Because This World is Loved

Chapter 19: Straightening Up

Two weeks went by without Noel hearing anything about Alrai.

Even when she saw Caleb and Fenne around town (often together), they refused to say much about where he was. When she asked if they were under orders to keep quiet, Caleb just laughed and said nothing worth worrying too much about was going on, while Fenne said that Alrai needed a little tough love from time to time. The two didn't seem to hesitate when they insisted that everything was fine, but Noel felt a little suspicious. The radio silence from the sociable prince was very odd. Eventually, she decided that she wanted to conduct a little investigation.

She went downstairs that day, her purse in tow. Drea was watching Alves play the Bepple game on his handheld device at the kitchen table while Alea cleaned up the dishes. Kelves had already gone to work for the day. "Going out for today?" Alea asked, looking at Noel over her shoulder.

"Yep," Noel called back. "I've got some detective work to do." It occurred to her that maybe she shouldn't have said that out loud.

Alea turned the faucet off and turned around. "What's the occasion?"

"I'm worried about Alrai," Noel said. "I haven't heard anything about him for a little while, and Caleb and Fenne are being cagey about what's going on with him. I want to make sure he's all right."

Alea made a thoughtful noise and nodded. "You're being a good friend," she said. "But the silence might be for his own good. He has a lot of training left before he can assume the throne."

"Can't I just see if he's okay? He was really shaken up when I last saw him," Noel said, throwing her arms up. Everyone seemed to be harping on the silence being necessary, and that was a bit grating.

"I suppose there's nothing wrong with that," Alea said. "Just don't get in anyone's way too much, all right? Not that you do, but mind your manners. This is a sensitive time for all of them."

"I'll be good," Noel said with a teasing smile. "I'll be back for dinner unless something really interesting comes up."

"Sounds good. Have fun out there." With that, Alea went back to the dishes, and Noel left the house.

Noel's first investigation site was the trio's apartment. Surely, Alrai had to be hiding out there, and if he wasn't, she'd probably be able to figure out where he was. Perhaps Caleb and Fenne would be more liberal with their information if they weren't in public. She made her way there and knocked on the door. She thought she heard Fenne make a startled noise from inside the apartment, but soon she was the one who answered the door. "Hi, Noel," she said, sounding a little unprepared.

"Yo," came Caleb's voice from further in the apartment.

"Sorry for not giving you any warning," Noel said. "I forgot. Really. Sorry."

"It's okay. We weren't up to much anyway," Fenne said.

"Yeah, not much!" Caleb sounded sarcastic when he said that.

"Uh, if I interrupted anything, I'll come back later." Noel looked off to the side uneasily.

"No, no, you're fine," Fenne said, waving a hand dismissively. "Would you like to come in?"

"Sure." Noel walked into the apartment as Fenne backed away.

"Welcome, welcome," Caleb said from near one of the kitchen counters. Noel could have sworn she saw him tug his shirt down a little.

There was one thing Noel noticed right away. "Alrai's not here, is he?"

Both Caleb's and Fenne's faces fell. Fenne shook her head silently. "Correctamundo," Caleb said. "If you must know, he's moved back into his parents' house. They need to keep him closer to the lesson material now, or something. That is what you came here to ask, right?"