Chores and Funny Boys

It may seem quite simple, but becoming a boy is harder than it sounds. You may try to act like one, but people will always smell through your disguise.

"Dis yar new protege, Old Man?" the large bull of an innkeeper shouted as he patted my mentor on the back with an unceremonious strike of his paw. "Acts too girly, eh? He too respectful to be yar shtudent!"

I worried for the old man because I was pretty sure I had heard some bones cracking at the point of impact. Regardless of my woes, Farseer only smiled benevolently and massaged his back with his walking stick. "Oh, you know how these things go, Freud. The older one gets, the more one wants a little granddaughter!"

"HA HA HA!" the innkeeper's boorish laughter managed to cause vibrations that shook my heart. "D'ja hear dat, Janmira? Dis bastard wants a li'l boy to be his granddaughter. He don't even see ya as a lass at all!"

I halfheartedly laughed along, wondering if the silence from our other hooded companion would mean someone would have to die later in the night... I shook my head, and chided myself, 'No scary thoughts! No scary thoughts!'.

Janmira, the ghost, became a tiny bit more human-like as the time I spent with her grew. I would continuously be shocked whenever our skin touched and I would find it warm. In some moments, she would smile and laugh and most surprisingly, eat like a normal girl. Well, I suppose she really isn't a ghost, but I still couldn't stop myself from flinching whenever I see her face. The slightly older girl definitely had the same face as the one I had hurt in my past life. No matter how much time I spend with her, I don't think I could ever get used to her face.

"Well now, Freud, you know why we've come here. The boxes are out there in our carriage. Have Monty get them and we'll be on our way," Farseer said with his ever gentle grandpa smile. "Now that I think of it, Monty must be around six now?"

"Seven, ya old bastard!" Freud, the innkeeper, bellowed laughingly. "Time passes by so fast! He's practically old enuff to go to a school now."

Farseer nodded. "Yes, it does. This little one is going on seven as well."

The innkeeper turned his attention to me and surprised me by kneeling down in front of me. "Boy, don't just stick to dis old bastard! Go to school, too. That old man will just make an alcoholic out of ya!"

I laughed sweetly. "I know, sir. I'll do my bestest to remember your advice."

"HA HA HA! Ya got a cheeky li'l one this time, Farseer. I like 'im!" The innkeeper stood up and went behind the counter, probably to start piling the wine into their storage rooms.

Almost as though I have already done this before, I headed for an empty table and sat myself down. Sitting with the silent ghost beside me, I thought back to the past few weeks.

After escaping from the royal capital, our trio had gone on a pilgrimage around the Kingdom, delivering boxes of wine and other products to inn after inn. There might have even been a few times when we had made transactions with a wealthy family or a noble house. In all those times, I had acted as the old man's new mentee. No one seemed to find us suspicious in those times. Farseer was well liked and even Janmira was greeted by a couple of people a few times. The only problem I really had was the amount of interest they showed me. People would always laugh about how a prim, little boy like me was under the tutelage of a man like Farseer. I suppose my mentor wasn't known as a gentleman around these parts.

It has exactly been three months since I had left my life as a princess. Acting like a boy was easy at first, but clothes and appearances can only get you far. There were too many times when I had almost greeted a curtsy instead of a bow. Too many people had pointed out my strangely formal way of speaking as well, not too mention my subdued movements.

I tried my best to act as... boyish as I could, but it was hard. Anyway, it wasn't like I was in the perfect state to be so mindful of every single moment...

I was still grieving over the loss of my nanny.

Miss Hestia had been my only real ally back in the palace. Sure, I was a friend to my brother, the Second Prince Clement, but our relationship was too strangled by the pressures of royalty. I knew that he could easily make the correct, yet unfortunate, choice of abandoning me if it meant it would give him more power. I don't blame him. In fact, I applaud him for his dedication. I, better than anyone, knew that he can only act so harshly to anyone because he was harshest to himself. Everything he did was so he could lead the Kingdom into a better future. The best word to symbolize my brother would be "Utilitarian".

So, Miss Hestia would be by only true ally in "Party Eleftheria". Although I did doubt her a lot due to some unfortunate circumstances, her loyalty was proven to me in the end.

But now, she's gone.

I don't even know where she was taken or if she was even still alive. It may not even be a hundred percent sure that it was House Genta who was behind her disappearance. All I have left of her was her letter. It was now safely kept inside a metal box I had bought along the road. Hopefully, the hawker didn't lie about its magic lock being trustworthy.

I did think about looking for her. But, I knew it would be pointless. Farseer and Janmira may look like a weird duo, but they didn't seem to have any power or great connections. From all I know, they were just simple travelling wine merchants. So, I couldn't exactly ask for their help.

And even if we did somehow find the whereabouts of my nanny, what then? I wasn't strong enough, even if I was deemed a five-star mage. A child's magic could only tickle a full-grown mage. Even if I did have a few moments when I had shown great power, I also know I could barely control it. Anyway, if I was lucky, maybe I could take down one proficient mage. And I knew only the very best mages would be placed as guards if House Genta was somehow involved.

So, now, I could only worry. Some nights, I would find myself selfishly praying to the Sun God Solus. I wished that Miss Hestia was already resting peacefully in His great kingdom. Terrible as it may seem, I had thought that it would be better to believe her dead than to imagine her being imprisoned by wicked men.

It was an ugly thought, but it kept coming back to my mind. 'I hope she died peacefully, so I wouldn't feel this guilt...'

The greater the distance we travelled from the royal capital, the heavier the guilt felt as it pressed down on my heart. I can't help thinking that I was simply running away.

'Live on,' her letter had said, but I still felt terrible about it all.

"Umm... Eleftherion, right?" a voice brought me back into reality. Standing by my table was a young boy with the reddest hair and a splash of freckles across his cheeks and nose. He was looking at me with his wide, green eyes. "My da told me to get you. I gotta start transferrin' the wine from your carriage, but I'm not sure which one it is."

"Oh, yes. I'm the one." I hastily got up from the chair and led the boy towards the side of the building, where four carriages parked. It seems like their inn was doing well after seeing the well-decorated carriages of the other customers. "The boxes are inside this rickety carriage. I mean, it would not matter which transportation we use to deliver them, as what matters most is the quality of our products."

I didn't know why I had blabbered on, but it seemed that after seeing our common, rented carriage beside the three sophisticated ones, I had an irrational urge to defend our business. I myself was surprised, but it seemed like I had grown a fondness for our merry group in the past three months.

"Nah, we don't care 'bout those things." The boy dismissed me with a flick of his hand, and reached up to turn open the rough canvas cover of our carriage. "All dat matters is dat it can carry stuff and move 'round, right? Anyway, your carriage looks sturdier than those other three."

I looked over and saw that he was right. The other carriages, although fine looking, might not even survive a month-long trip with their thin wheels and flimsy designs. They were probably made just to show off around the town, and weren't fit for travel.

"That's true." I nodded at the boy. "You seem to have a keen eye for these things."

"Well, my da taught me not to get blind-sighted by wealth. Pretty things won't mean nothin' compared to real power."

My brows went up in interest. "And, pray tell, what may such power be?"

I wondered what a young boy would think about life. His train of thought wasn't wrong, and it made me think that this would lead him to grow up into a steadfast man.

"Hmm..." he muttered, picking up a wine bottle to play around with. "I suppose real power would be a whole lot of money... and a high noble seat."

"Ho!" I exclaimed. "I think the same. Many people may show off their supposed wealth, but it doesn't mean their pockets are bottomless. In fact, those people might just burn through their earnings with mindless expenditure and they'll only regret it once they've lost everything."

I know countless nobles who have bought their titles, and easily lost them in the end. The merchant class, who knew the ways of commerce, would rather stay a commoner house than to squander their resources as nobility. It may be because of the culture of Saule Kingdom, but noble and great houses usually have to be the epitome of wealth and prestige. Dashing balls and latest fashions. In truth, being a noble was simply a great pain for the thrifty merchant class. So, I wasn't too surprised to find that the nobility's power was steadily diminishing, while the merchant class was continually rising in the people's favor.

"Anyway," I coughed. "Let's start transferring these boxes inside. I'll help you out."

With that, we busied ourselves with picking up the containers and bringing them to a secluded storage room found underground. It took me a while to realize how abnormal the situation was. In fact, I only realized it when a few men started praising us excitedly on our nth time walking to the basement.

I mean, was it even normal for 6-7 year olds to be carrying around heavy boxes of wine encased in glass bottles? Nope. Definitely not normal.

It seemed perfectly ordinary for me because I had learned to strengthen my body with notes. As for that boy... When I looked at him, he didn't seem all that tired from carrying all those boxes. He didn't even sweat that much. Looking at his normal bodily proportions, I wondered if he could do magic too.

I plopped down the last box and turned towards the red headed boy. He had finished arranging his container too and was already dusting off his hands on his brown slacks. I asked him, "So, do you know magic too?"

He raised his head up in a quick motion. Due to his freckles, I wasn't too sure, but it looked like he was blushing. "Well... Umm... I don't really know, but ah... my da told me I might have a high potential t'be a magic knight. I just kinda find it easy to be strong like dis."

Looking at him fiddling with his fingers and looking down bashfully, I wondered if he was a girl dressing up as a boy as well.

Worried about him/her, I brought a heavy hand on his shoulder, and grinned at him. "Well, be proud! It isn't normal for a seven year old to be that advanced in controlling notes!"

I thought he would smile back at least, but he only looked at me with suspicion. "Aren't you younger than me, though?"

"Gah!" I flustered.

'Well, wasn't that just a nice counter? Well, too bad kid! I'm not a kid prodigy like you! I'm just a normal old woman brought back into the past... Alright, that may be not so normal, but the point is, I basically cheated.'

"Hmmm... Well, I guess I had a good tutor," I mumbled instead. "I formally learned magic about a year ago."

His eyes widened into emerald circles. "Really?! Ya must be rich, den!"

I cringed, wondering how I should explain. I've never had to think this far because I've never really been asked that before. Now that I was, I found myself lost for the words.

"Hmmm..." I awkwardly switched from foot to foot, frantically searching for an excuse. But then, the boy suddenly shouted.

"Oh! I get it!" the boy exclaimed with a hand on his widely opened mouth. He really did act like a girl... "You don't need t'tell me! Yes, yes. I understand. Dat must really be da reason..."

Now, looking at him nodding his red head over and over again while giving me pitiful glances, I grew annoyed. 'What is this boy thinking about? Whatever it is, I don't think I like it.'

"What do you mean by that?" I asked him impatiently as we started walking back up to the front of the inn.

He only shook his head with that same irritating expression. "No, no. I know how hard it must've been. You don't need to pretend ya don't know. You don't need t'tell me."

Growling, I grabbed his shirt, inwardly praising myself for the boyish action. "Come on! Tell me now!"

He faced me with a downhearted look. Then, he turned his head left and right, and then leaned in to my ear. I flinched at his sudden move, but I forced myself to keep acting like I wasn't an astonished girl.

"You must be from a fallen noble family, right? One of those 'broken kingpins'?" he whispered quite loudly for the whole hallway to hear.

I smiled wistfully. He seemed so sure of his guess that he grinned at me widely.

'Well... I suppose this misunderstanding could be used in my favor,' I thought.

I fixed my face into a shocked expression (which I knew probably looked obviously fake), and shouted, "How'd you know?!"

With that, the problem about my slight slip of the tongue has been solved.

"My name's Joren, by da way." He smiled at me benevolently and offered me a hand. "I'll keep your secret safe... I'll be your friend, too!"

'Wasn't he supposed to be Monty, though?' I wondered.

But, knowing fully well that we probably won't even be meeting again after we leave in a few minutes, I too smiled gratefully and accepted his hand. "Eleftherion! Nice to meet you, dear friend!"

A few moments later and after a couple of childlike chatters, Farseer had called me back into the inn front. We were ready to leave.

"Won'tcha stay for dinner, at least, Old Man?" Freud asked with goodhearted anger. "Y'know Tabitha's comin' back tonight?"

That made my old mentor stop. "Tabitha?"

"Da very one!" Freud shouted happily. "So, spare a bit more time! Mah wife would gladly have ya at da table!"

Shockingly, Farseer accepted the invitation. In the past few months accompanying them, I had never seen them accept any good will apart from the money the wine was worth. This made me wonder what this was really about. After all, I was craving to know more about my mysterious companions. They always manage to answer all of my questions with elusive care. Now, maybe I could get a glimpse of who they really were.

Dinnertime came quickly and before long, we were at the table in their own room on the second floor of the inn. Joren was forcing me to play various games while the food was being prepared. We were having a fierce hand wrestling match when the door opened to reveal a cloaked figure.

"Who's this?" the figure asked in a deep woman's voice.

"Tabitha, darling!" Freud shouted, almost flinging the saucepan on his hands. "Welcome home! We have guests!"

Farseer peeked his head out from the kitchen to wave at the cloaked person. "Greetings, Tabitha. I would hope you haven't forgotten me yet."

She gasped as she ran towards us, pulling down her hood to reveal her thin face and long, fiery hair. "Elmar, you old crooge!" she exclaimed as she held the old man on his shoulders. I realized she was taller than my mentor. "You should have sent a letter that you were coming!"

"Oh, well, if I had known you were returning, I would have done it, Tabitha." Farseer said while patting the woman's cheeks. "Alas, your husband doesn't seem to find the need to inform me beforehand."

"Oh! You scoundrel of a husband!" she turned to assault the bull-like man.

I found myself looking with amusement at the comfortable scene. It felt weird for me to find the rowdiness attractive, but this type of noise wasn't so bad.

"Oh, right! Tabitha, you've seen Janmira once before," Farseer pointed towards us on the table. Tabitha smiled and gracefully curtsied towards the girl. "That boy there beside your son is Eleftherion, my new protege."

She approached the table with her brown eyes trained on me. Finding her gaze intimidating, I stood up from my seat and bowed as elegantly as I could. "This one is called Eleftherion. It is nice to meet the lady of such a hospitable inn."

She widened her eyes at me and shockingly brought me into a hug. I fought back a squeal when my feet left the ground. "Oh, aren't you the sweetest young man!"

"Ma, me too! Lift me up, too!" Joren started pulling at his mother's skirts.

She giggled girlishly and bent down to pick him up too. I marvelled at her strength to carry two children in her arms at the same time.

'Joren must've gotten his magic power from his mother...' I thought while I was being cradled like a toddler. This little action made me remember of the happy times I was still coddled endlessly in the castle...

After those merry greetings, dinner was brought out. I was quite in disbelief as I found the dishes prepared by the bull-like innkeeper to be quite delicious. Even my mentor had helped out a bit so I was even more shocked. When we had to cook our own food during our travels, it was Janmira who would light up a fire and simply roast some meat.

'I've learned something new,' I thought. 'The old man could actually cook.'

During our peaceful meal, there was a moment when I almost had a heart attack. Joren had stupidly mentioned me coming from a "broken kingpin" family. I had to glare at him at that, because he had clearly said he would keep it a secret. He only looked at me innocently though, his face clearly stating, 'Of course that won't include my parents!'.

I sighed as I gave my mentor a meaningful look and started to give a brief telling of my "fallen noble family" origins. I didn't mention a name of a house, and thankfully they hadn't gone asking for it. It may seem that the parents, much like their son, was incredibly sensitive to such topics, although they expressed it with more finesse and without the annoying pitiful glances.

When our plates were finally clean, the adults started talking about boring stuff. I followed Joren when he started piling up the plates and bringing them to the sink. We stepped up on a little platform and started cleaning up the plates. It was a foreign chore for me. After all, in all of my life as a princess, I have never had to raise a finger to work.

But, I can still remember the pain I had gone through during the period of time I had tried to hide from the royal guard. I was 18, and I had failed my second try in escaping from the capital. There was a time where I had suffered so much that being found by human traffickers was actually more of a blessing at that time. I too had tried my luck at washing dishes for a brothel when all of my money had been spent or stolen. I could still feel the phantom pains where I had been whipped by the brothel owner's wife, who was always finding the tiniest excuses to hurt me.

Washing the dishes now, inside a different establishment, I found myself shaking from my memories. All of the pampered times as a princess has only proven me extremely ill-prepared for the real world, especially as a mere woman without even a name.

"Are ya alright, Elle?"

I flinched at the name. I dropped a plate, but gladly it didn't break from the fall. I turned hastily to the boy who called my name. "What did you call me?"

"Umm... Elle?" he muttered, obviously troubled by my sudden glaring inquisition. "Like, for Eleftherion, right? Oh, but now that I think of it, Elle might not be so good..."

"Elle is a girl's name," I told him. "Don't call me that."

He laughed awkwardly. "Right. Sorry 'bout that. I'm such an idiot."

I breathed in deeply, already feeling bad about making the boy suffer from my own insecurities and traumas.

"Therion," he said.

"What?" I replied.

"I mean, Therion!" he shouted, a smile back on his face. "I'll call you Therion, instead!"

That took me by surprise. No one had ever called me by my name. It was either "child" or "kid". Now, I had an actual name and a person to call it.

"Alright." I nodded. "Therion sounds good."

Unknowingly, while I was talking and thinking and reminiscing, I had forgotten to observe my mentor. I hadn't noticed him walking into a room with the red-haired woman, and I hadn't noticed the seriousness on his face as we laid down on our own room to sleep.

The next morning, I had a big surprise for me.

"Well, boy," Farseer called out to me on our carriage. "Are you ready to have a trip to the Isle of Malaya?"