Two weeks have passed since they moved on from Schlaffhausen and into the wild. Danico thought that it would have probably taken him two or three days maximum if he traveled to the Rose Garden by himself. If only he knew where it was, that knowledge would have saved him the trouble of joining a military campaign.

But then again, he himself was to blame for approaching the prince. Joining the military wasn’t exactly the brightest of his ideas, however it sounded fun in his head and it was amusing to talk to all the different people who joined the prince to die.

They would have progressed further and faster if everybody had a horse to ride on, but alas, a lot of the foot soldiers have never ridden one in their entire life. Not that it mattered because there weren’t enough horses for everyone to ride on. Currently, only the prince and his knights and mages were on horseback. The rest of the horses pulled along carts filled with weapons, armor and provisions.

After the third day of peeling potatoes into the saddest little lumps, Danico was summoned by the prince to visit him that evening.

“Yes, your highness? What can I help you with?” Danico asked.

The tent of the prince was large and spacious. From the outside, it looked like it would be lavishly furnished, but that was far from the case. The prince’s tent had a simple cot bed draped with expensive looking fur. There was a table on the side with various maps and paper, and random chests with his clothes tucked neatly inside. 

The prince looked haggard and there was another pimple blooming on his face. Clearly the stress of leading an army was getting to him.

With a single gesture of his hand, all of his aides left. All except for the knight who blocked the only exit. Danico narrowed his eyes, if the prince thought he could have his way with him just because he looked defenseless, he’d be wrong. Danico was stronger than he looked.

“Bard,” the prince said. “Sing me a lullaby.”

Said bard was taken aback at the request, but couldn’t say he expected that. It was the reason why he came prepared with a small harp. What the prince wanted was purer than he thought, perhaps the rumors about him fancying men were nothing but lies after all. Danico cleared his throat and didn’t question the command. He strummed the harp and sang until the prince’s breathing got steady.

The knight’s hulking shadow moved upon the last melody, handing him a glass of water he drank gratefully. The knight tilted his head at the exit without making a single noise. It was a difficult task considering the metallic armor he was wearing. 

It was a clear gesture to leave.

If Danico was in a more cordial mood, he would have quietly left the tent. But Danico did not want to go back to the makeshift kitchen and peel another potato or tend to the horses. He gave the knight an impish grin and watched as the prince slept. He would hum a soft lullaby whenever a frown appeared on the prince’s youthful face.

It was evident the knight told the prince what happened, because the prince approached him when he was alone at the back of the camp, carefully cleaning the potatoes to be cooked for the army. The chef had enough of his weaponised incompetence that he was delegated to washing food.

“You’re being creepy,” The prince said and left.

Danico rolled his eyes, he was grateful he was alone in his task otherwise people would question what the prince meant. He would rather not explain that the prince needed someone to sing him to sleep like a newborn baby. If those words ever left his lips, he was sure he’d be beheaded in a heartbeat. 

Still, despite what the prince said, he still called Danico to his tent. However, unlike the previous night, Danico left quietly once the prince had fallen asleep. He’s not a creep who likes watching people sleep after all. It was very boring and he’d rather do something more productive with his time.

It seemed like the prince hadn’t gotten a good night’s rest after he left because he ordered Danico to stay until the sun rose to keep him asleep. Thus it became a routine for Danico to leave the prince’s tent once the sky was tainted in yellow hues.

And of course those who woke up early have seen him leave the prince’s tent. The rumors spread because of this were highly amusing to Danico. People were saying the prince had taken him as a lover and he would enter the court as a paramour once the princess was awakened.

If only they knew how innocent their little princeling actually was.

It did not help the rumors when the prince offered to ride with him, and Danico, being the shameless man that he was, did not hesitate to accept the offer. He was tired of walking and was so sleepy he could barely stand. So what if he leaned on to the prince and drooled a little bit on his shoulder as he took a nap? It was his fault in the first place for keeping him up all night and his shoulders were the perfect height for Danico to use as a pillow.

And the prince didn’t seem to mind one bit. He even took off his pauldrons and started donning capes lined with the fur of some poor animal.

This obvious fondness made people treat Danico differently. Some would sneer at him and make sexual innuendos left and right, while others started kissing his ass to court favor in the future. Danico took it all in good humor because he was still willing to play along in this charade of a cheerful bard. 

One evening, the prince mentioned they were close to getting to the Rose Garden. It would only be a matter of time until Danico sets off on his own.

Of course the prince found out about the rumors and he was upset. His virtue was in question, but it was too late to quell the lies. He suggested Danico start sneaking in and out of the tent instead.

“Why should I do that,” Danico asked. “It’s not like we’re doing something explicit, and they know that the good Sir Knight over there is with you the whole time.”

“That’s the reason,” the prince said while laying on his fancy cot bed. “People have started dragging Sir Faris into the situation.”

After over two weeks, Danico finally found out the name of the knight. Now all that’s left to find out is the princes’ name. Danico loves to play this game in his head where he waits until someone mentions the person’s name. 

Danico never introduced his name to people and if they didn’t ask they would never know.

Oddly enough, the soldiers never mentioned the prince by name either. It was always his highness this or the crown prince that. Danico did hear the name “Faris” before, but he didn’t know that it was the prince’s right hand man until now.

“Oh,” Danico said with a hand on his chin. “They started a threesome rumor. That’s spicy.”

“Bard,” the prince said, exasperated. “Take this seriously.”

Danico shrugged.

“Why should I sneak around like your secret mistress when I’m innocent? The rumors have already taken place, if I start sneaking around, it will only become worse.”

“Is that so?” the prince turned to the knight. “What do you think, Sir Faris?”

The knight mimicked the bard and shrugged. “I’m not trained to deal with these kinds of situations, your highness.”

“Excuse me, your highness? It’s Mage Cian,” the voice behind the tent cut through their quiet conversation.

“Enter,” the prince said.

A man in his late forties entered the tent with a tray in hand and a steaming mug of something. It was bright purple and oozing green smoke. It didn’t look like it would taste pleasant. 

Danico had seen the man running around and helping the soldiers before. He was a court mage of wide renown and was ordered by the prince’s parents to keep their son in check and alive. They were not exactly thrilled to see the heir to the throne embark on such a dangerous journey, but they had a second son who they could groom to become the next crown prince should the current one pass. 

A couple days ago, Danico watched when the mages sparred together with the knights. The royal mage was there and he was interested in what kind of magic the mage could cast, only to be disappointed at how basic they were. He met far more dangerous mages in his travels who could set the oceans aflame and restore missing limbs in the blink of an eye. In Danico’s most humble opinion, any mage worth their while should be able to at least do one of those. 

But what disappointed him most was when he approached the mage and asked “What do you wish for?”

The soldiers and other mages looked at them with curious eyes as they awaited for the answer to the random question. The bard did not even bother with pleasantries or an introduction. Not like it was needed, he was well known as the prince’s little lover and his lilac gray hair was easily recognisable.

“What do I wish for? Peace of prosperity for our kingdom, of course.” The mage said with a pleasant smile.

Danico smiled back, “A wise answer,” he said and never approached the man again.

“Here’s the potion you asked for,” the mage said to the prince.

“What’s it for?” Danico asked curiously. He’s not usually the type to be interested in potions, but the prince was chugging the concoction in one go with a grimace on his face. 

“It’s a potion that will help me sleep,” the prince answered.

“Is my voice not enough anymore to put you to rest?” Danico asked, pretending to be hurt.