หัวขโมยแห่งบารามอส 2 คทาแห่งพลัง (แปลอังกฤษ) English Version

ลำดับตอนที่ #28 : Chapter 28: The Morning After (บทที่ 28 เช้าวันรุ่งขึ้น)

Chapter twenty-eight

The Morning After

“So, what happened last night?”

Asked Felin as he walked alongside Vivien to the breakfast table. Vivien blushed.

“Sister, please don’t bring it up. That was embarrassing! Vivien won’t do it ever again!”

“Embarrassing? How?”

“Ugh! Well, Vivien ended up throwing up all over Brother then fainting. And Vivien’s head is still throbbing even now.”

Felin pouted.

“Then there really was nothing. What did Rowen punish me for, then?”

The princess looked a little bit guilty as she mumbled.

“Vivien remember Brother asking who made Vivien drink. Um…Vivien couldn’t lie. It must have been hard for you.”

Felin grinned ear-to-ear at that.

“Well, at first it was hard, but Rowen will be Rowen. He’s kindhearted. He let me out not long after that and he even brought me a blanket. So I had a nice sleep.”

“But you have to sleep on the floor all night! Vivien was so shocked when Vivien saw you this morning.”

“Don’t be. Does me a lot of good, sleeping on the floor does. Reminds me of my childhood. Back when I was wandering with Dad, I slept on the floor loads of times.”

The two turned a corner and finally came into the hotel’s dining room. Glancing around, he saw his friends and comrades seated around a long table. He nodded at the princess and they strode in.

“Good morning!”

“Good morning.” Rowen responded with a smile.

“Nice sleep last night, Felin?” Kil greeted with a sly grin. Felin grimaced.

“Hell no if I’d waited for your help!”

After breakfast, Rowen assigned tasks to everyone: Kalo was to write Edinburgh a tentative report on their journey so far. Kil was responsible for cleaning the wagon to prepare for entering the capital, while Felin was to accompany Rowen and help him with shopping for supplies.

“Pity Vivien’s got a headache, or she could’ve come with us. Must be a lot of fun.”

Felin commented as he jollily surveyed the surroundings.

“Looks like last night’s punishment is not enough for you, hmm? One more would be just about right, don’t you think?”

Felin guffawed at Rowen’s threat.

“Aw, Senior, I know you won’t. Last night you said you’ll punish me all night, and next thing I know, you’ve already let me out since god knows when. Why, you just brought me a blanket. Could’ve woken me up so I can go back to my room, honestly.”

Rowen froze at Felin’s gratitude, for it did not concern him in the least, but he chose to remain silent.

“Honestly, Senior, d’you like Princess Vivien?”

Rowen was a little taken aback. His thick eyebrows rose a bit as he glanced at the lively, merry face of the boy walking beside him.

“What about you, don’t you like Princess Vivien?”

“Argh, that’s another story, Senior! Of course I like Vivien. But do you like her?”

“Well, if you like her, I guess I have no reason not to.” The reply veered off topic. And though it was not a lie, it sounded odd in his ears and Felin frowned.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“You should mind your own business rather than others’.”

“Aw, who’s others? The princess’s like my sister. What’s wrong about minding your sister’s business? C’mon, Senior, I’m serious here. When I say like, it’s not the kind of like I like. I’m talking about the kind of like that you wanna be together. And then you wanna hug each other, and then you wanna make love. Dammit, do I have to explain this much!?”

Felin’s words were beginning to get confused, reflecting his fumbling grasp on his train of thought.

“Felin!” Rowen scolded with a hard voice. “Do you know why you have much more trouble than everyone else with this city? It’s because you grew up with too much freedom. You think whatever you want, and you say whatever you want. That’s why sometimes you end up blurting out things that land you in trouble.”

Felin heaved a sigh.

“Right, I know. You’re going to say a true royalty must think more than he speaks, and must be sensible above all? That’s so hard. Don’t you ever feel tired doing that?”

“That’s because our speech and our conduct equals to our countries’ honor. You should put in some effort. Do you know that a single thoughtless word from a ruler could mean thousands of lives or a whole city?”

At that, Felin heaved another sigh and started learning to keep quiet, but not for long. He soon blurted out once more.

“How on earth did we jump from Vivien to that?”

“The matter about Princess Viviennaniya isn't something you can throw about casually like this. You should know that if you’re a princess, you have the freedom to do nothing and wait for people to please you, pamper and protect you. But being a crown princess or empress is not that simple.”

Rowen went on calmly as though telling a tale.

“If you don’t do anything, if you think only of relying on someone else, especially someone from another country, you will never be respected and revered by your own people. There will never be a place for you in their hearts.”

“But the princess’s just a child. She needs hands to support her.” Felin swiftly argued.

“Age is not a condition for being a ruler. And what an empress needs is not a supporting hand, but legs that will enable her to stand on her own.”

Nothing can bend truth…right?

Felin let out a slow breath laden with pain.

Maybe Prince Rowen was right. A royalty’s conduct is a nation’s pride. This is especially the case for a ruler…

Viviennaniya…

How can you get through this grueling challenge? That person you have chosen…he chose to shove you down into the wilderness below so you could become a ruler, rather than let you stand with him on the cliff.

Should he be happy or sad for her?

“What I said isn’t only for Vivien. You should keep it in mind, too, because sooner or later, the throne of Baramos will pass into your hands.”

“You’re kidding!” Felin cried, aghast.

“The truth is always harsh.” Rowen responded, his eyes downcast. Then he glanced at the rascal pulling an awkward face beside him. Felin seemed to be contemplating something, then he grinned widely.

“Maybe the High King will live long.”

“No matter how long, it’s not forever.” Rowen countered.

“He doesn’t have to live that long. Long enough for me to produce a kid is enough.” Felin hadn’t meant to reply, but he let slip because he can’t grab his tongue in time. He blushed and snickered sheepishly. Rowen gave him an amused grin.

“Not bad. Make sure you talk it over with your producing partner first, alright?”

Rowen’s poke sent Felin blushing a deep shade of magenta. He aimed a kick at the ground to vent some of his embarrassment, then glanced warily at the goodly prince. He’d started off talking about Princess Vivien, but ended up getting teased himself without getting anything out of Rowen. Darn.

Felin frowned, then blurted out.

“Seems you don’t have any trouble with this city, huh, Senior? What have you got, straight As in Pharaoh’s Mask all along?”

Rowen chuckled at that quip.

“Unfortunately, Felin, I’ve never got any As. I’ve only got Hs.”

Felin blinked, astounded. An Honor Score in The Pharaoh’s Mask even he himself didn’t manage to win?

“Actually, you have a bent for this subject, Felin; your past experience and your profession have taught you a lot.”

Felin started to smile.

“But you’re coarse where you should be sensible. You like to see the world through your own eyes rather than look into the hearts of the people around you. Even Prince Kalo can do better here.”

“Him?” Felin bared his teeth, annoyed. “He’s only got one mask for everything: that angry-eyed stucco.”

“And that one mask of his is already more than enough to overwhelm you, Felin. A swindler may have a hundred masks and they might still be no match for a king’s single mask. That is why a king’s lie is considered the crown jewel of lies.”

Felin gulped hard at that.

A king’s single mask…

Right now, Rowen’s also wearing that mask, too, right?

What exactly is Prince Rowen’s true face like?

A king’s lie…and a swindler’s lie…

How many lies are there, hidden in his story?

Didn’t they say you can’t lie in Mooncity?

“Ah, a king’s lie…”

Felin heaved another sigh, venting out some of his confused thoughts as he sprayed water onto the wooden wagon.

“That’s the tenth time I heard it. Who the hell’s lying about what?”

Kil yelled as he scrubbed the wagon with a sponge.

“You, of course! That you didn’t have soap and detergent so you can’t clean the wagon!”

“I forgot to look for them.” Kil replied teasingly. He hadn’t lied about not having cleaning equipment. He just hadn’t explained why.

Felin swore as a blessing, then laughed and retorted knowingly.

“You just planned to skulk around until I get back, right?”

“Not bad, old friend.”

“Yeah, right. Thanks for being honest. No, wait—I should thank the magnificent Mooncity.”

“What? Falling in love with the city?” Kil poked. Felin bared his teeth then swerved the hose, spraying Kil. The killer jumped, shooting him a dour glare.

“No way in hell! If I’m stuck here any longer I’ll end up knocking out some teeth. Get myself shipped back to Eden.”

“If you know you like thinking awful stuff then learn to shut up.”

Felin grinned, then he saw Kalo heading for the hotel from the fence. He turned and winked at Kil.

“You’re cooking up an evil plan again, huh?” Kil forestalled.

“Can’t help it. He keeps acting so snooty all day long.” Felin chuckled. “Wanna join me?”

“M’fraid I’ll pass.” Kil retorted without second’s pause. “Still got my injuries from yesterday.”

Felin laughed in reply, his brown eyes following the tall, graceful Prince of Kanoval. Kalo’s forever calm, handsome face and beautiful blue eyes turned to them for a moment, before he looked past them and made to move on. But that instant Kalo ignored him, the troublemaker grinned widely and directed his hose straight at him.

The proud, gallant prince stood there dripping wet. Kil shook his head wearily, while the rascal grinned cheekily, totally ready for a good glare or a heavy fist that was sure to come his way.

Unfortunately, nothing came.

Kalo simply chanted for a moment, and everything reverted to normal in a blink. The sight had Felin’s temper boiling and he gnashed his teeth.

“Think your magic’s so awesome, you prat?”

Before Kil could stop him, Felin swung his hose towards the git prince who dared ignore him again. This time, Kalo merely stretched out a hand and froze the fan of water in mid-air.

“If you have enough time to fool around, then hurry up and finish cleaning the wagon.”

“If you want it over with quickly then come help us, you jerk! We’re all punished, aren’t we?” Felin yelled hotly.

“I’m busy.”

Kalo’s reply was flat and curt, then he strode away.

“Busy?”

Felin repeated, frowned then bared his teeth in annoyance, especially when he realized Kalo hadn’t only froze the water outside the hose, but all the water inside the hose, too. He swore, frustrated.

“FINE! See if we’ll die without magic!”

The Sun had set, and everyone is back at the table to dine together. The dining area swarmed with chatter from the jolly guests. Pretty waitresses smiled affectionately in welcome.

After they had finished ordering, Rowen opened the conversation matter-of-factly.

“So, the letter’s sent, Kalo?”

“Everything’s in order. But it’d take at least two days for the letter to reach them.”

“If you’ve included the problem with the wand and Evides’s power in your report, then that’s all very well.” Rowen accepted, but still seemed careworn.

“Don’t let it trouble you that much. The thing’s broken. There’s nothing we can do about it. Tomorrow at ten we’ve got an appointment with the Queen. I think that’s what we should worry about. Dunno what they’re throwing at us this time.” Arthur commented with a taut smile. “The woman has enough magic in her to enchant a whole city. Best not get on her bad side.”

Rowen nodded then asked on. “And have you got any interesting information from your recon today?”

“That’s probably the news about the Queen. From what I've heard, she’s Evides’s younger sister. They say she’s extremely beautiful, and dreadfully powerful. Every city surrounding the capital are called the Red Zones, dangerous. Which means most people never got out of there alive. So Mooncity is the only gateway everyone uses to get into the capital.”

“Evides clearly puts a lot of trust in her.”

“That’s why they call it the No-Lies Land.” Arthur shrugged. “It’ll drive you crazy after so long.”

“Because you can’t think what you want to?” Rowen suggested, amused.

“Nope. You’ll go nuts with so many idiots spouting their crazy thoughts around you.” Arthur retorted. Rowen laughed. “You’d better tone down some of your airiness, Rowen. Judgment Day’s tomorrow.”

His next sentence sent the atmosphere tensing up.

“What will happen tomorrow?” Vivien finally asked up.

“From what I've heard, tomorrow we’ll have to get our passports stamped, and we’ll get to meet her. The people’s opinions are divided here. One group says she’s a goddess, while the other says she’s the devil.” Arthur spoke levelly, then concluded.

“She’ll read your mind and expose every of your deepest secrets.”

“That’s horrible!” Vivien sighed. “We all have a few secrets we don’t want anybody to know, after all.”

“Well, that’s because it’s the last stage before the capital and Evides. They say the Queen send scores of people back to Eden or Giantcity daily on charges of infiltrating the capital to assassinate Evides, or planning a revolution.” Arthur clarified.

“Honestly, he’s the Demon King. What’s he so paranoid about?” Kil interrupted.

“Exactly, that doesn’t make sense.” Rowen agreed.

“He’s not paranoid. Annoyed, more like.” Kalo finally spoke. He met Rowen’s eyes then laid down his utensils.

“We have an almost similar practice back in Kanoval, but it’s probably not as effective as Mooncity’s enchantments.” He explained calmly then concluded shortly. “Incompetent fools who think they could make a great change. What a nuisance.”

“You’re so full of yourself, huh.” Felin blurted out, then chuckled as everyone turned to stare at her, swiftly defending her view. “Well, it’s true!”

“Anyway, let tomorrow be tomorrow. We’ll tuck in early tonight. Tomorrow morning we’ll meet with the Queen of Mooncity, and it’s straight to the Demos capital we go.”

Rowen concluded, then halted when he caught a light whiff of perfume. He turned around, and standing there beside him was a shapely lady in a short red tank top which revealed her middle and a long black dress. The lady from yesterday! With her fair, beautiful face, sparkling blue eyes and red, tempting lips.

“Come dance a song with me, gorgeous. This is the sweetest part.”

She suggested. Her invitation was probably a hilarious mixture of words and thoughts, and the other occupants of the table were starting to grin, save for Princess Vivien who was tensing up.

“I don’t get to dance much.” Rowen replied simply with a polite smile.

“Doesn’t mean you can’t” Felin voiced her mental quip, then laughed weakly. The beauty in red smiled broadly.

“Please, your highness. Give me a song. So I can tell them that once in my life I got to dance with the Prince of Gemini.” The lady chirped, taking Rowen’s hand.

“Drop the polite act and just get a friggin’ move on, will you? I know you’ll go out anyway.” Arthur teased. Rowen sighed softly then finally stood up.

“You’d better mind you words, Master Arthur.” He warned calmly before turning back to the young beauty. “Give me one song, my lady.”

Felin whistled in glee, then poked irresistibly. “Forever a gentleman.” Then she gloated at someone sitting across her, who was still deadpan, and chuckled. “As opposed to someone round here...”

“Oi, is that for me?” Arthur mistook it for himself, but when he turned and saw beautiful Princess Vivien sitting there looking so troubled, his heart somehow softened, and he coughed a little.

“Princess Vivien, would you honor me with a song?”

Vivien froze. Felin raised her eyebrows then turned to egg her on.

“Awesome! Go out for a song or two, princess. Let you hair down. So someone will realize that a precious jewel in his grasp could slip away unless he handles it with care.”

“I’m afraid he’ll retort that you can’t go on holding some lowly pebble forever.” Vivien replied sadly, before smiling. “Thank you very much, Prince Arthur, but Vivien don’t feel like dancing.”

“Aw, princess! Just let Master Arthur take you out! Don’t you know that when you’re on the floor, there’s a technique for you to switch partners?”

Felin said knowingly with laughing voice, and Vivien blushed.

“Exactly.” Especially when Arthur confirmed.

“If you want to go out then go ahead, Sister. Vivien don’t want to.” Vivien was getting more embarrassed by the minute. Felin grinned.

“How about I take you out?” The rascal misinterpreted it.

“Vivien mean, have Prince Kalo take you out, Sister.”

Vivien hit it squarely in the bull’s eye. The whole table went completely silent. Kil rolled his eyes at the ceiling. He was hoping the dinnertime stupidity would end quickly without fuss. Looks like he’s totally mistaken.

Honestly, must all princesses be stupid?

“What d’you say, Kalo? You going?”

It was perhaps the first time Felin’s airy voice seemed forced. Did I actually just asked Kalo for a dance? Her brown eyes gazed intently at the prince’s snowy, beautiful face, which was still as calm as ever.

“But can you do the lady’s steps, Felin?”

It was a simple reply. Felin froze then blushed faintly, as opposed to her usual cheekiness, and Arthur noted that she at least had an adorable side to her like the young woman she was.

But a moment later he changed his mind after hearing her response.

“Well, then you do them then. Shan’t have asked!”

*********