The Proper Form of Address

Chapter 3

Archer had Trix bring dinner to his car so he wouldn't have to deal with any attendants. Not that he was hungry.

And then he fell asleep, even though he thought he wouldn't, but the motion of the train, and the fact that he had barely slept the night before, lulled him. He woke with the dawn, as the sun crept over a terrain he no longer recognized. They had climbed higher in the night. Below them were spread out the green cropfields of Jadenvale, and far below that the bay shimmered, barely discernible from the rest of the larger ocean. Archer lifted his eyes and stared out at the vast expanse of blue, spreading out in an impossible size until Archer thought he must be misunderstanding, that surely that must be sky he was looking at. He knew, abstractly, how big the ocean was, but he had never been forced to truly comprehend it before.

Archer swallowed trepidation, refusing to let himself be nervous. He could do this. Just because home was now a tiny place far away and he was adrift in a world whose enormity he'd never fully grasped before didn't mean he couldn't do this. He was Archer, only Prince of Jadenvale, and apparently that was worth enough that Euphonia had demanded he be handed over. Apparently. If Alex hadn't contacted them and begged them to take him off of her hands.

Archer stood and left his car, stepping into the next car, which was the dining car. Attendants that had been lounging around instantly snapped to attention and tried to your Highness him to death.

"Coffee," he said. "Can I just get coffee? And I don't want to pick where the coffee came from, I just want coffee."

"Where it came from?" stammered one of the attendants. "Apologies, your Highness, but is that something to which you are accustomed—"

"Coffee," Archer said. "Just coffee."

The attendants scurried off, whispering amongst each other.

Archer sighed and collapsed into a chair and mumbled to himself, "Fuck, I wonder if they just give you cups of coffee when asked in Euphonia."

He was eventually brought a cup of coffee and a vast selection of things to eat for breakfast. Archer didn't feel like eating but he asked for toast because the attendants looked hopeful and Archer didn't want to disappoint them.

He was just finishing his toast and watching with interest as the terrain grew rockier around the train when the conductor emerged.

"Ah, Prince," he said. "You're awake. Excellent. We're almost to The End."

The End. The tiny development of hardy settlers that represented the very last of Jadenvale. Between this last outpost of Jadenvale and Euphonia was an uninhabited, inhospitable land crisscrossed only be caravans of merchants. And a prince, soon.

"Thank you," Archer said. And, because he had been harsh to the conductor the day before, he added graciously, "It's been a lovely journey. I've greatly enjoyed it."

Pleasure colored the conductor's cheeks. He practically beamed. "And if may be so bold as to say, Prince, we, your loyal subjects, wish you congratulations on your lovely bride."

The coffee roiled unpleasantly in Archer's stomach, but he managed, "Thanks," and hoped that when he smiled he didn't look as if he was going to throw up.

When the conductor left, Archer stood and went back to his private car and considered what to wear. This was important, he thought. Many first impressions to make. So he chose one of his best suits and slicked his hair back so that he looked older and more imposing and princely. He was just finishing up when Trix knocked lightly on the door, then stuck her head in.

"They said you were up. Ah, you're back to normal. It's good to see you again, sir."

Archer quirked an ironic smile. "Nothing like getting back into costume, right?" He settled the thin circlet of silver and gold braid onto the top of his head and looked at his reflection in the mirror, his dark hair and his dark eyes, another way in which he had never felt like one of the royal family of Jadenvale. He touched the dimple in his chin, inherited from his mother, shared with Alice and Alex, the one thing that had bound them together.