SIX MONTHS EARLIER

"Skegg, this is absolutely delicious! You've really outdone yourself this time. Is it a new recipe?" Rae asked, stuffing another bread roll into his mouth. Soft and still ever so slightly warm, inside it was stuffed with condiments and a filling that Rae didn't recognise.

Halen nodded in agreement, giving Skegg a thumbs up. "I don't think I can save a piece for my father because it'll all be gone by the time he's back. Which is a pity, because you brought so many I'll be absolutely stuffed by the end of this"

He smiled. "Thanks guys. Yes, Rae, it is. Playing around with some different ingredients."

“Have you thought of a name for it?”

“Not yet. You could call it a sandwich, but it’s not really a sandwich.”

"Well, this is the best not-sandwich I've ever eaten,” Rae said. “When you start taking orders for these I'll be first in line." He reached for another roll, eyes closing with pleasure as he bit into it.

The three sat inside one of the harbour’s smaller workshops, using a board cleared of equipment as their table. Food from the basket Skegg had brought with him lay about, the mood content as they continued eating in silence. Halen wolfed down her food, finishing before the others. She leaned back, arms behind her head. "So," she started, looking at Rae, "you came here looking for information about the Ga'anite."

It wasn't a question, but Rae answered regardless. "Yes," he said.

"What do you know?"

"Nothing concrete. There's a big crowd in the square, and they're all worked up about something. Something about a crash, or an invasion? They were saying a lot of wildly different things, but they all seemed to talk about a ship and Ga'anites."

"Ga'anite. Just one, to some degree. A pretty broken and shaken up youth. There was a bad storm a few days ago, you know, the one that everyone was worried over and-"

Rae interrupted, "I know what you mean. It didn’t end up being that bad."

"Maybe not on land, with solid shelter and a roof over your head. At sea it’s a whole different story. There was a trading vessel - no, I don't know from where, yes, I'm sure that it came from Ga'ani. Anyways, it ran into some trouble. I don't have all the details, but from what I overheard the only things recovered from the ship are a couple of planks. Some fishermen went out for a longer trip early in the morning and spotted him floating on one of the planks, barely holding on."

Rae shook his head, sympathetic. "Poor Ga’anite. Do you know where he is now? I should try to find him, or at least talk to him."

"I'm not sure. My father went out to talk with the fishers. He probably brought the Ga'anite into town, or maybe to the castle. And-" Halen broke off mid-sentence. She looked uncomfortable - something that very few people could say they witnessed - glancing between the food and him. Her mouth was drawn into a line and she looked like she was going to say something, but she stopped herself again, swallowing.

The expression on her face was worrying, coming from someone like her. Rae raised his eyebrows, cracking a joke, "Nothing else you're keeping from us? Perhaps something about being locked up in a prison?"

Halen took the offered verbal out, and she snorted. "Wills, Rae, no! It's a wonder he's still alive, going by the talk of the state they found him in, but surviving a storm’s no grounds for imprisonment." She was laying it on thick, but he could still spot hints of her discomfort. "Shouldn't you know more about this?" she asked.

Rae shrugged, going along with the change of subject. "People don't know what's going on. Some of the rumours weren't even about a shipwreck."

"Which is exactly why they're called rumours, not facts," she muttered, looking over at the food and weighing if she should take another one. She could fit it.

"Everyone’s on edge, Hal, with all these rumours of invasions," he said while she chewed. "Maybe we should try to do something about it..." he trailed off, musing. He needed someone that people would hear out, someone that at least could get them thinking if they were too stubborn to change their minds. Someone, he thought as he glanced at the third person sitting at the same, like Skegg.

The apprentice to the town's most prominent chefs, Skegg had access to people in such a way that Rae would never have, even as the queen's heir. And, of course, there was nothing like good food to get someone to open up. Lokar and Skegg looked out for the town, and the town looked out for them. They were an integral part of daily life, from the different recipes they shared, to the different contests they held and the prizes (and feasts) supplied, to the way people listened to them when they went in to order their food. If he was willing, Skegg could soothe over a lot of worries.

Rae turned his body towards the chef’s apprentice, tilting his head slightly, thinking. Involving other people into his schemes put him on edge. They turned wrong often enough that he had no desire to drag others down by association- even if they had been getting better lately. Rae ran an appraising eye over his friend, wondering how bad things could turn. It’s innocent enough. Low chance of harm, not that high effort…

Skegg beat him to it before he could make his mind up and ask. "What?"

The prince shrugged, studying his friend some more and thinking. Did he really need to use Skegg? He was the - only current, as he liked to remind his parents - heir apparent to the throne. He should be able to deal with some rumours. But with the way things at court have been going lately, and the ever-increasing hostility from the Magulus, he no longer knew where he stood with the townspeople. Not that he'd ever known. This wasn't to say that people didn't listen to Rae or his matria; someone like Skegg was simply just a better fit.

Skegg repeated the question, startling Rae out of his thoughts. "Say, could you try to break up the rumours when you're back at the shop?" Rae asked him.

"Lokar's probably going to talk to people if he hears them spreading rumours, but I can also give it try if you want me to."

“I do. Thank you.”

"You think this is going to do something?" Halen interrupted, wiping crumbs off and stretching.

"Not much, but at least it's something. You know how my matria usually puts off these sorts of announcements so she can get all the information. I'm guessing it will be a few days before any official message comes out. Hopefully by then the rumours will have run their course and people will listen to the missive," Rae said.

"Well then," Halen said, standing up. "Back to work we go. You two want to help? New carving needs a layer of lacquer, and it's big enough that it's going to take ages by myself."

Rae shook his head. "Have work to do. Where did you say your father brought the Ga'anite?"

"In town, or the castle, I think. Skegg? What about you? Do you want to work on your day off?"

"Yeah, I'll help. I have nothing else to do, so I might as well," Skegg said, getting up and packing the leftover food back in the basket.

Bidding his goodbyes and waving to the others, Rae set out to try to find out where the Ga'anite was. Later, he thought, patting the cover of the diary he carried around with him since the morning. There’ll be plenty of time left to read after I find out where the Ga'anite is. I hope.

------------

Rae drew his hand over his face, exasperate. “And you won’t let me in why again?”

“We were explicitly told not to let anybody in, no matter their claimed rank. Sir.” The guard looked at him, instead of straight ahead, lazily leaning against the doorframe instead of at attention. Rae had not seen the man before, and he looked over his uniform. The lack of burgundy coat buttons and missing emblem on the shoulder confirmed that it was not a member of the royal guard. A guard of whoever was in his Matria’s private office, then. That narrowed it to a couple dozen people, more than half of which hired mercenaries whenever needed.

The prince sighed, then sat down next to the guard standing by the door, taking out the diary and absentmindedly rifling through the pages. The guard cleared his throat. Rae ignored him, letting the diary fall open to a page that caught his attention. What were these scribbles? He turned the book around. Ah. A map of some sorts. Interesting. The guard cleared his throat again, and Rae looked up, annoyed. “Yes?”

“Are you just going to wait here?”

“Why not? Unless this isn’t allowed.”

“Of course. Just don’t be hanging around here to overhear sensitive information. The Magister doesn’t like vagabonds. Sir.” And that solves the mystery. Rae glanced at the door, wondering what was so urgent that it merited a house call from the Magister. The guard shifted position, stepping closer to the door and blocking Rae’s line of sight, as though that would also block out the conversation inside.

Rae rolled his eyes - making a point to be seen while doing so. Petty guard posturing. I’ll wager, the old man specifically asked to keep me out. Now in a foul mood, Rae put the diary away, leaning his head against the wall and closing his eyes. He could feel the guard's stare dig into him, but he ignored it as best he could, making himself comfortable for the wait.

The guard started humming, off-key, and horribly off-rhythm. He didn’t seem to know that the chances of the conversation being heard through the door were close to nonexistent, but Raee wasn’t inclined to share that with him. The stone walls and wooden door were thick enough that only the loudest of shouts could be overheard on the other side and knowing the Magister, who preferred to stick to contemptuous whispers, it would never get too far.

Just minutes later the door swung open, narrowly missing clipping the guard and cutting his whistling short. The Magister stalked out, then stopped when he realised that there was someone else in the hallway. He straightened, then marched out, furious steps causing his cape to swish through the air. Rae’s matria appeared in the door, watching the Magister turn around the corner and disappear. She looked tired, mouth turned downwards at the corner.

“Hi ma’. Rough day?” Rae asked, standing up and wrapping his arms around her in an embrace.

Velia returned the hug, ruffling his hair like she used to do when he was younger - even if he towered over her now - and smiling at him. “You wouldn’t guess,” she said, gesturing for him to go inside. She followed, leaving the door open.

The office was big and homely looking. A colourful rug in the middle, memorabilia on the shelves ringing the walls, and filled with chairs. Wind blew in through the opened window above an unused fireplace, lifting the corners of the papers stacked on the desk. With the amount of comfortable looking armchairs and bookshelves, it looked more like a sitting room than an office. That had actually been the main use of the room, before things got truly hectic and Velia started using it as an office instead.

Rae’s mother was also sitting in one of the chairs behind the desk, looking out of the window. She turned around when Rae and Velia came in, nodding at him in greeting. Taller than Velia, with long black hair and piercing brown eyes, they often joked that they were true opposites to each other. Este preferred staying away from people, spending her time around books, or nature - from afar, of course. She was more reserved, more solemn, rarely backing down without achieving a compromise that favored her.

The queen, on the other hand, thrived amongst people, often at her best when loaded with problems from all sides. Being responsible for lives other than her own had shaped her tendency for action into something more resembling cautiousness, but there were times when the inactivity and indecisiveness of the court pushed her to recklessness. Together, the two made a formidable pair, working around and complementing each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Rae wasn’t surprised that Velia had chosen to meet the Magister with her partner.

Rae waved at her, picking one of the armchairs and perching on it.

“How was your day?” Este asked, reclining back in the chair so that the front legs came off the ground. There was a sense of poise and elegance about her, a stark contrast to the unbecoming posture. Rae looked from her to the suspended chair legs and back to her again. She shrugged. It was unfair, the way she could make everything seem so refined. “Did anything exciting happen?”

“Kinda? It was weird,” he replied. “There was a crowd gathered in the square this morning when I went to return the books. Haven’t seen one this large before.”

Velia chuckled from her position on the couch. “At least this one fit in the square.”

“Really?”

“Yeap.”

“How come I’ve never seen those before?”

Este interrupted, “Do you notice when a leaf falls from a tree?” She liked turning everything into a cryptic lesson.

Rae thought that she’d have better luck if she spoke plainly - the information never seemed to stick as well as she would have liked it to - but he shrugged, humouring her. “I suppose, if it’s right in front of me.”

“And would you notice the fallen leaf if you pass by after it's fallen?”

Realisation dawned on him, but he couldn’t help himself from remarking, “Maybe if I step on it and it makes a loud enough crunch. That would definitely startle me.”

His mother breathed out, a long-suffering sigh, but her eyes gleamed at his wit, flat as it was. She wasn’t prone to making wisecracks, but a clever enough one often made her smile and Rae endeavoured to come up with as many as possible. Velia gave him a thumbs up and motioned for him to continue.

“Anyways,” Rae said, drawing out the word. “No estimation yet on how long it will take for the books to get here. Jakar said that they’re still just going through the orders. I also swung by the harbour to find out more about the rumours I overheard in the square. Halen’s working on a new project, secret, so I’m afraid I know just as much as you do. Oh! Skegg is also trying out a new recipe of stuffed bread rolls. They’re as delicious as they sound.”

“Anything on those rumours you were following?” Velia asked. “I assume they were about the Ga’anite?”

“Yeah, they were. I didn’t find anything too solid. You probably know more. Although I did ask Skegg to try to calm people down about the invasion rumours, since I’m guessing that you’ll want to wait before anything official. The rest of the day I just spent going from person to person around town asking about the Ga’anite. I don’t know how you do it. No straight answers anywhere! It’s infuriating.”

He didn’t mention anything about the diary the librarian gave to him. There was no point to getting his parents upset. They fawned and involved themselves in his interests the best they could, but Rae had noticed their increasingly unspoken comments over his dream of exploration. Better to act like it was a dream of the past and focus on the lessons of politics and rule they ushered him into. He didn’t lie to himself- he knew by now that very little passed unnoticed by his parents, and that more than likely they noticed the book. Willsgranting they wouldn’t pry into it and let it be. “So. What did the Magister want this time?” he asked.

His parents looked at each other. Rae recognised that look on their faces, even if he didn't understand the whole message. They would keep the meeting to themselves. For two people that liked to complain about his lack of involvement in day to day affairs, they enjoyed keeping him in the dark.

“He just wanted to share some information,” Este answered, breaking off the look with Velia.

“That bad?” Rae prodded. “You did say that I should become more involved. Can’t really do that if I don’t know what’s happening. Consider this a test run!”

“Sensitive information. Nothing that you need to worry about right now, there will be plenty of time for that latter.”

Velia added, “And we have it under control. But thank you for the offer, raindrop.”

Rae rolled his eyes at her fond use of the nickname. He wanted to grumble at their decision, but it would only serve against him, and he really did want to become more involved in day-to-day business - for the mysterious bits, of course. Instead, he stood up and yawned exaggeratedly. “I think I’m going to call it a day, then.”

“There’s leftovers in the kitchen if you’re hungry,” Velia said.

“And don’t stay up too late reading!” Este called after him. “I don’t want you to be too tired for tomorrow’s lessons”

“Okay, thank you,” Rae hollered back, swinging by the kitchen and grabbing a plate piled with food before going up the stairs to his room. “Good night,” he called from the landing.