Chapter 21: A Snake in Sheep's Clothing.

Slaido put his vest back on and I slipped into a recruit's uniform that was lying on a chair.

We left the bathroom, entering a well lit canteen with a long wooden table and a small kitchen attacted to it.

Areis was busy in the kitchen, Valaea was sitting at the head of the table with her eyes closed.

I followed my nose, trying to figure out what was cooking; Areis was making chicken with vegetables in a frying pan.

There was a pile of flatbread lying on a plate and a bowl of white sauce on the counter. Resisting the urge to drool, I took the plate of bread and took it to the table.

Areis followed behind me with the pan. And the four of us sat down to eat.

Areis appeared to have a high metabolism, because she had digested the Fry Up already. So did I, and it appears that Areistea is an excellent cook.

She told me that her mom cannot cook for dear life, so she taught herself to make her own dinner. I nodded with my mouth full, and sauce dripping profusely from my overstuffed chicken wrap.

Valaea and Slaido were watching with amazement at the rapidly shrinking pile of flatbread. Even though there was more than enough for the four of us, there was not much left.

The captain exhaled softly and started to eat in silence. After we were done, Areis brought the plates to the kitchen and I did my best to clean the table without using my mouth.

After Areis came back, Valaea sat us down and gave us two pieces of paper. I have a big distaste for doing homework or paperwork in general, so I looked at it with suspicion.

Areis was laughing sheepishly. It appeared that she has had this conversation before.

''I have just recieved a dove with new information.''

Suddenly I felt that my brain was sinking like a brick in a swimming pool; it appeared that the medication kicked in with the power of a donkey's hind leg.

Trying to keep my head from spinning, I looked at Valaea. She looked me in the eyes, seeing something that I did not.

And she started to giggle a bit.

''Turn your papers around, both of you.''

Valaea asked us politely.

I turned around the paper, not knowing what was written on it. It was not a test, nor homework.

It was a Wanted Poster and it had my name on it, sort of:

''WANTED DEAD ONLY!

HEIRONYMOS NIKOLAEOS DOLOVIO.

REWARD: 150 KOREES FOR ASSAULTING AND GRIEVOUSLY WOUNDING PRINCE AND FIRST IN LINE OF THE UNDERDEEP EMPIRE, LORD GEOR DENDER!''

The words were shocking, but not as much as the picture on my wanted poster;

I was covered in black blood, with glowing green eyes and red sclerae.

I looked like a bull that escaped from a butcher shop.

Upon closer inspection it looked like I was standing on broken tiles; except for my underwear I was naked. The medication went into overdrive. I was barely able to see or think straight at this point.

Aereis turned her poster around with a lot of unwillingness.

After seeing what was on it, I understood why she was so hesitant to do so:

''WANTED ALIVE ONLY!

DYAMAETREIA AERESTEIA DOLOVIA.

REWARD: 7.075 KOREES FOR SLAVE THEFT AND CONSPIRACY AGAINST LORD GEOR DENDER!''

Now, there were many questions boiling up in my head, like:

''why did Dender put a bounty on my head?'' and ''why are the pony's outside floating?''

There were a lot of things that did made no sense. I grabbed the paper from Areis's hand, and read out loud:

"DYAMAETREIA AERESTEIA?? YOU ARE THE PRINCESS?!"

Areis nodded a bit ashamed.

Had I not been spacing out, I would have gotten angry. But she looked so sad and my heart started to melt. And there must have been a good reason for her doing so.

Valaea looked at me a bit bewildered and asked: ''

You did not know?''

I shook my head and told Valaea that I had a few suspicions this morning, but nothing conclusive.

The both of them looked at me in surprise.

''So smart, and yet so gullible.''

I had no idea which one of them said that.

With all the willpower in my body I looked at Areis, doing my best to focus on her facial features.

The small nose, the fullness of her cheeks and the complexion of her skin.

The pieces fell into place; Aries is Dya and vice versa. I felt really stupid.

''I am sorry, Heiro, I can explain it all.''

My brain was now feeling like a pressure cooker, boiling over with information. I decided to simply let this rest for now.

After calming down a bit, I asked why Dender had put such a high bounty on Dyamaetreia.

Valaea told me that Dya already had a bounty of 7.000 korees; that is the price of a high value slave in the Underdeep Empire. And that she is wanted alive, because the Princess is of royal birth.

Dender had a bounty placed on my head, because he wants his friends to murder me for hitting him.

I groaned and the medication struck even harder then before. It dulled the pain in my legs, and every other feeling that I had in my body.

Slowly I began to sink below the table. Staring at the monstrous depiction of me, covered in blood.

Dya's poster was not less flattering.

She was sitting kneeling on a field of yellow grass, completely naked except for a sheep's skin wrapped around her shoulders.

Her eyes looked like that of a predator; yellow eyes with vertical pupils. She had her mouth wide open, with crooked teeth, canine fangs and a snake's tongue.

I leant over to the Princess, asking her to open her mouth.

She complied: her teeth were white, although her fangs were a bit long. She did not have a mouth that looked like a graveyard after a saturation bombing. Neither did she have a forked tongue.

Although she had been lying to me, something that I will bring up when I can think straight again.

''Why is my last name Dolovio on my wanted poster?''

That was the last bit of eloquence that I could utter before I turned into total jelly on my chair.

Dyamaetreia was unable to answer that question, telling me that Dolovio the last name is of her male family members.

Valaea added that by all intents and purposes I was now related to the Princess by law. Slaido simply shrugged his good shoulder, before turning into a vegetable himself.

It appeared that he had a bit too much as well.

Valaea stood up from the table, and leant over it. I was squinting my eyes in order to look her straight in her big Purple eyes.

''Well.. It appears that is something for you two to find out. You are not far from the Southern Town. Make your way to the Census Office and check out what Heiro's current administrative status is.

That is an order!''