Luck in the candle 2

Several days passed, the limits of which he could not discern, before he realized that it was probably his fault, that something must have happened to the guard, that he had broken the rules for him, spoken to the prisoner, and upset the king.

"Qie?" he tried every day, hoping that someone would appear, that maybe someone would at least give him a hint of what was going on. However, nothing changed, and Rue just waited.

He didn't know how much time had passed before he awoke in the morning to the clanking of metal against stone. He shot up sharply and fixed his gaze on the bars hidden in the gloom of the corridor. Through them, a hand reached into the cell, placing on the floor a plate with a thin long candle that Rue had not seen in decades.

Surprised, he got up and ran to the bars, where he tried to find out if the guard at the entrance was the one he had been talking to before.

"What happened? Did he hurt you? Is something wrong?" he looked out at the guard, who handed him a new glass of water through the bars. Before Rue could touch him, however, he got up and went to the corner, where he took his place as usual.

"Were you punished for helping me?" Rue stood up in alarm, "Qie? Are you okay? What did they do to you? Qie, were you punished because of me?" he asked, but didn´t get an answer. And actually he didn't even want it, because if the guard said something again, it wouldn't stay between them again.

"Sorry, Qie," Rue said, looking at the candle on the ground he sat down next to, "Thank you." he added, picking it up gently.

It wasn´t a classic candle. It was a scented wax stick that was lit in the morning to wake up better. It was popular among ordinary people, so the Infey later took their invention to themselves.

On the first day, Rue didn't understand why the guard brought him the strange wax stick, but he was grateful for anything, especially the glass of water he got.

The next day, when he opened his eyes again, he saw nothing again. The darkness in the room with the only weak lighting from the corridor didn´t tell him what time it was, and he just sat on the bed in silence and thought about how to mark his days, how to find out how much time he spent in the cell, so as not to go crazy.

He didn't know how long he sat before there was another sound at the bars, and his cell was illuminated by the faint light of the incense stick which the guard brought him again with a glass of water.

Rue ran to the bars and looked closely at the guard who had once again stood behind the wall. He then looked on the ground to the candle, which at least lit up his dark cell a little and gave it a pleasant fresh smell. Her soft herbal scent, which he once knew well as everyone in the palace used them, made him feel intense happiness.

"A new day?" he blinked, "Has a new day begun?" he bowed to the ground and sat down again. He stared at the incense stick for a moment before a soft smile of gratitude spread across his face, "Thank you, Qie…I'll never forget it." He smiled, drank a glass of water and began to make new lines on the wall.

The next day the process was repeated...and the next again...and again...although the guard never spoke to him again, although he still quietly placed a candle with water by the bars, sometimes with food, and stood against the wall behind corner, he was not frustrated. He finally knew that someone was here, he knew when the day started, he knew that someone was listening to his words...and that was all he needed to live in the cell.

***

The soft scent woke him from his sleep. It subconsciously made Rue wonder where he was. At first he thought he was still in his cell, he thought he would wake up and notice a fresh scented candle by the bars to inform him that a new day had begun. However, this didn´t happen and when he opened his eyes, daylight hit his pupils. Rue blinked in surprise, and looked up at the ceiling of the room in the inn where he fell asleep yesterday. He sat down and stopped his gaze on the bedside table next to him, on which the scented candle was still burning.

"Good morning," greeted Ylre, who had just lit it and sat down next to him on the bed, "how did you sleep?"

Rue just blinked in surprise for a moment, as he wasn't sure what was reality, what was a dream and why he was connecting it through a familiar scent, but after a while he came to his senses: "You use them too?" he looked at the bedside table.

"Of course," Ylre smiled, "everyone uses them," he pointed out, "don't you like it?"

"I do," he smiled, "I like them a lot...really."

Ylre lightly lifted the corners of his mouth and stood up: "I'm going downstairs to get us some breakfast, I'll wait at the table." He waved and headed for the door.

Rue just looked at him silently from the bed before looking around the room. Next to the armchair, he found a prepared bowl of water for morning hygiene. He hesitantly walked over to it and rinsed his face, as he didn´t know where the water came from.

He explored the room for a while, snapping out of his dream and reabsorbing the fact that he was free. With this enthusiasm, he looked out the window and took a deep breath. The fresh air was really good for him after all these years, and he couldn't help the enthusiastic smile he gave to the crowded sidewalks of the city.

After a while, he happily closed the window and went downstairs. There he found Ylre sitting at one of the nearby tables, who gently waved at him.

"I forgot to ask you something," Rue smiled and sat down next to him.

"What is that?" Ylre gently rested his chin on his hand and waited.

"What's your name?" he asked.

Ylre laughed lightly, "My apology...I feel like we've known each other for years, I forgot," he said, "hi," he shook his hand lightly, "my name is Ylre."

A delighted expression spread over Rue's face: "Hi," he subconsciously accepted after a while, "I'm Rue, nice to meet you." he stated happy how long he had been waiting for someone to answer his question.

Ylre smiled back at him, as he was doing the same, only from the opposite side. He wanted to give Rue an answer for a really long…long time.

They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds before Rue let go of his hand as he still couldn't get used to a stranger's touch and asked, "Where are we going today?" he wondered.

"Wherever you want, you said we´ll look around, I'll be happy to look around with you," he said.

Before Rue could answer, the waitress brought them nicely prepared eggs, bread, and a glass of water. He thanked politely and paid in advance, as he remembered that he was paying today.

Ylre just watched him in silence, waiting for him to start eating before he started eating as well. They ate in silence, in a pleasant atmosphere. Each was thinking about something different, yet their thoughts were quite similar.

"We can just walk around and buy some souvenirs," Ylre suggested.

Since Rue had no clear plan of what he actually wanted to do, he nodded contentedly. When they finished eating, they went into town.

But no matter how much they thought that there wouldn't be many people on the streets in the morning, they were wrong. Rue saw crowds at every stall, every shop was filled with people as if it were the busiest hour, and he only excitedly stopped at every group and examined the wares they were buying. Ylre just watched him, didn't tell him what things to focus on, and didn't tell him it was inappropriate to look at what people put in their bags. He just waited patiently.

They walked from shop to shop, Rue asking about the goods, where they got them from, what things they symbolized, how they got to the businesses, and many other things that the merchants didn't have an answer to. Ylre had to laugh at how pleasurable it was. He calmly walked behind Rue who looked as if he couldn't get enough of all the things.

After a while, when they stopped at a seller with compasses, Rue asked again excitedly, "They look beautiful, what are they made of?" he wondered.

"You have good taste, boy, they are made of real gold... don't hesitate to exchange your compass for a new one, it will last longer," he pointed to the nicely decorated compasses.

"I don't have a compass anymore," Rue admitted and inspected the goods,

"You don't?" the seller was surprised and looked at him more carefully, "Oh...I see, not every Lacrisan needs compasses, you really believe in your luck, don't you?" he laughed.

"I believe in Luck," he admitted, "but I had a compass a long time ago." he clarified.

"In that case, it's best to buy a new one," he said, "look how beautiful they are. Take your pick, you'll get a discount for a nice smile." he laughed.

Ylre spoke up at that moment after a long time: "Not everyone needs a compass," he clarified, "besides, a compass made of fake gold doesn´t bring any good." he declared.

The salesman laughed softly, "Boy, don't say things that can hurt someone without being sure...this is good quality real gold." he said.

"Really?" Ylre laughed and took one compass in his hand, handing it to Rue who caught it in surprise, "Is it heavy?" he asked.

"It is," he nodded.

After a while, Ylre pulled out his own compass and placed it in Rue's other palm, "And this one?" he asked.

Rue blinked in surprise, "More," he added, "you have a really good compass."

"I know," he declared and hid it back, "that's why I know when I see fakes," he returned the compass to the merchant and declared, "or are you doing it on purpose? Are you hiding some quality pieces for other customers and selling low-quality goods to the Lacrisans?"

Ylre was looking closely at the guy who was at a loss for words when an unexpected voice spoke from behind them:

"I see you've stayed in town, Lacrisan," Ylre was surprised when someone raised their voice to Rue, "It's been just a day and you're causing more trouble?" Nielle walked up to them from behind with a pair of guards.

At first, Rue didn't know what kind of problems he was talking about, but after turning to the white-haired prince, he remembered, "Good morning, Luck with you." he smiled.

"Good morning," Nielle said, looking into the young man's golden eyes, which were so tempting to see him again, "where were you last night?"

"Rue, who is this?" Ylre walked up to them and looked at Nielle coldly.

"His name is Nielle, he's a prince, he helped me get out of suspicion of theft the other day," he smiled.

"If it wasn't clear to me that you didn't steal them, I wouldn't help you," Nielle laughed and crossed his arms over his chest, "and who are you, Lacrisan? His servant?" he eyed Ylre.

"I have no obligation to tell you anything about myself, Rinselan," Ylre stated, taking a step forward as he didn't get the impression that Nielle was coming to them with friendly intentions.

Nielle laughed amusedly and stated, "Actually you have," he clarified, "I'm in charge of order in the city...there was a murder last night and you two are the last ones to see them alive."

"Murder?" Rue blinked in confusion.

"Yeah, last night, a couple of the arcade staff were killed right after you finished playing with them," Nielle added.

"And?" Ylre asked, "We were just playing with them. In Rinsel, do you take the last people who were with victims as murderers?" he laughed.

"Truthfully?" Nielle chuckled, "I take as murderers those who pissed me off... and one red-haired Lacrisan is a good candidate."

Ylre laughed with pleasure: "Fuck off or that red-haired Lacrisan could dye your white head burgundy."