Patreon LogoYour support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)

Sleeping Kingdom (Collector x Autumn Queen)

"Coins? The court Mages are the most powerful in the land. Who else would know how to solve this?" But he thought about it further and nodded. "Maybe a temple of Priests could fix this," he agreed. "Come, I know that the King keeps piles and piles in his study to admire; maybe we can find some there." It never occurred to him to worry about the state of his father; somewhere in the back of his mind he simply assumed that the King would be there, counting his coins or speaking to dignitaries.

He gave her a little squeeze before releasing her. They walked to the other end of the grand Castle. The rooms were getting dark, as there were no servants awake to light the lamps or start fires in the massive fireplaces. Prince Caspian's eyes shifted nervously to the strange, unusual shadows as they passed through the large rooms. He paused right before they entered an especially dark corridor and turned to look at Nethys.

"Uhm, ah, do you know how to light a lamp?" He asked her.
 
Nethys smiled brightly and nodded at Caspian's question. "I know how to light them and put them out!" she said, proudly. She honestly didn't understand why everyone else needed the lamps; she could see just as well by moonlight and starlight as she could in the day. Colors became more muted at night, and it became a bit more difficult to see things in the distance, but besides that there really wasn't that much of a difference. She sought out a small pack of tindersticks that were normally kept in an alcove near the laps, making it easier to light them at night, and held them up triumphantly to Caspian.

"Umm... I'm sorry to ask you this, Master," she said, "but could you pull down one of the lamps from the wall? I'm not tall enough to reach them. I can light it for you if you hold it for me, though."

When Nethys had a lamp, she pulled a tinderstick from the pack and struck it against the wall in a practiced motion, then lit the lamp before closing it and taking it from Caspian. "It might be a good idea to hang onto the tindersticks," she said, "but I don't have any pockets. Do you think we might be able to find one of those pockets that people wear on their shoulders?" Nethys was referring to a satchel, though she didn't know the word for it. Her command of the common tongue only extended to the words she'd heard spoken around her with any degree of regularity, so there were a good many words and phrases she had yet to learn.
 
She was becoming a useful little pet. Prince Caspian reached up to get the lamp, for he was over a head taller than she was, and held it while she lit the wick. "It's that simple?" He asked, wonderment apparent in his voice.

He set the lamp down on a small table and pocketed the tindersticks. "We can get you anything you want," he answered the Elf. "After all, I am the prince, and perhaps more..." he peered into the darkening hallway before them. The one that led to the King's personal quarters. "And it's a purse or a satchel," he informed her as he picked up the lamp with one hand and took her hand in his other one.

They walked cautiously down the hallway and to his father's den. There they found the same situation, and the coins that the king touched were transformed as well. Prince Caspian let out a frustrated grunt. "I suppose...I suppose we should sleep. We can figure out what to do in the light of the morning."
 
"Would he keep money anywhere else?" asked Nethys, following the Prince. "Or is there anything we could trade for coins?" Her mind was racing about how to be helpful. Unfortunately, she couldn't think of much. She didn't know how to cook, she didn't know anything of the outside world and she wasn't really sure how she was supposed to help her Master fix everything. After all, he was royalty, and he needed the palace full of servants to help take care of him. They had the palace, but the servants weren't of much help encased in stone.

This lead her to another unpleasant thought: if they went to sleep, would they turn to stone as well? Everyone else who went to sleep had turned to stone, so it stood to reason that they would too, but Nethys didn't want to turn to stone. She liked being alive, so the thought of becoming stone terrified her. "Are... are you sure we should go to bed?" asked the elf. "What if we turn to stone like everyone else?"
 
"I don't know..." he said, looking around at the study as if he had never truly seen it before. "I've never had to deal with any coins or trade before. It can wait until tomorrow though." He stifled a yawn. "My La- uhm, what are you called, Pet? Has, had the queen given you a name?"

He paced restlessly in the room, the lamp casting moving shadows in the study. "We have to sleep eventually. We're not sickened yet, nor stone, and we've been here for hours. I cannot think that we'd suddenly fall asleep and turn to stone after all this time."
 
"M...my name is Nethys, Master," said the elf. She'd always been ashamed of her name; the Queen had always told her it was a primitive name. Something a savage would be called. "I... "Pet" sounds nicer, though. A pet is something someone loves and takes care of. A Nethys is... I don't know. Some sort of wild animal or something."

Nethys nodded and yawned a little as Caspian talked about how they needed to sleep. He was right in that they hadn't been forced to go to sleep by whatever curse had turned everyone to stone, but she wasn't entirely convinced that it was the act of going to sleep, not being forced to go to sleep, that would turn them to stone. Still, Caspian had a far better education than she did, so she supposed she should trust him on this. "Where should we sleep?" she asked. "I only know where Mistress's room is."
 
Nethys. It was a lovely name to his ears. He drew in his breath to think that she would prefer to be called 'Pet', but he was willing to let it rest for the moment. The prince picked up the lamp and took her hand, an act that was quickly becoming second nature to him. "I don't want to be alone. You'll sleep with me."

"Besides, where would you sleep in my mother's room and feel safe? No, I want you to stay close to me." He wound them through the corridors and finally brought her to his apartments in the castle. When he got to his room he found a statue of the servant girl who washed Nethys in his room, slumped over the couch. "Well, that's interesting." He shook his head. "I suppose I should be thankful she didn't fall asleep in the bed."
 
Nethys was grateful that Caspian wanted her to sleep with him. Even though she slept in a cupboard, she'd never slept in an empty room. The Queen had always been there, as well as the occasional suitor she brought to bed. Of course, the Queen was married to the King, but the King was far too busy running his kingdom to trouble himself with the Queen, so she found other men to satisfy her. Nethys was never allowed out of her cupboard whenever the Queen had company in her room, so she was never sure what they were up to, but they were certainly loud. It had sounded like they were enjoying themselves, though, so she supposed it was alright.

She looked confusedly up at the Prince as he remarked that he was glad the servant hadn't fallen asleep in the bed. "Why would she do that?" she asked, genuinely unsure of the answer. "Does she live here with you?"
 
The prince laughed. "No, she doesn't live with me any more than you did. She was just eager to be here to greet me when I returned, I suppose." He went around to several other lamps and lit them, amused with his new skill at lighting fires. He glanced over at the fireplace and then back at his pet. "You...don't happen to know how to light a fire in the fireplace, do you? It might get rather cold tonight."

He began to undress himself, missing his manservant desperately. The prince wasn't even sure where he kept his night clothes. He began to look through the closets and the dressers, searching for something that would clue him into how the room was arranged. "You'd think that they could leave me one servant who can find my things! Damn this; once we figure out how to undo this, this sleep-rock illness I'm going to make sure that they show me where they kept all my stuff!" He jerked open a drawer and smiled. There laid his sleep clothes, neatly folded and waiting for him. "Well it's about time."

"Nethys, turn down the bed for us will you? I think I have a bottle of wine around her somewhere. It'll help us both sleep."
 
Nethys looked over at the fireplace and thought long and hard. She'd never taken care of a fireplace before, but she'd seen it done before. She walked over to the fireplace and slowly and methodically laid out some smaller twigs for kindling. She then searched around for a flint and steel and, finally finding one, picked it up and struck it several times until she made a spark. The twigs caught fire and she let them burn for a while until they generated enough heat before laying some larger logs on the fire, letting it burn brighter and hotter. By the time Caspian came around to mention wine, the fire was roaring, perhaps a bit brighter and hotter than he was used to, and Nethys had a huge grin on her face.

"I didn't know wine helped you sleep!" she said, her eyes wide with wonder. "All I knew was that Mistress liked to drink it late at night with her friends that would visit from other kingdoms. They were always so loud after drinking, but Mistress would always sleep well once the noise died down. I never knew that it was the wine that did that, though."
 
Prince Caspian came into the room and saw the fire. He smiled back at his pet Elf. "You really know how to start a fire, don't you? Very nice." He warmed his hands over the flames before going to find the corkscrew for the wine. He knew that his mother had visitors but he didn't know of her other activities, and so he assumed that they were simply 'friends'.

"I think that too much wine would do that, but one glass will just relax you. What? Have you never tasted wine before?" He could not fathom living as many years as she had in the castle and never being given wine. He poured two shallow glasses and recorked the bottle before handing her a glass. "Don't drink it too fast."
 
Nethys' smile only broadened at Caspian's praise. Not only had she made a nice, big fire on her first try, she'd also been praised for it. If it had been the Queen, she'd be scolded for making the fire too hot or something like that. Nethys was finding it hard not to resent the Queen, but any thoughts of resentment were quickly washed away whenever her new Master praised her.

She watched, smiling eagerly as Caspian poured the wine. She shook her head vigorously when he asked if she'd ever had it before. "Mistress said that it would be wasted on me," she said. "She said that wine should only go to people who would appreciate its taste and that I wouldn't be able to tell quality wine from swamp water." She nodded solemnly when he told her not to drink it too fast before picking up her glass to take a sip. The flavor was intense, especially to her elven tongue, and she made a sour face after sipping it, but quickly caught herself and took another sip. She didn't much care for wine, but she didn't want to disappoint her Master either.
 
The prince smiled as he took a sip of wine and then opened the window a bit. The warmth from the fire was a bit overbearing, but the cool breeze from outside would balance out the temperature. To his pallet the wine was fine; it was what he had grown up with, and he was used to the idea that it should be tart and dark red. That was his mother's favorite and they served nothing else.

He swirled the liquid in his glass and finished it. "My mother spilled more wine during her parties than you could drink in that little body of ours in all your days. Besides," he grinned, "we only serve one kind of wine in the castle. I don't even know the difference between good wine or bad." He chuckled at the irony of what he was beginning to understand about his life here. If the core of his life, if his mother the queen, wasn't what he had thought she was, then what else was fake?

"Come, Pet. Let's get to sleep." He had changed into a pair of soft pants and a simple shirt for bed, and now he walked over to the bed and held a hand out towards her.
 
Nethys watched as Caspian changed and blushed a little, looking down at her blue dress. She didn't have anything else to change into and she didn't know if she was supposed to change into something before getting into a proper bed. She clutched at the hem of her dress and stood at the foot of the bed biting her lip nervously as her ears sagged slightly, unsure of what to do with herself. "Am I supposed to have something else to wear, Master?" she asked. "Or is it okay to go to bed in this?"
 
He looked over at her and saw her ears sadden, heard her voice tremble. "I...think women wear special clothes to bed. I don't know." He walked over to his dresser and took out one of his shirts. "I don't have a woman's dress but I think that this will work for you. Go ahead and put it on." Smiling he handed her the pale yellow shirt. It was a soft, fuzzy material that many of his cooler weather shirts were made from. It felt like the kiss of a butterfly's wing.

Prince Caspian frowned slightly at the memory of her calling him Master. It was a nice feeling but also one that was unfamiliar to him. The titles he was used to were related to his position as a prince, but the word 'master'...it had completely different connotations to it. Once she was dressed he pointed to a narrow doorway in the corner of the room. "If you need a chamber the room is there. Go ahead and use it if you do." He was used to having other...guests in the room, and had offered them the same consideration. It never occurred to him that the Queen's pet would not be used to being treated like an equal.
 
Nethys nodded and stripped out of her dress right in front of Caspian, changing into the proffered shirt with quick, utilitarian precision. Normally, whenever she was instructed to change, it meant right then and there, so she changed right then and there. Nethys looked over at the chamber Caspian had indicated, but shook her head; she really didn't have that much food in her system, so there wasn't much in the way of waste to get rid of. Once Caspian had crawled back in bed, Nethys crawled onto the bed as well, though she didn't go under the covers right away. True, she normally slept beneath a ratty blanket, but she didn't know if she was allowed to on such a nice bed.

"Where should I sleep, Master?" she asked. "This bed is a lot bigger than I'm used to."
 
Cas had pulled back the blankets further and laid down in bed. He fidgeted with the covers when Nethys crawled in, trying to figure out what exactly it was that she was trying to do. "You sleep next to me," he told her, "where else would you be?"

He patted the pillow next to himself and waited for her to lay down. Once she did, he pulled her to lay next to him and settled the blanket around them both before cuddling her to himself with his arm. He nuzzled into her hair and sighed contentedly. "I don't know how we'll get everything back to normal again," he murmured sleepily, "but I'm glad you're here with me."
 
Nethys crawled under the covers and snuggled up to Caspian, glad that she was allowed to do so. She pressed herself against him, conforming as closely as she could to his body as she nestled her head under his chin. She thought she couldn't be any happier until he said that he was glad she was with him. This caused Nethys to let out a soft, happy cooing sound as she nuzzled Caspian's chest. This was the highest praise Nethys could conceive of: no one had ever wanted her around before, let alone been glad for her presence. Nethys was far too happy in that moment to be afraid of going to sleep; even the possibility that she might be turned to stone that night was not enough to ruin her good mood. So, with a smile on her face and cuddled close to the Prince, she drifted off to sleep.
 
His dreams were fitful that night, but every time he began to get restless he felt Nethys next to him and it comforted him. Once during the night he woke up and saw the hardened form of the human servant on the couch, reminding him that the events of the day were not a dream. He nearly panicked wondering how he would survive without any servants. He didn't know how to cook, the value of money meant nothing to him, and hard work was a foreign concept. But then he felt his Elven pet's soft breath and he remembered that she needed him to care for her.

The responsibility he felt for the lass made him resolve not to give up. He was the only one of the royal family to survive the stoning. He had to take care of the woman in his arms and find an answer to this event.
 
Nethys slept very well that night, never once stirring from her slumber. Whatever dreams she had were not remembered when she woke, though they must not have been too bad since she woke just as happy as she had been when she dozed off. She was hungry when she woke, but it was a familiar feeling she had long since grown used to. She'd learned not to ask for food, instead waiting for it to be provided to her, meaning she could have to wait more than a day at times. As she slowly drifted back to consciousness, she began pondering their situation. She might not need to eat right away, but the Prince likely would. They could get food from the kitchen for now, but they'd eventually need to leave the castle as well. She thought for a while longer, then, when she was sure that the Prince was awake, she shared her ideas.

"I was thinking, Master," she said. "If we're going to be traveling, we're going to need food and salt. Everything in the kitchen is kept on salt to make it last longer, so if we bring some salted food it should last for a while and if we bring some salt, we should be able to use it to keep any new food we find fresh. And you can hunt, so we should be able to get food that way, but we'd also have to learn how to cook it and I don't know how to cook, but I could try learning for you."
 
Prince Caspian watched Nethys through tired eyes. He raised an eyebrow slightly at the thought of traveling, and preparing their own food. "I was hoping we could stay here, eat what is left, maybe send a few pigeons to other kings for help. Unless the pigeons are stone too." He frowned. "God...you're right." He scowled at his pet Elf. How was she so bright? "We do have to travel. We have to gather evidence and bring it to the kings we trust."

With a sigh he fell back on the bed. "There are no kings my father trusted. None."

"What am I going to do? Nethys. Where can we get trusted help?"
 
Nethys shied away when Caspian scowled at her. She didn't actually move away from him, but she made herself as small as possible until he stopped. She pressed herself against him once more, resting her chin on his chest, and thought about his question. Finally, she shrugged and looked up at Caspian with sad eyes. "You mentioned something about a church yesterday," she said, "but I don't know, Master. I know you and I know Mistress and I know the king, but I don't know anyone outside of these walls."

Upon saying that she didn't know how to help, Nethys tensed up. Things had been going so well: her Master had been kind to her, she'd known everything she needed to know to help him, but now she'd failed him and all of that would come to an end. Royalty needed perfection, or so the Queen had told her, and she was now less than perfect for her Master. She desperately hoped that he would be gentle with his punishment.
 
Caspian didn't understand the reasons that his Elf tensed so he just stroked her back like someone would reassure a pet. He cuddled her closer and sighed again. "I don't suppose you would know anyone else. You were just mother's Elf..." a tear slid unbidden down his cheek. He blinked it away as he turned towards the window.

"Can you read?" The question came to mind suddenly. "I...we should look at the mages' books, the King & Queen's notes, anything that could give us a clue. This can't be coincidence! I mean, father's father was turned into a frog by an angry witch; maybe this is something like that. We just need to find out how to undo the magic. I don't understand, though - I don't think we have any outright enemies. Who would want to do this to our kingdom?" He found himself holding Nethys tight against his body, her form the only comfort he had. "Why would someone want to ruin my life like this?"
 
The tension eased out of Nethys' body as her Master petted her. She did not find it at all objectionable: she'd spent her whole life being told that she was subhuman, so being treated like a favorite pet was a dream come true for her. She had aspired to this sort of treatment, had envied animals for being so beloved, and now that she was finally receiving it, she would do anything she possibly could to continue experiencing such bliss. She snuggled close to her Master, nuzzling his chest and neck as he listened to what he had to say. She thought for a moment, trying to figure out how to calm her Master and dry his tears.

"I can... sort of read," she said. "I was never taught, but from looking at the letters on Master Torvold's papers as he read them out, I sort of figured it out, though there's still a lot I don't understand. If you have time to teach me, I might be of some use, but I don't know how much time we have, so..." Suddenly, an idea occurred to her that made her perk up, her ears high and a bright smile on her face. It wouldn't necessarily help them, but it might cheer up her Master. "Maybe you were supposed to be stone too?" she asked. "But something happened that made you not stone? It might have been something special about you or something you did that saved you. I don't know what it is, though, so we should learn more about the curse and maybe the reason why you weren't stoned will give us a clue?"
 
The feel of the Elven pet's body against his was a bit more sensual than he expected it to feel. If Elves were subhuman then didn't they equate to dogs? So how was it that the prince felt his body reacting to Nethys when she slid closer to him, her body nearly on top of his own. He found it...disturbing and arousing at the same time, and it bothered him.

Parts of him were hardening, but they weren't exactly what he would call 'turning into stone'. He felt slightly embarrassed that he'd react that way with a creature like Nethys. She wasn't even...human.

"Ah...that's a good idea. I can teach you a few key words if you don't know them." He pulled back from her slightly and tried to quell his rapid breathing as his body refused to ignore the way hers felt. Caspian was certain that she could hear the way his heart was starting to pound, and though she was only an Elf he didn't want her to think that he was uncivilized or improper. She was, after all, his entire world at the moment.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom