His Phoenix Eyes

Chapter 3

Unfortunately, Nicholas did not know sign language. Fortunately, he was happy to practice, and invent, some easy-to-understand signs. A simple wave would indicate a greeting, for example. According to Nicholas, as long as an action can be imitated with gestures, it is useable. Even though a deaf person might not be able to hear the words, he insists that most deaf people are good lip readers and that Farris should still say the words out loud, possibly even exaggerate the syllables for easier understanding.

Life without a personal servant wasn't as hard as Farris thought it would be, considering the two months he spent travelling with Nicholas. The palace had good plumbing installed so he didn't need anyone to bring buckets of hot water to his room for a bath. The only downside was that he was used to having his meals in his room with Eris, and sometimes Braeden, or out in the greenhouse with Nicholas. His father rarely uses the dining room and Farris hated eating alone in such a large space that only heightened his loneliness. So, he started visiting Eris in the kitchen. With the war locking him tightly within the walls of the palace, Farris only had so many people he could talk to growing up. As a result, and the fact that he was the crown prince, he was babied by all the servants. Nobody minded his presence in the kitchen and he was even stuffed full of all kinds of delicacies. After all, his punishment didn't say he couldn't visit Eris, only that Eris won't be personally serving him for a few months.

Farris's days consisted of archery followed by a short lunch break before he started his combat training, usually switching between sword and hand-to-hand combat. Lastly, he will have a politics lesson which mostly focused on governing a kingdom, touching on ethics. He will have a refresher exam every now and again to make sure his history, alchemy, arithmetic and literature lessons were still fresh in his mind.

It was boring, but something he was used to. Unfortunately, his nightly gossip session with Eris was on pause until he was released from punishment. Braeden was usually stationed outside Farris's room as his personal guard and knew of their close friendship. Both Eris and Braeden grew up in the palace and were around Farris's age so they had always gotten along well. While Eris maintained his formalities in public and acted more familiarly with Farris in private, Braeden struggled with being so casual with someone of a higher status than him. This had caused a small rift in their friendship but Braeden isn't a stickler for rules. He knows when to be firm and when to let loose. Keeping mum about Eris and Farris's nightly gossip session is one of those things he kept a secret, earning Farris's trust and respect. Truth be told, Farris is just happy his childhood friend isn't his father's lackey whose sole job was to spy on him. And though he feels guilty about it, this also means Farris knows what he can and can't tell Braeden.

With Eris being so busy in the kitchen, Farris spent most of his free time in the library, reading anything he can get his hands on. There were mostly only political books but he didn't mind, knowing what awaited him in the future. Before he knew it, he had spent almost 3 months immersed in the familiar routine of the palace.

"One more day and you should be out of the kitchen!" Farris exclaimed excitedly as he walked around the castle with Eris. Soon, they'd be able to go over his new plan of sneaking into town to hunt down Mystery Man.

"Pardon my intrusion, Your Highness." Both Farris and Eris turned their head like clockwork to see Tristan Kohm's stern face staring down at them. "We'd have to consult with His Majesty before Eris can return to being your servant."

The corners of his lips twitched as Farris tried to keep the smile in place.

"I'm sure there won't be any issues, Your Highness. It's just standard procedure." Braeden tried to ease the tension.

Over the past three months, these two knights were stuck to Farris like glue. It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for Tristan's unyielding nature. Tristan was a 40-year-old general who belonged in the battlefield. However, due to an unfortunate incident during the Great War, Tristan had permanently retired as a general and now worked as a palace guard. Farris couldn't tell exactly what injury he had suffered, but with magic involved, anything was possible. He must be truly formidable to be working as a palace guard despite the incident as only the strongest knights are deployed to defend the palace, the final stronghold. Unfortunately, his strict personality and ever watchful eyes had been draining Farris's creativity, impeding the growth of his foolproof escape plan.