Chapter Fifteen: Getting Castor

Glandias convinces him to come along and help.

Chapter Fifteen

Getting Castor

Mabel nodded, evidently satisfied. With Glandias peeking out of her pocket, she marched down the muddy alleyway, using it as a shortcut. She stomped right through a puddle, sending water black as pitch up behind her. The man gaped.
“Wait! Wait, Mabel!” he shouted. “How do I get the horse out of the crowd?”
She turned the corner, chin jutting out, smile playing on her lips.
He threw his hands up in the air then let them drop and slap his thighs.
“Crazy storyteller,” he muttered.

Finally  arriving at Castor’s house, Mabel pushed roughly through the gathering group of his friends and admirers. She noticed Burk standing alone, looking foolish with his puffed up chest and chain-mail armor. He probably wanted to challenge Castor yet again. He would never learn. She also saw Firethorn, Fablen, and Roana. She waved across the crowd, making a mental note to talk to them later. Besides Roana, Fablen and Firethorn needed to be the first to know about the plan. In secret, Roana had already made the masks; she was just waiting for when she would have to use them.
Arriving at the door, she placed Glandias at the bottom so he could crawl under.
“Good luck,” she whispered, then leaned against the wall to wait.
Glandias shimmied under the door and stood up. Brushing off his clothes he scurried quickly over to where Castor was sitting and tugged on his pant leg.
The room they were in held all of Castor’s masterpieces. The weapons of the stories. Swords and knives were in rows along the walls. In order from shortest to longest, his knives joined them. In baskets along the floor was a selection of sheaths, and in others shiny stone spearheads. Hanging on hooks were quivers full of arrows, and next to them, their bows.
Castor was sitting at the wooden workbench in the center of it all. His head was in his hands, and he was slumped over the table as if he wanted he wanted to slip into the porous wood and never be seen again.
Glandias gave up the tugging and began to climb up Castor’s leg, causing him to start in surprise. Glandias looked up into his face.
“Could you just lift me up?” I’ve had a very tiring morning.”
Castor nodded, and lowered one hand for the small creature to crawl into. He easily lifted him onto the table, and Glandias plopped down with a sigh of relief. Castor looked at him skeptically.
“Mabel?” he asked. But it wasn’t really a question.
“Yes,” Glandias first answered, but seeing that Castor had moved to carry him towards the door, he quickly righted his mistake.
“B-but wait!  I have a message from Calleo. Mabel just thought you might be interested and she helped me through the crowd.”
Now he had Castor’s attention. The way his eyes lit up and his back straightened was distinct.
“Where is he? Is he alright?” Castor asked hurriedly.
“He’s staying with Ameline and Solin. You should see their daughters-”
“Daughters?! They have 2 already?” Castor was shaking his head.
“Oh-well-no. One is their maid. The other is just a baby. But you should see they way they look at them, such love in their eyes.”
“And his wife? Is she kind?”
“Very. Seems like knowing the true meaning of mean from Olvia you’d have to be.”
Glandias sat for a minute, saying nothing. A bird flew by outside, and the noise of the crowd once again seeped in and vied for their attention. Glandias shook himself out of it.
“Calleo wants to see you,” he said. “It’s been decided that they will leave. Go into hiding with the Taining Folk. So will everyone involved with them. And they want you to help them find a place.”
Castor nodded. “It is the only sensible thing to do. They can’t return to the castle as if all is well. And new people join the Taining Folk everyday, no one will think it unusual.”
Glandias wanted badly wanted to ask what had happened at the duel, but now that Castor was involved in something else, he didn’t want to distract him. He had left this world, was in his own head, planning, packing, organizing. Glandias could see him mouthing things to himself. So he said,
“Mabel should be waiting outside. We can go to them if you’d like.”
Castor suddenly seemed to lose his nerve. He slumped back into his chair, staring blankly at the wall. His hands fell listlessly in his lap, as if they no longer knew how to fight. He looked so vulnerable.
“His wife,” Castor said rigidly, his eyes staring at something Glandias could not see. “Do they love each other?”
Glandias had been taken aback my his sudden change in mood.
“Oh!” he cried, snapping out of his own stupor. “Yes, very much. They are barely ever apart.”
Each one of these word shaded another part of Castor’s face in pain; selfish hurt.
“But you,” Glandias went on, barely missing a beat, “You should hear the way he tells the stories about the adventures you’ve had together. My favorite is the one that gets everyone laughing. Remember the first sword you forged in the castle? You forgot the blade!”
Glandias chuckled. Castor’s drooping head had slowly been lifting, but now he looked at Glandias sharply. He looked half angry, half like he wanted to laugh. Both were battling each other; it was a peculiar expression.
He hadn’t lost his best friend, and for that he was glad; but no one new more about that sword with no blade than he did. And it was not something to be messed with.  He pinched the small creatures shirt between his fingers and lifted him up in front of his face. Glandias squirmed and struggled but he couldn’t free himself.
“Are you ready now?” he squeaked.
“Clever little thing, aren’t you?” Castor asked as he put him on his shoulder and walked out the door.

Author's Note

Hope you're enjoying this! Any thoughts are appreciated.

Reviews

[BrynnaW.]

Very well written chapter! Good job! Thanks for the RR and thanks for writing this chapter. I really enjoyed it. Good job and keep on writing!