Why was he the one who had to deliver this? Elmo asked himself as he waited for an answer at the door.
He'd gone with Jonas to collect their few belongings from the inn and then when they got back to Lance's family's estate, he asked Elmo to bring Elin's and Kim's things to them in a way that made it clear he really didn't have an option in the matter.
While he didn't really object to doing this, he at least would have liked the option to say 'no' rather than being asked to do something that he wasn't allowed to refuse. Even if he didn't really want to do this, if he could have said no but agreed to it anyway, then he was sure it wouldn't feel like such a burden.
However, despite that, he knew that he was at least about done with this task, so he'd be able to go find something that appealed to him at the moment. Like maybe taking a nap of his own, although he wondered if he should find some out of the way place to do that so he'd be less likely to be disturbed. He had his own pack slung over his shoulder, so he wouldn't need to find where his bag was if he could manage that, in the event he actually needed anything out of it.
When the door opened, Elmo couldn't help but jump in surprise, partly because he'd been about to knock again. He'd waited at the door for a couple minutes before it opened, so it didn't feel like anyone was going to answer the door, possibly because no one had heard his first knock.
"What is it?" a woman's voice asked, he eyes regarding Elmo with suspicion.
Elmo held out the two packs. "I was tolld to bring these to Kim and Elin," Elmo replied, a little surprised in himself that he was making himself to sound like a delivery boy.
The woman took the bags from Elmo then closed the door on his face. Elmo couldn't help but stare at the door in surprise. Not even a tip? He asked himself, not sure how to take this reaction.
However, he didn't knock again. For one thing, he really hadn't been looking for any recognition, just having the door shut in such a manner had caught him off guard when he was already unhappy with earlier events of the day.
He also couldn't help but wonder why his stamina hadn't recovered like it usually did with the night's sleep he'd had. Especially since in the past his stamina would still recover just fine without any problem, even when he'd gotten himself more exhausted than he had the night before.
The only notable difference he could think of had been the potion that the king had offered him and those on his team to drink. It certainly made them feel more alert, but Elmo couldn't help but wonder if there was potentially side effects of drinking it.
Not that it mattered much now, seeing as how it was a little too late to essentially 'not drink' the potion.
Yet, as Elmo turned away from the door and started walking down the hallway, he passed by some windows that overlooked the property. From being on the second floor, it gave him a much better view than he'd expected.
He paused to look out the window, somehow finding the act of just looking more relaxing than he would have imagined. Not that he went out of his way to get such views as this. Mostly he was more interested in holing up in his room, away from others and things like this.
As he was about to turn away and look for his ideal place to take a nap, he noticed the king walking along the grounds with his son next to him. Elmo wasn't sure if they were heading somewhere specific, but he saw an opportunity to ask about that potion.
After all, he'd gotten the potion from the king. So, it would stand to reason that the king would at least know what effects the potion was supposed to have. As such, that would mean that he could be a source of information about the questions Elmo had about it.
For one, if the side effects weren't that bad overall, where he'd be able to get more. Especially since if it didn't stop him from recovering his stamina for very long, then it could easily be useful in future battles.
Yet, as Elmo made his way to where he could get outside, he found that he was getting lost. Not only because he was still rather unfamiliar with the layout of the building, but he found his own fatigue was making itself known. To the point where he couldn't be sure that he'd be able to find his way outside before he had to locate a place to take his own nap or just collapse when his strength ran out.
Fortunately, he stumbled across the main entrance as the king was entering the building as well. Which Elmo could only find pure relief in that turn of events.
"There you are," Elmo said before he could stop himself. As he realized what he was saying, as he said it, he couldn't help but start to mentally kick himself over it.
"Here I am," the king replied, amusement shining in his eyes. "What do you need me fore?
"Uh, I was wondering about the potion you had me drink last night," Elmo said, feeling unsteady on his feet and hoped his voice was more steady tha he thought it was.
"Yes, I remember it," the king replied. "What about it?"
"Well, uh, does it have any other effects? I mean, I haven't heard of a potion like that before and I couldn't help but wonder," Elmo replied, feeling like he was saying more than he should, mostly because of how he wasn't able to follow the train of thought that his spoken words seemed to have.
"I guess you've noticed that you didn't recover your stamina after getting some sleep, right?" the king asked bluntly.
Elmo couldn't help but blink. He wished his mind didn't feel so tired, because it even took him a few minutes to fully process what the king said.
"Why is that?" Elmo merely asked, feeling like he was trying to walk through a stream or river, against the current.
The king merely shrugged. "I can't really be sure myself, just that it seems to restore your stamina when you drink it that it comes from what stamina you would be recovering next. So, once you've recovered your entire stamina amount, then you'll start recovering your stamina again in the regular way," the king answered.
Elmo nodded, wondering if he should just find somewhere to take his nap then. At the very least then he'd be able to not feel so out of it.
"By the way, while you're here, I had something I wanted to ask you," the king suddenly said.
Elmo suddenly felt a little more at being asked a question.
"What is it?" Elmo asked, feeling like he was suddenly being interrogated. Not that he hadn't any reason to feel that way. Or at least from what he could tell.
"Before you came here, what was it that you did? I mean, what your occupation was," the king asked.
Not sure if he should really give an honest answer or not, Elmo paused for a minute. While he didn't think that there would be any problems from him saying what he'd did, he couldn't help but wonder if he was opening the door for more problems to come his way later on if he did so. However, he couldn't think of what that might happen, nor did he expect anyone to really understand what he did before he got pulled into this world.
"I was a webmaster," Elmo replied. "For a few sites. Nothing else."
The king nodded, even though his son looked rather confused. Elmoo could help but feel a little surprise as well. If the king understood what he said, then that would go in favor of the king not having been oriiginally from this world.
"My wife told me that she did that as well before she was brought here," the king answered casually. "I still don't really understand some of what she talked about in regards to it, but I at least understand a little of it."
Elmo nodded, feeling a little relieved. If the king's wife had been a web mistress, then there might be someone that he'd be able to talk to about some of the finer details of it. Which could make it a little easier to deal with being stuck in this world.
Although, he couldn't help but wonder when the king's wife would have done coding herself. After all, it it was too much earlier, then they might not really understand some of the finer points. Not that Elmo would let that stop him from talking with her if he got the chance. Especially if it meant he could talk with someone about something that he couldn't with anyone else in this world, since they likely wouldn't understand half of what eh'd be talking about.
As Elmo thought about the king's wife, he glanced at the king's son and a a thought came to his mind. "By the way, how long have you been king?"
"Close to twenty years," the king replied. "I got married to my queen at about the same time as well."
"So, why don't you have more children?" Elim asked, feeling like this was a puzzle piece that was missing. Which he couldn't help but feel bothered by.
The king nodded, then giving his son a look which his son then took to mean to leave them alone, as the boy walked to the other side of the room to wait for them to finish. "Well, my wife and I have an… arrangement. She would bear me an heir and I wouldn't impose on her past that and would help protect her from her own… interests."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Elmo asked, feeling rather confused. "Why would you agree to something like that?"
The king sighed. "It's complicated," he answered. "I guess I fell for her when we completed challenges together, but she's… not interested in me like that. Still, I vowed to protect her in whatever manner I could. So, when we found ourselves stuck here, I proposed this offer to her. She'd marry me and allow me to produce an heir with her, while I would help keep her interests from the public eye. Because I learned quickly that this world tends to be… uh, I guess the word you'd use is homophobic."
Suddenly Elmo understood exactly what the 'arrangement' between the king and queen was. Something that he couldn't begrudge the two from having entered. Not that he felt it was right, but it would certainly help keep things safer for them.