soldier, poet, king || e. pevensie | slow updates

the poet • 24

there will come a poet, whose weapon is his word. he will slay you with his tongue, oh lei-oh lai-oh lord.

Dantus was nearly slumped over on one of the tables in the Findlay Pub. He had spent all night in the pub getting as drunk as he possibly could.

There were three faun women all laughing next to him, but he couldn't lift his head enough to rejoin the conversation. The only thing he could really focus on was how loud the room was and how much he was overheating. One of the women had her arm laid across his chest, another was leaning against his shoulder.

The reason he was getting as drunk as he possibly could was that Wicus had hung up a picture of Coralia and himself. It brought everything back, so Dantus was trying to permanently erase it from his mind.

He had a few days off now that Wicus had hired another cook, so this is how he was spending his nights. Pyxia was unhappy with watching Dantus drink himself to nothing and let girls drape across him, but what could she do? She was at work, and had to serve everyone equally. But when she went to Dantus's table to see if he needed another drink and one of the girls gave her a death glare, she gave up on being nice. She didn't revisit the table again that night, nor for the next three.

Dantus woke up at noon on his last day off with a pounding headache. The first thing he did was throw up on himself. He knew deep down that he needed to quit his job. He was making steady income from his books, and he was about to publish another. The pub was killing his amount of sleep, and the constant lingering aura of Coralia was stressing him out too much. He decided that he would tell Wicus at the end of his shift.

The next morning, Dantus arrived at 5 a.m. sharp, ready to start breakfast. Pyxia was already there, brewing tea and coffee. She was not happy at all, but Dantus couldn't place why. Maybe she had missed him. He didn't want to push her too far, so he left her alone.

After a long day of being ignored by Pyxia and cooking the same meal over and over, he stopped Wicus before he went to bed.

"Ah, Dantus. I was wondering if you could mail this for me tomorrow. I'd do it myself, but I'm afraid I can't make the walk to the post myself."

Dantus took the letter from him and tossed it in his bag. "Of course. Anyway, I have some bad news. I've loved working here for so long, but I've been publishing my books and making a profit and I think it's time for me to move on to writing full time. I'm sorry."

Wicus blinked at him. "If this is about my daughter—"

"No, sir. I have no more feelings for your daughter, positive or negative." A lie. "I just need more time to focus on my books."

Wicus nodded slowly, then shook his hand. "You've been a wonderful employee, I'm sad to see you go. I wish you the best of luck in your career."

With that, Dantus left his key with Wicus and headed home, leaving the closing up to Pyxia.

•

Dantus woke the next morning at 4. That would be a tough habit to break, after doing it for so many years. He took Wicus's letter out of his bag to bring to the post, but paused when he saw the address. It was a letter to Coralia. Dantus wasn't aware that they were still communicating. Obviously they were, they were family.

The temptation was too much. Letters are private things, but Dantus was not in his right mind. He slowly slid a letter opener under the wax seal. The letter was two whole pages long, and Dantus's curiosity overtook him. He almost dropped the papers onto the ground when he'd finished reading.

Corey —
It is time you knew. I was planning to tell
you on your 18th birthday, but since you asked, now is as good a time as any. I am from Calormen, as you know. My mother was a nomad who traveled across all the lands. When she was in Narnia, she met a man in the woods. Or, what she thought was a man. After they spent some time together, living in his cottage, he revealed that he was not a human, but a star in human form. A sorcerer. My mother was already pregnant with me, and asked my father to stay with her, but he obviously couldn't. He needed to return to his fellow stars, however that works. So she raised me in that very cottage in the Narnian woods, teaching me on her own.

When I was old enough, she let me leave the cottage to find a home and build a family of my own. I met your mother in a tavern. I was so drawn to her for reasons I could not explain. After months of courting, I found out that she was also descended from a star. She was so powerful, we were all shocked when she had you and had complications with the birth.

I moved us from place to place after her death before settling in our village.

I assume this physician could sense it. You are magical, Corey. I wish I could've trained you as a child, but the gene seems to have skipped me. You have always been magical, and could grow to be an amazing sorcerer. I hope you find a way to train this.

Thank you for writing to me. I'm afraid I'm growing very weak and I am unsure of how much time I have left. If you could visit me soon, I would be ever grateful. I love you.

— Papa

Dantus couldn't believe it. He read and reread the letter. It wasn't his to read or to reread, which hit him soon after. The guilt he felt was nothing like the shock and hurt he felt from the letter. Why hadn't Wicus told him, and why hadn't he figured it out sooner?

Not to mention Wicus inviting Coralia back. Maybe he could throw away the letter. Or just not send it. There was no way he could see her again. He would be too angry.

Dantus dropped his head into his hands. He couldn't throw it out, who was he kidding? The faun resealed the letter to the best of his ability and brought it to the post to be sent.

Hopefully Coralia would be too busy to come home.

•

dantus in his typical man era making everything abt himself and also being a dick

so im considering cutting dantus pretty soon i actually dont care that much about him what do we think

also the next chapter has a SICKENING amount of cliches in it but like the whole story also does... so what r U gonna do about it?!