The man jumped and spat out the piece of hay, wiping off his pants that were covered in dirt when he took in the two of them.
“You must be coming from the Capital,” he said, accent strong. “We haven’t had many people out from there in some time.”
“Do you have room for our horses?” Prince Ira asked.
The man snorted, yellow hair falling into his eyes, and he laughed.
“Aren’t people from the captain meant to be smart? I just said we haven’t had visitors. The whole stable’s open.”
Luci hid her smile behind her hand, but the way Prince Ira’s eyes flashed towards her, she knew he saw. At least the corner of his mouth pulled up, which said he wasn’t offended. Then again, she had yet to see him offended at all. Chronically good-natured. A symptom of privilege.
Luci carefully lifted the lid of the brown basket, and Calcifer poked his head out, nose flaring, no doubt taking in the smell of meat. It was probably the longest he’d ever gone without a meal.
“Never seen a cat in a basket before.” The man said, taking the reins.
“He wishes you never saw it either. He’s a stowaway,” she said, pulling him up and into her arms.
He let out a pitiful meow that spoke of untold trauma.
Prince Ira handed the man several gold coins, and Luci rolled her eyes, fighting the urge to kick him in the shin.
They started up the winding stairs, and she clutched Calcifer closer.
“You might as well just ask to be robbed if you are going to hand out gold coins like they are nothing,” she said.
“I was trying to cover expenses,” he said.
“You let them tell you how much and you haggle down to a lower price,” she whispered.
“That seems like a strange use of everyone’s time,” he said.
“That’s just how it is,” she said.
They reached the front door, which was a deep oak cut with a rose carved into it. Beautiful craftsmanship that spoke of a time when this town knew wealth. The smell of herbs and fresh meat greeted them the moment they opened the door. Calcifer squirmed in her arms.
No doubt if she let him go, he would follow that scent and end up getting them kicked out before they could even pay.
“I saw you two down there talking to Isaac. I already had Grettell start making up our best room for you. It’s been a while since we had visitors, but even longer since we’ve seen a young couple like yourselves.”
Luci felt herself pale beneath the elderly woman’s words. The blood quickly returned to her face in a fury as the gray-haired woman with pale eyes gave them a knowing look. She couldn’teven bear to see the prince’s face in that moment; goodness knew he probably found it all wildly funny.
“We-” Luci tried.
The woman waved a hand and came around the wooden desk that oversaw plants of every color and build beneath it. The inside is as charming as the outside.
“No need to be embarrassed. I saw the way the two of you were looking at each other and was reminded of my own Thomas. He passed a few years ago, but he used to look at me the same way. Now, what are you two newlyweds doing in these parts? You’ll be coming from the capital, no doubt dressed like that.”
Luci had half a mind to tell the woman she wasn’t half as perceptive as she thought she was, but the spark of silver in her eyes when she talked about her deceased husband stilled Luci’s words.
“We are headed to the Blue Mountains.” The Prince said.
Luci groaned and buried her head in Calcifer’s fur to hide her frustration. Of course, he would just announce exactly where they were going. In fact, she half expected him to pull out their-
“This is the map we are using. We had to take a bit of a detour because we found Calcifer stowed away, that’s the cat, we actually were wondering if you knew of anyone who might keep an eye on him for a few days,” he said as if they were old friends.
“The Blue Mountains! They say they were once home to the Blue Fairy. The most powerful fairy godmother until she went to serve the Vencia line. There isn’t much up there now, even the poppies have passed on. You’d be better off looking to the Glass Mountains over here,” she said, pointing at the map. "Ivandel has beautiful greenery this time of year and a spring festival. We used to have our own, but times are hard.”
The wrinkles on her face turned down as she frowned, pulling a shaking finger away from the map.