Wings of Destruction and Duty

34.1 || Orion

"You and your carelessness will be the death of us all!"

Once again, Romril's temper had found its way out of the woodwork and no amount of cajoling from Laurel could get him to quiet down. With each word he spat she glanced over her shoulder at the door, almost as if she was expecting the innkeeper to burst in at any time.

Orion on the other hand, wasn't about to back down without a fight. He sat on the bed, watching Romril rant and pace. He had hoped that the man would tire himself out but ten minutes later and Romril was still going strong. Finally, Romril stopped for a breath and Orion jumped in to fill the silence.

"How am I to know where things are located if you have no map? You told me to go to the peach grove when your lizard spell was about to wear off."

Romril scoffed, "A very simple set of instructions-"

"That I was unable to follow because you're unclear!" Orion's voice rose a notch and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Laurel wince. Nonetheless, he continued on. "Even if the prince hadn't found me, I would have been caught by someone else."

Romril stopped pacing and turned to glare at Orion. "Why did it have to be the prince? Not only that, but what part of your acorn-sized brain thought it would be wise decision to agree to train with the prince for the next few weeks?

At that Orion threw his arms up into the air. "What was I supposed to do? He would have turned me into his father and then what would happen to your perfect plan?"

"You-" Romril clenched his fists and lurched forward with a snarl, only to be stopped by Laurel.

"Enough." The elven woman placed her arm across Romril's chest, forcing him to several steps back. What she lacked in height, she more than made up for it in tenacity and Orion once again found himself grateful for her presence on this trip.

"Orion's run in with the prince has simply added another element to our mission, one that if approached correctly can be exploited for our own puposes. Think about it Romril. As the prince's training companion for this grand tournament, Orion has a legetimate reason to set foot in that castle everyday and with a little bit of planning we might figure out just where our queen's necklace is."

"You are too optimistic." Romril walked across the room and took a seat in the lone chair in the corner. "Knowlege of Orion's presence will only increase our chances of getting caught and once we steal the necklace, it will make it harder to divert attention away from ourselves."

Laurel sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "We do not know that for certain. Granted, Orion will not have free reign, he will be required to do some sneaking. But at least his presence won't be a complete cause for concern. Besides, no matter what path we took we would have needed to find a scapegoat for stealing the necklace. That part never changed so why should we shy away from it now?"

"Fine." Romril shrugged, propping his feet upon the edge of the bed. "It's clear that there's no getting through to either of you. If anything goes wrong, you know I will report this to our queen."

"Be my guest." Laurel saunted over and with one firm shove, pushed his feet off the bed. They hit the ground with a thud, a sound that even the thread-bare carpet couldn't hide. She shooed Orion and he wiggled back to give her space to sit. An awkward silence descended upon the room before Orion's stomach let out a low growl. He flushed and became keenly aware of the gnawing in his stomach.

When was the last time he'd eaten? Oh yes, that morning at the crack of dawn. He glanced out the window at the sun creeping below the horizon. From where he sat, it looked as if the castle was a gleaming mass of gold and silver. Orion watched as the sun slunk further behind the castle, casting long shadows down the streets and muting the sounds of the afternoon. Carts rattled and horses whinnyed as the market was packed up for the evening. The distant clang of a blacksmith was soon joined by the echoes of dinner bells and the shouts of mothers calling their children in for the night.

Orion's stomach rumbled and he swallowed the lump in his throat. Arriving into the city had consumed all thoughts of his aunts but now he missed them. They had never been the type to shout out the kitchen window, but he did have fond memories of reminders delivered by specks of light and delicate petals. But there was no point in dwelling in what once was. He took a deep breath and turned to the two elves who had taken to muttering to each other.

"If it's not too much trouble, could we go downstairs to get a meal? The innkeeper did say that we'd always be welcome to enjoy a meal-"

"That sounds like a fine idea, Orion!" Laurel gave him a tiny smile, whatever they had been whispering about was now long forgotten and Orion could only hope that they were not hiding anything important.

"Hold your horses!" Romril rose to his feet and positioned himself infront of the door. "What about preparing for tomorrow? If Orion is going to be interacting directly with the prince then we cannot simply go in unprepared."

Laurel raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. "Romril, does it take you all night to eat?"

Romril scowled and wordlessly shook his head. To which Laurel gave him a curt nod and a pat on the shoulder. "That is what I thought. We shall fill our stomachs, recover our energies and then make our plans before retiring for the night. If Orion is to keep his wits about him, then we must do our best to avoid sending him when he's tired and hungry. I should know, I am a healer."

Orion had to resist nodding too hard. The last thing he wanted to do was irritate Romril and the thoughts of warm food and a good night's rest stirred his heart. The three companions made their way down into the main room where they quickly found themselves seating in the corner with bowls of thick meat and potato stew steaming in front of them. Orion scarfed it down without much thought, only stopping to suck on his tongue when he'd realised he'd burnt it.

Orion looked around and listened to the raucous chatter thundering all around him. His eyes landed on the far corner where a group of young men sat by a roaring fire, huddled and jostling over a game of cards. Loneliness sparked through Orion's mind and once again found himself wondering just where his aunts could be. Surely they had realised his disappearance by now? Or perhaps, they had noticed, but didn't know where to start. The world was a lot wider than he'd realised.

That thought soured the warmth in his stomach and suddenly he didn't feel like eating any more. The road ahead was not an easy one and the thoughts of late night planning with his elven captors did nothing to lighten his mood. He snuck a glance at the two elves who had managed to get into yet another augment with each other. Thankfully, this one seemed lightheared as Laurel tried stop Romril spooning meat and stew into her already half-empty bowl. Eventually she relented, but only when Romril agreed to take her potatoes from her.

Their relationship was strange. Bicking one moment and then caring in the next. Then again, weren't his aunts like that too? Orion sighed and finished off what remained of his stew. Tomorrow was another day and he could only hope that nothing would derail the plans they came up with tonight.