The carriage ride to the palace left Lukas staring out of the window. As the wheels bumped against the cobblestone streets in a rhythmic fashion, it threatened to pull him into a soft lul. Lukas, at this point, didn’t care too much, wanting to fall asleep. The late nights working on homework had caught up to him.

As he stepped over to the garden, his breath would fog, reminding him he wished he were back home, in bed, and enjoying the weekend. Nevertheless, he snapped out of his feelings. He had to make some money. He had to earn a life here, and hopefully find his place.

“Lukas,” Ptyor said. “I am glad you made it here on time, Sonny. You don’t want to know what happens to the lads who end up being late here.”

“I think I would like to leave that one to my imagination, Sir,” Lukas said.

“Good,” Ptyor said. “Now, the others have yet to show up, and your shift starts soon. But I want you to clear out the big bed over here. Your job will be to remove all of the debris into that bucket.”

Lukas nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

“So polite,” Ptyor said. “I hope you can keep it after hearing about the other boys here. In the meantime, since you’re early here, do you want some warm drinks and a breakfast? What do you like?”

Lukas grimaced. “I like some coffee, Sir. As for a breakfast, small cakes are nice if I can be fancy. But any breakfast will do. I’m not picky.”

“Good,” Ptyor said. “I can give you some tea today, if you would like. We have time for it.”

The earl grey had some bracing qualities. Lukas sipped the tea slowly as the morning light highlighted the entire city, making it look prettier than it actually was. As Lukas finished his tea, he murmured his thanks.

“This is your reward,” Ptyor said. “Most of the people who come here do so because their parents make them work. Or, they are finding a new place in life. So they’re understandably reluctant. I have to be hard on them, though, because it’s my livelihood on the line if the emperor is unhappy.”

“I understand, good sir,” Lukas said. “I will try not to disappoint you.”

After finishing his tea, Lukas would make his way outside once more. The cold outside of the garden house still lingered, but at this point, it was a nice cold. Lukas stood facing the wind.

“I hope it’s a beautiful day today,” he said.

“It should be,” Ptyor said. “It’s nice this morning.”

Lukas would begin working. He used a rake in some areas, but there were quite a few delicate flowers and plants in the bed, slowing him down. He would work quickly, maintaining a steady focus. The repetition of his work had left time to think, but he did not want to spend too much time thinking about Lord Alik. Not right here.

Not when too much was at stake for today.

Instead, he thought about his studies, and about the history he had learned. He had grown to understand some of the old feuds between nobility. But as he went through what he learned, all of his thoughts went back to Lord Alik.

At one point, he paused as the two other workers arrived, two hours into their shift. Ptyor turned to them, displaying an old ruler.

“You boys had better give me a few coins now,” Ptyor said. “I had ought to deduct this from your pay, but your parents would be mad at me. Instead, both of you will be moving all of my heavy materials today. Six hours of moving soil and mulch so that we can prepare the new bed.”

The boys grumbled, giving each other a playful look. In returning to his work, Lukas would remind himself to focus. He had made a decent amount of progress, but at this point, he promised himself he would do what he could to finish his work at the end of his shift.

With the stone in his pocket, all around him, the energy would grow. There was something soft about it, but it was there. Lukas, as he would take a break in his shift, would turn to Ptyor.

“I can feel it,” Lukas said. “This entire bed is about to start growing.”

“Good,” Ptyor said. “We can’t be killing the emperor’s plants. He likes it to look nice. If they do die, he will fire us for making him look like a fool.”

“Oh,” Lukas said, slumping.

“Those are his words to me,” Ptyor said. “But between us, he should be ruling this country, not bossing us around. And there are a million other things he could focus on.”

“I see,” Lukas said.

“My family lives on the other end of this country,” Ptyor said. “They are among the wealthier, but I still work here to send them money. Haven’t seen them in years, but it’s because of my work they have things to eat, and they have a few niceties. Oh, and we can pay taxes to the emperor.”

“I know what it’s like to struggle a little,” Lukas said. “I worked at a food market. I still couldn’t afford to eat without help from my boyfriend most days.”

“Oh,” Ptyor said. “I hope he fed you well.”

“Sometimes,” Lukas said. “He still wanted me to find my own way, and so he still wanted me to pay for my own food some days.”

Ptyor gave him a harsh stare. “I love my family, and I love my wife regardless of their situation. And I would do anything to ease their pain.”

“I know,” Lukas said. “It’s complicated. But I still don’t have lunch here. I have dinner, and I had the cake, but it’s hard.”

“Well, if you work here long enough, maybe we can fix it,” Ptyor said.

“I intend to, Sir,” Lukas said.

Lukas would go back to work after his conversation. Ptyor slipped an apple in his direction. Lukas took it and ate it. He then went back to the bed, focusing on everything. In the tree above him, the bird would call out to him once more. He would listen to the bird, and he would feel the sunlight.

Meanwhile, the other two workers would continue to grumble as they continued moving heavy things. Lukas listened to their banter here and there, if only to give himself a distraction from his thoughts. He worked quickly, but as time stretched on, he wondered if he worked fast enough.

He would come to complete his six hour shift, with a small pile of leaves left. As he went to find Ptyor, he would find the man scolding the other two workers.

“You both can carry some of the heaviest things here, and you work quickly. But why is it that the moment I find the two of you, you are slouching?” Ptyor said. “I think you both need to take inspiration from this fellow here. He does his work quietly, doesn’t complain, and he does it well.”

“That’s because he’s doing less physical work,” one of the men said.

“Well, he’s still a better worker than the two of you,” Ptyor said.

Ptyor would come to the edge of the bed Lukas had worked on, inspecting it closely. Lukas stood behind him, shifting between both his feet.

“Nice work,” he said. “You should finish this tomorrow, no?”

“I intend to,” Lukas said.

“Good,” he said. “Then you can clean out another bed.”

“Thank you, Sir,” Lukas said.

“Go home now,” Ptyor said. “You deserve it. Unlike these two.”

Lukas would leave, just in time to begin getting ready for his dinner with Lord Alik. Or, as Lukas had begun to practice with, Boris, the masked stranger.

I now have 100 coins, and a dinner date with a man who could end my career.