Enemy of the King

Averting Disaster

Calano shoved his hat onto his head as Henry approached the door cautiously. He then opened it to find a handful of apprentices on the other side, all looking angry.

"Where's that showoff?" the leader of the pack asked. "I want to talk to him."

"My apprentice is currently unavailable. He is trying to sleep," Henry replied shortly. "You can speak with him in the morning. I don't understand why you're all up in the middle of the night anyway. You should all be getting rest for tomorrow."

"We would be, too, except for the interesting stories we've been hearing about him," piped up one of the younger apprentices. The others quickly shushed him.

"What interesting stories are these?" Henry asked, forbiddance dripping off of every word.

Most of the apprentices went pale. Finally, the leader said, "They are just stories. I'm sure they aren't true. Come on, old man, won't you let us speak to him quickly? We promise to be out of your way in five minutes."

"You may speak to me now," Calano said, stepping into the light of the doorway. He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Tell me, what is so important that you must come knocking on the door this late at night?"

The apprentices all looked at each other, unsure of what to do next. Finally, the leader spoke up.

"There are rumors going around that you're no apprentice," he said.

"And?" Calano asked.

"The rumors also say you're... not really human."

"And?" Calano's voice was sounding dangerous now. He took a step towards the apprentices, hands tightening into fists.

"They said you're an elf!" the apprentice gasped, his face turning pale as Calano advanced upon him.

"Oh, they did, did they?" Calano asked, towering over the cowering apprentices. "And they said I belonged to the king too, didn't they?"

"That, too," piped up one of the younger apprentices, his foolishness not yet given away to fear.

"Well, I'll tell you this; I don't belong to any king. I am a free man. Tell that to your rumor-mongers, too. And I am an apprentice. And I'm more human than you are. Got that?"

The apprentices all nodded and scurried off like frightened mice. Calano closed the door behind them, satisfaction written on his face. "That ought to clear up by morning," he said.

Henry shook his head. "It's not that easy, Calano. Your 'rumor-mongers' aren't going to be put off by a bunch of apprentices. They're going to attack you directly next time. You might not be able to stave them off."

"I've been dealing with humans for a longer time than you have," Calano replied, perhaps a bit more sharply than he had intended. Whatever his intention, the comment deeply stung Henry.

"I'm only trying to help," Henry grumbled, looking at Calano sourly. "If you don't want me to, I can go away quite easily." He then returned to bed and fell into uneasy dreams.

***

In the morning, Henry woke up to find Calano gone. He felt a spurt of panic for a moment, but then Calano walked into the room, his hat snug on his head and a plate of eggs and bacon in his hand.

"Want breakfast?" he asked.

"Thank you," Henry said, somewhat surprised. But then he remembered the conversation they'd had that night and he wondered if this was Calano's way of apologizing to him. Henry took the plate from Calano and started eating. He then eyed Calano, who sat down on the edge of his bed and regarded Henry, his head tilted slightly. "Don't tell me you're not eating."

Calano chuckled. "I have already."

Henry ate quickly, relishing the taste of a hot meal after so many nights of bad cooking. Once he was finished, he gave the plate to Calano to return to the kitchen and set about making himself presentable. He combed his hair and put on his other set of clothes. When he was finished, Calano had returned.

"Shall we leave now?" Calano asked.

"We probably ought to, seeing as you've outstayed your welcome," Henry said. He then adjusted his bag so it fell comfortably against his hip and he set out the door, Calano following.