Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 96695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
King Victor continued to gaze at him until Hugo felt the urge to squirm and step away. “You plan to marry Prince Everand, but you’ve offered your brothers to the enemy of Branem. I kidnapped you and your love.”
Hugo shrugged and strolled to a bookshelf. He kept his eyes on the spines of the books as he spoke. “Yes, but we’re going to work all this out. After tomorrow, we won’t be enemies any longer. If we were enemies, I wouldn’t be able to see whichever brother married you, and that would be horrible. As friends, I’m sure there will be regular parties and cultural exchanges, allowing our two families to see each other.”
“Are you always so optimistic?”
“Gods no! My family would say that I’m the pessimistic one. The worrier. Now, I believe you were going to show me what an alpaca is.”
With a little smile, Victor motioned for Hugo to follow him down a different aisle. After a couple of minutes of searching, the king grabbed a thick, leather-bound book with gold leaf on the front and whimsical drawings. It appeared to be a children’s book of folktales. The book balanced on one hand, the king thumbed through the pages until he stopped at one with a drawing of a fluffy four-legged creature with a long neck. Not at all what Hugo had imagined.
“Okay, so…maybe they weren’t alpacas,” Hugo hedged.
“Uh-huh. Sure.”
“They are quite adorable. Can you ride them?”
“Some do. I understand they can be quite stubborn. Many of the mountain villages use them for pack mules, but most are raised for their wool. It’s quite soft.”
Hugo skimmed the story alongside the picture. It looked as if it were about an alpaca that went on an adventure up a mountain and got lost.
Victor closed the book and returned it to its spot on the shelf. “You’re willing to marry your brothers off to me, but you don’t think I’m handsome enough for you?”
A choked laugh escaped Hugo, and he backpedaled out of the aisle. “What? What does that have to do with anything?”
“Then I’m not dashing enough? Smart enough?” Victor stalked him, tossing out comments as Hugo retreated.
“I think you are plenty dashing and smart.”
“You don’t think my kingdom is rich enough?”
Hugo rolled his eyes until he retreated right into a heavy leather chair. “Ridiculous. Wulia has ample wealth. I don’t care about that, unless it’s to worry about whether your people are suffering from not having enough money to feed and clothe themselves.”
“My people are fine.”
“Your Majesty, I’m flattered. Truly, I am. But let’s be honest, you don’t actually care for me.”
Victor stared at Hugo in silence for several minutes before his face cracked into a smile. “I think if we had met under different circumstances, we could have been friends.”
“You know, as a friend, you could always move Prince Everand out of the dungeon for the night.”
The king’s expression turned hostile. Hugo hurried over, hands up as he tried to make placating motions. “He’s been in the dungeon for several days, and he could use a nice bath. Plus, it’s going to be a long ride to the crypt, right? Wouldn’t it be wise for him to have one good night’s sleep prior to our journey?”
“And I’m guessing that you’d like him moved to your room?”
Hugo shrugged and tried to be nonchalant, but he had a feeling he missed it by a mile. “It would make it easier for the guards and the servants. They’d have to bother with only one room.”
Victor snorted and stalked to the library door. “I have plenty of guards and servants. It’s not a bother.” He gave orders to the guard outside the library to have Prince Everand moved to a private room for the night, but not the same room as Hugo.
This was still a win, and Hugo would not let his good mood flag. He wouldn’t have to worry about Everand for one night. He’d have a nice hot bath, maybe an evening snack, and sleep in a warm, soft bed. With any luck, this time tomorrow, they’d be free and in Branem again.
After the arrangements were made, Victor closed the door and strode into the room to join Hugo at the table where the steel and glass swords rested. Hugo picked up the glass sword and inspected it. He’d made it quickly as a laugh since Victor had been silly enough to grab a real sword to battle savage alpacas. It wasn’t a terrible effort, but it could use a bit of cleaning up.
Without thinking, he called upon his magic and began making tweaks. He frosted the handle while making the blade clear. He added a guard between the hilt and blade. From the guard, he started winding a vine around the blade with leaves popping out here and there.
“Forgive me, but what’s the national flower of Wulia?” he asked, his eyes still locked on his work.