Heir to a Bloody Throne

Chapter Fifteen

Apparently Notch had a different idea of what "rest" entailed from his own.

The foreman had let Valor sleep until the next day, but the following morning he put him to work helping the blacksmith in the smeltery. Notch commanded him to stay off his injured ankle as much as possible, so he spent the majority of the day sitting next to the forge, pumping the bellows to keep the fire hot. It was genuinely miserable work, sweaty and hot with the smoke constantly choking him, and he gained a great admiration for the blacksmiths who worked in this building for hours upon hours every day.

The next day was much of the same, and the next. The date on the note was fast approaching, and his ankle was still tender, but Valor was reasonably confident in his ability to use it in a bad situation. Or he could teleport, whichever was more accessible.

The day of the meeting, the physician checked him over again at Notch's request. His ankle was healing quite nicely, but was still fragile enough that he wasn't to work on it yet. One grueling day of heat and smoke inhalation later, Valor wanted nothing more than to collapse into bed and take advantage of uncompromised air, but he had a job to do. So, as soon as his bunkmates were asleep, he slipped out of the building and headed out into town.

He wasn't sure how much cover he would have in the tunnels, so he wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible. For that reason, he slipped into the small general store in the center of town, taking a long, dark cloak and leaving the cost behind in its place. Sweeping the garment around his shoulders, Valor switched his eyes to white, slipping out into the town again.

Favoring his injured ankle, Valor tipped his head back to look up at the stars. This town always felt like a ghost town to some degree, since all the men were constantly at work in the mines, but at night it felt even more eerie. Odd now that was... comforting to him now, somehow.

Valor slowly made his way through the village, testing his ankle with each step. It twinged when he stepped on it wrong, but otherwise didn't bother him. Still, a regrettable handicap.

"Val!" The sound of his name had him whirling around, and he stopped short at the sight of Lithian standing about ten feet behind him. The man in question's smile dropped instantly, face going pale, and Valor's hand shot up to his face. His eyes, Nether he'd really screwed himself over now. "He- you're-" Lithian stammered, and Valor teleported towards him, slamming a hand over his mouth and teleporting with him behind a building.

Lithian struggled madly, managing to wrench himself free. "You're Herobrine! I bloody knew it, I was right from th' sta-"

"Shut up!!" Valor hissed, trying to keep him quiet. "Shut up, if the guard hears you we're both done for!!"

"What?! Why me?!"

"Because I'll kill you myself!! Quiet!!" Valor looked around anxiously, keeping a vice-like grip on Lithian's arm as he tried to jerk away. Across the town, he could hear raised voices, and he spun to face Lithian again. The moment he did, the man punched him in the face, turning tail and fleeing as Valor recoiled from the assault. Clutching at his face, Valor gave chase, teleporting in front of him and grabbing him again before teleporting outside the walls.

"Listen to me for one second!!" Valor snapped, forcing him to face him. "I'm not Herobrine. What were you even doing in there?!"

"Oh a'course, you're the only other blummin' fellow around here with glowin' white eyes!!" Lithian's panicked movements were at least starting to calm. "I knew it, I knew I recognized you!!"

"Answer my question!!"

"I was lookin' for you!! Neither me nor yer uncle has seen you in nearly a week!! If he even is your uncle!!"