“Your highness!” the older one squeaked. “What can we do for you?”
“I’m looking for a boy called Aven,” Relam replied. “Do you know him?”
“Yes, he’s helping clear the hall,” the dishwasher replied, pointing out of the kitchens and towards the corridor that led to the banquet hall. “The feast is just starting to break up. Most of the guests are still here.”
“Thank you,” Relam said, nodding to the two assistants. They bowed awkwardly in reply, the small one nearly toppling from her perch atop the crate. Relam reached out and steadied the girl with a smile, then made quickly for the corridor beyond the kitchens.
The kitchen corridor was the widest servant corridor Relam had ever seen, and it had to be to accommodate the flow of cooks and servers that packed it during a feast. Figures in cook’s whites were hustling back and forth, some with buckets of dirty dishes, others pushing carts piled high with trays. Relam searched every face for Aven, but the boy was nowhere to be found.
Relam kept moving, drawing ever closer to the banquet hall. He had hoped that he would not have to enter the hall itself to find Aven, but it was looking more and more like that would be necessary. Just to be absolutely sure, he stopped the next assistant that came hurrying through the wide entrance way.
“Excuse me,” he began. “I’m looking for a boy called Aven.”
“He’s in the hall, piling dishes into tubs to be taken back to the kitchens,” the assistant said curtly, trying to push past Relam. “He’ll be done in a few minutes.”
“Are the guests still here?”
“Most of them.”
Relam frowned thoughtfully. So far, this little excursion was not going at all to plan. “Thank you,” he said finally, letting the assistant pass.
The assistant snorted and hurried away, muttering under his breath. Relam hesitated beside the door that led into the banquet hall, trying to decide what course of action to take. Finally, he grit his teeth and slipped through the doors and into the banquet hall.
The first thing Relam noticed was that the hall was excessively crowded. Dozens of glittering nobles and their families were milling about, and a roar of conversation was echoing from the walls and roof of the banquet hall. The floor space was cluttered with tables and chairs, hundreds of them, leaving little room for people to maneuver. A dozen servers and assistants were scurrying through the chaos, doing their level best to clear the tables so that they could be broken down.
Relam searched the faces of the assistants for Aven and finally found him, working at the fifth table from the servant’s entrance. The boy was stacking plates and silverware in a bin at breakneck speed, easily outpacing those working around him. He never took his eyes off his work, his back hunched over the long table.
The prince took a deep breath and moved further into the hall. Any moment, he expected to be hailed by a noble or recognized as a member of the royal family. Then the questions would come, the polite inquiries. Or worse, some would want to talk about politics or policy. Each would push their own agenda, all the while expressing their sympathy for his mother’s condition.
But he somehow made it to Aven’s side without being noticed. The boy did not recognize him though, carrying on with his work.
“Aven?” Relam said gently.
The boy kept working.
“Aven!” Relam said, louder.
“I’ve told you people,” the boy growled. “I’m fine. I just work quickly. Is there something wrong with that?” he spun around to face Relam, eyes flaming. Then the anger drained right out of him and his wounded gaze told Relam everything he needed to know.
“Aven, I’m sorry,” Relam said quickly. “I wasn’t thinking. It’s been a rough few days. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. You were just being kind and trying to help. You didn’t deserve that sort of treatment.” Relam reached out and rested a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Please, forgive me my weakness.”
Aven thought for a long moment, then shrugged uncertainly. “Well, I suppose I can forgive you. Just this once though,” he added with a roguish grin.
Relam let out a sigh of relief. “That’s great,” he said, stepping back. “That helps a lot.”
“Yeah,” Aven said, rubbing his nose. “I knew it wasn’t really your fault, you know. Anyone would do what you did if they were in the same situation. It’s fine.”
“Thanks, but it’s not fine,” Relam said firmly. “You’ve been a good friend, Aven, and I forgot that.”
Aven’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Friend?” he whispered, stunned.
“Yes,” Relam agreed. “You are no servant, Aven. You are many things to me. A servant, yes, but also a guard, a mentee, and a confidant. You are someone I trust and someone whose character I admire. You are a friend.”
The boy smiled, and Relam realized there were tears in his eyes. Relam pulled him into a rough embrace so that he would not have to pretend not to see them. “I’m sorry,” Relam said again as he released Aven.
The boy grinned, wiping his eyes hurriedly. “It’s fine,” he said again, smiling.
“When do you get off work?” Relam asked quickly, looking around the hall. “When the banquet is over? That’ll be a couple hours I guess.”
“Actually, I was done an hour ago,” Aven replied, looking around sheepishly.
Relam raised an eyebrow in inquiry. “Oh?”
“Yeah,” Aven said, rubbing at the back of his head in an embarrassed way. “I may have been channeling my frustration with a certain princeling into my work.”
Relam laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “Is that so? In that case, it’s time you took a break.”
Chapter 21
Aven quickly ditched the tub
