Page 19 of Gilded Crown

“I don’t trust your family around you even in a Hall full of people. I’m coming.” Jari wanted to wash up to get off the dried sweat, but he’d probably find out that Aurelius got his head punched in or some other terrible accident.

He’d been here for a day, and he already needed a holiday.

When they entered the Hall, Jari kept his expression neutral even though he wanted to run up to the High Table and open up a sack of whup-ass on the younger Princes for yesterday.

Since Aurelius was quite late for lunch, Eurig yelled at him like he’d missed an important wedding. The courtiers pretended to not notice, and the younger Princes hid their smiles while Aurelius was scolded like a bratty child.

Instead of using a plate like a damn normal fairy being, Eurig had pulled the platters closer and was eating directly from the roasted beef with a fork. Gullveig and Zylem must have hastily snatched some roast and mash before their Father starteddigging in. Eurig slurped some meat from a bone and dropped it back in with the rest of the food.

Aurelius stared at him for a second, took a roll from a basket, and picked up his wine.

“Aren’t you hungry?” A sneer grew on Zylem’s face. Jari, in his usual spot by the tapestry, clenched his fists. The little shit acted like yesterday hadn’t happened. Jari fantasized about kicking the fucker in the gut again, except that time, he wouldn’t stop.

Gullveig too because he’d helped drug Jari, and if he’d been around when Zylem attempted to rape his brother, he wouldn’t have done shit. Fuck them both. Neither had even looked at Jari when he came in as if yesterday was a dot in their memories and hardly worth thinking about. He was lower than a dog in their minds.

He wanted to be mad at Eurig too since it was surely his fault that Blue was dead, but the guy had clearly lost more of his brain in the past few months. It was almost like being angry with a rabid dog. It didn’t have much control left.

Fuck. What if they woke up one morning to shrieking servants running all over the Palace with gold streaks in their eyes?

“Aurelius, eat some of this,” said Eurig. “It’s good. There’s garlic and fermon slices. It’s perfect.”

Jari wrinkled his nose. Fermon was good alone with its sweet, juicy blue flesh, but he never liked it when people put slices on top of roasted meat. Those two flavors didn’t go well in his mind. Aurelius was probably more disgusted by the gnawed bones that had been dropped on the platter.

Eurig scooped a hunk on Aurelius’s plate and thumped his back. The Crown Prince flinched at the contact which must have hurt with his scars. “You should gain weight.”

“More cushion for when you're pushin’,” snorted Zylem. “Oh, wait, you haven’t got a cock.”

“Shut up about cocks at the High Table!” Eurig roared at him.

At the word “cocks,” the whole Hall went dead silent as everyone stared at the King. Eurig picked up a gravy tureen to drink from, and a giggle cut off from someone in the back. As the chatter slowly started again, Zylem’s shoulders quivered from suppressed laughter, and Gullveig ducked his head. Aurelius downed almost all of his wine in one go.

“Eat,” Eurig growled before he thumped his son on the back again in a sort of Fatherly gesture, except Aurelius’s chest hit the table hard enough to make the silverware clink. His second flinch made Jari contemplate serious violence again. “Something wicked’s coming this way. La la lalala laaa.”

Aurelius turned his head slightly toward his Father before he picked up his fork and pretended to fiddle with his food. Jari suddenly craved a shot of whiskey himself.

The Crown Prince got away with pretending to eat the meat and nibbling on his bun. Dessert came on tiny plates for everyone, so he ate that before he made his hasty escape. Jari was only too happy to tag after him.

Aurelius waited in the entrance hall so Jari could grab a plate of food from the kitchens. All of the servants in there were oddly quiet, and he wondered if the cook had threatened them to keep them from gossiping. They must have known about Blue by now.

“Maybe it is kinder to put him down,” Jari said once they were in Aurelius’s sitting room. He held out his plate. “Here, you can have what you want from that since I’m sure the roast wasn’t appealing.”

“I’m fine. My appetite wasn’t great to begin with.”

“Any plans to…take care of stuff?”

“It’s not something I can slap together in an hour. I think I’ll have a nap.”

***

Eurig wasn’t at dinner for some reason, and Zylem was more interested in hurrying up with his food so he could go dance with some courtier that must have caught his eye. Aurelius escaped as soon as possible. If the courtiers were yapping about the earlier events, Jari didn’t hear it or care to.

He slept in the Prince’s bedroom in front of the door. He’d managed to take a shitty nap that afternoon, and he thought the day would keep him up again, but he was out in about a minute flat.

A thump woke him in the night, and he lifted his head. Aurelius was snoring ever so slightly from beyond the drapes around his bed, and Jari almost wondered if he’d dreamed the noise. Something else made him tense for a moment, but he realized rain had started pattering against the glass. He let his head drop back on his pillow.

Another thump sounded, and it wasn’t raindrops. Jari sat upright and could have sworn it came from the sitting room.

Chapter Five