Chapter 10 #2
A corked bottle catches my eye. Golden oil.
I still recall Laristella gifting it to me, then admonishing me never to forget it.
I had only gone to the beach once with Marcus.
At that point, all we did was hold hands.
Laristella’s suggestion mortified me, and I wanted to disappear when she explained how to use it, and what would happen if I lay down with Marcus.
The thought was horrifying, and yet, in a few months, I used it for the first time.
The memory is awkward. Sand, grass, sweat, grunts, pain, pleasure.
Will I need this oil now? I close my eyes and imagine Alayel inside me, but the image dissipates when I recall his crass words.
Who knows? Maybe insanity will take me and I’ll find myself naked, legs spread for him, yelling Your Highness.
The absurdity of the thought makes me chuckle.
Regardless, I recall Laristella’s words: Take it.
Better to have it and not use it than to lose control and not have it, then end up pregnant. I suppose I’ll heed her words.
I throw the contraceptive oil in my satchel. The truth is that I’ll be in the academy for a long time. Perhaps I wasn’t sure when I left, but now I know.
I also take most of my coin, but put it in the small purse I’m carrying.
It’s final. I’m leaving, and I take one last look around me. The room is bigger and much nicer than what I have in the academy, and yet the low ceiling still feels like it’s going to crush me.
But it won’t.
Downstairs, I leave my satchel on the bench by the door, then I sit at the small table and turn to my brother.
“You were telling Alayel about your plans?”
Kaio looks down and runs a finger over the edge of the wooden table. “My dreams. Who knows…”
“Kaio.” I touch his chin gently and lift his head. “You are going to be an apprentice. I swear.”
He shrinks his shoulders as if trying to make himself smaller. “Laristella said I should wait at least two years.”
“Two years is not never!” I tap his wrist softly. “And you’re still young.”
“It feels like never.”
I understand what he means, understand feeling trapped, fearing that your future is slipping away, but it’s not forever. “One day, this will be your past. Nothing but a memory. Believe me; I’ll help you. You might not even need to wait two years.”
Alayel rests his elbows on the table and then places his face on his hands, and turns to my brother. “What kind of help do you need?”
Kaio fidgets in his seat, I suppose unsure if he should answer the question.
“Money,” I mutter. “To pay for a good apprenticeship.”
Alayel narrows his eyes and grimaces. “Wait. You have to pay to be an apprentice?”
I want to laugh at his shock, but I don’t want my brother to think I’m laughing at him, so I keep my face serious, and say, “They take their own families first, then the people who attend training schools, sometimes since childhood. For people untrained, with no contacts, those ships can take them as servants, but it’s still difficult to get a position, and they’ll never get a chance to advance.
They’ll be servants forever. My brother wants to be a merchant. ”
Alayel hasn’t changed his expression. “It’s still bizarre.”
My brother tilts his head. “Demand and supply. It’s not only for goods. It’s for jobs too.”
“I suppose.” Alayel points at Kaio. “You know what? Maybe Foros will help you. Maybe money won’t be a problem.”
I shudder, wondering if Alayel thinks I mentioned my brother’s need for money expecting his help, which would be quite embarrassing. Plus, I wouldn’t want to owe Alayel a favor, but I’m not sure what to say right now, in front of them.
Kaio sips his drink, then says, “Money’s not the problem. It’s the solution.”
Alayel chuckles. “No question about that.” He turns to me. “Are you ready?”
For some odd reason, receiving all his attention, hearing the softness in his voice makes me flush.
“Yes,” I mutter.
The prince turns to my brother. “We’re going to have dinner in the high Dracolius City. Do you want to come?”
Kaio glances at me, then back at Alayel, and bites his lip. “Thanks, but I’m full. Ugh. Soo full.”
Was my expression obvious that I didn’t want him to come? Now I feel like the worst sister ever, and I swear I thought it was quite graceful of Alayel to invite him.
My brother continues, “I don’t think I can see food for an entire day. Or two. Oh no. I’ll have to do my job with my eyes closed.”
His exaggeration is a little excessive, and I glare at him. “You’ll chop off your finger.”
“With the experience I have? Not a chance.”
I hug him, and then we head to the door, and I look back, wondering if I should say something to Laristella, but I figure I’ll pass by many more times, and I’ll have tons of chances to speak to her.
Maybe I’ll thank her profusely for teaching me about the golden oil. At the time, I was too busy wanting to hide in a hole to appreciate her words about my orifices and how to find the right one to apply the oil. With Alayel by my side, I really shouldn’t be thinking about such body parts.
Instead, I focus on my belly. That, right now, feels like a bottomless pit, even though I’m sure I ate the biggest lunch I’ve ever had in years.
“Where are we going?” I ask as I close the door behind me.
“You’ll see.”
We head to the bay, but to the side opposite from the docks. This is High Dracolius City, for wealthy merchants, commanders, and nobles, away from the bustle and the noise of sailors, smugglers, and commoners.
We walk on a cobbled street lined with taverns, restaurants, and shops. I’ve been here a few times, but obviously never bought anything or ate anywhere, as it wasn’t something I could afford. In fact, I still can’t afford a restaurant here, and I don’t know if I want to owe Alayel a favor.
I pause. “What if… we went to the other side? A simpler restaurant? Or maybe—”
“Shhh.” He places a finger over my lips. “Let me do this for us. You earned it, remember? Consider it our celebration.”
I tilt my head to evade his touch. “Fine, then.”
My lips tingle with an odd sensation, missing the feel of his finger against them, as he leads me to the Ocean Cauldron.
It’s a much smaller restaurant than I imagined, with only some ten tables, all lit by candles.
A waiter leads us outside, where a terrace with four more tables overlooks the bay, and we sit near the railing.
The waiter returns inside, as I’m considering that I should have chosen a nicer dress—if I had one.
Alayel glances at the scenery outside, then at the restaurant. “Caraneya has even fancier places than here.”
“So you’re used to it.”
He chuckles. “Sure. Used to look at happy people eating dishes I couldn’t even recognize, wasting half of their plates, while I was starving.
I wanted to be one of those people eating, wanted to sit with a gorgeous woman by my side, free to choose anything I wanted from the menu.
Anything. That felt as distant as having a box of diamonds.
And now I’m here. This is no longer Caraneya, but it’s still something I wanted. It has become real.”
My face heats, wondering if he truly thinks he’s sitting with a gorgeous woman. “Couldn’t you have come earlier? To Dracolius? To claim your title?”
He looks down and shakes his head. “Before dying, my mother told me who I was, but also told me to avoid Dracolius, and that the queen would try to kill me. But she’s dead now. And I’m here.”
I’m glad he came to Dracolius, but I don’t want to say that. “Thankfully, your father had different ideas.”
“I’m not sure. Did he want what I brought? Or did he want me dead? If his goal was getting rid of me, it didn’t work.”
“He sounded enthusiastic in the assembly.”
The waiter returns with a bottle, cups, and two menus. After serving wine for both of us, he disappears.
Alayel raises his glass. “A toast. To being alive.”
I clink my glass against his, then take a small sip.
He glances back at the door, then leans forward. “I don’t think my father’s enthusiastic about me, but rather about the possibility of not having a fisherman as a king consort.”
I frown and remember what I saw in the refectory. “Marcus?”
He smirks. “You know him?”
“He used to deliver to the Grease & Spice, and I recognized him at lunch today. Are he and Princess Ledeia…”
“You saw them. What does it look like?”
“I didn’t pay attention.” If Princess Ledeia can’t be involved with a fisherman, then Alayel shouldn’t be involved with a cook, but I don’t want to mention any of this and look down at the menu. “We should choose something, right?”
“I have chosen.” The intensity in his voice makes me look up at him and find his dark eyes focused on me.
Before I get too flustered, I glance at the menu and pick the first option. “I’ll have the creamy shrimp.”
“I’ll have the same.” He rings a little bell.
The waiter comes, asks for our choices, then leaves.
I remember then Alayel’s question about Kaio, and take the opportunity to clarify it. “Earlier, when you asked about my brother, I didn’t mean that we needed help, and I wasn’t asking—”