Caro replied easily. She might have admonished him not to rise, but he did anyway, bowing over her hand as if they were both standing in court, all the nobles watching them jealously.
She laughed. “I hope you might be able to teach Brax some manners, although asking you to tame that buffoon is probably too big a task. Still, if you wanted to spend quite a long time trying, I don’t believe Brax would mind.” The knowing twinkle in her eyes had Caro’s cheeks heating, but the earlier conversation he had with Braxton kept his chin held high.
“I wouldn’t mind that either, my lady,” Caro replied.
“None of that.” Shairon wagged her finger at him, her eyes still twinkling happily. “Call me Shairon.” Her expression turned stern, and she stood straight, suddenly looking regal and every inch a royal princess. “But if you hurt him or any of my family, the depths of pain I will subject you to will be far worse than anything you’ve ever experienced before. Understand?”
“I completely understand,” Caro replied, liking her a lot and hoping his firm tone conveyed his equally firm conviction that he would never allow Braxton to get hurt when he was around to prevent it.
“Then I would like to add my welcome to my brothers’ and welcome you to Etoval.” Shairon’s easy smile returned, but before she could say anything more, one of her kids ran up and tugged on her pants leg.
“Mummah, pretty fishies!”
He was maybe two years old and not exactly steady on his feet, but he dragged Shairon in the direction of the pond.
“I’ll see you later,” she called to Caro, before bending and grabbing up the tot, tickling him until he screeched with laughter. They reached the edge of the pond where the other one, who was maybe three years old, was lying on the edge, eyes rapt on the fish swimming below. The nursemaid was sitting at his side, but she moved out of the way when Shairon arrived.
“If you’re ready, we should start heading back,” Alina said. “Let them enjoy the pond.”
“Right.” Caro was already standing, but he waited for Alina to stand and dust off her green healer’s robes before starting down the path back toward the door. They waved goodbye to the guard as they reached the hallway, but no one else was around as they walked to Caro’s room. Once inside, Alina got Caro settled onto the couch, covered his legs with his quilt, and went to the tray she had left on the coffee table where a glass full of the familiar and hated glop was waiting.
“The princess scares me more than a drink full of healthy vitamins and minerals,” Alina scolded when Caro grimaced and was slow to take the glass from her. “She’s got so much more…” Her hands waved around her body to emphasize whatever nebulous presence to which Alina was referring. “If you’re going to be spending time around her, you’ll need all your strength, so drink up.”
Caro sighed, but obeyed, forcing the bitter goop down as quickly as he could swallow, grateful when Alina passed him a glass of water next to help him clear away that awful taste.
Alina resettled the blankets over him again before sighing. “I have to get back to the ward, but send a servant to fetch me if you need anything. Okay?”
“Okay. Have a good rest of your afternoon!”
“You as well.” She waved as she headed to the door, and then Caro was alone again.
He settled back into the couch cushions and pulled his quilt higher, snuggling into the comfortable fabric. An afternoon nap actually sounded pretty good at the moment, and maybe Caro would curl up with a book for a while after dinner.
And in the morning, he would meet the rest of Braxton’s family.
He was sure they were nice people. Shairon had certainly seemed nice and aside from when Fen had captured Caro, he and Ayer both acted like decent people as well. Still, the idea of meeting the entire family in one swoop was daunting, and Caro really didn’t want to dwell on the butterflies fluttering in his stomach that thought invoked. Instead, he closed his eyes and breathed slowly, trying to clear his head. He didn’t know when he fell asleep, only that his naptime dreams were of flittering multicolored fish and Braxton’s lips, pressing so wonderfully against his own.