The Unwanted Wendigo [ManxMan]

Chapter Thirteen: The Price of a Name

~Chapter Thirteen: The Price of a Name~

It is not until six days later that the future king sends for me. Four of those days are due to the fact that I was still in my food coma, but yesterday was entirely his fault, as Valentin informed me that it was a busy day for him and that he could not set aside his duties. Considering the fact that he probably has more duties than he ever did as a prince now that he is playing the part of king without the official title yet, I cannot blame him for not having the time to talk with a lowly wendigo. That does not mean I do not occasionally end up frustratedly pacing my room whenever I find myself thinking about the uncertain, possibly bleak future waiting for me back on land.

So, when the messenger arrives in the middle of the afternoon, I am caught between a three-way war of frustration, dread, and uncertainty. And the fact that he called me to meet him in his throne room rather than a private office only adds to my warring emotions. After all, a throne room is a very public place, and I am not really sure I want to have an audience for this. Who knows how they might influence the conversation, even just by being there.

Not sure why the messenger was so insistent that Valentin attend this gathering, too, though.

Rather than think about that, though, I instead choose to focus on the decorated hallways. According to what Valentin told me, Fish Man will be having his coronation in three days, and judging from the decorations, the castle's staff is already preparing. I only realize that I am frequently stopping, though, when Valentin puts a hand on my upper back to steer me away from a particularly fancy vase on display.

"Yeah, yeah," I grumble, letting him direct me back on course, as I will admit that I wandered off a little bit, and we might be a little late because of it.

"You're stalling," Valentin says, and though my immediate reaction is to deny it since there is no way I would stall, the fact that I am stopping to stare at things that would normally be considered mere background in my mind says otherwise.

Still, I huff and cross my arms. "Stalling's a strong word," I disagree, though I do not offer a better term up, as it is not like he is wrong. Does not mean I really want to admit it, though.

Valentin shakes his head with a slight smile. "Call it what you will, but the day isn't getting any younger, and I do have some things I need to return to once this is over."

"Or you could just return to them now while I deal with this," I suggest, since I am not even sure why he feels the need to be here other than because of Fish Man's request.

"My presence is required," is all Valentin says. I could point out that, as the cousin of the future king, he would probably get away with not following a request - it did not sound like an order when the messenger spoke to him - but something tells me he would not change his mind. And considering the fact that he took in an absolute stranger with a taste for flesh also at Fish Man's request, that feeling is likely not wrong.

So, instead, I just sigh and walk a little faster to make him drop his hand from my back. If I am going to be doing this, I do not particularly want to feel like I am being pushed into it. However, even when I outpace Valentin, and he has to walk faster to keep up with me, I still feel like I am walking into a trap by the time we reach the throne room doors.

Or, well, not a trap, but definitely not something fun, either.

Mentally squashing down my frustration and antsiness, I do not wait for the guards outside the doors to open them for us before yanking on a handle and striding inside, prepared for the stares and the...

And the emptiness?

Where there should be a room full of people, there are only empty chairs. Fish Man is present, of course, but there is no court waiting near the walls, in the chairs, or beside the prince. The room smells like it was recently occupied by a bunch of people, as it smells salty like sweat and stale from too many people breathing in the same space, but they must have all cleared out before we arrived for some reason.