The Child Prince (The Artifactor)

by Honor Raconteur

  “Errr.” Bel winced, half-flinching as he recalled today’s events. “I was so busy trying to get to her, I didn’t think about that part. Umm. Where is she?”

  “Research room.”

  “Thank you.” He strode straight for the door, ignoring the irate men behind him.

  Aren, apparently realizing that he had completely lost his son’s attention at this point, did nothing more than heave a resigned sigh before calling after him, “Bellomi? One last thing.”

  Bel paused in the doorway and half-turned to look at his father. “Yes?”

  Wagging a cautionary finger, Aren said sternly, “Thou shalt not take advantage of having your lady under this roof, son.”

  A full-blown, impish smile lit up Bel’s face. “Watch me.”

  Sevana bit her lip to keep from laughing as the prince bounded away, headed straight for Hana. Judging from the look on Aren’s face…no, that had not been the answer he was expecting.

  The king frowned at the empty space where his son had been standing, then turned that frown on her. “Ever since he’s come here and stayed with you, he’s become increasingly cheeky.”

  Far from apologetic, Sevana shrugged and admitted easily, “I’m a corruptive influence.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Alright, she needed to plan out the details of this. The Dragon’s Water would carry a power level of seven. Because he’d agreed to use water from the sea, it would raise that level of power by another point. She’d calculated that much already. But the question remained, what would be the best thing to pair it with? Wood had proven very effective—hence why she’d created a wooden bed—but pairing wood with a dragon’s water spout would be a mite challenging. The trick would be to come up with something that would work with the Dragon’s Water and not be shattered by it. Nothing that had a substantive form to it would work just because it wouldn’t blend well with the water’s force. Not even eight hundred year old oak wood from her favorite tree in Noppers Woods.

  No, something with a firm form wouldn’t work. Hmmm.

  Most people, the ones that didn’t really understand the nuances of magic, thought that it was a simple matter of matching the numbers together. Put in a pinch of that, a dash of this, throw it together with a little of something else, and presto! Instant spell. In reality, it didn’t come together that easily. Some elements blended together perfectly. Others wouldn’t combine no matter how much force or magic you used. Dragon’s Water and old wood was a prime example of that.

  So the question stood, what elements would blend well with dragon’s water? Something formless would be good. Something that would bend and blend well with water. Hmmm.

  She rocked back in her chair, one leg propped up on her worktable, pushing at her bottom lip idly with a pencil as she thought. Normally she’d head to her research room for this sort of planning, but the lovebirds were still in there. She wasn’t about to interrupt that. So she’d have to see what she could come up with off the top of her head.

  Alright, so start with the formless elements. By sheer habit, from her days as a student, she started humming the ditty that listed them off. “Sunshine, moonshine, fairy’s kiss~”

  Someone knocked timidly at the door before pushing it open by creaking degrees. Irritated to be interrupted mid-thought, she watched with a distinct lack of patience as the door slowly swung inwards before Kip poked his head inside of the room. She didn’t have to see his face to know who interrupted her. Only Kip possessed the knack of interrupting her during crucial thought processes like this one. “Yes, Kip.”

  “Uhhh…you’re not humming the sleeping princess song, are you?”

  Rolling her eyes towards the heavens in a bid for patience, she demanded, “Did it sound like I was?”

  “Honestly, you’re so tone deaf, I can’t usually tell what you’re humming.”

  Picking up a wand lying nearby, she pointed it at him and asked mock-sweetly, “How would you like to spend a few hours as a frog?”

  Eyeing the wand nervously, Kip gulped before rapidly backpedaling. “Uh, err, what I meant to say was, I couldn’t really hear you clearly through the door so I’m not sure what you were humming.”

  Generously forgiving him, she put the wand down and waved him inside. “I was, as a matter of fact, trying to think of the best elements to use to break Bel’s curse with.”

  Kip blinked. “I thought you already had that planned.”

  “No, I just knew that I would have to borrow the aid of a mystical being to have enough power. I don’t know yet what I’ll use to combine with it. I just have a notion or two.” But explaining any of that to him in detail would be a futile exercise. “So why are you pestering me, pest?”

  “I want to borrow some never-ending sacks from you.” He slung himself into a chair, propping his arms comfortably on top of the surface as he spoke. “Believe it or not, those idiot guards didn’t bother to pack up any of Hana’s research. They left it all behind.”

  Sevana felt like shaking her head at the general stupidity of the world around her. “They’re sent to arrest someone for the information they’re gathering and they don’t do anything to the actual information itself. Brilliant.”

  “Isn’t it though? After Hana’s arrest, her father quickly gathered everything up and hid it in a back room. I thought it best we go get it soon.”

  Before someone realized the oversight and sent another squad of guards to collect it? Yes, probably the best idea. “How much is there?”

  “A lot,” Kip responded with spread palms. “I think it’ll take at least three, maybe four, of your never-ending bags to haul it all up here. And even then it might be too heavy to lift.”

  “Then take five with you.” As an afterthought she added, “And once you’re done with them, wash them. I don’t want them stinky of horse.”

  Kip, well used to her ways, just gave her a long look. “One of these days, you’re going to have to explain to me what it is you have against horses.”

  She gave a sniff. “There are more dignified ways to travel,” she responded regally. “Now, if there is no other favors you want to ask, off with you. I have calculations to run.”

  “Yes, yes.” Standing, he headed for the door, but paused before opening it. “Actually, there was one more thing.”

  Pencil poised to write, she shot him a look under her brows. “Yes?”

  “Hana will no doubt need to set up a research room of her own if she’s to sort through all of this. Where do you want her to set up shop?”

  “I do not care as long as it doesn’t interfere with any of my rooms.” No, wait, she shouldn’t let a man make those kinds of decisions. They inevitably assumed things they shouldn’t. “Big?”

  The mountain gave an inquiring rumble.

  “Is there an empty room available?” She had frankly lost track after gaining so many guests and such.

  Yes, the mountain answered. He sounded rather happy about it, actually. But Big liked company. It gave him something to do aside from wait for intruders to play with.

  “Show Kip the way, will you?” She nodded to Kip in a dismissive way.

  Taking the hint, he gave her a half-mocking bow before stepping out and closing the workroom door behind him.

  Satisfied to be finally left alone, she turned back to the blank page in front of her, pencil hovering over it in anticipation.

  Wait. What was she supposed to be doing?

  Bellomi, Morgan and Axelrad went down very early the next morning, before the sun even thought about rising, and made their way to the library. Axelrad had been the one to insist upon this timing. As he explained it, “Despite what most people believe, it’s in the early morning that the guards are the most relaxed. After a full night’s patrolling, see, they think the worst is over. Trouble usually starts before midnight, not at pre-dawn, after all.”

  Not a soul stirred in the town, leaving it absolutely still and quiet. The darkness of night still lingered, only the street lamps lighting their way, a
nd a damp fog swirled in the air, obscuring their sight even more. At this hour of the morning, and despite the general warmness of the season, the air felt cool and misted their clothes, making them cling in an unpleasant way.

  Conli, cued to their arrival from a message they sent the night before, was up and hovering in his doorway waiting for them. The aging librarian wore his daily uniform, obviously ready for work, and far from appearing half-awake, he nearly danced in place with impatience and energy. When they finally did appear through the chill morning fog, he lit up with relief. “Your Hi—”

  Raising a finger to his mouth, Bellomi quickly shushed the man.

  Realizing his mistake, Conli slapped a hand over his own mouth.

  Then and there, Bellomi made a mental note to himself to talk to Hana about who else she’d told. He’d forgotten to do that yesterday, with all the mayhem that happened. He reined to a stop near the door and slid smoothly off the horse, the other two men mimicking his actions. “Master Conli.”

  “Errr, Master Bellomi?” the man responded tentatively, clearly not sure what to call his prince.

  “That’s fine,” Bellomi assured him with a quick smile and nod. “Or even just Bellomi.”

  From the look on Conli’s face, that last suggestion didn’t work at all. The man had very rigid principles when it came to proper protocol. “Master Bellomi, please come in.”

  “Thank you.” He paused just long enough to tie the horse to a hitching post nearby. They were gathered in a very narrow side street that couldn’t be easily seen from the main road. Hopefully no one would take notice of having three strange horses at the librarian’s house. They followed their host inside, Morgan having to literally duck inside as the doorframe was just low enough to pose a threat his forehead.

  Bellomi had never entered Hana’s home until this moment, so as soon as he had cleared the path in front of the door, he stopped and took a good look around. To his complete lack of surprise, books were everywhere. Each wall had a bookcase crammed to overflowing. He even saw stacks of books on the tables and a few chairs. But despite the cluttered quality of the room, it looked remarkably clean and organized. It felt homey, even, inviting to anyone to simply sit in a comfortable chair and relax.

  “This way,” Conli invited, leading them past the main room and up a short flight of stairs immediately ahead.

  Bellomi followed him up, going to a second story with a shorter ceiling than the first floor. The area up here had not been partitioned into smaller rooms, but instead spread out into one large, open space. Actually, it looked like a miniature version of the village library, with rows upon rows of bookshelves and tables and settees for people to sit upon. This place felt even more cluttered, and Bellomi gained the impression that the family really spent most of their time up here on the second floor, and not on the first.

  “Master Bellomi, how is my daughter?” Conli inquired anxiously.

  “She’s well,” Bellomi assured him gently. “She was a little shaken yesterday, after everything that happened, but by the time we went to bed last night she was starting to laugh about it. She wasn’t hurt at all during the escapade, thankfully.” Instead, it was him that had been hurt. Which he never did get proper treatment for, come to think of it.

  Conli let out a long breath. “I am relieved to hear it.”

  “You can come up and see for yourself, you know,” Morgan advised. “No one would think it odd.”

  “Yes.” Conli appeared struck by the idea, as if that hadn’t occurred to him before. Perhaps it hadn’t. “Yes, you’re quite correct. I shall certainly do so later this evening.”

  Axelrad, more aware of time flowing past, shifted anxiously. “Where are her research materials?”

  “Oh, here.” Conli directed them to a far back corner, which to Bellomi’s eyes, had absolutely no sense of organization to it. Stacks of hand bound reports, books, and notes lay in haphazard stacks around a single desk and chair. “All of this,” Conli waved an arm to include the rough circle of piles, “and that stack over there,” he pointed to two crates that lay piled near the top of the stairs.

  Morgan rubbed at his chin thoughtfully and eyed the pile with a measuring eye. “I’m not sure if we brought enough sacks.”

  “I thought you said those sacks were bottomless,” Axelrad objected, already opening the one he’d slung on his back.

  “Oh, they are, they are. But after a certain point, they weigh a ton. It’s the weight that limits what you can put into them. You can fill those things to the point where even the strongest man in the world couldn’t lift it.” Morgan said this factually, as if he had witnessed it with his own eyes. “Sev once made a large one, with a huge mouth to it, and put a whole house inside of it.”

  Bellomi stared at him in disbelief. Was the man pulling his leg? No, he seemed quite serious. “Why would she?”

  “To prove a point. Never rile up Sev or try to limit her. She’ll do the most insane things to prove you wrong.” Morgan shrugged and opened a bag. “Well, if all of this won’t fit, we can always come back a second time. Let’s carry what we can.”

  ~ ~ ~

  It took until past midday to pack everything. They had to redistribute the weight amongst the bags, because of course Axelrad had stuffed everything inside of just one, and Morgan hadn’t filled his bags enough, which left Bellomi the fun of sorting things out. By the time they had loaded the bags on the horses, the village had come to its height of activity and people were bustling about in every direction. Three men, two of which were known, leading horses laden down with bags didn’t garner a second glance. They left the village without one person suspecting a thing.

  They went straight back to Big, unloading the bags and heading through the door. Morgan led the way, as he knew where the new Research Room had been made.

  When they stepped inside, Bellomi quickly realized that Big had taken his orders to create another research room literally. It was an exact duplicate, right down to the shelves lining the walls and the fireplace and the chairs gathered inside. The sole difference that he could detect was the table that stood in the center of the room. Hana must have insisted upon it because even now she sat there. Aren sat next to her, turned slightly to face her, and the two of them seemed quite engaged in a lively discussion. Aren stopped mid-sentence when the men entered, looking up with a smile. “Ah, there you are. We were wondering what was taking so long.”

  No, you weren’t, Bellomi thought to himself with a frown. His father had actually been very engaged in the conversation with his girlfriend. Now just what had those two been talking about while he was gone? Bellomi made a mental note to get his father alone later and interrogate the man.

  Then he thought better of the idea.

  “You wouldn’t be wondering if you saw everything in these bags, Your Majesty,” Axelrad assured him.

  Hana popped up from her chair with open relief, coming around the table with arms outstretched. “Is that all of it?”

  “Not quite. We’ve got two more bags outside, but we did bring all of it with us,” Bellomi assured her. “But just how much information did you request, anyway? It took five never-ending bags just to bring it all here!”

  “If you’d ever read Council transcripts, you wouldn’t be asking that question,” she informed him with a grimace. “They’re hideously long.”

  Bellomi remembered quite a few transcripts that he’d packed into the bags. They had rather been on the thick side. But that made him worry. “So…you have to read through the whole transcript to know if there’s information in there you need or not?”

  “Not necessarily. There’s a conclusion of the trial at the very end of the transcript. I read that first to see if there’s anything vital recorded.” This sounded vastly reassuring until Hana added dryly, “Then I have to read the whole transcript.”

  Right. Like any other thing worth doing, it took a lot of time to do it. Bellomi shouldn’t have expected any differently. The only real thing that sped this
process along was Hana’s reading speed. She could read faster than any other person he’d heard tale of.

  Axelrad and Morgan sat the bags down near the table and gave him casual salutes before leaving, no doubt going for the rest of the load still outside. With that out of the way, he knew they had firm plans to go directly to the kitchen as they’d all missed a meal doing this errand. Bellomi turned, intending to join them, when his beautiful girlfriend pointed an authoritative finger at him and said, “I will not do this by myself. Sit.”

  From the other side of the table, Aren started laughing. “She has a good point, son. This is too mammoth of a task for any one person to handle. Really, in a normal state of affairs, I’d assign a committee to do this sort of work.”

  And here he’d dumped the whole responsibility of it on her and only helped out when it was convenient. Bellomi, feeling more than a little guilty, gave a resigned shrug and sat in the nearest chair.

  Hana turned to her king with a smile and sweet tone. “Which is why I humbly, strongly request your help as well. Your Majesty.”

  Aren, caught off-guard, blinked at her twice before a rueful grin spread over his face. “Alright. I suppose it’s only fair, since it’s my mess you’re helping to clean up. Hand me some court transcripts. I know what I’m looking for in those.”

  Thank all gods and fairies for small miracles. Bellomi promptly dove his hands into one of the bags and drew out a sizable pile of transcripts, which he set in front of his father with a thump against the table.

  “Hana, can’t I at least eat first?” he pleaded with her, eyes longingly eyeing the door. “I haven’t had anything for at least five hours.”

  “Hmmm,” she looked up absently from a tome in front of her, already in her research mode. “And you’re still growing, too. It’s probably not wise to skip meals. Go ahead. None of this is going anywhere.”

  “Bless you.” He didn’t waste a second in beating a hasty retreat toward the kitchen.

  “Bring back snacks!” his father called after him.

  ~ ~ ~

  Sevana joined them later that night by coming in without knocking, flinging herself into an empty chair and putting her boots up casually on the table. Bellomi’s attention had so centered on the list in his hands, he actually didn’t notice her arrival until he felt the thump thump of her boots landing on the wood table. He looked up with a casual curiosity and paused once he got a good look at her.