Prince's Master (Calluvia's Royalty 4)

Castien’s gaze snapped to him. His lips pursed slightly, his eyes flashing with irritation. “I told you to wait for me outside, Eridan.”

Eridan pouted exaggeratedly.

A muscle pulsed in Castien’s jaw. “My apologies for my apprentice, Your Highness,” he said. “Where are your manners, Eridan?”

“Oh!” Eridan gave Prince Jamil a sheepish smile, flushing. He bowed. “Health and tranquility, Your Highness.”

“You’re Master Idhron’s apprentice?” Prince Jamil said, shooting him a surprised look.

Eridan flashed him a crooked grin. “I am, and I’m the bane of his existence. You are even more stunning in person, Your Highness.”

The prince truly was stunning, with his shiny brown locks, beautiful green eyes, and the kind of bone structure that most people could only dream of.

“Eridan,” Castien snapped. “Wait for me outside.”

Eridan rolled his eyes. “Yes, Master,” he said. “But hurry up, would you? I’m bored. You know that me and boredom are never a good combination.”

He closed the door again and smiled to himself. Mission accomplished. Though he was going to be in a world of trouble for this.

Trying to delay the inevitable, Eridan wandered away.

He walked for a while, looking around curiously.

A female voice stopped him. “Are you lost, my dear?”

Eridan turned around and hastily bowed. “Your Majesty.” He had seen Queen Janesh only on the news, but it would be impossible not to recognize her. She was still a stunning beauty, despite having grown children.

He lifted his gaze, and to his surprise, found the Queen frowning, her face pale.

Eridan cocked his head, confused. “Your Majesty? Is something wrong?”

Queen Janesh shook her head, still frowning a little. “No. For a moment, I thought I was seeing a dear friend of mine who died a long time ago.” She smiled sadly. “The resemblance is quite uncanny. What is your name, child?” She glanced at his robes and raised her eyebrows. “You are a mind adept?”

Before Eridan could say anything, Castien caught up to him.

“Your Majesty,” he said with a small bow.

The Queen returned it. “Your Grace. Health and tranquility. You had an appointment with my son?”

Castien just nodded, laying a hand on Eridan’s shoulder. There was a strange wariness about him. Eridan looked at him sharply.

“How is he?” the Queen said. “Better?”

“His bond barely hurts him anymore,” Castien said. “But you understand that I cannot say more than that, Your Majesty. Patient-healer confidentiality.”

The Queen nodded. “Of course.” She glanced at Eridan curiously. “Is this young man your apprentice?”

Castien gave a clipped nod, his hand on Eridan’s shoulder tightening. “If you’ll excuse us, we have to go, Your Majesty.” He bowed and steered Eridan away.

“What was that?” Eridan hissed. “You were so rude, Master!”

Castien didn’t reply, his face like stone.

He seemed to relax only once they were back in the monastery. “Go to High Hronthar,” he said, without looking at Eridan. “I still have work here.”

Eridan nodded, looking at his Master’s retreating back, beyond bewildered.

Castien hadn’t even reprimanded him for interrupting him and Prince Jamil.

Had he just forgotten?

Chapter Thirteen: The Truth

Eridan returned to the castle, still feeling rattled and confused. Something was niggling at the back of his mind and he couldn’t place it.

So he went to his room, sat down on his meditation mat, and closed his eyes.

Achieving the state of meditation took a while when he was so anxious, but finally he managed.

He sank deeper into his mind, searching for the source of that niggling feeling.

I find it curious that there was a royal child about your age that went missing around the time Idhron brought you to the High Hronthar.

I thought I was seeing a dear friend of mine who died a long time ago. The resemblance is quite uncanny.

Eridan went still. He had dismissed Tethru’s speculations as ridiculous at the time, but if Queen Janesh used to have a friend who looked so like him that she had actually mistaken him for a dead person… Coupled with Castien’s uncharacteristic wariness and tension…

Taking a deep breath, Eridan told himself it proved nothing. He needed something more tangible.

He closed his eyes and fell into meditation again. He delved deeper and deeper, searching for those elusive, half-forgotten memories of his early childhood.

A tall, spacious room filled with toys. “He is old enough to get him betrothed… Perhaps after the trip…”

A lanky boy, with blue, tear-filled eyes. “They are dead, Eri. They won’t come back.”

A much younger Castien, gazing at him in an assessing manner. “What is your name, child?”

Eridan’s eyes snapped open. He stared in front of him unseeingly, his heart pounding. Castien had really brought him to the Order. Tethru had been honest, at least about that part. Could Tethru have been right about everything else?

He strained his memory, trying to remember more, but it was difficult. He wasn’t surprised. The day a High Hronthar child was Named, their existing familial and betrothal bonds, if there were any, were broken, to help the child let go of any previous attachments and adjust to their new life. That generally made the earlier memories vaguer. He had been too young to remember much, in any case.