“ Conquered ”

Tanzanite and Uvite. Conquered.

Tanzanite King dead.

Uvite King was in hiding.

Jodeus tried to comprehend those words. They echoed in his brain, eating up his insides. He fell to the ground and vomited. Ektes rubbed his back, not expecting this horrid reaction. He thought it would be sad for him but not this sad.

"Are you sure he's dead?" he choked out.

"It was in the news everywhere," he stated, handing him a cup of water, which Jodeus couldn't swallow with ease.

His family was gone, and he couldn't help but feel responsible.

"Was he a good king?" Ektes asked.

Jodeus looked up at that, then he remembered he hadn't told Ektes the whole truth about who he was. And so he sniffed and wiped his tears.

"He was the best," he said, but turned to Ektes, "How about you? Are you doing okay?"

"Disturbed. The Carnelian King himself had finished the job after he had taken over Tanzanite. The Capital Mountain was rained down with fire, and..." he said, "King Malue and some of the commanders are now hiding in Azurite, just like us."

-

Although time has already passed since the news, it still hurt him and doesn't want anything to do with the outside wars going on. He needed to move on, and he had pleaded with Ektes not to tell him anything until it was absolutely crucial. Ektes didn't like the idea, his sharp eyes drilled into him but eventually had come to terms, as long he'd leave the island with him from time to time.

Jodeus reached up and helped with his tie, a sad smile on his lips. Ektes had bought a new suit, a dull mocha that compliments his eyes sharp eyes. He thought he looked even more handsome with the fake glasses. Overall, he enjoyed this new look. But he wished he didn't have to leave every single day.

"You need to get out there," stated Ektes. "Fly the city with me, there are lots of things to admire in the city than here. And… and I want you to see the school I've been hired in," he whispered, in an unusually shy way.

He smiled, then Ektes smiled as well as he said yes.

-

The Elysium City was beautiful and bright, so bright it made his eyes water. It took a while to get used to but when he did, he was happy that Ektes had insisted that he comes along.

The towns were made of marble and gold, and a lot of gems in public spaces— on normal post lamps and benches, and the markets were different than what he had imagined. There were almost none, affordable ones at least, the fruits and vegetables were sold at an outrageously high price and no one but them seemed to bat an eye. You'd have to go to the next city to not go broke until next week.

And if you were to buy a full meal, you'd have to make a reservation at one of the fancy restaurants and fancy restaurants were all there was in this particular city.

The people too were just as elegant and posh but a bit too much. Everyone had worn suits and dresses that Jodeus had once been able to afford. He stood out like a sore thumb with his dark robes that covered his small frame, they discreetly threw sneers and dirty looks at him but didn't say a word out loud.

"Peasants," they whispered behind their feathery fans.

He couldn't imagine his mother dwelling with the likes of these people, but perhaps that's why she had left. He thought maybe he'd asked around if they knew her but that was a long stretch, and most people didn't want to be five feet near them anyway.

"We need to get you some clothes," said Ektes, a tad bit annoyed. He was able to buy himself a full suit that complimented his whole look. And fake glasses to complete the disguise, although Jodeus thought it was useless as with one look from afar, any Uvite could tell who he was.

"This is decent enough, " he insisted.

Nonetheless, the city was beautiful and not everyone was a horrible snob. A man had bumped into them as they passed by the overly posh clothes shop and recognized Ektes,

"Professor Amothyllia! What a coincidence to see you in this neighborhood," he said, hugging Ektes with his stout frame, he didn't seem to notice Jodeus was there until Ektes introduced him.

"What a handsome lad with peculiar hair, you two make a good pair! Why my daughter would be disappointed to know you were taken, she said she was only able to pay attention because of you," the stout man winked at him.

Ektes only laughed politely at that, which made Jodeus frown. After catching up, he treated them to one of the restaurants he owned, which was a bit snobbish but he had to admit the food was delicious and he had admitted that he wanted to come again once they could afford it themselves.

They continued their walk, stomachs full, and passed by the windows looking for a store that would welcome them without sneering at Jodeus. But he pretended not to notice, this was a nice date for both of them and he wasn't going to let anyone ruin it.

After a while, amid their conversation about the university Ektes was teaching in, Jodeus stopped in his tracks and pointed at one of the windows.

"THAT'S—"

He turned to look where he was pointing. There was a wooden mannequin displayed at one of the shops, although that was for antiques and souvenirs. They both approached the window for a closer look,

"I knew it! The suits that were stolen from me!" he turned to Ektes shaking his shoulders, but he was still as a stone.

"Stolen from you?"

Jodeus told him what happened before he was sent to the Prison Ring, and Ektes was surprised to only hear this now. They both entered the shop, it was full of odd things from exotic places outside the Azurite. He pointed at the mannequin as he glared at the shop owner, who only had a brow raised. But Ektes spoke instead of him,

"How much for the blue suit?"

The man looked at them up and down. Then lazily said, "Not for sale,"

Jodeus narrowed his eyes at him. "Of course, it's not! Those belong—"

But Ektes cuts in. "I'm sure we can compromise," Jodeus had looked at him incredulously. The shop owner looked at the suit displayed on the window before sneering back at them,

"That is a rare piece of Tanzanite clothing, possibly worn by their royal family, as you can see from the crest hand-stitched on the chest," he informed them, "unless you got something better to garner then I don't see a reason why I should even consider,"

Jodeus gritted his teeth. "Why you little thief—"

"I'm afraid we have none," said Ektes, before grabbing Jodeus by the arm, who refused to leave and tried to pull away from his grip. "We shall take our leave,"

The shop owner grunted in response. Jodeus gave ran back to the counter, surprising both of them. Ektes sighed internally before walking back to the counter, putting his hands on his lover's shoulder.

"Do you have a certain pen cap? That came with the suit?" he asked, almost desperately.

It was apparent that the owner was getting exhausted now, "If you're not going to buy anything—"

"Just tell me! A broken pen cap with a gem tied on it!" he said, voice getting louder. Ektes was glad they were the only ones in the store.

The shop owner narrowed his eyes at him, "I may remember one, although it was a broken little thing."

"Where is it?" he asked, leaning in closer. The shop owner backed away.

"What is it to you anyway? Leave before I lose my patients and call for the authorities,"

"Because that was mine! These things you had were stolen from me— yes, I know you get your things smuggled illegally— but I don't care! Keep the suits, I just want the pen cap."

The owner didn't bat an eye, only raised a brow, "So what if you used to own these things? I will not be disrespected in my own shop. Now go! Before I get you arrested,"

"Jodeus," said Ektes, giving him a knowing look, "Listen."

With an angry grunt, he let go of the counter and they left the store. He crossed his arms and didn't glance at Ektes as they walked back. He wished he could kick things in his way, but the Azurite roads were squeaked clean.

Ektes walked beside him in silence, and Jodeus tried to walk right ahead but when he wasn't paying attention to where he was walking, Ektes flicked his finger and a stone mysteriously made its way in front of him, to which he tripped.

His face flushed red both in anger and embarrassment and turned to Ektes.

"Finally, I thought you were going to ignore me forever,"

Jodeus huffed and walked right ahead, but Ektes wasn't going to let him, he grabbed his hand and pulled him close. To his amusement, Jodeus didn't fight it, instead buried his face into his jacket.

"I'm sorry for tripping you," said Ektes, but he wasn't sorry at all.

'I'm sorry for lashing out," said Jodeus, his voice muffled but he heard it clearly.

"Don't worry about it,"