King Aldis leaned in close to Matilda. “He’s whistling? When's the last time you’ve heard him whistle?”
“I’ve actually never heard him whistle before, Sire.”
Aldis gave a surprised hmpf. “Things must be going well with the Carpenter’s. He must be very fond of Beatrice.”
“Or a certain ray of sunshine,” Matilda smiled to herself. “I know you’ve been worried about Rowan, but I think he’s going to be alright.”
Aldis shrugged. “It’s just good to see the boy so happy again.”
Moments later, a beaming Rowan walked up to the pair. “Father, I have a request and I think you’ll find it’s an excellent idea.”
-
Bran was finding it harder and harder to sneak away from the manor. Atticus had never been particularly interested in how his halfling step-son had spent his time, but he seemed to be putting less effort into his chores- which was completely unacceptable.
Lucky for him, Diana and Adam had been more than willing to pick up the slack.
“If you’re the reason the prince has been so happy and generous with those gold coins,” she had told him, “we’re more than happy to help.”
Amazingly, Atticus had let Diana keep everything Rowan had given her. The prince always talked to the fae woman when he returned to the manor, so Atticus was doing his best to keep her happy.
Bran felt slightly guilty about adding to her workload, but knew he could pay her back soon. As all things do, the summer was drawing closer to an end. The version of Bran that Rowan knew would be leaving the Barclay manor to return to the village of his supposed origin. He would have much more free time to help the other servants then.
Bran felt a pang in his chest as he reminisced about the past few months. It would be like none of it had ever happened. He would never see Rowan again, and that was that. It was amazing he’d kept the charade of human nobility going for this long.
Bran had done a good job at keeping his heart guarded. He was good friends with Rowan and would miss his company because they were friends. That was it, he reminded himself. That had to be it.
It was Sunday and the Carpenters were at church to keep up their pious reputation. With them gone for a few hours, Bran borrowed Beatrice’s horse and arrived at the castle early in the morning, as Rowan had requested. The prince was already waiting for him outside of the main gate.
“I’m glad you made it.” His blonde companion was smiling, but there was a nervous energy about him.
“I promised I’d be here, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did and I’m very grateful.”
“More so than usual?” Bran replied, teasing Rowan’s eagerness.
The prince shyly tucked a golden curl behind his ear. “Yes. Today is important.”
Bran raised his eyebrows, surprised by the response. “How so?”
Rowan was practically squirming now. Bran couldn’t tell if it was from nerves or excitement. Probably a mixture of both.
“I--, I just have to show you. I can’t explain it here.”
Rowan enthusiastically took the brunette by the hand and pulled him down an ornate hallway. They always remained close as they strolled throughout the castle. Bran had become more familiar with the layout thanks to their continued rendezvous, but the palace was so large it reminded him of an ever changing, infinite maze. He was sure he had never been down this corridor, making it extra easy to become lost.
Eventually, Rowan paused in front of an embellished wooden door, painted with swirling gold tendrils. His hand was frozen on the large brass handle. He held eye contact for a moment, as if debating whether they should enter. Bran gave him a small nod of encouragement, prompting Rowan to swing the door open.
Bran’s breath caught as he stepped into the room. It was a library. A <vast> library. The room itself was bigger than some of the entire manors he’d visited. Every wall was bursting with books and manuscripts, all in immaculate condition. He breathed in deeply, letting the musty scent of aging paper fill his lungs.
“I’ve never seen so many books in my life!” he exclaimed.
“You like it?” Rowan’s smile had gone warm and gentle.
Bran threw his arms around Rowan, embracing him in a tight hug. “It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen!”
“Go ahead and take one, any one that you want.”
“Really?” he gaped. Without waiting for a reply, he briskly walked through the shelves, running his fingers over the spines.
After an extended period of wandering filled with ohs and ahhhs and look at this! Rowan grabbed his hand and pulled him towards a carpeted, red bench.
“Sit with me, I have something to tell you.”
Bran could feel that Rowan’s hands were trembling around his own.
“This library hardly gets any use. These volumes are no good to anyone just sitting here, so we’re getting rid of them.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve decided to donate them to the schools. You said children couldn’t afford the supplies, so this is one less thing for them to worry about.”
Bran felt as though all the air had been sucked out of the room. “What?” he breathed.
“And this is just the beginning!” Rowan ploughed on, oblivious to the shock on his companion’s face. “I’ve talked to my father about allocating funds, about how we should be investing in the people, creating an educated populace. I want to make it free for every child in Gallan to attend school, regardless of race or title. I know this doesn’t solve every problem the citizens are facing, but I figure it’s a start.”
Bran’s head was dizzy. He opened his mouth, but he had been stunned into silence. He could do little more than feel the pounding of his heart.
“I want you to help me.” The prince stared deeply into his sapphire eyes with undisguised eagerness and determination. “We could figure this out together. We could build a real education system for the people in the kingdom. Us and my fathers advisors, of course. I already talked to him and he thinks it’s a wonderful idea.”
Now Bran was the one shaking. He couldn’t even imagine the impact this could make on the people he knew; how it could literally change their entire lives.
He cleared his throat, but his voice was still thick with emotion. “This… this is real? All of it?” He blinked away the tears that were stinging at his eyes.
“Of course it is!” Rowan caressed the side of Bran’s pale face, wiping a tear off his cheek bone. “I would never joke about something like this.”
Bran shook his head in confusion, words unable to describe what he was feeling. “Why with me though? Why would you want me to help?”
“Why not with you?” He gave Bran’s hand a squeeze. “Bran, you must know that this is all because of you. The way you’ve talked about the people of this kingdom, their needs, their rights; I realized I was doing them a great disservice. I used to be scared to care about anything. Now I’m realizing I shouldn’t be scared anymore. You’ve lit a fire inside me, Bran.”
Bran had two urges pull deeply inside of him. One was to turn on his heel and run in an attempt to escape the emotions flooding his veins. The other was to lean in and capture Rowan’s full, pink lips with his own. Rather than act on either, he stayed entirely still, paralyzed with a hope he’d denied himself for so long.
“Oh Rowan,” he said, barely above a whisper. He envisioned the prince’s whimsical laugh, his excitement over every mundane thing they had witnessed together, the twinkle in his warm brown eyes. “I can’t imagine you’d fear anything.”
He scratched the back of his neck. “I wish that were true, but I’ve let fear rule my life for far too long. After being hurt by someone I trusted, I’ve had a hard time caring about anything. You can’t get hurt if you’re not invested, so I threw myself into distractions.” His eyes went glassy for a moment, as if wrapped in a memory from the past. “But I’m ready to care again.”
“You know you can talk to me about your problems, right?” Bran offered, reading the pain on his face.
“Thanks, but it’s not worth dragging up,” the blonde waved the idea away. “Anyways, I haven’t talked to the prince of the Sarssenia in quite some time.”
Bran nodded in agreement until Rowan's words finally settled upon him.
“Wait, what?”
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