Page 60 of Bloom
“If you feel there’s nothing to be done here, then go. We could plan it together, and I’ll help you get far away.”
“Do you think my Father wouldn’t look for me if I suddenly vanished? He’d turn Soleil upside down to find me. Moria too. Eveningwood, Rowland-”
“He can't search the whole realm. Leave a note so he doesn’t think you were kidnapped.”
“I don’t think he’d listen. He’ll still look for me. He’d think I’ve lost my mind or you kidnapped me for less than pure reasons.”
“At least you’d have a chance out there,” said Jaime. “Your Father will be in danger later, and if you haven’t got a plan to save him either, you can at least save yourself.”
If they both had limited time left, Aleric would rather spend it with him.
“You’d have to learn to live like a commoner, but it’s entirely doable. You change your name, get a job…”
It wasn’t happening. Aleric peered at Jaime as he talked. He’d heard enough of the Morian accent to recognize it, and Jaime certainly sounded Morian. A little of the southern Soleilian accent like Aleric’s was there too, although the melodic sound wasn't nearly as pronounced.
He’d said he came from northern Moria. Their northern people didn’t sound like the south and southeastern people. Like Soleil, there was a minor difference. Beyond that, it wasn’t quite posh, but it wasn’t exactly like that of a commoner who’d grown up in a village.
“What?” asked Jaime. “I promise it’s not that hard. You know, most of the realm’s people are commoners, and they’re making it. I've been drifting.”
“If I’m going to die, I’d rather be buried out back next to Mother and the twins,” Aleric stated in a firm tone. “I don’t want to move into another town or city and end up in a random graveyard decades from now. I'm also not abandoning him either. He’s already lost two children. I don’t want to vanish, and I can't leave him to die not knowing where I am. If I have to, I'll go the poison route and pray he doesn't suspect me.”
Jaime furrowed his brow. “Okay, but I think your Father would prefer you live. In fact, I know he would, because if he cares that much about you despite not believing you-if he was presented with the option to save himself or you, and he could only pick one, he’d choose for you to live.”
“I can’t leave. If I do see a way out of this for him and me, I have to take it. I can’t if I’m not here. I'm also afraid to move because if I’m not smart about this, and I end up looking like a murderer, it would gut Father. That’s another reason why I can’t simply kill Gautier or Olivier. If Father thinks I'm a killer…Besides that…”
“What?”
“Part of me loves my brother, even though I hate him too. I honestly don’t know if he’s in on this. He’s the second-born. Having my position would be pretty tempting. In a way, I don’t think he’s smart enough or that shitty to go so far. We don't get along, but that doesn’t mean he’s willing to murder me. At the same time…” Aleric threw up a hand and shifted on the stall door which was getting to be a bit uncomfortable. “He’s never said or done anything I can point at and say he’s completely innocent or guilty. If he's innocent, I don't want to abandon him. He shouldn’t be ruling and living with a murderer later even Gautier never harms him.”
“He didn’t visit you while you were sick.”
“True, but he also doesn’t like seeing sick people. He never has, and he tries to avoid it.”
“He should have visited you. You could have died.”
“That’s not his way. If Father grew old and was on his deathbed, I don’t see Zacharie visiting him. Perhaps it’s because his Dad died, and he knows how my Mother and the twins died, and that scared him. Or maybe he was counting the seconds until my death and pissed that I grew better. I honestly don’t know about him. I can barely talk to him, and I can’t fucking stand him anymore. He’s turned into a nasty little shit, and he was a nuisance before Gautier.”
That was Aleric’s fault. Once Zacharie had grown old enough to be more like a brother, and not just a baby who ate, puked, pooped, and slept all day, and not necessarily in that order, they’d gotten along at times. They’d never been the sort of brothers who’d go to the edges of the realm for the other, share all their secrets, and were practically inseparable.
Aleric had also been growing older and hadn't cared to spend much time with a younger boy. As a teenager, he certainly hadn’t wanted an embarrassing little brother tagging along all of thetime when he was with his friends, and they’d grown further apart. Sometimes, Father had been a bit too easy on Zacharie, likely out of guilt, and that hadn’t exactly done wonders for his younger son’s attitude.
All the good had vanished with Zacharie screaming at Aleric and telling him he was a selfish, jealous pig who was trying to ruin his relationship.
“You can go if you want since I was less than forthcoming when I brought you in,” said Aleric. “I brought you here as a sort of guard to discourage anyone from trying to get to me in my rooms. You were to be an extra set of eyes and ears because I think if you saw or heard anything suspicious, you’d say so, even if it was more for your own safety. You saved me, but your presence might not be discouraging enough forever. You saved my life, and I thank you-”
“My Father didn’t raise a coward. I don’t think he’d like me running away from someone in need.” Jaime folded his arms.
Commoners often made a few mistakes when they dressed. It wasn’t hard to learn, but actually doing up laces and knowing how to wear a coat was an area they often messed up on at first, or they looked too uncomfortable. The laces on Jaime’s coat were perfectly done as if he was about to go to dinner with the Regent and Crown Prince of Soleil. He’d tucked and wrapped the ends on the hidden button inside the cuff so the ends didn’t come loose. He’d worn a coat with toggles to close the front on his first morning there, and he hadn’t left any to dangle open. He also appeared at ease like silk and gold trim were nothing new to him.
Even his posture was a bit different, and he tended to speak as if he were equal to everyone else at court. He also ate quite neatly without the mistakes that a commoner might make.
There was something rough about the edges too.
“Your Father didn’t raise a coward?” Aleric finally asked.
“No.”
“What did your Father raise you to do?”
