Chapter 9: Eat It (3)

Hearing the knock on the door, Caellum didn't respond.

He just lay quietly while trying to hear what was being said outside the door.

There was a quiet mumble that sounded like 'How's he doing?' and then nothing.

Feeling his stomach heave again, Caellum covered his mouth to try and listen, but truly couldn't hear anything.

Well, on a good note, at least the soundproofing was solid even if the room was shabby.

BANG!

The door suddenly slammed open, and a balding man dressed in fancy clothes burst in while holding a tray of food.

The man took one step in before the stench of vomit wafted into his nose.

Looking around the empty space, the servants' gaze fell to Caellum, who was leaning against the wall, looking like he was minutes away from death.

Good.

"Tsk. Disgusting." The bald man commented as he saw Caellum's chest rise and fall faintly while the scent of vomit filled the air.

Slowly opening his eyes, Caellum glanced at the man through teary eyes before asking weakly.

"Ugh…who are you? Is this a dream?"

"What do you mean, your highness? It's your personal servant, Tonil. I brought your breakfast. Have you forgotten me, or did you lose your senses? And who gave you permission to redecorate your room?"

At the nonsensical question, Caellum wanted to roll his eyes.

What kind of personal servant is absent for an entire day and night, and dares to speak to their superior this way?

Or are you mentally ill?

Also, did your parents hate you? 

Why would they name you toenail?

As Caellum began thinking of random things, he forced himself to focus on the task at hand.

Information gathering.

Softening his voice and making it quiver, he spoke to the servant.

"Toenail, where have you been?"

"It's Tonil. And I've been busy." The servant said insincerely as he really looked over Caellum.

By all appearances, he had eaten what he should have eaten, which should reassure the queen that the little stunt he had pulled yesterday was a one-off, which would be corrected by the punishment given today.

"Busy with what?" Caellum asked carefully, doing his best to control his heaving stomach while observing Toenail's reaction.

He felt as if he moved too much; he would begin throwing up again, and he really didn't like the way his heart was pounding right now.

The servant, irritated with the way Caellum's purple eyes stared at him condescendingly, squatted down and began squeezing Caellum's neck.

Hard.

"Who do you think you are to question me? Huh? I've been busy cleaning up your mess. Just because you got a little bit of face time with the king and the 9th prince yesterday, you think they're on your side? I'm here to tell you that they aren't. Do you know why you're sick, little 13?"

"Ugh...You put something in my food? Am I going to die?" Caellum replied weakly.

"Die? No, of course not. This is to prove a point. You didn't expect it, right? After all, the king gave you a guard, so you must have thought you were safe. But that's wrong. The little 9th prince that you think is your ally doesn't care about you. The king that you think you're sucking up to, none of them are on your side. None of them can shield you. The only person who has the power to do that is the queen. You understand? You saw how easily she accessed you?"

Caellum looked down before muttering a quiet yes.

"This is your one and only warning for messing with the queen's plans. During your confinement, the queen has instructed that you're not allowed to go anywhere. When your confinement is over, the queen will speak with you again, and you'll do as you're told. I suggest you respond positively and don't try anything foolish then. Now eat up."

As Tonil tried to force his mouth open while bringing an item from the tray that smelled disgusting, Caellum stopped restraining himself and began vomiting.

Hard.

He intentionally made it fly everywhere, landing on Tonil's face and his fancy clothing, the food tray, the ground, and the walls.

In fact, there wasn't a single untouched surface from the vomit, and as Caellum lay there panting in the only clean spot, trying to catch his breath-

SLAP!

"You useless bastard! How dare you!"

Tonil struck him across the face.

"Sorry." Caellum began sniffling while keeping his head down.

Sorry that I didn't get any vomit down your throat, Toenail.

Feeling a bit petty, Caellum threw up once more, aiming it right at Tonail's feet.

"Arghh!! You dirty bastard! You've ruined my clothing. Do you know how expensive brocade is?!"

How can a personal servant be wearing brocade when the master is sleeping in rags? Does that make any sense?

SLAP!

Another slap landed on Caellum's head as Tonil began yelling again.

"Useless waste of space! You'd better eat all of this food! And don't you dare leave this room or order anything from the kitchen. I'll handle your meals as usual, and if you dare to act up. Heh, well~ today was just a warning! The next time, you just won't wake up. And if you think anyone cares if you die, they don't."

SLAP!

When the Toenail walked out, slamming the door shut, Caellum waited for several minutes to make sure he was properly gone.

Then went to the bathroom and rinsed his face and body, before sitting in a tub full of cold water until his feverish body felt cool.

When he stared at his reflection in the cracked mirror, Caellum saw that the pale skin on his face was darkening in the shape of a handprint, making it clear that someone had slapped him.

His neck was the same way, having bruises that correlated to being choked.

Not too shabby, could be worse.

Smiling a grim smile that meant trouble for others, Caellum changed back into his old clothes, tied the magic bag he received from Emrys to his legs, and made sure his hair was pushed back from his face and his collar was wide open.

Let's take a long, scenic walk around the palace. Get the rumor mill going.

Opening the door, he made eye contact with a new guard before flipping him a coin and instructing him.

"Take me to the royal library and go get me some food from the kitchen."

"But you're confined-" the guard caught the silver coin, biting into it quickly before freezing as he stared at Caellum.

He had been paid and instructed by the servant not to let the prince out, and he was aware that the original order likely came from the queen, but at the same time, money was money, and the prince paid more.

As he was hesitating, Caellum continued speaking.

"The king said I can go to the royal library during confinement. Are you going against the words of the king? If so, give me my money back, and I'll get everything I need myself. Additionally, give me your name and position. I'll report you to both the 9th prince and the king, so Father can know that he's no longer the true authority in the palace and that a guard thinks they can disobey him. Get ready to have your pay docked for royal disobedience. Or perhaps you'll be whipped? Maybe I could do it."

As the guard met Caellum's purple eyes, which glittered with strange excitement as if the thought of reporting him brought him joy, and saw the dark bruises on his neck and face, he flinched, then nodded and made his decision.

"Follow me."

When dealing with members of the royal family, it was better to just listen to them in turn. 

If push came to shove, he could just say he was following orders, and they could sort out whose authority was higher later.

"Good. Let's take the scenic route. I need some fresh air."

Caellum's walk to the royal library was an interesting one.

As Caellum walked behind the guard, forcefully taking the long way, he felt as if servants were avoiding him or staring at him much more than usual.

Meeting each of their eyes, he smiled gently, even as they flinched when meeting his eyes.

How rude.
It wasn't as if he looked scary in this body, so what was the big deal?
Were they afraid of a little bruising?
Hadn't they seen an abuse victim before? Grow up!

After several minutes of walking through the palace that was getting more and more busy, the guard led Caellum to a set of large double doors created from what looked like obsidian. It had many symbols carved into it that seemed to be telling some kind of story.

"Here we are. I'll…uh, go get your breakfast?"

"Thank you."

Nodding politely at the guard, Caellum entered the still-open door and looked around curiously.

Truly, the royal library looked exactly as he expected it to.

Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves made of dark stone were filled with books of all sizes.

Large stained-glass windows were on each wall, depicting scenes Caellum had no context for.

There were separate study areas that reminded him of cubicles, a lounge-like sitting area with comfortable sofas and tables, and even stairs that led to lower levels.

All in all, it was well-maintained and looked cozy, which was good considering he would be living out of here for the next couple of weeks.

Nodding to himself, Caellum walked over to the large wooden desk, where an older woman with short silver hair, large circular glasses, and a loose white robe sat on a stool while flipping through a thick book with a small smile on her face.

To put it simply, she looked like a stereotypical bookworm, a lover of knowledge who often lost herself in a book.

Perfect.
  

"Good morning." Caellum greeted her politely, and she looked up, her pale gray eyes taking him in quickly.

"Good morning. Ah, it's…the 13th prince. How surprising, how can I help you today? Are you looking for a particular book?" the librarian greeted Caellum politely while hiding her surprise at not only seeing Caellum here, but seeing his bruised and battered face.

She had heard that there was a big fuss yesterday between the 13th prince and the queen, so she didn't expect him to come to the royal library.

Even without the excuse of yesterday's incident, once his mandatory level of education was completed, the 13th prince hadn't set foot in the imperial library in years.

Although she wanted to ask for more details, the librarian kept to her resolution not to inquire about the personal details of the royal family members and stuck to business.

"Yes. I plan on doing some general reading, so if you could please give me a refresher of the library and point me to the sections involving the history of the kingdom and the world, and then a section with interesting stories based on the past, I would appreciate it."

"That is a very…broad spectrum. Is there something in particular that you're looking for? Perhaps I can narrow it down for you," the librarian asked curiously.

In all her years of working here, it was quite the strange ask. Most people wanted her to find a particular volume of a particular book, and if she couldn't, they threw a fit.

"Well, I was interested in learning more about lots of things in the history of our nation and curious stories based on the past. I also want to study medicine, economics, learn about the cultures of not only the different parts of our great kingdom, but also of other countries, and learn everything there is to know. I've realized I'm wasting my time, and I just want to expand my horizons and become more knowledgeable overall. Can you help me?" Caellum lied even as his stomach cramped again.

Swallowing hard so he wouldn't throw up or pass out, he gave the librarian his most earnest smile.

Hearing that someone wanted to pursue knowledge simply for the sake of knowledge, the librarian immediately perked up, and her eyes filled with tears!

It seemed her old master's words were true!

If she continued to work diligently, then people would come to see the value of books and learning about the past.

 "Really?! Please come this way! I'll help you gather everything!" 

"Thank you. Uhm, what can I call you? I feel like we've become quite close, and you might be the only one who understands or even supports my thirst for gaining knowledge. I don't want to be so formal with you if you don't mind. Please feel free to call me Caellum." Caellum whispered as he looked away as if he were shy.

"Then please call me Paigel, your highness! I will endeavor to support your pursuit of knowledge to the best of my abilities!" Paigel yelled before immediately covering her mouth and glancing around.

Thankfully, the library was empty.

After getting a proper tour and stacking a moderate collection of books on a table, Caellum began the tedious process of reading through each one.

Starting with a book on plants, medicines, and poisons.

When the food was finally delivered, Caellum immediately handed it to his new librarian friend, telling her he wasn't hungry and feeling ill, so she could have it.

Thankfully, the meal was not the rotten offerings he had received earlier from Toenail, so as Caellum continued his self-assigned study, he surreptitiously watched Paigel to see if there would be any effect from the food.

She didn't appear sick all day.

Noting it down, Caellum continued his research well into the evening.

And when the librarian left, he strolled back to his room the long way, curious as to what present the queen had left for him now.

Was it a beating? More poison? Torture?

How far was she willing to go without killing him, and what was her end goal for targeting a useless prince?

Caellum really wanted to know.