Chapter 5 - Wanted Men
5
Wanted Men
Daniel was surprised to find that the world was dark. He felt colder than he had been. The air was quite wet. There was a jolt, and he tumbled onto a cool bed of leaves. He heard coughing, and when turning toward it found that there was still light after all; he had just not been in it. He was on the floor of a forest. He had never been in a real forest before. And there was his savior, laying on his side and coughing. Where had the castle gone?
We must be in a different part of the world, thought Daniel. Everything was so quiet. Daniel had never been in a place so devoid of sound. There were no voices, no birds, insects, or rushing water - just the hacking cough of the man who had saved him. Daniel didn’t know how he knew, but he was sure this place was well away from home, and that he was safe. Father wouldn’t come looking for him here. I’ll never go back, he thought. And they’ll never find me.
He didn’t know it, of course, but in the few moments since he had vanished from the castle, a full-blown search had been issued for him. Parties had been formed, and rewards had been offered. Soldiers were scouring the countryside. And the people who had witnessed his appearance were now being told that they had seen nothing - they had only been part of a “mass imagining.” The story told was this: An intruder penetrated the castle and kidnapped the young prince. He was armed heavily, and most likely had insider help from the castle’s security staff. None of this was true, of course. Regardless, little Daniel had no way of knowing how much the people of Cion wanted him back.
Daniel was still a very small boy, and it didn’t occur to him that the man was dying. He knew that he was hurt, and that was bad. So he toddled over to the man and patted his shoulder sagely. That might help. He tried to pull some of the arrows out of the man’s remaining wing, but the man screamed so loudly when he did this that he did not try more than a few times. Other than those desperate screams, the man seemed to barely notice he was there. His eyes looked strange and distant, and the wing that clung to his back was stiff and awkward, and was starting to produce a strange, sickening smell. The man coughed and panted, and sweat stood out all over his skin. Eventually, after saying a few words that Daniel didn’t understand, the man became very limp and still. Not knowing what else to do, the little boy curled up next to the man’s figure and fell asleep in the fading daylight.
When Daniel awoke the next morning, the man was up and alive, and seemed to be in much better health and spirits. The arrows were all gone from his remaining wing, and he was mostly clean of the blood, save for the open gash on his back and a bit of dried blood around it. His silver-streaked hair was pulled neatly into a braid. He was cooking breakfast, and Daniel rubbed the sleep out of his dark blue eyes and stared at him until he was noticed. The man smiled. “Good morning, little friend.”
“Good morning, sir,” Daniel said respectfully. He had been taught proper manners before he could even remember, and he certainly wasn’t going to waste them now that he was out in the big wide world. Much to Daniel’s dismay, the man laughed gently.
“No need to call me ‘sir,’ your majesty,” the man laughed. “My name is…well, you can call me Samuel.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Master Samuel. I am-“
“Daniel! Prince Daniel.” The man had a pleasant smile, one that brought out all the lines on his face. “I know you, of course. I didn’t know I would be bringing you with me, but,” he shrugged and nodded over his shoulder, “as you can see, I didn’t plan much of this to happen.”
“Thank you, sir.”
This caught Samuel off guard. “Thank you? Well, aren’t you quite the gentleman. You know, most children your age would be screaming their heads off if they were in your shoes.”
“I don’t know anyone my age,” Daniel replied, quite missing the point of the statement.
“That’s just as well, then,” said the one-winged man as he poked a sizzling egg with a knife. “I daresay you wouldn’t like them.” Daniel’s face fell. “Oh, it’s nothing to worry about, Daniel…I don’t like people my age either.” The boy’s eyes brightened back up and he went to sit next to the fire by the man. It was a beautiful morning, and the air was filled with soft sounds. Sunbeams passed through the smoke and filled the area around the two Angelis with pretty shafts of misty light.
“You’re not sick anymore,” Daniel stated.
“Oh, I wish it were so,” said the man wistfully. “No, I am still quite sick, Daniel. My wing is dead.”
“I know,” said Daniel, his eyes wide. “I found it!”
The man looked confused, but continued on. “It is not alive, and I am. Therefore, I must remove it, or the rest of my body will die as well.”
Daniel pulled his own downy wings close to his back. “That’s bad, Master Samuel!”
“Indeed it is, little one.” His smile was a little faded now. “Fortunately, I know someone who can fix me right up. We’re going to see her after breakfast. That is, of course, if you’d like to stay with me. I understand if you wish to go home, but you must know that I cannot take you there.”
Daniel shrugged. “I’m not going back.”
Samuel beamed. “Good! Then we are of the same mind.” He pulled the egg from the fire and Daniel noticed that it had been cooking on a metal plate, very much like the armor worn by the foot soldiers. “I will take you with me to see Olivian. She has a son, only a bit older than you. I think you’ll like him.”
“But, Master Samuel, you said I wouldn’t like-“
“Oh, never mind what I said!” He smiled. “I’m a mean old sonovabitch, and I think that I have traveled too far from youth to tell you who you will and won’t like.”
Daniel took the cooling egg as it was handed to him and looked at it. He was quite hungry, but he didn’t want to pick up the egg with his hands. He looked around for something he could use as a utensil.
“You’re a dainty little thing, aren’t you?”
Daniel scowled and held the metal plate up to his mouth, eating the egg right off the plate. “I’m noh day-tee,” he said, his mouth full of egg.
Samuel laughed, and ruffled the little boy’s hair. By the expression on his face, it looked like his hair had never been ruffled before. “You’re a good one, you are. Stick with me and I’ll take care of you. And if last night is any indication, you can take care of me too.” Daniel averted his eyes, but couldn’t completely hide the smile on his egg-spattered face. Samuel noticed. “We’re wanted men, you and I. We’ve got to look out for each other.”
“Yes, sir,” Daniel said, with a grin. And he didn’t even try to unruffle his hair.