The Prince's Mark

Chapter Five

 Lying awkwardly against the edge of his bed gave Tracou plenty of time to think about his situation. Hanging around Pendaer was a problem, but parting ways wasn't possible as long as Pendaer shared the bed in the inn with him. Tracou had two more nights paid for, so after that he would be free to leave and completely forget about the elf sleeping next to him.

Until then, he would just have to ignore any unfortunate feelings that sprung up when dealing with Pendaer. He could stick with Pendaer for two days as long as he stomped down anything untoward.

The next morning, Pendaer was again uncooperative when it came to waking him up. But Tracou was relentless, kneeling beside him on the bed and wiggling him until the elf couldn't take it anymore. He was a heavy sleeper, but Tracou could be highly annoying when he wanted. Pendaer eventually groaned and rolled over towards Tracou. This meant that he was diagonal, half lying on Tracou with part of his back on Tracou's knees and the rest of his weight concentrated on his side that was still on the bed.

"Okay! Stop shaking me. Ugh..."

But he didn't move or even open his eyes. Tracou reached out and pushed Pendaer off of him. Rather, he tried to, but Pendaer was a dead weight and Tracou, like most dezmek, was lacking in physical strength.

"Pendaer," he hissed. "Get off of me!"

"Why," Pendaer paused, heaving a sleepy sigh, "are we getting up so early?"

"Because! We only have so much sunlight. I thought elves would treasure the sunlight and want to get the most from it like humans do."

Pendaer whined softly. "I want to sleep."

"I'll leave without you."

A few moments oozed by, but Pendaer got off of Tracou and sat up.Despite having so much of it, his hair looked fine even after sleeping. Tracou's tended to stick up at strange angles when he woke up, so he had to fix it every morning with magic. Combs were not terribly useful for dezmek, but some of them did appreciate decorative ones.

Pendaer looked in his general direction, eyes blurry. "What are we going to do today? More shopping? I'm done with shopping."

That was what Tracou would have done had he been alone, but he wasn't alone. He had to entertain the both of them. Well, maybe he didn't have to entertain both of them—no one was holding a knife to his throat. Still, he wanted Pendaer to have a good time.

Because so many people were in Shalen for this merchant gathering, there was more going on than just an opportunity to spend money on trinkets from afar. Those who couldn't peddle wares could peddle other things,like entertainment. Tracou had never indulged in these things himself, due to his narrow focus on objects over experiences, but Pendaer's interest in the marketplace had been minimal. Maybe going to see a play would better suit him. That archery competition would have been ideal, but that was already over.

"I've heard before that they don't only have things to buy, here in Shalen. They have games, plays, and music, too."

Pendaer hummed thoughtfully. "And you want to do that?"

That phrasing didn't sit well with Tracou. He was suggesting this for Pendaer, after all, not for himself. But saying that would make him uncomfortable, so Tracou nodded.

"Will that stuff start this early?"

"I don't see why not."

Truthfully, Tracou had no idea.

Due to Pendaer's plodding post-waking process, it took quite a bit of time to get ready. Tracou was ready in a few minutes and even had some breakfast while he waited.