2409 Varkala 11, Briss

Nyxis pressed the the board he's holding to his nose, trying to block the smell coming from the stables. This place wasn't even worthy to be called a stable. More like...a prison.

Like the many underground caverns scattered underneath the palace, this hovel was large enough to contain a whole army yet it was used to house animals. Not just every day animals like dagrine or ashped. Just from the various shrieks, howls, and clanging against the metal grates, one would know what this place was.

"Your Majesty?" the overseer blinked expectantly at Nyxis, waiting for an answer to a question asked but never heard.

Nyxis wrinkled his nose under the board, the smell of processed parchment and dried ink assaulting his nose instead of the wet-fur odor in the air. "What was the question again?" he said. It wasn't good to space out, especially now. He should be thinking of ways to get out of this place. The faster, the better.

He wouldn't even be here had the King not insisted he started learning how to handle the ropes of some of the duties of a monarch.

"I asked about the supplies we requested last month," the overseer said, ducking his head. Fear shone in his brown eyes. "I-I do not mean to impose b-but we really do need them."

Nyxis laid the board in front of him, the sheets of parchment clipped into it flapping with the motion. He plucked the quill perched on his ear and use its feathery tip to locate the things the overseer was saying. "So...hay, fresh meat, sacks of fresda, and um...human hair?" he looked at the overseer to confirm what he's reading was true.

The overseer averted his eyes and pursed his lips. "It is for...ah, the enya," he shifted from foot to foot. "But not really an enya but more like um..."

Nyxis could only nod. The enya was an animal native to Helinfirth and, according to the literature he has been devouring lately, it favored hair as its source of nourishment. What monstrosity did the breeders turn it into? Wasn't that animal ghastly enough?

Because as much as Nyxis hate this place, it existed. Underneath everyone's noses, as the monarchs intended it to. After all, some territories consider creating animal hybrids illegal. Should the Imperial Palace learn of this, they could look into the matters in Cardina and end up uncovering more along the way. Nyxis might want to stop this activity but he didn't want to risk another war between humans and fairies. One was enough.

Besides, this was where Cardina gets most of its funds. The market for hybrids was higher than any other in the animal trade due to their high demand from the fairy nobles. Whatever those fairies use these animals for, apparently, they could pay huge sums of versallis when they wanted to.

That's why the King was foolish to say he didn't want to trade with the fairies. They were the ones keeping the Human territory afloat with their ridiculous tastes for the illegal and the unethical.

The tour of the cavern continued with the overseer steering Nyxis away from the grated holes housing the enya hybrids. Their footsteps echoed in the dark, their path lit only by lamps hanging on metal pikes nailed straight into the rocky walls. Nyxis brushed a hand over his scalp, his fingertips feeling pieces of the ceiling on his hair. He dusted his head off behind the overseer whose voice chattered in casual tones about the nature of each creature they passed.

"And here is our prized beauty," the overseer stopped in front of a huge gate. Behind it sat a woolly giant thing fitted with horns and fangs as long as Nyxis's arms. "The sugrarsask. I am certain His Majesty is already familiar with these?"

Nyxis nodded. These creatures were born from mixing a bigger, tamer creature native to Dwanzeig called efrasix and a creature native to Carleon called the graspel. They were in demand as prison guards in several territories like Avalora, Peltra, and Lanbridhr. For a hefty price, of course.

"What do we need to keep them in prime condition?" Nyxis asked, turning away from the cage when the smell of rotten meat and corpses became too much. "More hay? Roasted fowls?"

"Buckets of blood, your Majesty," the overseer said in a flat tone, sending Nyxis choking on his saliva. He shielded his face with his wooden board as he hacked, startling the animal enough to turn its head towards them. "Are you alright?"

Nyxis edged away from the glum animal knowing full well what would happen if they get angry. "I am fine," he said, backing into the direction the stairs leading outside was. "Just...just surprised. So, um," he coughed into his fist. "Buckets of blood. Got it. How many and from what?"

The overseer's face didn't flicker, telling Nyxis enough of his exposure to these types of things on a daily basis. "About ten barrels and preferrably from vulkrainis or cleretis. I am certain the palace or the Commons have an abundance of that?"

Nyxis ignored the pity crawling up his throat. Those creatures were considered pests in Cardina. Perhaps it was better for them to be utilized this way. "Ah, yeah," he said absently. His quill made scratching noises against the parchment as he made a note. He should be able to get these shipped next week at the soonest. He wouldn't want to piss off the sugrarsask. "I will relay this to the inventory office and get back to you around this time next week. Is that fine?"

"More than, Your Majesty," the overseer clasped his hands behind him. His long-sleeved tunic barely shifted with the motion. "I did not expect you to work at this the way you do."

Nyxis tamped down the pride attempting to color his insides. "That is what is expected from me, right?" he said. "I am merely doing my job."

The overseer ducked his head. "If you say so, Your Majesty," he said. "If you say so."

The sun was setting in the horizon by the time Nyxis emerged underground. He hurried to his room to change his clothes, getting rid of the musty smell that clung to him. He contemplated bathing to remove the debris in his hair but he wouldn't have enough time before dinner. Soon, he just shrugged and donned a clean vest and headed down to the dining hall.

"Good thing one of you is responsible enough," the King grumbled when the meal was well underway. "I have been hearing reports of how well you manage the hybrid grounds all by yourself, Nyxis."

Nyxis opened his mouth to reply but another voice beat him to it. "That is not important, Father," his brother Adresin piped up. "General Pell said my stance has improved and that I am ready to serve any time soon."

"He only said that to you so you would not lose heart," the King snapped, stunning Adresin into silence. Nyxis's right eye ticked in an effort to hide a wince. He had to watch his brother shrivel like a rotten ajilte in a matter of seconds. "You have been nothng but terrible. If you do not get your act together, I will have no heirs."

Nyxis's gut twisted. No heirs. The King wasn't even considering of making Nyxis the heir over Adresin. It was a painful blow for Nyxis but nowhere near as scathing as it might be for his brother.

"Now, Galias," the Queen wiped her mouth with a napkin as daintily as she could. There was a time in Nyxis's memory when the King had reprimanded her for not knowing how to use one. "That is no way to talk to your children."

"I will speak to them the way I want to, Erin," the King glared at his wife. "Learn your place, witch."

A bolt of heat flashed in Nyxis's arms. Before he knew it, he had slammed his silverware against the table, making the plates and the goblets jump. His mother flinched. Adresin's eyes widened. Nyxis couldn't bring himself to care. It had been years of nothing but this. He was tired.

"Excuse me," he said as flatly as he could, ignoring the blazing gaze his father kept throwing in his direction. "I need some air."

Then, he walked out of the dining hall with half a mind attuned to the things happening around him, at the rising tension in the atmosphere. Only the concerned face of his mother kept him from walking out of the palace entirely.

Nyxis inhaled the lindenmere in a few seconds, chuckling to himself when the sweet jelly coated his tongue. This was far better than the tough roasted meat he ate at the palace.

"You sound like you are enjoying yourself," Xalim's voice bled to his ear. She sat beside him on a random bench in one of the numerous public parks in the Nobility region after today's deliveries. "I have never seen someone eat pastry as fast as you did."

Nyxis wiped the corners of his mouth with the back of his hand and dusted his fingers free from the crumbs coating the lindenmere. "You guys really make the best pastries," he said. "It looks like I was right when I said the nobles would like them."

Xalim's cheeks flushed pink. Her hands tightened around the strap of the empty, woven basket of bread on her lap. "T-that is because of you, Your Majesty," her gaze speared to her boots. "I would not have been allowed to enter the Nobility region had it not been for you."

Which was true, in every essence. Nyxis had talked to many of his father's contemporaries just to get them to place deliveries of pastries from the Resthens. In turn, he had a reason to give Xalim a permit to let her into the barred region. Then, whenever she's by, she would wait for on the bench where they agreed to meet and would go home if Nyxis wasn't around for about an hour. Nyxis set on doing the same even though Xalim protested about making a royal wait at first.

Maybe the heavens was being kind to him when he and Xalim happened to be waiting for each other at the same time. He looked up at the stars, with Crozal, Murco, and Samiri making the sky flush a stark shade of purple. "Maybe I am just in dire need for a friend," Nyxis leaned against his wrist after propping them against the bench's rim. "Now more than ever."

Xalim's gaze snapped up to him. He had always found her light brown eyes pleasant. "That bad, huh?" she said. She was probably the only Common who knew all about the feuds in the Royal family due to the number of times Nyxis ranted to her about his life. "What is it this time?"

Nyxis told her. He didn't need to hold anything back. By the time he had finished, at least five carriages pulled by dagrine had cantered past them. Everyone was getting ready to retire for the night. Today has been a long and tiring day.

Xalim tucked her dark hair behind her ears. Her tanned skin looked even darker, especially at night. The lampposts sprouting from the ground at inconsistent intervals did nothing to illuminate the cobbled roads mostly because most of them failed to be lit up at this hour.

"You could always visit us in the bakery," Xalim offered. "I am sure Father would not mind having you over if I introduce you as my friend with problematic parents. He would understand. Just to clear your mind?"

Nyxis frowned. Furloth did sound like the nicest guy around. He had met the man a few times and there wasn't one moment when a smile wasn't lighting up his features. As much as the idea of spending a few days away from everything sounded, Nyxis hesitated. "I will think about it," he told Xalim. There was far more things to consider to be able to pull it off perfectly. "Thank you for the offer."

They parted ways soon after that when Xalim finished telling Nyxis about the cute stable boy she had met once in the shepherding district and ranted about the ire the food district had with the textile district. Nyxis listened to it all and replayed their conversations in his mind during his long walk down the escape tunnels underneath palace. It kept the loneliness and the fear at bay as he trekked through the almost pitch black corridor with nothing but a lit torch which could run out any time.

When he emerged on the ground just outside the palace, the night has passed and it was nearer towards dawn. His father stood in front of his door when he go past the huge bridges and walls. The King's gaze speared towards his back as they both wordlessly and mechanically moved into and out of each other's way on Nyxis's effort to go inside his room.

"Where have you been?" the King asked.

A revolted twist etched in Nyxis's gut. "Somewhere," he said, slamming the door in his father's face. He left it to the gods to figure out if he was going to be punished or not. At this point, he didn't care anymore.