"I'll uh, wait outside the room." Aldrich said, trying to escape Shans' room in the inn. The king had offered to let him stay in the castle for the duration of his visit, but the young prince had insisted on staying somewhere 'local'. He was quite tired of giant castles. So here Aldrich was, helping keep guard over him.
Shans wasn't having it. "Nonsense," he said, pulling up a chair. "Come, sit. We haven't finished our chat yet."
Rakshasa sighed loudly, before picking up her coat which she had hung up and putting it back on. "I'm going out. I'll be back at sunrise."
"It's quite late!" Aldrich called out after her, reaching out a hand. "Maybe I should tag along... for your safety."
Rakshasa's only reply to that was a cold side eye before she slipped out the door and was gone. Aldrich dropped his hand in defeat, seems he was staying.
"She can take care of herself." Shans assured him. He chuckled heartily. "In fact, I would be more worried for anyone who gets on her nerves."
"She's not human, if you couldn't tell." Shans added.
Aldrich sat down in the chair he had offered, folding his arms. He had to admit he was curious. "What is she then?"
Shans stretched before falling backwards onto his bed. "A demon I met during my travels in the Badaal Kadam kingdom. Terrorizing a small fishing village she was. So, I asked her to stop and come back home with me."
Aldrich wasn't sure if he had heard right. "How exactly did you get her to stop killing people and follow you around?"
Shans propped himself up with his elbows, grinning at Aldrich. "You see, demons of her kind love to feed on people with powerful abilities. The people of that village weren't particularly strong, so we made a wager. She stops killing and comes with me, and if I ever make a bad bet or lose a gamble, she can eat my heart."
It took Aldrich a little while to fully process what he had just heard. The fact that a demon would even consider swearing off killing and following him around just for the mere chance to eat just his heart. "What exactly is your Virtue anyway?"
Shans laughed, while talking he had began to play with a small gold coin. He tossed it into the air where it spun for a few seconds before landing back in his palm. "It's quite hard to explain all at once. But you could just say that I am extremely lucky."
Aldrich raised an eyebrow. "Luck? That can't possibly be something able to be manipulated by a person."
"You would think so, right? But I can assure you; Shans VIII the seventh son of the seventh great Warbrühm family dynasty has not lost a gamble yet." He grinned widely, his white teeth glinting in the moonlight streaming in from the solitary inn window. "And he never plans to."
He tossed the coin onto the table at the side of the room. It landed perfectly on its side on the hard wood.
While the concept of the prince's power was still foreign to him, there was one other thing he was more interested in. "And this deal you made, what exactly was in it for you?"
Shans looked into the air for a little while as if thinking. The moment was short, a second later he was laughing again. "Well, saving all those villagers aside. Have you seen her?"
A small chuckle escaped Aldrich's throat before he could stop it. What a ridiculous answer, and yet for the short time he had known the prince it seemed very in character for him.
He looked over to find Shans' eyes closed. The prince had drifted off to sleep. Aldrich got up, putting the chair back in place before throwing the blanket over Shans and slipped the room quietly.
He joined the black knight at the room door, standing guard. They didn't say anything to him when he exited. So he just stood on the opposite side of the door in subdued silence, wishing the sun would rise faster.
x
Shans sighed loudly as they left the castle the next morning. They had had breakfast there at the king's insistence. Rakshasa had not joined them, opting to stay in the inn alone. Technically she did not have a need for normal food, but that had not stopped her before. Shans suspected she just wanted to avoid the king for whatever reason.
He placed an arm around Aldrich's shoulder, causing the young knight to stumble a little before catching himself. "Now then, show me to your best tavern! The dice are calling to me!"
Shans spent the day taking all the coin from any tavern patron dumb enough to play him. And then using that money to keep the free beer going. This cycle lasted for quite a while. Aldrich just stood in a corner, back to the wall. The shouts of the drunk men ringing in his ears.
"I could be training right now." He mumbled under his breath. He really wish his father hadn't assigned him to escort the prince at all times.
"Earning the prince's favor would also be quite beneficial." A voice said.
Aldrich jumped, not expecting someone to have heard him. Even more surprisingly, the voice had come from the black knight. And it sounded female.
The knight joined him by the wall, her gaze still fixed on the table her prince was sitting at. "The prince's good fortune can sometimes rub off on those he is close to. You seem like you could use some, for the upcoming battles..."
"Hey!" Aldrich objected. He had trained hard, he didn't need to rely on something as fickle as luck. But... at the same time, what could it hurt. He sighed, shifting his weight onto his other leg. "You've been silent this whole time, what has prompted your sudden conversation starting?"
She didn't answer immediately, unsure of the reason herself. Before she could reply the prince called to Aldrich from across the room.
"Aldrich, my good man!" He shouted, cheeks flushed from all the beer. "Come over here, you must help me settle this bet!"
Aldrich gave the black knight one last glance before walking away. The knight sighed, folding her arms. Just then a flash from outside the tavern window caught her attention, and then after a weird sound. Almost like a voice, calling out. She looked over to see the prince still engrossed in his game, his arm over Aldrich's shoulder. While they were busy she would slip out quickly and investigate.
"These fine gentlemen over here, think I'm swindling them!" Shans slurred, pointing his half filled ale jug at the men who didn't look too happy. "So I'm giving them a chance to win all their money back and then some. If you lose this next game, that is."
Aldrich wasn't sure about this. "I don't think I want to get involved in this. Plus, I also happen to be extremely unlucky..."
"Nonsense!" Shans exclaimed, taking another swig from his jug. He pressed the dice into Aldrich's hands and smiled at him. "It's just a dice toss. Go on, whenever you're ready. The main is seven, my lucky number."
Aldrich chuckled awkwardly at the irritated men before throwing one of the dices. It rolled shortly on the table top before stopping exactly on the side with seven on it. Huh, Aldrich thought to himself. He had won. Didn't even need to throw the second die.
The men groaned in annoyance, throwing up their hands in disbelief. It didn't look like they were quite ready to accept their loss though. Aldrich caught one of them raise a fist, but before he did anything Shans grabbed his shoulder and pulled him closer. The man's punch missed him, and instead landed on a random observer.
After the first punch was thrown the whole tavern descended into a drunken chaos. Shans laughed at the sight, bar fights were a common end to his visits. Aldrich guided the tipsy prince through the jumble of bodies towards the tavern door. They were met by the black knight, who seemed to have just returned from the outside.
She ushered them both outside, leading them away. Aldrich was so concerned with keeping the prince upright that he hadn't registered where the knight was leading them. They had ended up in a mostly abandoned part of the city.
Aldrich brought himself and the prince to a stop, looking around. "Wait a minute... this doesn't lead back to the inn."
The knight stopped walking and looked back. "No, but just up ahead there's a nice quiet little place for us to talk!"
Aldrich stiffened, that wasn't the same voice he had heard from her before.
"No need to be so wary." She whispered in his ear from behind him, her cold armored hand on his neck.
Aldrich jerked away hastily. She had just been right in front of him, how had she...
The unknown person in the armor giggled playfully. "I won't bite, unless you want me to. Now, come on. There's too much light out here, it's so much nicer inside."