In Line - Chapter 4

A poor man’s breakfast was a breakfast lacking meat, that’s what King Father said. He didn’t say it to be rude, though. I didn’t eat meat, but when you live in the king’s castle, you’re expected to live a life of luxuries. When my father noticed I didn’t eat the same bounties at the breakfast table, he told me “A poor man’s breakfast is a breakfast lacking meat,” and I said “but a king eats what he wants” to which he replied, “my son has a brain.” He would say those types of things. I had a brain, my brother had a heart, and my sister had a strong will. With King Father trapped in his bed days had passed since last I or anyone else heard his voice at any table.

My siblings and I all wanted an answer to the question of who poisoned our birthday cake. After our party, Queen Mother detained Ola and Teco under suspicion of a threat to our family. Unfortunately, we couldn’t keep the leaders of other kingdoms, especially two with such power and military, for very long without creating a ripe situation for war. We let them go days later. Lucky for us, Teco was less than sensitive or emotional when it came to how he ruled his own people. He understood his detainment. Queen Ola was also reasonable enough. But no matter how level headed a ruler was, their followers were unpredictable. We had no way of investigating the crime without creating further unease between kingdoms.

So we turned to the one suspect that we already stood on bad terms with. The one kingdom not invited seemed to be the most likely responsible for such an act. Anyone associated with the kingdom of Mar was hunted. It must have been a hard call for Mother to make. The Kingdom of Mar was predominantly Spaniards. Hunting known associates meant singling out one of the three most residing communities in Fae. I’m just glad I didn’t have to make the call because outside of the politics, it meant Louis was in an awkward situation. He was the one Spaniard not targeted, so he didn’t, or rather, he couldn’t leave the castle. Louis loved being out in the community, so seeing him lock himself away was sad.

I figured between King Father’s battle to recover and Louis being stuck inside, maybe it was a good time for my brother and me to spend some time together. No one died yet, so there was no grief but much worry. I knew the best way to relieve my brother’s worries; drink and the company of paid partners. I might have invited Sky, but she was never the type to worry. She adjusted, no matter what the situation was. The day after our father’s poisoning, Sky continued with her studies in combat with the guards like she always would as if nothing was different.

If I were honest, you don’t invite your sister to join the type of day Louis and I were going to have. I wasn’t blind to how pampered I was, but I was still a “guys guy,” my brother made sure of that. My sister often made it known she was not “common people.” She never got drunk, didn’t sleep around, and even when she lost her temper, she always did so with manors. So, of course, she was not invited.

You’d think to get prostitutes and drink into the castle a challenge. In actuality, with my brother’s history of doing what I was attempting, I only needed to find the right guard to get the job done. In just a matter of hours, my request was met beyond expectation. The real problem was keeping my “special guests” hidden and unseen inside the castle. I suppose that’s why my brother went out rather than bringing his guilty pleasures in. As I snuck the group of “workers” from my room to Louis’ my only thought was, “what would be worse, Queen Mother seeing this or Sky.” None the less I made it to my brother’s room.

I knocked three times, and for a moment, I thought Louis might have been sleeping or away. That was until he opened the door. It had been a week since the night of our birthday, and Louis looked and smelled as though he hadn’t bathed since then. He seemed unphased by the horde of women and men standing behind my back.

“What is this,” he questioned.

“I thought you could use…,” I started to say.

“Par, you can’t do this,” he scolded me.

It was embarrassing, to say the least. I went through so much effort to do something so intolerable, and yet it should have been just right.

“I can do this, not you. Mother would have your head if she thought you were this kind of man,” he laughed.

I was unsure what to say, and even more uncertain of what to say to all the guests I invited to my brother’s doorway.

“Well. .. they’re here so,” I said.

“I said I would help you find someone. I don’t need help finding a lay, send them to the guard’s house,” he said dismissively.

“The guard’s house?” I questioned

“Let them have our fun, you and I, on the other hand, have people to see,” he suggested.

He started to leave his room. Shutting the door behind himself, he was in nothing more than his pants and leather boots.

“Don’t you think you should get dressed first,” I joked as he pushed past me to lead the way.

It was an awkward ordeal discarding my house guests so abruptly, but Louis was right. The guards were pleased with my unplanned gift of bought pleasures.

Louis and I didn’t leave the castle. We couldn’t leave the castle, but it was a surprise seeing how easy it was to get my brother out of his room. I half expected a battle to be necessary.

“You know I had a whole day planned out,” I argued if only lightly.

My brother attracted many eyes as he traversed castle halls with bare chest and tall back. His emerald eyes were usually enough to entice.

“I appreciate the sentiment Brother, but as I said, I’m not the one who needs help in that regard,” he answered.

“I thought you were upset, depressed, with everything happening from Father being poisoned to your people being questioned by Mother’s enforcers, I just thought you would be feeling something,” I suggested as we took steps down.

“I’m fine,” he said.

“Then why has it taken a week for you to leave your room?”

He became mute for a moment.

“Perhaps it is overwhelming. I know if I leave these walls, I might be mistaken for a suspect, or worse, those who are suspected may turn on me as a hypocrite. But I’m not worried, I have always been closest to the people, and when things die down, I will remain just the same,” he said.

I’m not sure he believed his own words, but he said them clearly. How long would it take for things to die down? Louis tried waiting in solitude, but that was a finite solution. Perhaps that’s why he took the opportunity to not only join me outside his room but to guide the expedition. I wondered what he had planned at such short notice.

We entered the east dining room. It was a small room meant more private conversation where ironically dinning rarely happened despite the many finely crafted tables. There were the usual guards that stood by the entrances and exits of every room, but also a group of people I’d yet to meet. My brother escorted me over to them and gave me an introduction.

“Par, this is Non, from the kingdom of Catalina,” my brother said.

Non was, of course, black as night, and his stature was taller than mine and my brothers. I could tell he was strong. His back hunched in a way that only happened after back-breaking work. He wore his kingdoms black armor and carried a sword nearly my length on his side.

The men of Catalina were known for being fierce and made of stone. Non looked to fit the mold. There was a general assumption that they were less than open to different forms of relationships outside of the common norm. But he was there, and my brother introduced him as if he were “viable.” It was unexpected that my brother would invite guests from other kingdoms to meet me, especially from nations that might have been involved in the poisoning on our birthday cake.

“It’s nice to meet you, Non,” I said with a firm handshake.

His grip nearly dislocated my fingers, but he released quickly enough to hide my lack of tactile strength.

“Likewise. Your brother has postponed this event for several days now,” he expressed.

“Well, we’re all here now,” Louis commented, making light of it all.

How had my brother assembled suitors and kept them waiting while he kept to his solitary? I didn’t have a moment to ask. Before Non and I could speak further, Louis moved me to the next guest standing in wait.

“Moving on. This is Santo. He’s the one responsible for the castle’s new lights,” Louis explained.

Santo was an Italian inventor. Admittedly I’d seen him around the castle but never gave him much attention. He was so skinny it gave the presumption of sadness and hardship. The most curious thing about Santo was part of his ear seemed to be missing. I noticed it as I approached him. He wore casual clothes and a small tool belt, but nothing special. I could tell he tried to look presentable. Unfortunately standing next to Non, who was a member of Catalina’s royal guard, Santo seemed out of his element.

“So you’re who I have to thank for the beautiful lights,” I said.

“The technology has been around for a while, I simply put it together,” he explained.

“I’m glad that you did,” I offered as thanks.

“We all are, but we must keep moving,” my brother interjected himself again, cutting conversations short.

“My name is Yale, your highness,” a beautiful woman introduced herself before my brother had the chance.

“Oh, you don’t have to be so formal with me,” I said.

“This is Lady Yale from the kingdom of Oboshi,” Louis explained further.

She was stunning. An olive-skinned beauty with long flowing hair dressed in sea green and sandstones. No matter where she stood in the room, light followed her, and a breeze kept her in motion. Her eyes, for the brief moments she would look into mine, were solid like glass looking through me.

My brother had to peel me away from her side.

“Which brings us to Jin, a dancer of the ‘Travelers of Major,’ a new circus popular among several kingdoms,” Louis continued his tour.

“Jin? That’s a beautiful name,” I said.

“It was my mother’s,” she informed me.

A performer was in the castle. She was a red rose woman, but what would mother have thought? With the body of a dancer, hair of flames, and petite features, she was a ruby. Her clothes were of thin silk, hiding only the most private features. She had a presence about her that stood out for sure.

When did my brother find the time to gather these people while he was locked away? They were all so different. A moment came when I realized my brother had gathered those people not for me to connect with, but to lay. Did they know the reasons they were selected? I had no idea, and to be honest, it didn’t feel right to ask. My brother was just standing there waiting for me to make a move of some sort. I couldn’t do anything with him there. What was I to do? Send him back to his room? No. I pulled him away from our guests to speak in private.

“What exactly am I supposed to do with these people,” I questioned.

“Whatever you want, Brother,” he said with a wicked grin across his devilish face.

“Do they know that’s why they are here?”

“No.” My brother said.

“I don’t think I can simply lay with them,” I admitted.

“Not all of them, that would be a challenge on your first go around,” he joked to which I punch his arm.

“Louis, I’m serious.”

“Alright, Brother, alright, just pick someone, and whoever is left, I’ll keep busy,” he suggested.

“And by keeping busy, you mean?”

That wicked grin returned. My brother. What more could be said?

“Pick one, and I’ll keep the others busy. If things don’t work out, you can always try again with someone else,” he said with a hand rested on my shoulder.

We were the same age. How was Louis such a natural while I was stunted in growth?

We needed a distraction from the turmoil of the kingdom and our father, and it seemed we’d found just that. After all, there was no better distraction nor convolution than the presence of choices without foreseeable risk of loss. But who to choose first was a pressing question.