Aligeri - Chapter 3 Part II

Chapter Three: The Hawk (Part II)

Now it was apparent where the sound of a waterfall had been coming from: in this little area surrounded on all sides by rock walls was an oasis of sorts, with fruit-bearing trees, a crystal clear stream with a waterfall flowing into it, and several patches of flowers. Just on the other side of the stream was what had to be the silver magesbane; the blossoms were silver, after all. Guy was grateful to be out in the fresh air, and he beamed.

"Ooooo..."

It was quite beautiful in here. The prince looked around, and soon his eyes caught onto the silver magesbane.

"Okay! So now I just have to go over the stream!" he said cheerily.

"And you can wash your boots in the process," Vesper said with a little laugh. "Your left foot is covered in cave slime, hee hee!"

She sat herself on a rock and tittered.

"Eh? Oh, right, it is..." he whined and then sighed. He was glad his pants weren't too long. That way, when he plopped in, he wouldn't get completely soaked. So he splashed through the stream, giving a small "Ewww..." as he watched the icky cave slime wash off his left foot.

"So, did Feles tell you what magesbane does?" the sprite asked as he made his way across the stream. "Seeing as she sent you to fetch it, I imagine you aren't a mage."

"Nope and nope!" Guy replied. "I didn't really think it would be right to ask, and she practically saved my life, so I thought it would be nice to do her a favor and not ask questions."

He paused and then laughed as he got out of the stream.

"But then again, I don't think I'd refuse a request from a lady, anyway..."

"Saved your life?" Vesper asked with curiosity. "What happened?"

Guy nodded as he bent over to examine the magesbane.

"Well, everyone was at the festival for the princess's birthday last night, and as we were eating, a bestial aligeri flew down and attacked our table! We jumped up to fight –
but my sword was GONE! Suddenly, Feles called out to me and tossed me one. A little later it charged me, and I probably wouldn't be standing if I didn't have a weapon on me."

The five-petal flower looked as if it were made of molten metal that still shifted and glimmered in the sun's rays. The center could have been made a tiny stars plucked from the night sky and sprinkled on top, adding even more shine to the peculiar blossom.

"Oh my goodness!" the queen exclaimed in response to his tale. "It sounds like things were much worse than Kit had told us. He only mentioned that a bestial aligeri attacked the banquet!"

"There were..." he started, then hesitated. "Some injuries..."

The prince took some of the flowers gently, not wanting to damage the plant.

"And in the end the aligeri flew off. We didn't kill it."

"Hopefully, such a horrific event can be avoided (or at least prepared for) in the future," Vesper voiced with a nod. "I wonder why an aligeri attacked in the first place..."

The sprite didn't linger on this thought very long as she slid off her rock.

"Well, I suppose I shall lead you back through the cave now. Next time, bring a torch."

Guy laughed as he made his way back.

"Yeah, I'll be sure to remember to do that to avoid so much trouble."

Once back on the outside, Queen Vesper made a polite curtsy towards Guy.

"I should be returning to my family now. I'm sure you can find your way back to Celest along the path quite easily. Say hello to Feles for me."

Guy smiled and bowed politely as well.

"Good day, my queen, and thank you again."

And with that, the two parted ways and Guy headed back towards Celeste with his bundle of Magesbane. The trip back probably wouldn't be terribly hard.

And it wasn't. Having traveled the path once made it very easy for Guy to make his way back, and soon enough he was back in the town streets, on his way to Feles' shop. As he was going on his merry way, he happened to see the Idem brothers, both looking a bit confused as they talked between each other. One of them spotted Guy, and for some unknown reason, approached him.

"Oh, finally!" he said, as if he'd been expecting him. "Someone other than our cousin. Prince Guy, wasn't it?"

Guy blinked, a little startled that they had approached him. Really, he thought that they wouldn't want to talk to him.

"Um, yes..."

He titled his head to the side, looking confused.

"Were you waiting for me for something?"

"Hm? Oh, no, not really," he answered. "Dave and I were just talking about the aligeri that attacked last night, and he commented that he thought it strange that Miss Mimosa had to conjure you a sword when you were wearing one when you sat down. Seeing you, I figured I would inquire. Kyne said he swore you weren't carrying one, and I wasn't paying attention. Just out of curiosity, were you carrying a sword or not?"

Guy frowned slightly.

"I actually was carrying one, but when I stood up it was gone. I was very confused and worried, because I always keep my sword with me and I didn't think that I had misplaced it."

"I suppose Kyne just didn't want to admit he hadn't noticed either... I'm afraid I never properly introduced myself. I'm Daniel Idem, and that's my twin over there, David."

"You act as if I can't speak for myself," David said, approaching them. "So you had your sword then? Until it vanished?"

Guy grinned.

"That's right. Unless I've completely lost my senses, then I had my sword strapped to my belt until the aligeri appeared. And it's nice to properly meet you too, and I'm Guy Aylmer, although it seemed that you already knew my name."

"I forgot," David admitted with a chuckle. "But he remembered..."

"Not to keep on the subject," Daniel interrupted. "But I have this uncomfortable feeling that there was some baneful magic involved in that attack."

"Not to mention how familiar that aligeri seemed."

"I know; I've sworn I've met him somewhere before, though I can't recall if that was prior to his current condition."

"Me neither."

Hearing the twins speak was a little confusing, as it sounded more like one person continuously speaking rather than two brothers interrupting each other as they spoke.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that magic was involved as well..." Guy commented, but paused as he listened to the awkward conversation. "Wait. Met him before?"

He definitely seemed interested about that.

"Yes," the brothers answered in unison before David continued. "He was wearing attire typical of servants from our aunt's queendom. A bit worn, perhaps, but unmistakable nonetheless. I think he must have worked in the royal household at some point..."

"I wonder if Kyne noticed..." Daniel mused.

"I wonder, indeed..." Guy grumbled slightly as he thought about what David said and what Feles had said earlier. Then, he shook his head a little and smiled.

"Well, I need to give these flowers to Miss Feles now, I got them for her on an errand, and I'd hate to keep her waiting terribly long, you understand?"

The end of his little explanation held a note of apology to it.

"Oh! By all means!"

"Forgive us for keeping you up."

Both Prince Idems bowed in farewell. David's was a little clumsy.

"By the way, when you see her," he added before Guy left. "Let her know I'm grateful for the healing salve. I was a bit... well, disgruntled at the time and didn't thank her properly."

"And we're sorry we were rude to you," Daniel said. "For the same reason."

Guy smiled brighter. They weren't so bad, after all!

"No problem! I'll be sure to tell her, and I understand."

He bowed slightly, though not too low because he didn't want to drop anything, and with that, he went off to get to Feles' shop. When he got there, Feles opened the door for him and let him inside. In addition to her usual tea kettle, there was a steaming pot of boiling liquid over the fire. Whatever it was, it smelled sweet, like freshly baked bread with fruit in it, or a cake.

"Did you have any trouble finding the magesbane?" the wise woman asked as she went to tend to the fire.

"Nope! The sprite king and queen helped me! Other than stepping in some gooey stuff, I made well."

The prince smiled.

"And I ran into those twin princes. They asked me to thank you for the healing salve, and they were sorry they didn't thank you properly at the time."

She smiled softly as she nodded.

"Foolish young men, those two, but not much more than that. Just put that magesbane in that basket over there, if you would. I'll handle it later. For now, my magic is still necessary."

"Yes ma'am," Guy chimed cheerily as he did as she asked. "What are you making, anyway?"

He stretched his arms out. He was glad to be able to move them again.

"A dual purpose potion," Feles explained, rising from the fire and turning towards him. "Depending on the imbiber, it will have different effects. A non-mage will be protected from magic for a full day if she drinks this, but a mage will suffer a loss of magic for an equal amount of time. Not that there aren't times when it's good not to have magic, mind you, but it's generally an undesirable situation. Would you like a vial when I'm finished?"

"Really?"

Guy sounded curious, amazed, and somewhat shocked she had offered him a vial.

"Well, sure. That definitely could come in handy in a sticky situation."

"Be careful with it though," Feles warned. "When I say it protects you from magic, I mean all magic, whether baneful or beneficial."

She took a deep breath.

"As much as I hate concocting this potion, I'm worried that there's an evil mage about that the princess needs some protection from. This batch should be sufficient to keep her safe for several months."

Guy nodded.

"So only use it when it's really needed. I hope this mage can be found soon so that nothing else unfortunate happens."

"I worry that something will happen tonight, while I have no powers," Feles admitted. "But if I don't brew this potion..."

Her eyes were almost as silver as the magesbane.

"Something will happen while you don't have your powers?" Guy questioned, shifting from one foot to another as he titled his head. "Do you think whoever is behind this was waiting for an opportunity such as this?"

"Even if he were, you're the only person who really knows I'm working with magesbane, so it isn't like anyone else will know that I won't have my powers soon."

"True..."

Guy looked around the shop for a moment. Out of curiosity, he asked, "Soooo... how long have you lived here for? I mean... have you ever lived anywhere else?"

The wise woman's eyes became violet again.

"I've lived here for a while, just before this area became a queendom. I've been many places in my lifetime so far, and I'm sure I'll see many more before I die. Why do you ask?"

Guy grinned.

"Oh, just curious, I guess."

He gave something that was a mix between an – err – boyish giggle and small laugh.

"I dunno, really. I just thought maybe a change in topic was needed, considering we were all starting to get a little tense and stuff... orrrr... ummm... so I thought. But, yeah. Hee hee, I always did want to travel and get to know the different places better. And you seem like a pretty fun person, so I thought, 'Hey! Maybe she's been around a lot!' – Sooooo, is it fun to see new places?"

Feles looked at him in slight astonishment before she gave him a small smile.

"I suppose so, though I've seen so much, it all seems the same now. It takes a lot to surprise me."

Moving behind the counter (careful not to touch the magesbane), she retrieved a couple of boxes.

"Would you mind helping me with another errand? That is, if you aren't busy."

Guy smiled cheerfully.

"Sure! I don't have anything to do! What would you like me to do for you this time?"

She handed him a few of the boxes.

"Take these over to the bakery and give them to the baker, Alyx. I need to deliver these other items to our new tailor, and (as powerful as my magic may be) I can't be in two places at once."

"Okie dokie!"

And so, taking the boxes, Guy walked (well, it was more of a gleeful prancing motion) over to the bakery. Shifting the boxes once there so that he had a free hand, Guy knocked on the door. "Hello? Delivery..." he called within as cheerful and friendly as he could.

"You could have come to the window," Alyx said with a laugh as he leaned out the service window. "A delivery from who?"

Guy blinked, then laughed, knocking himself in the side of the head slightly before walking over to the window.

"Haha, I didn't even see it! Sorry 'bout that! Delivery from Miss Feles. She asked me to give these boxes to you."

Guy nodded.

"I'm running errands! You must be Alyx. My name's Guy! Nice to meet you."

Alyx took the boxes slowly, a little unnerved by Guy's cheerfulness.

"You act awfully... improper for a noble," he couldn't help but comment. Guy blinked awkwardly as he handed the boxes to Alyx. For lack of a better word, he seemed completely oblivious to himself.

"Huh? Me? Improper? Really? You think?"

He looked around him, almost as if he was making sure that there wasn't anyone else around that he could be referring to. Suddenly, he seemed to come to a realization and beamed.

"Oh! You mean I'm not stuffy and creepy and intimidating and overconfident?"

"Yeah... and you could probably do to cut back a bit on the sugar."

Alyx wasn't exactly sure what to make of this man.

"So, you're one of the seven suitors, huh?"

Guy laughed.

"Oh, I don't have sugar! I was told by my parents not to have any when I was younger. They said it made me act funny – but anyway. Yep, I'm one of the se..."

He stopped, then looked a little less happy.

"Um... four suitors. Didn't you see the attack? You must not have, considering you said seven. A bestial aligeri attacked the festival last night and three suitors were killed."

"I... stayed home from the banquet," Alyx said, both shocked and frightened by this news. "What happened?"

He paused, but before Guy could answer, he said, "Why don't you come inside and have a piece of bread? I just pulled a loaf from the oven."

Guy nodded.

"Alright, I'll tell you what happened inside."

And so he went over to the door to enter the shop. This would take a little while, with the way Guy was going to explain it. Alyx held the door for him and then set about cutting a few slices from the loaf of bread he'd mentioned.

"I... don't usually go to Princess Ruby's birthday banquet. It... depresses me."

He handed Guy two slices and took one for himself as he sat down at the kitchen table.

"Depresses you? Awwww... It's never good to be depressed..." Guy whined with a pout as he took the bread thankfully from Alyx and sat down. He seemed kind of intrigued with it; he had never seen freshly baked bread before, or a bakery... OR A BAKER! He wanted to poke Alyx all of a sudden. Seriously. Just poke him. See if he giggled or something. The prince would probably giggle if someone poked him in the stomach...

Thank god that he didn't poke Alyx. That would've been sort of odd. And another thing that could bring his sanity into question. All the same, he couldn't hide his excitement. He had always wanted to do so many things as a kid and was never able too...which was probably why he acted to boyish all the time.

"Which is why I avoid it," Alyx replied, still a little wary of Guy. "Seems I missed all the excitement this time."

Guy nodded, coming back to reality, a more serious and... princely sort of look falling on his face. Although for him, it was kind of just sad.

"Well, what happened was that when we were sitting around and eating at the table, suddenly a loud screech was heard, and a bestial aligeri could be seen in the sky. We all jumped up, and the princess and queen were escorted inside. That's when the strange thing happened: my sword was gone, even though I had just had it, and a few others' swords broke easily."

Guy looked even more downcast as he continued the story.

"It took one prince up in the sky and dropped him. He died. Then it injured three more. Two died from their wounds, but the other was able to survive. After that... it charged me."

He paused for a second before taking a deep breath and continuing.

"Luckily, Feles had given me a sword, so I had protection, but I was very reluctant to hurt the aligeri, even though it had killed the others. But I had to, or it would've gotten to me and the others...then, when I was close to it, I could get a good look of its face and I..."

That's when he abruptly stopped, not wanting to go into that again.

"... I felt horrible about hurting it... and I was so thankful that it flew off and we didn't have to kill it..."

The prince put his head in his hands, ashamed. He didn't know how Alyx felt about aligeri, but he still felt horrible about hurting the poor creature. But Alyx said nothing for a while. Even though Guy clearly felt remorse what he had to do, he'd still called the aligeri an "it," and that was a little discomforting, knowing that he himself was one of them. The baker subconsciously rubbed the back of his shoulder, where his wings were bandaged again.

"I'm glad things didn't turn out worse," he finally said, then grew silent again. Guy nodded a little absentmindedly. It was a little awkward.

"Maybe... um... I should go... I don't want to bother you or anything..." The prince said after a long and discomforting silence. Finally, he smiled.

"And sorry that I had to be the bearer of bad news. It's never a fun job."
"Well, it's not all bad news," Alyx pointed out, making a concerted effort to lighten the mood. "At least the princess is safe."

He shifted in his seat a bit, realizing he'd been playing with the bandages.

"Unless you're very busy, you don't have to leave. I've got a while yet before I need to bake more today. Business tends to be slow the day after a large celebration."

Guy blinked.

"Really? Are you sure? Because I really don't have anything to do at all today. I've been running errands for Feles and... OHH! Isn't her magic just so AMAZING! AND her EYES. They change COLORS! I love it! I wish I had eyes like that!"

Already, he seemed to be in a bit of a better mood. Probably the mix of invitation and short attention span as well as the easily entertained side of him.

"Yes, I know her eyes change color. They shift with her mood. Um... would you like something to drink with that bread?"

Alyx noticed that all Guy had really done to the slices was poke them.

"But it's so neat..." Guy started, and then looked down at his bread, his hand stopping in mid-poke and he looked completely embarrassed.

"... Oops," he said in a small voice. Obviously, he hadn't even really realized he had been poking the bread, so it was nearly a shock when he saw that he had wanted to poke Alyx to bad that he had distracted himself by poking the squishy bread.

"OH, heeheehee... ummm, no, I'm fine with just this delicious bread, but thank you!"

And (still embarrassed) he took a nibble of the corner of the bread, trying to act as "natural" as he could. Alyx couldn't hold back laughing anymore.

"I'm sorry," he managed between chuckles. "You remind me of a sprite friend of mine who can be just as spastic. How old are you anyway?"

Guy smiled brightly.

"Oh, don't apologize! It's good to see you laugh! And I'm nineteen!" He said, laughing slightly as well, realizing that he really was acting spastic. Well, sort of realizing. He always acted that way, and half the time didn't really realize that he was acting... not terribly normal. Alyx nearly choked.

"Oh God, you're actually older than me! I never would have guessed..."

Part of him was wondering how Guy could possibly be a prince with the way he acted. Guy didn't actually realize that that was somewhat of an insult. He just kept that cheerful grin on.

"You know, a lot of the company we had back at home that were around my age would say things like that! Of course, then when I thanked them, my sister would give me this reeeeally creepy stare, and I got scared and would usually cry. Sometimes I would apologize to her a million times...but that kind of annoyed her... oh well. She got married and lives in another kingdom now... then I was alone. And people stopped visiting so much..."

Guy sighed, but then grinned again.

"But now, I'm here, and I've finally been able to talk to people!"

Alyx just shook his head.

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me. I take it you're enjoying your stay in Celest then? Other than Feles, have you met anyone interesting?"

The baker was in a much better mood now, especially since Guy was treating him more like an equal than a peasant. It was an unusual (but welcome) change.

"Ohoh, first, I met Feles, and then I met Kit, and then I met Kit's parents! They're the king and queen of the sprites!" Guy said excitedly. "And I met you now! You're a BAKER! That's so INTERESTING! I've never met a baker before!"

Yeah. Guy really didn't get out too much, now did he? Alyx stared at him.

"Wow... that's... kind of... odd..."

He was completely flabbergasted, not to mention keeping up with Guy's energy was exhausting!

Guy tilted his head, a little oblivious. Well, that was actually an understatement. Oh, and he had gone back to poking the bread between bites again.

"Is it? Really? Sorry, it's just... so much more fun here than it was back at home, I guess. But... Oh! Is it fun to be a baker? Because it seems like cooking stuff that's doughy would be fun... I know what I'd make all the time if I was a baker..."

"I enjoy it enough, but it's hard work, and I certainly don't get to always bake what I want. I'm responsible for supplying the other townspeople with their bread, after all."

Guy nodded.

"I understand. What's your favorite thing to bake, and what's your favorite bread product?"

He grinned as he asked this, obviously curious. He wanted to know as much about a baker as he could. Why? Because it was new and Alyx seemed like a fun guy.

"Personally, I like fruit breads, on both questions," Alyx answered, scratching the back of his head. "They taste great and make the bakery smell good too."

A thought came to mind and for a moment, the aligeri thought he'd gone crazy.

"Say, would you like to help me bake a loaf of bread?"

The prince gasped, jumping up out of his seat.

"REALLY!? YOU WANT ME TO HELP?!"

This signaled two things about the prince: one, he wanted to help, baking sounded like a fun idea to him; two, he had never really been asked to help with anything before, and even though he had offered, being a prince, the servants wouldn't allow him to, and he would feel dejected.

Seriously, Alyx had just made his day. Not that he wasn't already having a good day, but now it was like the best day ever filled with pretty rainbows and sugar drops. Alyx was already regretting his offer.

"Yeah, so why don't you pick out the fruit? Just go into the market and buy a pound of whatever fruit you would like to have in the bread. I'll get things set up here."

"Okay! I'll go out and get some fruit, and when I get a pound, I'll come back!" Guy confirmed, and just as cheery as ever, left the shop, with only one error. He was so excited, he forgot to turn the doorknob at first and just kind of walked into the door, but with a nervous sounding laugh, he gently turned the knob, waved goodbye to the baker, and excited, heading towards the market.

"Fruit, fruit, fruit..."

While Guy was on his new mission, Feles had been somewhat surprised to find that Clarice was not in her shop, and so had gone looking for her in hopes of getting the packages to her as soon as possible. Fortunately, she was able to run into the tailor before she was too far away from her store.

"Clarice!" the wise woman called, hoping to get her attention. She noticed that Chay and Ellen were with her.

"Hm?"

Clarice immediately stopped in mid-step as she heard her name called, and turned her head to look behind her, a neatly wrapped package in her arms. Seeing who it was, she smiled.

"Oh! Hello, Feles!"

She turned fully and backtracked a few steps.

"Can I help you with anything?"

"Oh no, nothing really," Feles said as she walked to meet her. "I just have these garments for you. I went to your brother yesterday and asked if I might borrow some of your clothing for an acclimation enchantment. He didn't bother asking what exactly that meant and just went back to sleep, I'm afraid, but I was able to enchant these with the same spell I put on your bodice yesterday. I'm going to be without my magic for a little while and wanted to make sure you would still be able to have these. I see you're all bandaged up again."

Clarice gasped happily.

"Oh, thank you so much!"

Then she shook her head a little sadly.

"Oh yes, the poor fellow, feeling so sickly... I promised that I'd look after the shop today, but I wanted to quickly give something to Alyx. I um... made something for him last night..."

The blonde looked a little embarrassed, and blushed slightly, looking down.

"He probably won't like it, though..."

"Some new tunics, I assume," Feles remarked with a smile. "Perhaps when I get my powers back, I can enchant them too. It ended up borrowing almost his entire wardrobe to enchant. I had one of the prince's deliver the package to him."

Clarice nodded sheepishly.
"Oh, really? You got one of the princes to do it? Which one was it? Was he nice?" she asked curiously. She didn't really know terribly much about the whole thing with the princess, but it was kind of nice to know some things about it, and it did interest her.

"The youngest of the four princes that are left: Prince Guy Aylmer. He's... very energetic, but very sweet. I hope he learns to clam down some though, otherwise Ruby's parents might not approve."

Clarice nodded.

"Well, I hope everything works out nicely for the princes and the princess."

Then, she seemed to remember that she shouldn't take too long, and said, "Well, thank you again for enchanting my clothes for me, I really appreciate it, but I should hurry and give these to Alyx so that I can return to the shop. I doubt my brother will be mad if I take too long, but if he wakes up and sees me gone, he might worry..."

Feles smiled and nodded in agreement.

"If you would like, I can take these over there now so that you have less to carry."

Clarice nodded thankfully.

"That would be great, thank you!"

And so with that thanks, the two parted and Clarice started back on her trek towards the bakery, the sprites tagging along beside her. She was glad that the bakery wasn't too far away, that way it wouldn't take too long to get back to the shop.

Maybe after a seven to ten minute walk or so, they arrived at the bakery. She was going to knock on the door, but she spotted the service window, saw that it was open, and walked over to it, peering inside of it.

"Hello? Alyx?"

A second later, the baker came up to the window. He'd been changing into one of the tunics Feles had enchanted.

"Oh, hello Clarice," he greeted with a smile. "Can I do anything for you?"

"Always the professional," Chay whispered to Ellen with a snigger.

"Oh, I, um..." Clarice started with a slightly nervous smile, trying to piece her words together correctly. "I made you something..."

She just managed to make herself feel embarrassed again as she held up the present that she was carrying to he could see it.

"Hm? Really?"

Alyx looked at the package curiously.

"I just keep getting gifts today, it seems. Please, come in."

He went to open the door for them. Clarice smiled as she headed over to the door with the sprites and went inside. She handed him the gift excitedly.

"I, um... I don't know if you'll like them, and they might not fit very well, and they're not enchanted or anything..." Clarice continued on nervously. She wasn't really used to making gifts for people, and she was positive that she had done at least one thing wrong. Alyx unwrapped the gift carefully, eager to see what was inside. When he finally got through the box, he smiled.

"I think some higher being is trying to tell me I need more clothes. You made these for me?"

Clarice laughed, scratching the back of her head, embarrassed.

"Y-yeah, I stayed up last night and made them for you. I tried to estimate with size, but um... I hope they're all right..."

With a smaller voice, she finished, "I'm not really good at making anything else..."

"Well, if they don't fit him now, you can always resize them, right?" Chay suggested, hearing her comment and quickly speaking over it so Alyx wouldn't hear. "And if that doesn't work, I can always keep them."

"They'd be too big for you," Alyx chuckled, then turned to Clarice. "I'll try them on later, if that's alright with you. I'm getting ready to bake some fruit bread, and I'm not sure when my helper is going to get back with the fruit."

Clarice smiled, and nodded.

"Oh, try them on whenever you'd like!"

Then, with a slight pause, she said, "Well, I shouldn't be staying anyway; I need to go look after the shop for my brother..."

"Ah, alright..."

Alyx seemed a little disappointed that she had to leave. Chay, on the other hand, didn't seemed fazed in the least. In fact...

"Mind if I tag along for the day?" the sprite asked. "I can help you out and get settled in. That's what I did when Alyx first took over the bakery from his parents."

"That's really not a bad idea," the baker agreed. "Assuming your brother is comfortable with sprites, that is."

Clarice laughed.

"I don't think he minds them too much... thank you Chay, I really appreciate it."

Then, after saying that, she looked back at Alyx before she prepared to leave and said, "I hope to see you again very soon!"

"The same to you," Alyx replied politely. "If you come back in an hour or two, I should have a new loaf of fruit bread made, if you would like a slice."

Clarice nodded cheerfully, and with a final farewell, she departed with the sprites, heading back to the tailor shop. As soon as they left, Alyx took the new clothing to his room, then returned to preparing to make the bread. He was all set up and just waiting for Guy to return.

"I wonder what's taking him so long..."

And Alyx said the magic words, because as soon as they left his lips, the prince came in, with an oddly worn and shocked look on his face. He had an assortment of small fruits, and his hair was kind of ruffled as if someone had been violently messing with it.

"Eheehee... I got the fruit. Sorry that took a little longer than I expected."

Alyx scratched the back of his head and laughed a little.

"You only needed to get one kind of fruit... How much did you buy?"

"How much? Umm... I think I got about a pound. I kept stopping to buy some for this little girl who was alone and hungry. Only every time I went to buy a new kind, she had a friend with her! And then I kept giving them more... They were so cute..."

He sighed. Well, the prince did have a soft spot for children, especially cute ones.  Alyx frowned.

"I suggest you check your pockets. Sending out young children as a distraction is a popular technique for the pickpockets here, and given that you're obviously not from the area, you're a perfect target. Now, what exactly did you buy?"

Guy put down what he had on the counter. There were a few apples, some cherries, and a few bananas. The majority was apples. Guy liked apples...

"I hope there's a pound of something here..." Alyx muttered to himself as he sorted through the fruit. It was beginning to look like there was just barely enough apples, but he'd need to add the cherries for filler. Picking up one of the bananas, he shrugged.

"Well, if I had some nuts, I could make some banana-nut bread too, but I think we should make apple-cherry bread first."

Guy smiled, forgetting the trouble of the near past. He had fixed his hair as Alyx had been looking through the fruit, so he looked practically as good as new, now.

"That sounds good!" he exclaimed. "What do we do first?"

While Alyx took great care to help Guy through the baking process, over at the tailor's shop the day's strangest customer walked in. People had been bustling in and out the whole time after Clarice had opened shop (most picking up items, some getting measured), and Chay had been scurrying around helping her, but this latest customer surprised them all. He was very large and muscular, or so it seemed, for his entire figure was covered in a dark cloak, hiding almost all of him from view. The only thing that could be seen of the man was his mouth, and it was curved into a mild scowl. Chay instinctively hid behind a mannequin when he entered. Clarice immediately felt intimidated. However, she knew that she had to be as natural as ever when with a customer, so made herself smile as the man walked in.

"Hello there. May I help you with anything?" she asked. She couldn't help but wonder why he was dressed so... strangely.

"I need a new tunic and cloak," he said in a deep baritone, his mouth barely opening. "I ruined this one."

He seemed almost as nervous as she, but there was still something very unnerving about his presence. Clarice nodded, trying not to seem hesitant about it. Keeping on her pleasant smile, she said, "Alright then, Sir. I'll need to take your measurements..."

There was a very long pause before he nodded slowly, but he still didn't seem eager to be measured. In fact, he seemed like he would rather be somewhere else entirely, and rolled his shoulders, as if trying to clam himself. Clarice wasn't exactly sure what to do. She did know that if he wanted to get new clothing, he would have to be measured... right? Calmly, she retrieved her measuring tape, but her eyes darted around for Chay as her back was turned for a second from the customer. She had a feeling she was going to need backup.

When she was ready and had gone back to him, she asked politely if he was ready. He still seemed really unenthusiastic. Chay was shaking worse than a leaf in a windstorm (and where Ellen had vanished to was anyone's guess). The man, however, didn't answer her question. Instead, he said something no one would have guessed.

"I know what you are, miss. You're an aligeri."

Clarice's eyes went wide and she didn't really realize when the measuring tape fell from her grasp. Instinctively, she took a step backwards. It took her a moment to find her voice, and when she did, it came out small.

"W-What..." she started, and had to try again. "Who are you, and what is it you really want here?"

She had tried to sound slightly confident... or demanding at least, but it really didn't work. He rolled his shoulders again, and his tone didn't change.

"Accipiter," he answered. "And you know what I want."