A HENRY STORY 1: Memories Of The Fallen Prince

XIV. Inventor

"Come on! He wants to see you! Come! Come!"

Henry's eyes flew open, meeting the familiar face of Curie, her little snout mere inches from his face. He groaned.

Three days had passed since Henry had convinced Thanatos to stay at the nibbler colony, and he had to admit it had been the most pleasant three days since his exile. There was plenty of food and drink, and he was never alone—something he had grown to appreciate very much. And finally, he no longer had to constantly stress himself over all kinds of dangers . . . or his own resources. For the first time in what seemed like forever, he felt safe. He had almost forgotten what that was like.

Safety. Henry pondered the frightening unfamiliarity of the concept. Ever since his parents had died, some eight years ago, he had not truly felt it anymore. As a child, he had suffered from paranoia and panic attacks and although he had learned to counteract and prevent the attacks over time, the feelings had never really gone away. In Regalia, it had not been an issue in years, but since becoming an outcast, the fears had suddenly become reality and Henry didn't know if that made it better or worse.

He could not battle phantom fears as he could the physical versions. But the monsters that lived only in his imagination could not actually harm him; the ones that waited in the dark tunnels in the Dead Land could.

All that he knew was that, at this colony, neither bothered him, and that was a most profound sense of relief. To his own surprise, he felt . . . great. Better than he'd thought he ever could in exile. Was this it? The key to winning his challenge? Was here where he would finally be able to live?

Henry didn't know. What he knew was that the nibblers had accepted them with grace, allowing them to recover from their ordeals in the Dead Land. Both his and Thanatos' injuries had been properly treated and for the first time in a while, Henry found himself eating regularly and more than raw fish.

They hadn't even asked where they had come from; all Henry had told Lovelace was that he and Thanatos had no permanent home. He was surprised at how little the mice seemed to care about their origins—the fact that they'd had enough honor to save members of their community had apparently sufficed for gaining their trust. Well, he was not complaining.

The nibblers had not only taken them in, but everyone had treated them with utmost kindness. At this point, nearly every single individual had found time to exchange a few words with them—words of welcome and gratitude.

Henry had familiarized himself with the colony's layout, although he hadn't ventured into the jungle beyond the hot spring. Maybe at one point, he would dare it. But for now, he had ended up in this isolated piece of heaven among hellish jungle, and he saw no need to leave it.

"You coming?"

Henry jerked up. He had been so lost in thought that he had almost forgotten Curie. "Hey, what . . . where am I supposed to come?" He was still dazed from sleep, then remembered Curie's words from earlier.

"And . . . who wants to see me?"

Instead, a different voice replied: "Her father. I have just spoken with Lovelace and she says he wanted to see both of us this morning." Thanatos fluttered in through the entrance of their bedroom cave. "Let's go."

Without waiting for either of them, the flier turned and flew ahead.

"W-Wait, hold on, I didn't even—!"

He was gone before Henry could finish his sentence. "Great." He rose listlessly, shook out his hair, slipped into a fresh shirt, and threw on a cape as well, then automatically reached for his backpack that he'd made a habit of carrying everywhere, even though he still expected it to crumble to pieces any day. He would replace it, but he didn't have the means or materials.