The guest home, a place reserved for visiting foreign royalty and honored guests of the High Elders, was simply given to Indenuel. The entire home. All of it. For him. And it was a massive, two-story home at that. He had a staff of servants, willing to do whatever he wanted, waiting for their orders, and he didn’t know the first things about maintaining a house like this.

“You’ll be gone most of the day in trainings,” Tolomon said. “I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Your head servant, Pablo, will take care of everything.”

“Everything?” Indenuel asked, looking at the forty-five-year-old man before him.

Pablo nodded. “If that is what you wish.”

“Yes, please. I don’t want to ruin this house,” Indenuel said.

Pablo smiled. “I shall keep it standing for you, then.”

By the time Indenuel had toured the entire house, he was exhausted, his eyes heavy and his brain starting to shut down. When Pablo asked if he wanted dinner, Indenuel admitted he was far too tired. He entered his new room, which could fit his entire home in Mountain Pass quite comfortably, roof and all. He promised the beautiful room that he would admire it in the morning, when he had gotten enough sleep.

When Indenuel woke up, it was still so dark. He got up, stumbling around, trying to see out the window to look for the lonely son, to check when dawn was approaching. There were curtains covering the windows, and he pulled it back to get a face full of sunlight. Indenuel covered the curtains again with a hiss. He blinked a few times before trying again, bracing himself against the light. The sun had just risen, though the curtain he opened faced the sunlight. The room was so large and spacious if every curtain was open, he would be able to watch the sun rise and the sun set.

There was a knock on the door. “Sir?” It was Pablo.

“Come in,” Indenuel said as he pushed back the curtains to get light into the room.

Pablo entered with four other servants. “Don’t bother with that, sir, it’s what the servants are here for.”

“Oh,” Indenuel said as the servants busied themselves with opening the curtains and flooding the magnificent room with light. Tolomon walked in and stood by the door, keeping an eye on things.

“Seems you are an early riser,” Pablo said. Indenuel had never given it much thought. It was always normal for him to rise with the sunlight. They didn’t have heavy curtains like this to block the sun. “As such, your bath is still being prepared for you. Forgive us.”

“Oh, no need to apologize. It’s fine.”

“We do have breakfast prepared for you. You may eat it where you wish,” Pablo said.

“Is there a… a place to eat breakfast somewhere in this house?” Indenuel had heard of such luxuries. A house so large there were specific things meant for each room.

“There is. In the dining hall. Or you can eat it here if you like,” Pablo said.

Indenuel frowned as he studied the room. It was a room he still wanted to explore.

“Here sounds wonderful. Bring it in,” Indenuel said. He assumed it was going to be a small loaf of bread and cheese. What he got instead was three platters filled with eggs, cheese, bacon, sausages, and beans with pitchers of milk or juice. Indenuel could only stare at it as the servants hastily set up a table to place it on, bowing as they moved away.

“Is Tolomon eating with me?” Indenuel asked as he picked up the plate he would dish himself with.

“I already had breakfast,” Tolomon said.

“Is… everyone else eating with me?”

Pablo laughed. “We’ve already eaten as well. This is all for you, Indenuel. Whatever you don’t eat, the servants will give to the poor for charity.”

“Oh. Right.” Indenuel cleared his throat as he sat down. He smiled as he lifted a fork and reminded himself that he didn’t have dinner last night as he filled his plate with healthy portions of each item.

The room was spectacular. The bed alone was huge, the mattress was like heaven to sleep on. The deep reds and golds of the bed, as well as the curtains and rug reiterated how many guests who had spent time in this home were royalty in nature. Indenuel did not feel like he deserved such a room at all.

Indenuel remembered about all the buildings crammed so close together in the city. It was weird that his room overlooked the gardens to give the impression no one else was around. There was so much land this house was sitting on in a crowded city.

Pablo took out a piece of paper. “Now, sir, we must get you ready for the banquet tonight.” Indenuel tried to answer, but he had fallen back on the habit of stuffing food in his face. He frowned, staring out the window at the beams of morning light coming in before looking back at Pablo. “The bath will be prepared soon, and we will go through the necessary steps to get you ready. After all, you will be presented to the King and Queen of Santollia tonight.”

Indenuel finally managed to swallow what was in his mouth. “It’s barely morning.”

“Yes.”

Pablo sounded like this was a normal thing, but Indenuel simply could not understand the concept. “The banquet is tonight?”

“You will arrive well before sunset, yes.”

Indenuel tapped his fork against the metal platters before realizing it was probably rude. “And so… an entire day? To get ready for a banquet?”

“You have been traveling for a month, sir,” Pablo said.

Indenuel still didn’t understand. He had bathed quite frequently throughout the entire trip. However, these servants had done this before, so he would go along with it. Indenuel ate a little of everything off his plate and was already quite full.

“A letter came for you, sir. Should you like to reply, you may give your letter to me, and we will get it sent back.” Indenuel had already taken the letter, broken the seal, and saw it was from the children before Pablo finished talking.

“Of course, Pablo. You should know I am trying to stay in communication with the orphan children in my village in Mountain Pass,” Indenuel said.

“Perfect. I shall make sure one of our tree talkers is equipped to reach that far,” Pablo said.

“Derio had to connect to Felipe in Tavi, who then passed the message on to Mountain Pass,” Indenuel said, skimming through the first lines of the letter.

“I shall pass that along as well,” Pablo said.

“They’re coming!” Indenuel said, standing up out of his chair. “They’re on their way!”

“The children?” Pablo asked.

“Yes.” Indenuel read as fast as he could through Andres’ reply. “They are coming to Santollia City to visit.” The rush of happiness was almost as though they would be there that night instead of next month. He thought again of his month-long travel to Santollia City, the many towns he passed, and could only hope they could make it soon. The carriages had been going slower, and they got there with plenty of time, but if they left early each morning and arrived at the towns each night, they could still make it in a month. Indenuel was lost in the letter, trying to figure out the distance, anxious for them to already be here.

So many thoughts had come to his mind that he didn’t realize Pablo was looking at him as though expecting an answer. Indenuel lowered the letter. “Forgive me, did you ask something?”

Pablo only smiled. “How many guests will we be expecting next month?”

“Right. Um, two adults. Andres and Lola. They’re… married.” Indenuel refused to admit they were the children’s actual guardians now. “And three children. A boy, nine, and two girls, five.” Indenuel started eating again. “The girls are twins.”

“I shall make sure the staff is aware. A month will be here before we know it,” Pablo said.

“I certainly hope so.” Indenuel set his fork down. He was hardly proclaimed Warrior and already Andres and Lola were on their way. He needed to prepare himself for what they would certainly try to do, but right now he was excited at the prospect of seeing the children. He could worry about the other two later.

“Are you done with breakfast, sir?” Pablo asked.

“I am, thank you. It was delicious.” Indenuel stood, backing away from the table. There was a need to stay and finish all of it. He couldn’t leave this food because he didn’t know when his next meal would be. The thoughts were still there, even after a month of three meals a day, with generous servings. He hadn’t had that fear for a while. It must be because he was in a new place. “It will be given to the poor?”

“Yes, sir. Part of the King and Queen’s welfare. They pride themselves on the fact that even with the war going on, there are no desperately poor Santollians in the city,” Pablo said.

“Honorable indeed,” Indenuel said.

“To your bath, sir.”

The servants scrubbed Indenuel clean. They scraped off the evidence of his travels as Indenuel surrounded himself in a bath that was scented and full of soapy bubbles. This, in his mind, was the height of luxury, and it was awkward. He was rubbed so raw he was afraid his entire body would still be red by the time the banquet was here.

Once he was done, a servant combed out and cut his hair, talking about the different styles of cuts in Santollia City. Indenuel had never given it a thought. Twice a year Lucia cut his hair short to let it grow long again. His hair wasn’t necessarily something he considered to be a part of fashion.

The servant had added creams and oils to his hair, styling it in a simple manner, but it certainly stayed in one spot. Indenuel found himself poking his well-oiled hair just to see what it felt like before the servant stopped him.

Pablo assured him he still wasn’t ready. He was carted off to a tailor to get an entire wardrobe while he was getting fitted for his banquet outfit.

“Are those actual crystals they are sewing onto that jacket?” Indenuel asked.

“Yes,” Pablo said. “A number of quartz crystals, as well as some diamonds and sapphires.” So he would wear a jacket that was worth more than the entirety of Mountain Pass. “You are to be presented to the King and Queen at the Palace. A high honor,” Pablo said as though reading Indenuel’s thoughts.

He rubbed his face, trying to control his disgust at the idea. The whole thing seemed frivolous. The country was at war. Certainly these gems could be put to better use.

“Are you alright?” Tolomon asked.

“That jacket has more value than I’ve ever seen in my entire life, and I’ll be wearing it,” Indenuel said.

“Believe me, this isn’t going to be your everyday dress. This is the banquet, the one where the Warrior will be presented to the King and Queen of Santollia. The military has been hoping this would come for decades.”

A different sort of nervousness came over him. “Seems like everyone else has known what this banquet will be like. What should I expect?”

“The four High Elders will take you to the palace, where they will present you. Then we will eat, drink, and dance until the dawn,” Tolomon said.

Indenuel blinked a few times. “And then… go to the Cathedral for Sabbath worship?”

Tolomon shrugged. “You can sleep in the short span of time between the dawn and Sabbath worship.”

Indenuel tried to smile. This was such a different lifestyle than he expected to ever live. He was bound to be uncomfortable about a lot of it. It was almost instinctual to hate it, but maybe there was some value to all this. It was, as Tolomon said, a banquet many in the military had been looking forward to.