2 Chapter two

I wake in my armchair next to the fire and stand to stretch, my back feeling a bit stiff thanks to the chair. "You up?" I ask, looking over to the bed were Ciarán is curled up. He lifts his head and nods, the dark circles under his eyes much lighter than last night.

A thought suddenly hits me and I curse myself. I have to leave the city at noon to visit the northern kingdom, "can you walk?" I ask, somehow keeping the worry out of my voice. Ciarán shrugs, but moves to the edge of the bed and carefully stands. Holding back a relieved sigh I watch as he walks towards me, his legs a bit shaky, but able to hold him, "I have to go North on a mission and I won't be back for a few months," I tell him and hand him a fresh sheet of parchment and a inked quill, "you can either come with me and pose as a guide, or go back to the lower district. Both are pretty risky and could end up with you getting caught and taken back down to the dungeon," I sigh, wanting him to know exactly what could happen if it goes wrong. "I want to go with you," he writes with a stubborn nod. I smile and go to my wardrobe, pulling out some sturdy leather and cloth clothes that'll hold up to almost anything and hand them off to him, "here, you need to look the part." He nods again and gets changed.

Later that day we're standing in front of the king, "I'm ready to leave, father," I tell him. He arches an eyebrow, looking at Ciarán, "who is he?" My father asks, looking staring him down skeptically. Before he can study Ciarán any further, Sir. Col speaks up from my father's side, "it's my doing, I told Amis to find a suitable guide to get him across the mountains, they're very treacherous this time of year." My father nods in approval, "be safe my son, and remember to look for a wife in the northern court." I keep my face cheery, knowing better than to speak up against me finding a wife anywhere, and bow, motioning for Ciarán to to the same, "good bye for now father," I say and lead my new guide to the stables to get our Mules and equipment.

After giving Ciarán a quick riding lesson we ride to the North gate. "Prince Amis, can I speak with you a minute?" Sir. Col calls to me and I get off the mule, walking over to him, "of course." He leads me off to the side, out of anyone's earshot, "who is the boy you're talking with you, I know he's not your guide, you don't need one," he says flatly. "I know and thank you for covering for us with my father, I freed him from the dungeon and am taking him with me so he won't have to stay in the lower districts here," I explain. Sir. Col sighs, "Amis... are you sure it's best for him and not just want you want?" He asks. "Oof course it's what's best for him, he was arrested and beat for stealing some gods damned water, what do you mean by that?" I say, taken aback. He sighs, "I've seen how you react to your father's expectations of finding a bride. Please be careful, Amis, I feel like you have a chance to really change the kingdom for the better, but you can do that if the king denounces you as his heir." I bite the inside of my cheek and look over at Ciarán, who's leaning back in his saddle, looking up at the walls surrounding the kingdom, "thank you, I  know that I have to be careful, but was it really that obvious?" I ask with a sigh and Sir. Col chuckles softly, "I've known you long enough to figure out how to tell when you're avoiding something. I've got to continue my patrol, so I'll see you when you get back," he says and I say my goodbyes before walking back over to my mule and getting on. "You ready?" I ask Ciarán who nods,sitting up in his saddle and grabbing his mule's reins. I call it to the guard who opens the gate for us.

We travel in silence for about an hour, "Ciarán, how are you feeling?" I ask and look over, he shrugs and then surprises me by softly saying, "I am not used to riding." I look at him in shock, his voice was very softly and he spoke like someone from one of the upper districts, not with the harshness that people from lower districts speak with, though he spoke with a barely noticeable accent. I stare at him until he looks over at me, "what?" He asks his voice still quite, like he was afraid to speak any louder. "I, um, just wasn't expecting that, I thought you were mute," I say awkwardly, to which he tilts his head slightly, "I honestly thought I was too, the guards are inventing with their methods and I thought my voice was worn out from the screaming." Wincing I look down at my saddle, "I'm sorry, I'll change that one I become king," I tell him.

We ride along in silence, before I lean back, "I think it's time to stop and set up camp," I say, bring my mule to a stop and getting off, unpacking or camping gear. Ciarán does what he can to help. When we finish, I glance up at the darkening sky, "looks like we might get some rain," I mutter, looking over at Ciarán who has already curled under the tarp shelter we tied up to some trees and grounded with rocks. Ciarán yawns softly and I hand him some hard tack, "I know it's not the best, but it's too late for hunting," I say sitting next to him and chewing on my own.

I watch him as he works on eating his hard tack with a small smirk, "I know, hard to eat, isn't it?" Say with a laugh, he blushes and looks away, "it's not that bad," he says. Decide to change the subject and wanting to know more about him, I ask, "where are you from? I've never heard anyone with an accent like yours before." He shrugs, still not making eye contact, "I guess I picked it up from the people I lived with," he said. Deciding to drop the topic, as Ciarán didn't sound like he wanted to talk about it, I yawn and lay down, "we should get some sleep, we leave at dawn tomorrow and you need to keep up your strength," I tell him.