Simon gave a sigh.
"Then, please prepare an extra horse for my novice priest companion, Nell, as well," he told his brothers.
"A novice priest?" Juno asked with a frown.
Nell stepped forward from the line of helpers who stood silent against the hall's gray stone walls.
"He is a priest in training who is gifted with healing magic," Simon said proudly as he introduced his companion. "His Reverence told him to accompany me so that he could continue healing me along the way," he continued. "He shall be staying with me for a year, as a kind of passage towards priesthood."
The two elder princes looked at Nell who stood with his veiled face bowed low.
"Suit yourself," Prince Juno muttered before exiting the hall.
It didn't take too long for the three princes to leave.
Most of the congregation were busy in their chores and morning meditation, that the old high priest wasn't there to see them off.
Simon had some difficulty mounting his charger, but he finally got on the horse with Nell's help.
It was a good thing that the silent novice was strong enough to assist him.
The retinue left immediately, with the three brothers leading the way and Nell trailing behind in his pack horse. They arrived in town about an hour later, with Simon's leg feeling worst than before.
They went straight to the only hotel in town. He was glad that his brothers went to their rooms to rest while they prepared for their much longer journey home.
"Brother Juno, I know that we need to keep our act secret, but do you really have to give one of the royal carriages to that little worm?!" Largos complained as soon as the door to their room closed.
"And what do you expect me to do?" Juno glared at him. "All five assassins we've sent to kill him, have failed to report back, and yet that worm looks healthier than the day we sent him to the Dark Woods!"
"That's why we should act now and make sure he doesn't come back alive!" Largos insisted. "Did you see he how looked after traveling on a charger? He could hardly raise himself up in those wooden sticks of his! It is obvious that he's still as weak as he has always been! I bet it was just a fluke that granted him victory! It was probably the Stone Temple priests who caught our assassins, they are well known for cultivating their own martial arts, after all."
"And what if you're wrong?" Juno spat out. "What if he really did receive some kind of power during his battle with the behemoth? What if he's merely baiting us, waiting for our move, that he may find some reason to justify our deaths?"
Largos glared at his brother.
"I have no plan to lose my life in this backwater town in the middle of nowhere," continued Juno. "The best action we can take is to accompany him home. Let's weigh our options while observing him along the way. If he still seems weak and stupid, then I myself will make sure that he does not set foot on our kingdom alive."
"Thank you for assisting me," Simon told Nell as the novice priest pulled a chair out for him. "I'm afraid all that bumping around made my leg ache more..."
Nell sat on a low stool, placed his left foot on his lap, and gently massaged him. The touch of his rough hands sent vibrations through his leg. It didn't take long for the pain to dissipate.
"I'm always in awe whenever you heal me," he told Nell with a thankful smile. "I really owe the Stone Temple priests for saving my life."
Nell gave a court nod.
"But tell me, Nell, is Master Will really gone? Did he not leave even a message for me?"
Nell shook his head slightly.
"He is my savior, if he didn't take me to town, and later, to your monastery, I would have long died together with by companions... But I couldn't even thank him properly in the end..."
"Beg your pardon, your Majesty, Prince Simon," said the man, "I am the mayor of this humble town, and on behalf of our people, we would like to thank you for saving us from the evil behemoth..."
The mayor bowed low before Simon, so did the townsfolk behind him. Simon tried to stand up, but Nell was still massaging his leg.
"Please, raise yourselves up!" he said instead, feeling a bit flustered. "I only did what any noble would do for his people!"
"You saved our town and our lives!" the townsfolk exclaimed.
"We owe our lives to you, and will forever pledge to you our loyalty!"
"If only all royals were as noble as you."
"Really, it was only proper for me to do so..." Simon insisted.
"Then please, take these small gifts we have prepared for you!" a gruff looking man said, handing him a golden brown pelt. "This is the pelt of a Weezer Sun Bear, caught in winter when its fur is the most luscious!"
"This is a 500 year old mandrake root that was found in the deepest parts of Eleanor Forest," said an elderly woman who held out a foot long root crop shaped like a hairy man with two (and a half) legs.
"This is the specialty from my bakery!" said a woman in an apron.
Simon tried to decline the gifts, thinking that the people of Weezer should put their wares to better use, but the townsfolk insisted. Soon, they were filling one of the royal carriages with the products they deemed worthy to give their savior.
The Sun Bear pelt helped a lot to cushion the carriage seat. Simon found himself looking forward to the bumpy journey back to the Twin Kingdoms.
'This is quite nice...' he thought to himself as he made himself comfortable inside the carriage, 'I guess it isn't so bad to be called a hero after all.'
"Prince Simon, we are ready to embark on our journey," one of his brother's knights informed him.
"Can I please have my healer accompany me in the carriage?" he asked of the knight. "It would be more comfortable for him, rather than riding a pack horse all the way back to the kingdom."
The knight eagerly complied and brought the novice priest to the carriage.
The company made the trip even more bearable, even though the novice priest didn't have much to say, or rather, didn't say anything at all.
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Go to Part 14
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