Between the Veil and Crown

Arvek 14

Arvek spent the next several days preparing himself for his father's arrival and avoiding getting caught up in a one-sided conversation with Lord Talith.

The library proved to an excellent hiding spot, as Talith was more interested in showing off other parts of the manor. That, and Cor served as a willing sacrifice. With Talith having at least one audience member, Arvek's presence was not as needed.

While a refuge, the library turned out to be the most disappointing thing he had encountered. Hours of perusing its shelves and all he could figure was that Talith had about a hundred copies of the same ten books. They weren't even all different additions. Or that a book was falling apart and Talith felt the need to replace it.

That and very few of them were actually good books. The majority were poorly written books with fancy covers that only made them look important. Books with no meaning except to show the author knew words.

So he spent his time reorganizing the shelves. It was oddly calming, having all the books pulled out and sorted into stacks. And then placing them in the best places on the shelves. It definitely kept at bay the strong sense of discontent with his father stopping him in his quest, and the bitter disappointment of coming to terms with the fact that he was first and foremost the crown prince, not someone who could abandon his duties on a whim.

When such emotions were settled enough, he rehearsed in his head the words he would give his father in order to try to persuade the king into sending some kind of guard, or word, to find Selim and bring him back safely, to see Lia receive justice.

He hoped that a discussion could resolve the issue, but he held in his hand the threat of refusing to leave Chester until Masitof did something as a last resort. He was fairly certain Masitof would be forced to give in after that, as the king wouldn't be coming to Chester himself if he didn't have something planned for Arvek. But Arvek didn't like the idea of strongarming his father into doing something.

It was a rainy afternoon when Arvek was finally given word of his father's arrival. A good portion of the shelves were reorganized, with only a few more to go. Arvek's rehearsed request was prepared and ready for debate.

When the herald of the news had left, he took a few steadying breaths. All that was left was to weather his father's wrath, and then make the request.

A couple of servants led the king in. Masitof swept in, glancing around at the shelves. He waved his hand dismissively at the servants and they left the king and prince alone in the library, closing the doors behind them.

For a moment, nothing was said. The only noise made was the crackling of the fire and the patter of rain against the glass of the windows. Arvek stood where he was, back straight and arms behind him, waiting for Masitof to make the first move.

Masitof made eye contact with his son. His jaw stiffened. He moved to a seat next to the fireplace and settled himself down.

When Arvek continued to say nothing, the king finally spoke. "At the very least, you listened when I told you stay here." His tone was hard, and he ended the comment with a scowl.

Arvek kept his mouth closed, sensing there was more his father wanted to say.

"Running off as you did was highly irresponsible, and is something I would only expect of Selim," Masitof continued. "By doing so, you have brought shame on me and your mother, and have shown a complete disregard for your title."