Put back together

4. Leaving Home

Roman let his gaze wander through the kitchen. When he had been a little kid he used to play hide and seek in here sometimes or try to steal some of the desserts together with his siblings.

The voices he had heard from the hallway had died down the moment he had entered. Of course, they had.
He was Prince Roman. The kings eldest son and heir to the throne.
He tried to tell himself that it was a good thing that they had stopped talking when they had seen him. It was a sign of respect.

At the back of the kitchen Roman spotted the backer he was here for in the first place.
He was a bit shorter than Roman, a little chubby had gold-brown locks and his face and arms were covered in freckles.
He, too, was starring at Roman with wide eyes.

"Your name is... Patton, right?" Roman broke the thick silence and shot the man a charming smile. God, he hoped he had gotten that right. Otherwise, this was going to be awkward.

The man blinked, as if momentarily confused by what  Roman had said (Oh gods, that was the wrong name, wasn't it?) before nodding. Thank gods!

"Good. Then, would you please follow me, Patton?"

Patton whipped his hands on his apron seemingly still unsure but hurried to catch up with him as Roman left the room.
They quietly walked side by side for what felt like forever but judging by the fact they hadn't even reached the stairway, yet, it couldn't have been more than a few minutes.

"Shouldn't you be at breakfast right now?", Patton blurted out after a few more minutes of tense silence. Most of his siblings would probably have punished the baker for asking a question without permission but Roman was grateful for the broken silence.

"Usually, yes, but my father insisted that we leave the castle as soon as possible. We will eat after we leave the capital behind."

"Where are we heading to, anyway? Is there a hint where those pieces are?" Roman was glad that Patton seemed more talkative than he had been the day before. Otherwise, this quest would be dreadful.

"Sadly no. First, we will head to the only place where we might find out more; the Library of Natica."

The baker's eyes widened slightly: "Isn't that on another Island?"

The prince understood why that thought might scare the other. Travelling between Islands could be dangerous. Some of the bridges were old and unstable and too dangerous to repair. Cable railways could be even more dangerous due to the strong winds that tended to howl between the Islands. And if you fall you either became part of a Scullbreakers meal or you fell into the endless void.
No one knew what was down there or what was keeping the Islands from falling.
Well, maybe some mages or the librarians on Natica knew.

Natica, the biggest mountain on the known Islands, was indeed on a different Island. It wasn't even in the Sallerowan territory. The mountain and with it, it's Library were between territory. Everyone could travel there. Whether or not you were allowed into the Library was a different story. A Library holding every book ever written and all knowledge ever obtained needed to have good defences.
Not that Roman worried about them. They were there because of a prophecy, because of a mission. They had to be let in.

"Don't worry the bridges there are well kept", he tried to reassure his companion and hoped that was the truth.

The baker still looked scared. Roman honestly couldn't blame him. He himself had only travelled between Islands a few times and only always between Sallerowan ones. Inside the kingdom, it was easier to keep the bridges save and the prince knew full well that the bridges he had taken had been some of the safest. Still, the winds had almost pushed him into the abyss the first time he had been taken on a hunting trip on a different Island. The memory still made his throat close up whenever he felt the winds tug on his robes and made his feet slip centimetre by centimetre towards certain death.

They shared a few more, mostly meaningless words before they reached the stables. Two horses were already ready to be ridden. A strong brown mare named Amity and a beautiful white stallion named Elysian. The baker gaped at the majestic animals.

"Can you ride?", Roman asked patting Elysians neck and silently prayed for the answer to be yes. They could make do even if Patton couldn't but it would be a lot slower and a lot more exhausting.

"Yeah, but I haven't in a long time", Patton admitted. "And never on a horse. Just donkeys."

Roman starred at him for a moment. He had never even heard of people riding donkeys. For a moment he contemplated telling Patton so but decided against it.

"There isn't much of a difference", he said instead and hoped that it was the truth. He should probably stop doing that.

"I know. Mum used to tell me that the only real difference is that horses actually listen."
Patton smiled at the memory.

"Alright, then let's go," Roman said and pulled himself onto Elysians back.
Patton took a few tries to get into the saddle but smiled proudly when he finally managed to do it.

"What is her name?", he asked following Roman towards the castle gates.

"Amity."

"That's a nice name", Patton smiled. "Which way is Natica anyway? I mean, do we have to head towards the fields or the forest after we leave the city?"

"We'll have to ride east. So the forest it is. Don't worry, there are no dangerous creatures around here anymore."

The people stared at them as they rode through the streets. There was some kind of market and the narrow spaces between houses and stalls were filled with more people than logically should be able to fit and all of them stared. Roman smiled at them. It was easy after years of practice.
The crowd forced them to move slowly and Roman didn't fail to notice the curious, envious and in some cases, even hateful looks cast at Patton. Some people leaned towards others and quiet whispers hung in the air.

"Who's that?"

"The prince's new boy toy?"

"Why is the prince travelling with a Nobody?"

Roman hated rumours. They spread like wildfire and could be as destructive. He had learned over the years when to ignore them and when to stomp them out before they became a real problem, but he still hated them. He should have seen this coming. Of course, there would be rumours when the freaking crown prince was seen with an unknown young man. He wondered how fast people would start suspecting Patton was his fiance or something. Julie would never let him live that down.
On the other hand, if everything went well, he could rub in her face that he had been in the biggest library in the world.

It was almost noon when they finally made it out of the city. The air was warm and not a single cloud could be seen in the sky.
It was a beautiful day but Roman was too hungry to really appreciate that fact.

"Let's eat here", he called over his shoulder. "I'm sure the horses would like that as well."

Their meal was quiet, both men too busy eating to talk. Afterwards, they sat back up and rode toward the forest.
Roman turned to get one more look at his home and almost screamed.

And I finally finished another chapter! The longest yet. Some worldbuilding and some plot...and a little cliffhanger.
Feel free to comment any questions or roast me for spelling/grammar mistakes. I want to improve my writing, people!
BTW I'm going to publish this story on Archiv Of Our Own as well because it's a lot easier to tag potential triggers and other stuff there.

Have a nice (gay) day!