Chapter 13:
Stares and Whispers
Marcellus rides in front, putting me and Becky in the middle of the pack. I’ve been studying Trevus as he rides alongside us. My eyes flick between his hair, his torso and his shoulders. He’s a large, intimidating man. It’s amusing to imagine him as a small child, as I once was too, though I’m sure our early years bore little resemblance.
“Did you grow up in a palace?” I ask in a low voice only he can hear.
He stares for a moment, puzzling about the motivation behind my question. I simply want to know more about the man who freed me from Antiock.
“Regretfully, I did,” he says. “My mother was a master artisan of the palace during my formative years. I shared her quarters.”
“Regretfully?” I ask. “Having maids serve you the best food in the country sounds fantastic.” I can just imagine what it would be like in a palace – any kind of fruit, berry and meat one could want, bathing in fire-heated water and crawling into fresh, soft bedsheets every night.
Trevus smirks. My eyes narrow. “I gather that you wish to dwell in a palace?” he says.
“I don’t see who wouldn’t – except you apparently.”
“Servants serve the royalty, and artisans as my mother craft their most desirable possessions. They were not there for my benefit, though I do concede that the meals were grand.”
“But you didn’t enjoy palace life?” I ask.
“Being born the child of a farmer in a rural village, perhaps one like your own, would have been preferable,” he says.
“Preferable to a palace?” While I longed for years to return to my Mephian home, I was a prisoner locked in a room. Simple wood and straw houses couldn’t compare to the luxury of a palace.
“The said to be
wise
king
, my father, failed to conceal that Elie’s pregnancy was his doing. As a child, the stares and whispers did not pass me by. Parents forbade their children from befriending the boy born of affair for fear of King Tytius’s erratic conduct. A life not so dissimilar from my peers would have been preferable,” he says.
“People stare and whisper in rural villages too,” I say. That part I’ll never forget.
Trevus raises an eyebrow. “Would your community in Mephia not revere a sorceress?”
I think back to the tasks they’d assign me – assisting the sick to rest and calming distressed livestock. “No matter how obedient I was, people fear a child who can put them to sleep at a touch.”
“And not one ever saw beyond your sorcery?” he asks.
“No.” While that way of things used to appear inescapable, so did my imprisonment in Antiock four nights ago.
Trevus doesn’t say any more.
The sun sets, and we stop to set up camp. Trevus frees my wrists from the saddle horn before unpacking the bags.
I stretch my legs and circle the clearing where we’ll be staying tonight. The local flora resembles our last camping spot, meaning there’s plenty of vampire thistle too. I commit to memory the handful of broken stems, so I’ll know if anyone new is roaming around.
Trevus fetches pots and ingredients from the bags while Marcellus and Giddius build the fire. I manage to carefully maneuver my sleeping pouch out of Becky’s saddlebag and set it out beside them.
Soon Trevus has a soup brewing with a sweet pumpkin scent.
My mind wanders back to my failed escape last night. Trevus caught up to me on Gramps without reins to guide him or a saddle to sit on.
“Where did you learn to ride like that?” I ask him.
Trevus fills a bowl with soup and hands it to me. “I have trained on horseback for many years,” he says.
“But how did you steer Gramps without any reins?”
“What is Gramps?” Marcellus asks.
This must be the first time I’ve said it out loud. “I’ve named Trevus’s horse Gramps. He’s got silver hair, and he’ll age quickly having to follow Trevus’s commands every day.”
Both Marcellus and Giddius chuckle. Trevus gives me a side-long glance as he hands the other two their bowls.
“You speak truth,” Marcellus says. “I feel my bones ache and grow more fragile whenever Trevus barks an order.” They both laugh again.
“With years riding experience,” Trevus cuts them off, “I have a sense for the muscles in the animal’s abdomen. Precise pressure can direct it left and right. ‘Tis an advantageous skill as both arms can wield weapons.”
I perk up. “I want to learn how to ride like that.”
Giddius snorts. “If Marcellus and I have not mastered the skill, a Mephian captive should not begin to dream of it.”
“I slipped past both of you when I yanked Becky’s lead out of Marcellus’s hand.”
The amusement disappears from Giddius’s face.
I look back to Trevus. “Can you teach me?”
He’s surprised. “I am the one you wish to coach you?”
“I’ve never seen anyone else ride like that,” I say. The fact that Marcellus and Giddius haven’t mastered it either means Trevus’s skills are rare.
“You wish to be coached by Versillian soldiers, or
bristly asses
, if I recall your words?”
“I only dislike you when you behave like soldiers,” I say. I enjoyed playing tike in the tavern, learning about the vampire thistles and dining on soup around the fire. Sharing those experiences with others is what I’ve longed for for years.
“So be it then,” Trevus says.
I light up. He’s really going to teach me.
“If you choose to stay after our venture, I shall coach you.”
I nod and fake a smile. I can’t bring myself to use my connection as he wants. Seeing his quest through would end in my death.
I take another sip of my soup. He’s a good cook, especially considering where we are. “What kind of food do they make at a palace?” I ask.
“The royal chef, Pasius, prepares whatever the king desires,” Trevus says. “Meals of a day can range from fresh bread, corn and sweet pumpkin, to chicken, cheese and olives.”
“Bread on Monday, corn on Tuesday and pumpkin on Wednesday. That sounds delicious,” I say.
“You misunderstand.” Trevus chuckles. “Bread, corn and pumpkin would be Monday breakfast. Monday lunch and dinner would be entirely different.”
That’s only breakfast? They have nine different foods in one day?
“You look as if I have risen from the dead,” Trevus says.
“It’s a lot.”
“You wish to try it?”
I do, but the thought of being back in the heart of Versillia as a Mephian is frightening.
“After our time here, if you head to the palace and request an audience with Officer Norallius, I shall make arrangements for you,” Trevus says.
I nod, but it’s an offer I can never follow up on.
Marcellus is the first to finish his soup. He pulls the statuette from his pocket and begins shaving it with his carving knife. It definitely has the figure of a woman – a distant lover, perhaps?
“Who’s that?” I ask. He didn’t seem concerned with her when talking to those farm girls in Cidon, but I’ll keep that to myself.
“Nomier,” Marcellus says. Their goddess.
“Do all soldiers revere her?” I ask.
Giddius scoffs. “A long-gone deity has no effect on the odds.”
Marcellus gives him a sharp look but doesn’t rise to his goad.
“Trevus, do you worry about Nomier?” I ask.
“I am no priest,” Trevus says, “but I have yet to witness Versillian veterans marching to battle without her blessing.”
“Girly, do you pay Nomier her due respect?” Marcellus asks.
“Nomier has never done anything for me,” I say.
“She is the goddess of Versillian earth. Perhaps her blessing passes over your Mephian blood,” he says.
“Her name doesn’t sound Versillian,” I say.
“Nomier founded Versillia. Her age exceeds that of our great kingdom.”
Older than Versillia? The force of this kingdom has always been so present in my life – it’s hard to imagine a world without them. Every kingdom has a beginning, and every kingdom has an end.
😂
@iceheartgoldsmile I like Marcellus myself, but in one of the chapters he treated Jade very badly and I was stubborn.
@CaitRoseCoI like Marcellus myself, but in one of the chapters he treated Jade very badly and I was stubborn.
@iceheartgoldsmile I’ve only ridden with a saddle before (and I’m certainly not experienced, which I guess as a Texan might disappoint the international community, uh oh) but I found it so painful and uncomfy even with a saddle lol. Fun though
It can haha, gotta make sure the body isn’t flopping all over the place and it’s easier when the back muscles are well developed in the horse, you’re not hurting their spine and the riders butt haha
I would imagine bareback hurts though!!
@joonimari475 I like Marcellus too, Giddius sucks
whendo u drop the chapters, every day?
@joonimari475 I noticed his behaviour change after the duel he had with her
@It’s true, you’re right. Marcellus’ behavior has changed since he was caught by a wild beast in the forest.
😏
I love Marcellus, Giddius is an asshole but Marcellus has turned around to be so nice now
I mean, the time I was reading Chapter passed quickly for me because I was enjoying the writings.
they can relate to each other
But I still want to beat up Marcellus. What should I do? I’m getting obsessed
This chapter was very short. I don’t know, maybe I was enjoying myself too much (because those two were talking to each other), my time passed quickly.
She asks a lot of ths poor guy lol, getting the chance to enjoy that childish need to know everyone’s thoughts and what things are, it’s charming
He’s become so supportive it’s so sweet
she’s finally getting important life experiences
bareback is prettty easy, horses are very sensitive so direction them with anticipatory movements is fun, you want them to turn, start by turning your own body
just a useful asset, and not a child needing more then to be seen for her gifts