an unfortunate change in genre

Part 30

Cale rolled over on the plush bed that he'd more or less stolen from the Crown Prince for the duration of his recovery.

He really didn't like spending so much time here and his body was beginning to ache from the boredom of not doing very much at all. The very little entertainment he'd had up until now, the company of others, wasn't present either. Well, aside from the nagging cats who had made it their mission to ensure that he woke up with a face full of floof every day.

Roksu hadn't been to visit in a while.

Alberu was who knows where doing who the fuck cares what.

He still had yet to meet with Ron.

And even the kittens were napping peacefully without a care in the world.

Well, it was as good a time as any to see if he could finally stop rolling around in bed uselessly. No sooner had his feet touched the ground than a woman made her presence known.

Cale recognized her. Alberu's aunt Tasha, albeit disguised to look like a human.

Truthfully he was more familiar with her disguise than her true face but sometimes he wondered what it would be like to be able to talk to her face to face without any tiresome disguises.

It was probably just an extension of his frustration with Alberu but he really didn't like disguises.

"Did you need something, young master Cale?" She was the picture of patience and he was absolutely certain that she'd been left with orders to chase him back to bed if he were to attempt a bid for freedom.

Well, that was less than ideal but Cale could see a way to at least get something done.

He'd never really had a chance to have a private word with Tasha like this before. He knew of her existence and bits and pieces of her story just from his strange relationship with Alberu, but they'd never had much of an opportunity to talk. Just the two of them.

There were a few things he was curious to know.

"Actually, I was wondering if you might have some tea with me." He smiled gently, the picture of an elegant noble who wanted nothing more than to treat a lady with the generosity and nobility that his rank denoted. "Could you spare me some time?"

Tasha was hesitant to accept the invitation. Mostly because she really couldn't imagine what Cale Henituse would want to talk to her about.

But, she reasoned, there were a few things that she'd like to ask him about as well.

Neither one of them being willing to be transparent with their intentions, the table was set for discussions.

–

Sometimes it's easier to think when you really have no options left.

Blood trickled down his chin as the force of disastrous strength combined collided with his shield, causing it to crack.

That didn't really matter.

Roksu already knew that he couldn't just wait it out behind the shield like this.

Eventually, Choi Han would return. Raon was probably already on his way. Ron would take notice that he hadn't been checking in as well.

With time, people would notice that he was in trouble and in the fullness of it, Roksu would be rescued from near death by the force of the scary mother fuckers who fought at his side.

This meant that an optimal plan for survival involved hiding and, or shielding himself from serious injury. Exhausting the enemy through the attempts to kill him so that when that fullness of time occurred, they weren't quite prepared to deal with the full force of a truly terrifying butler, a mother fucking great and mighty dragon, and of course Choi Han, a swordmaster who could take a casual stroll through the Forest of Darkness.