The Prince's Mark

Chapter Three

 It felt like Tracou had closed his eyes for a second, only for it to be morning when he opened them.

Dim light from the morning sun was slinking into the single window in the room. For Tracou, getting up early was important to him. Hearing people say that nobles were lazy bothered him, so he had decided that he would rise with the sun at every possible opportunity. In reality it was an empty gesture, but to Tracou it was worth something.

Tracou rolled onto his back with a groan, only for him to collide with flesh. This alarmed him to the point where he managed to launch himself backwards with a yelp. He fell onto the floor and, dazed, stayed there for at least a minute, but probably longer. During that time there was some grumbling from other beds, which Tracou ignored. Slowly, he got onto his knees and peered over the bed. There was definitely someone else in it.

Pendaer. Right, of course. He was in Shalen and he had let an elf sleep in the bed he had rented. Tracou rested his forehead against the bed and let out a sigh. Waking up in bed and finding another person there when not expecting it was terrifying.

"Hey, Pendaer," he whispered harshly. The elf didn't move, so Tracou leaned over the bed and jiggled him. This also produced no reaction. Frowning, Tracou yanked away the blanket they had been using. Pendaer made a face and rolled over onto his side, curling into himself.

This was going nowhere fast.

Determined, Tracou walked around the bed to Pendaer's side and stared down at him. Yes, this was going to require something serious.

So Tracou grabbed the tip of Pendaer's ear and pulled. Brown eyes flew open almost instantly.

"Ow!"

That was more like it.

"Shh! Not so loud. Are you awake now?" Tracou asked, not pulling Pendaer's ear anymore, but not letting go of it either.

"Ugh..." Pendaer sat up, trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes. "The sun's not out yet..."

"Yes, it is."

"No."

Tracou rolled his eyes and pulled Pendaer's ear just enough to remind him of what he could do.

"Elves don't get up this early," Pendaer whined. "Have mercy."

"I bet they do. You just don't."

"I'm still tired."

"You slept longer than I did. Come on."

"Why? What are we going to do?"

"We're going to get you clothes."

"Can't we do it later?"

"No. Don't you want to wear something that isn't covered in dirt?"

"I want to sleep..."

"Just get up!"

Every step of the way, Pendaer struggled and complained about being woken up so early. It wasn't until Tracou shoved some bread into his mouth that he accepted his fate. Many of the other men were getting up as well so, really, Pendaer had no excuse.

Pendaer's whining had made them leave the inn a bit later than Tracou had wanted. This was probably for the best, though Tracou would never admit it, because it had given the vendors some more time to lay out their wares. Most merchants sold fabric instead of full on clothes, due to the fact that preparing several sizes was impractical. This, of course, held true primarily with exotic or expensive fabrics. There were a couple of merchants selling clothing made of cheap cloth that would more or less fit Pendaer. They weren't as tailored as what he was wearing now, but he would have to deal with it. Going to a tailor would just be a hassle and who knew how long it would take. Probably too long. Tracou had only thought he would be in Shalen for at most five days, so he had only made arrangements at home for that amount of time.