The Lesser Gods

Chapter Four: Iridescent Floors

Snow didn't always fall in the royal garden, but on most days it came in steady streams. The footsteps Rickert and his brother made, had already faded. Heavy winds carried the scent of the flowers planted into the cups of the centerpiece. His little brother adjusted the last light on the flora filled fountain, and Rickert held up his hands as his little brother stepped back. Yellow light emerged from Rickert's palms, swirling above the two of them, until it imploded like a firework, leaving a trail of solid, un-melting ice in a frozen umbrella over the garden's centerpiece. "Hyso," He turned to him, "what do you think?" Rickert asked.

"It's perfect." Hyso told him as he kneeled next to the plants again. Rickert started pacing round the fountain, a usual routine for the princes. Hyso would garden, and Rickert would watch, keep him company. Rickert insisted it was for his little brothers benefit, but Rickert didn't like being alone. His siblings always found him barging into their study's, on the pretense of 'doing the rounds', when really he just wanted to talk. Apart from Hyso, only his sisters were really willing to indulge Rickert. As Hyso clipped another piece of greenery, and adjusted a flower. Rickert sat down. "How are your spells coming along?" He asked. Hyso sighed, retracted from his flowers, to hold out his hand. A puff of snow burst in the air, like the spell was only a wheez, or a cough. "You'll get there." Hyso rolled his eyes. Peering at the stems of the winter flowers, Rickert spoke again."You can still use circles?"
 "Yes brother, I haven't forgotten how to draw." He said clipping away a dead leaf.

"Are you still using friendship for your circles?" Rickert said, his voice strainign to sound soft, uninterested.

"Yes, It's not like I can change source." Hyso sighed as she reached for the new plants he wanted to include in the display.

"Sorry I just, I worry." Rickert grunted. Hyso started to nod as he pressed down the soil around the roots of the flowers.

"I know." He sighed. Rickert leaned closer, as though he was looking at the petals.

"Don't let them get to you, I'm sure you won't need the chalk for long." Hyso didn't reply, his face unmoving. Just as Rickert was about to open his mouth, and make his little brother feel even worse, their eldest sister came running through the snow, her footsteps crunching.

"What are you doing? The Champion's are here, father's furious." Rickert turned, while Hyso seemed concerned with his new plants. Rickert wasted no time speaking to his brother, instead he moved forward, and picked his brother up by the elbow.

"We have to go now." He said. Hyso grunted, and pulled his arm from his brother, as the three of them left the royal garden.

~

Rickert was dressed in the most elaborate clothes his mother could find. He shrugged over and over in the raw silk robe, hoping each shrug would make it more comfortable. Raw silk, if you're not familiar, is a fabric made from raw edged silk thread. It's a rough woven fabric with a gentle sheen, like frosted glass. His robe was ice blue, detailed with beads and gems his mother had chosen as the family favorites. Less elaborate than his fathers of course, but still not something one could wear in the streets. Rickert loved the fabric, the robe, the look, but not on him. He felt phony in it. He wanted to feel his sword by his side, and the heavy mail to weight down his shoulders. He took one last look in the mirror, and sighed. His mother reached up fror his shoulder. Queen Limah loved every one of her sons and daughters, and when she looked at Rickert in the mirror, her heart swelled. He so rarely wore the royal finery she loved to see him dressed the way a prince should be. "Where's Hyso?" Rickert asked.

"He's not coming, it's just you, Toma, Rea, and Rojh." A knock came at the door, and Rickert's siblings entered, all dressed in similar garb, the bottoms of their cloaks and dresses hitting the iridescent frosted floor.