Chapter Five
A New Trial
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Merle could feel her eyes widen when the boy in front of her, now dusty and
disheveled after their chase and tumble, introduced himself as Van. During her
long nights, she'd had time to go over every word that Balgus had said before
his quick departure. The few sentences he'd spoken were now firmly imprinted on
her mind. The meager lines directed towards her had been general assurances that
she'd be taken care of, but the bit she'd overheard him say to the mustached man
had held more information.

It was then that he had mentioned the name Van, and said something about him
needing someone his age around. Had he been talking about this boy?

Tilting her head to the side, she took a good, long look at him. His dark hair
fell over his forehead in untidy waves, almost covering his eyes. He wore a
loose red shirt and beige pants, both of which were just as dusty as the rest of
him. But even through the grime, she could tell that this was no servant boy; he
was obviously someone of some importance.

So what did he have to do with Balgus' decision to bring her here? For that
matter, what was he doing sneaking around the kitchen in the middle of the
night? Deciding that the need to know overrode her natural instinct to remain
silent until she could escape, Merle returned her gaze to his face.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked bluntly, purposely not giving her own
name. The boy looked taken aback for an instant, but quickly recovered. His eyes
narrowed slightly, and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I was going to ask you the same thing."

"Well, I asked you first," Merle retorted, mirroring the belligerent action.
The large room was silent for a long moment as they glared at each other, both
refusing to take the first step. Unnoticed by the two, the first dim lights of
dawn had begun creeping over the sky. Squinting one eye, Merle continued looking
at the boy, waiting for what would come next. But what did happen was not what
she'd been expecting.

Faint voices sounded from outside, causing both of their heads to swivel towards
the door. Merle recognized the voices of some of the kitchen staff, and realized
how late it had gotten during their encounter. Panic gripped her at the thought
of getting caught with Van in the room; for all she knew, it could be enough of
an offense to get her booted out. Whipping her head back towards him, she began
to urge him to leave. One glance, and the words died on her tongue.

On his face was a look that had to match her own. A mix of fear, alarm, and
indecision was clearly visible, and his hands dropped to rest on his knees.
Before she could gather her wits enough to question his reaction, Van turned
back to her.

"I have to go. But I'll be back." And with those few words, he was off, getting
to his feet and heading to the hall at a pace she would be hard pressed to
duplicate. Merle remained motionless, staring after him in bewilderment. When
the voices became loud enough to break through her dazed state, she quickly
headed back to her corner, ducking out of sight just as the first of the women
entered.

Turning on her side to face the wall, she sighed. Even though she'd only just
met him, had said less than twenty words to him, she knew that the boy would
keep his word. He would be back, and there was nothing she could do about it.

~*~

Van shifted in his seat, tuning out Master Josias' speech about the proper
phrasing of some official document. His eyes drifted to the window where the
perfect early spring day was playing itself out for those lucky enough to enjoy
it. He fought a sigh, knowing that the slightest noise would bring his tutor's
attention flying back to him and away from the sound of his own voice. Then he'd
have to pretend interest for the rest of the afternoon or risk an even more
boring lecture about respecting his elders.

He yawned widely, feeling his eyelids droop. The night without sleep was
beginning to catch up with him. After racing from the kitchen, he had jumped
into his bed. With the covers over his head, he had waited, listening to the
slight sounds that filtered through the halls, just in case. And though no one
had even passed his room during those early hours, he had been far to tense to
fall asleep.

Nodding absently at something his tutor was saying, Van let his thoughts drift
back to the real matter at hand. There had been a cat girl in the kitchen last
night, and something, instinct or just a darn good guess, was telling him that
she was the person who'd been in his room as well.

That deduction supplied him with one question's resolution, but he now had a
whole list of more questions that only she could answer. That meant he would
have to talk to her again.

But how?

She hadn't seemed that thrilled about his presence last night, as her immediate
flight told him. But it was something about that quick urge to run that caught
Van's attention. She had seemed almost . . .afraid. Had she been afraid of him?
His brow furrowed as he thought about that. As much as he was determined to get
her to talk to him, he didn't want her to be scared of him. So what was she so
frightened of?

Another question without an answer, he thought to himself, letting his eyes
drift back to the window. It was beginning to get annoying. Even though he
didn't think of himself as demanding, he did like to get what he wanted, when he
wanted it. In this case, he wanted a whole lot of information, and he wanted it
now.

"Lord Van!" came a loud voice, accompanied by the sound of footsteps. Van looked
up to see a noticeably unpleased Master Josias giving him a stare that was just
this side of a glare. The older man had crossed both arms over his chest and
tilted his head to the side. His jaw was thrust out, and all in all, he
presented a vaguely amusing sight, but Van knew better than to let that opinion
show on his face.

"Yes, sir?" he asked, injecting what he hoped was the right amount of meekness
into his voice. Normally, he wouldn't have given this man the pleasure of his
obedience, but right now, he was willing to follow the path of least resistance.
The sooner he got this confrontation over with, the sooner Master Josias would
go back to droning, and the sooner the day's lesson would end.

"Is there something you would rather be doing right now? Something that you
might consider more important than these lessons?"

Van fought the urge to roll his eyes. Like he was going to fall for that, one of
the oldest adult tricks in the book. Why did grown-ups think kids were stupid
enough to admit to something that would get them in trouble? "No, sir."

His tutor gave him another long look, and then dropped his arms. "In that case,
let's get back to work." Walking quickly back to his desk, he grabbed some
sheets of paper and a pen. Returning to Van's side, he laid them on the table
with a snap. "Why don't we try a few drafts just be sure."

Too many hours later for Van's contentment, he finally escaped outside. Glaring
down at his hands, which were now spotted with black ink, he muttered under his
breath, imitating Master Josias' high-pitched voice. "‘Your letters should be
straight and neat, but show the firmness befitting someone of your station.'
Like anybody cares how I write." He kicked at a rock and watched as it bounced
off a tree. Shoving his hands deeply into his pockets, he began to walk, with no
real destination in mind.

He knew that tutors were going to be a part of his life; it was the expected
thing. The same had been true for Folken. But he didn't remember his brother's
tutor as being quite so . . .arrogant. The man he remembered had been soft
spoken and patient, always willing to answer even Van's questions about things.

Something about Master Josias just rubbed him the wrong way. Even as recently as
just a couple of months before, Van would have gone to his mother with this
problem, and asked her what she thought of the situation. But now he was lucky
to see her once a week, and he didn‘t want to waste the little bit of time he
had with her complaining. He knew that things had been hard on her, but they'd
been tough for him too. It was beginning to feel like he'd lost more than just
his brother to that dragon slaying ritual.

As soon as that thought solidified in his mind, he straightened his shoulders.
He wasn't going to mope around, whining about things he couldn't change. He was
just going to have to be strong, and handle his problems on his own. After all,
he was going to be king and rule an entire country. He didn't need anyone's
help.

Sighing, Van lifted his head, looking at but not seeing the large expanse of sky
and buildings before him. Finally pulling himself out his dark thought enough to
notice his surroundings, he found that he had unconsciously wandered to the back
entrance of the kitchens. A handful of people milled around, unloading carts and
doing other random chores. Ducking around a stomping horse, Van kept his
distance. He knew from experience that cutting through the people would only
result in him getting underfoot, which would lead to him being told to "play
somewhere else". The last thing he wanted was another lecture so soon after his
previous one.

It was as he was taking this round about path that he saw a glimpse of something
through one of the windows. A flash of color that caught his eye and made him
turn for a closer look. There, almost invisible unless you looked closely, was
none other than the girl from the night before. She was leaning against the
window frame, her pink hair standing out against the stark stone.

Van stopped in his tracks, blinking a few times to be sure that he really was
seeing what he thought he was seeing. Even as he took a step forward she moved,
ducking out of sight. He waited, but she didn't reappear.

His brow furrowed in thought, Van headed back the way he had come. There had to
be a lot of people in the kitchen at this hour of the afternoon, working on
dinner and so on. If the girl was still there, that had to mean she was supposed
to be there. Didn't it? So why hadn't she just told him that last night?

He shook his head. Tonight he'd pay a return visit to the kitchen, especially
since he was sure she'd be there again. Then he'd ask her all the questions that
were bouncing around in his head.

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