This is Book 2 of the Parvenu series. For a clearer understanding of what’s going on, please consider starting with The Parvenu: Indigo Child.

This book is published only on Inkitt and RoyalRoad. If you are not reading it on one of those platforms, you are reading an unauthorized, pirated, and outdated version.

Turn, Fir of Febla: 33 Xiven

“It’s time for your annual checkup.” Although the sudden voice in the echoing, stone hallway was surprising, Kayin didn’t flinch. “I’ve brought an apprentice for this one.”

A band of morning light from the skinny window atop his prison cell made it difficult to keep his eyes shut, so Kayin let out a long sigh and let himself breathe in the crisp morning air. No frost dripped from the window today, even though the Cold Season wasn’t over. The sun, Rinesa, shone just as brightly as if it was the Sow Season.

“Do you, uh, do you consent to having your exam in front of another?” the doctor continued.

Rather than dignify that stupid question with a response, Kayin took his time to rise from his padded cot, tossing his blankets to his feet. As Kayin stepped onto the rug in his cell, he finally bothered to look over to the doctor and his new apprentice. The old man that had watched Kayin grow from a poor villager to a disgraced prince didn’t change that much since they last saw each other a year ago. The skinny boy beside him wore nice, unstained clothes; he must have been the child of someone important. No starving villager could afford more than a shirt, let alone an entire wool jacket.

“Oh, you’ve grown!” the old man announced upon looking at him through the bars. Kayin took his time stretching, twisting his neck this way and that, rolling his shoulders. He had nothing but time, so the only bit of joy that he got out of this mandatory assessment was the knowledge that he could, at the very least, inconvenience the doctor by taking as long as possible.

Still, Kayin approached the door of his cage, arms crossed, still silent. The apprentice white-knuckled a book and pen, but hardly looked up from his notes to follow along the doctor’s observations. Clearly, he was another person convinced Kayin was in here for murdering his personal guard a few years ago. Of all the visitors Kayin received, mostly guards and a couple rotating tutors, about half believed him to be a murderer, and the other half believed him to just be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He’d given up trying to prove his innocence when Tidesa left Yatora after he was thrown in here. And until he was determined by the doctor to be finished growing, a full adult, he was stuck here, either awaiting a pardon from Princess Sepik, who hated him, or until they decided to execute him for treason.

“Appears to be in good health,” the doctor continued, motioning for Kayin to hold out his arms and give a slow twirl. “Your diet? Exercise? Your…mental health?” It seemed like he wouldn’t get away with this exam without speaking. Kayin pursed his lips.

“I eat the same thing you do, at the same time you do,” he murmured quietly. Despite his low, soft tone, the apprentice flinched. “The only difference is they shove it at me through some metal bars.”

“Diet unchanged,” the doctor confirmed with a nod. The apprentice scratched at his stack of papers. “And is the exercise the same? Last year, they…what, had you run the perimeter of the castle twice a week, yes?” Kayin nodded. “And lessons, you still get those? What are your lessons about?” All of this was information that could have been gathered by just asking the tutors or even glancing at the bookshelf against the wall behind Kayin, but instead, at Tidesa’s final instructions before she left, this old man had to see to Kayin personally and make sure he was alive and well. Or at least just alive.

Just as quietly, with a hint of annoyance, Kayin continued, “Advanced healing herbalism, future tense of Harpin, anatomy of movement, environmental history.”

“Your lessons in Natu?” The question made Kayin squint. If the doctor remembered so well, then this “checkup” was wholly unnecessary.

“Finished those last year. It’s easy to learn a dead language.”

The doctor nodded. “Well, it’s an important language. The basis for all the languages we know today!” Silence fell between the three of them. The apprentice squirmed with nervous glances to his teacher, even went so far as to take a step back. And although the doctor seemed to acknowledge the nerves, he ignored them.

This old man with the ability to read, lived in and served the entire village of Yatora. Kayin would gather his aunt’s medicines from him when he was little: these small, potent bottles and creams. And when Kayin was brought to the castle and suffered an attack from a peka, the doctor was there, performing miraculous feats to keep Kayin alive.

He never considered the doctor much before. But now, with this farce of an exam and too much time on his hands to suspiciously over-analyze every interaction he had with anyone else, Kayin hummed.

“Where are you from, doctor?”

“I—excuse me?” The doctor’s eyes were wide with surprise.

“You’re younger than Yatora, but not by much. Where did your parents come from?” The geographical information granted to Kayin was quite limited, between the books he was allowed to read about languages and herbalism, he could at least discern that Yatora was younger than a century. Too many books had whole sections taken out, though, and he knew there was no chance of getting that missing information. And no one bothered to tell the truth to him before, when he was just a child, let alone now when he was a convicted murderer.

“I—I—um—don’t know what you mean—”

“Were you too little to remember?” Kayin interrupted. Maybe if he kept the man on his toes, he’d slip up and give a real answer.

“Yatora is my home….”

“Yeah, that’s what everyone says.” Kayin stared at the apprentice, who had yet to look up. “All these stupid lessons and no one will answer with any truth.”

The doctor started and stopped his reply a few times before he settled with, “Let’s continue with the exam.” One upside to being an imprisoned Crown Prince was that he didn’t get yelled at when he rolled his eyes all the time, nor did he have to deal with people calling him by any sort of title. Sure, he got the privilege of an “upgraded” jail cell and education, but with half the castle scared that he’d be the next evil prince, they all kept him at arm’s length. The last time he had a real conversation with anyone was when Tidesa abandoned him the day after he was framed.

“Well, apprentice?” Kayin nudged with crossed arms. “What’s he supposed to ask next?” The young boy’s eyes fluttered up for a moment, but fell back to the book in his hands.

“Go on. What’s the next question?” urged the doctor.

“U-uh, um…. A-are you taking medications?” came the quiet voice.

Kayin let out a dry laugh.

“The prescribed medications? The creams for my face and the mood placater? No. I’m not taking those anymore.”

“Why not?” asked the doctor.

“My scars aren’t a hydration issue, so the cream won’t do anything.” At this answer, the doctor perked up. Kayin continued, “And the mood placater has too much harbeneau extract. I know the point of prison is to keep me idle, but that much harbeneau extract made me sleep for a full day, and I’m not interested in bed sores.”

The apprentice actually reacted to Kayin’s answer, curious enough to overcome his nerves, and asked, “How do you know what the medicines are made of?”

“Because I’ve read the same books you have, only I’ve got nothing else to do, so I’ve just read them more.” And even then, he was only allowed to read the books on healing herbalism, not on practical purposes or poisons or anything else. It made sense, considering; it was just annoying. Based on how the doctor took a step closer to the apprentice, Kayin’s annoyance was staring to show through.

“Right, well,” he said, “I think that’s all the information we need. Send for me if you feel ill.”

Unfortunately for Kayin, this was the only socialization he was granted today.

Wern, Fir of Febla: 33 Xiven

“It’s, uh, time for your annual checkup.” The gruff voice that woke Kayin from his sleep didn’t sound familiar in the least bit. And considering that was something he heard literally yesterday, there was no way this was true. He tried to slow his spiking heart rate with a deep breath, but the excitement stirred him to rise. Kayin sat up much faster today, not bothering to stretch or enjoy the morning air, and stood at the ready to face the stranger.

This man, with wild, brown hair and orange eyes brighter than fire, stood at least a full foot taller than Kayin, with his arms awkwardly at his sides as if he didn’t know what to do with them. Kayin remained near his bed, by the window.

“Is it?” Kayin decided to ask. He didn’t get surprised very often anymore. It was difficult to figure out how he was supposed to feel. Was the sweat growing at his hairline normal, or was something wrong?

“Yeah,” the man said with a shrug, “um, yeah.” Kayin couldn’t see from this angle if the guards normally posted at the hallway door were there or not. When he strained his ears to try and listen for their shuffling, all he could hear were the bustling sounds of an active village echoing off of the stone walls across from his cell window. It was a little early for trade to start. If it weren’t for the sun being in the exact same spot it should have been this morning, Kayin would have suspected they slipped harbeneau extract into his food and that he slept in.

“What’s your name…doctor?” For now, he’d play dumb, to see what other lies this stranger would spew.

“Dhekk.” Kayin squinted at him. “So, for your, uh, checkup…you need to…come out here.” For someone so massive and imposing, he seemed almost insecure. Maybe someone with biceps the size of a face didn’t need to lie much.

“You do realize I’m in prison, right?” came Kayin’s sarcastic question. “You have to let me out.” The stranger let out a tense sigh and glanced down the hallway, almost defeated.

“Alright, you got me. I didn’t exactly have time to plan this far ahead. C’mon, out you come.” And although he didn’t hold a key ring, the man approached the cell door and grasped where the lock was, his fist encompassing it almost entirely.

It was as if Rinesa shone right out of his hand, bursting through the seams of his enclosed fingers, shooting up and down the metal. Kayin covered his eyes with his arm until the light dispersed, but even more confusing than the summoning of the sun was that Dhekk now held, instead of a cell bar, the hilt of a long sword, made entirely of iron. With a yank, Dhekk freed the sword from the threshold above the stone floor. Now the door swung open, no longer impended by a lock, or a closing bar at all.

Staring at the swinging door, at the rusted iron sword, did not make anything make any more sense.

“C’mon, Kayin,” said Dhekk, gesturing impatiently. “Either I come in there and threaten you with a sword to come out, or you come out on your own.” Kayin hesitated. The village bustle seemed so far away, now, his heartbeat louder than the excited shouts. “You have exactly one second before I take that choice from you.” Well, that was motivating enough. Gulping a knot in his throat, Kayin began to approach the cell. Apparently it wasn’t fast enough, though, because Dhekk rushed forward and squeezed his arm, pulling him right into the wall, to where his forehead smacked against the unlit candelabra right across from his cell.

Kayin couldn’t even grunt in pain; the minute the sharp impact of the light smacked against his skull, his ears pulsated from an incredibly loud smash. The ground shook beneath him; if it weren’t for Dhekk holding onto him so tightly, he would have collapsed. But instead, he braced against the wall, holding his head, choking on dust and debris that coated the air like a thick fog.

The village of Yatora sounded so much closer, now. Shouts, screams. Crashes, clashing of metal on metal, the low rumble of a fire starting nearby.

When Kayin opened his eyes, more than just a bar from his cell was gone. The window he just stood under moments ago was now tripled in size, with crumbling stone still raining onto the rug. Right on his bed, a giant stone.

“Huh!” sounded Dhekk as he let go of Kayin. “Tidesa was worried she got the timing wrong. I think she did it a good job, don’t you?”