Page 30 of Apple Boy

“Well. Let me tell you; you are not at all amusing.” The clerk continued.

“Sir!” I exclaimed, my pitch higher than I expected.

“Do you have your have identity papers? Proof of any kind that you are who you say you are?”

I was speechless for a moment. Damn it! I possessed no papers, and I had no response to offer.

“Thought not. You are not the first to try to gain access to the Aeling vault, boy.” The clerk scolded. “Now, you have two choices. You can leave quietly, or you can become acquainted with Deron and Rafi?” He said, his gaze shifting to the two brutish guards wearing the turquoise blue tabards bearing a crest of gilded birds entwined.

“Sir, this is an outrage. I demand to see your masters.” I declared haughtily. I was not too far gone with my anger to notice how Adam shrank back towards the doorway. Was he afraid? I really must think before I speak, but after this rejection, my patience was yet again torn to ribbons. I could not believe that I was unable to make it past this gatekeeper to speak directly to Mr. Percheval and Mr. Wrenfrey. If this man would permit just one minute, I could convince his masters of my identity. I was sure of it.

A wicked thought flashed into my mind, and I wondered then whether I should use the Star-fall to get what I wanted, but no, that would have made my situation so much worse. Using magic in public—using it in a building that legend told contained cursed vaults—No, I could not risk it. My fury was growing, but I did not want to channel that anger into the gemstone. I was the heir of Thorn, and I should not need to use magical manipulation to gain access to what is rightfully mine.

“Good fellow,” I simpered. “I’ve had a rather long and arduous journey. I don’t have time for this.”

“And neither do I,” the clerk replied tartly.

“A word of advice before you plan your next little scheme. Are you able to read, boy? For if you are, I would highly recommend you purchase a copy of today’s news sheet.” He said with a waspish hiss. I had no idea what he was talking about. I was just about to ask, but he turned his imperious gaze from me to the guards and gave a curt nod. The guards were at my side before I could blink.

“This is an outrage!” I blustered, my voice echoing in the vast hall. I did not understand why, but once again I was being manhandled by ruffians and tossed aside like a child’s unwanted toy.

Adam rushed to where I lay sprawled on the cobbles. “Gods, Winter. What was that all about? Are ye okay?” He offered his hand and helped me to stand up. I gratefully took it and habitually brushed myself down, and then realized that the dust from the street probably covered up other unsightly stains and I decided that I should let it stay where it was.

“There appears to have been a slight disagreement as to the validity of my identity.” I smiled weakly. “Nothing to worry about,” I lied. I did not know what to do, and there was every reason to worry. I had no papers, and all of my letters of passage lay at the bottom of the Wide. I hoped Adam did not think me a charlatan and that the reason I was thrown into the street was that I could not beWinter Aeling. A chill of fear ran through me. I needed to understand why the clerk had dismissed me so keenly. Why did he not believe I could be Winter Aeling? What was this news sheet he spoke of? I needed to find out if it held a clue to give me some clarity. I grabbed a handful of Adam’s woolen cloak and took off down the avenue.

“Where are we goin?” Adam called as I dragged him along. “I’ll tell you as soon as I find what I seek,” I said mysteriously.

We turned a corner and saw two men were walking towards us. One was tall, slender, and clean shaven, with ochre skin and long black hair reaching to the base of his spine. The other was his match in height but his build was brawnier. He wore a beard and his hair was long, wild and blond like a warrior of old. The blond man was dressed in a bright red cloak and brass chest plate of the city guards.

“Ho there!” I greeted jovially and met the guard’s blue eyes. “We are newcomers to your city, and I was advised to seek out the news sheet. Where would I find a vendor?”

“Ah, no bother. You’ll find Griz at the crossroads,” he said, his accent from Mid Valen the district to the north of the Pasturelands.

“Just you keep going; you can’t miss him!” The guard’s companion gave Adam a fleeting once over. Maybe he thought I hadn’t seen it, but I did see the lust in his glance, and a flare of jealousy ran through me. Adam was an attractive man, and I understood that look all-too-well. I thanked the guard and briskly we moved off in the direction he had told us to go.

It wasn’t long before we came upon a crossroads and there, a vendor was selling a rolled up page of printed news named the Serein Sentinel. This particular fellow was a young boy in stature, yet he hollered:

“SENT-INEL. GET YER SENT-INEL” in a voice that was far too deep and masculine for his apparent age. I did a double take and realized this was actually a diminutive man, and if I was not mistaken, he was a dwarf from the Osian side of the Silua Montis Mountains. What confused me was that this dwarf was clean shaven, and I had never seen one of his kind without a beard. It was highly irregular. I approached and gave him a courteous nod. He held out his child-sized hand,

“A copper, sir, if you please.” I searched in my money pouch and retrieved a coin. The dwarf palmed the copper and passed me a rolled up news sheet.

With Adam at my side, we hurried back onto the avenue where the depositories were located. We once again found Percheval and Wrenfrey, and I slumped breathlessly on the front step. I unrolled the paper to see the bold type headline. I was horrified and confused.

TROJAN STAR VANISHES.

The small type was hard to read, and I was always rather slow with my words. Adam sat with me, read silently for a moment then gasped and poked a finger onto the page. When I saw my name, I stopped and let out a gasp. I glanced at Adam, and he bit his lip with worry. We read on. The story went on to tell that the Royal galleon The Trojan Star was eighteen days late in docking at the Port of Serein, and no one knew its whereabouts. With rumors of a precious cargo sent from the Twin Kings for the Great Council, it was speculated that either the ship had been raided by Terrian pirates, or lost in a storm. But it was the last paragraph that twisted my gut the most.

SON AND HEIR OF THORN LOST AT SEA:

The Principal family of Thorn is in deep mourning this day for the loss of their son and heir, Winter Aeling, The Count of Skraedig. Lord Aeling was a passenger aboard the ‘Trojan Star.’ He was traveling to Serein as an ambassador to meet with the Great Council. The Count’s uncle, Lord Ivon Aeling who resides in our city, has joined forces with the Great Council and sent out his ship ‘Spirea’ along with Serein’s galleon, ‘Trillium’ to search for proof of what fate has befallen the ‘Trojan Star.’

I dropped the news sheet, and it was whipped away by a stiff breeze, Adam reached out a hand to catch it, but I grabbed his wrist to halt him, he shot me a look of concern. I shook my head and then let him go.

It was an unbearable situation. My family believed me to be dead. I thought of my mother, father, and of my twin sister Summer stranded at the court of Kristoff and Fabian in Altea, grieving for me, and not knowing that it was the kings she dined and danced with who caused the ill-luck that had befallen Jossuah and I. Then it dawned on me, if my family knew the Trojan Star was lost, then the Kings also knew. What would they do? Was my sister safe? For as far as I could comprehend, apart from the scoundrels aboard The Trojan Star, only Kristoff and Fabian knew what lay in the cargo hold of that cursed ship. Adam’s hand snuck behind my back, and he drew me into a side hug.

“We can fix this.” He encouraged, but I could muster no enthusiasm, let alone any ideas to move forward.

“How?” I pouted. “All believe I was lost with the ship. I cannot even convince that damn clerk of my identity”, I huffed. It was my worst fear come true. It felt like all the anxiety I’d kept inside for the past three weeks was bubbling up and readying to explode. I was abandoned, penniless, and honestly, I just wanted to sob like a child in Adam’s arms.