AUTHOR’S NOTE: The Warden and His King is meant to be based off of On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness (despite its similarities to the title The Warden and the Wolf King), so the two’s events will be almost the same in most cases (see if you can spot my references!). That is why part two is a little uneventful… sorry.
But the domino effect is enormous in this world. Far greater than you can possibly imagine.
Enjoy!
*
“Artham? Artham, get up, lad.”
Artham sat bolt upright, shoving his quilt off of him and sending it flying. He found himself covered in sweat and skittish from a lingering nightmare. When he saw Podo standing over his bed, dressed and with a scowl on his face, he knew he had slept in too late.
“Ye should’ve been up hours ago,” the old pirate crossed his arms with his bushy brows furrowed.
“Sorry, Podo,” Artham apologised meekly, plucking the quilt off of the floor. “Are the kids awake?”
“Aye,” he nodded without another word, clomping out of the room.
Artham took another deep breath of the Maker’s morning air, listening to the cooing of a fazzle dove outside. After the events of the Black Carriage the night before, he had hardly slept a wink until the early hours of the morning. It was nice to simply sit before –
Wait.
Today was the Dragon Festival, wasn’t it?
While Artham loved taking the children on such a fun day, he was not looking forward to handling the bustling crowds and irritated Fangs on very little sleep.
Taking a deep breath, Artham dragged himself out of bed and stumbled down the stairs. A burning smell drifted from the kitchen, and he shuddered at the thought of what Podo had made for breakfast.
Podo stood over the stove, stirring something chunky in an enormous pot. He was silent as he pinched what looked like rosepepper into their breakfast. Artham swallowed the bile that crept up his throat. It was normally his job to cook, not because Podo wasn’t willing to, but because Artham was the better cook.
His niece and the youngest of the three children, Leeli, was clearing the ashes from the fireplace from the night before. Her trusty dog, Nugget, skittered around her with his tail wagging, unsure what to do while she worked. He assumed Janner and Tink were outside, attending to their chores, because they were nowhere in sight.
“Good morning, Uncle Artham,” Leeli smiled, pushing herself off of the floor with her crutch. She held the ashes from the fireplace in her apron.
“Good morning,” he replied, ruffling her bouncy blonde curls.
“You overslept today,” she said, looking up to him with concerned blue eyes.
Artham laughed. “Just tired.”
Janner promptly entered through the cottage door, his face and hair sopping wet.
“Good morning, Uncle Artham,” he said with a stiff nod.
“What did ye do to yer face, boy?” Podo asked, stepping away from the pot. “Ye don’t smell right, either.”
Janner bashfully explained something beneath his breath as Artham inspected their breakfast. It was thick with chunks of oats and flour and various spices. It didn’t look or smell appetising in the least. While Podo lectured Janner about washing his face properly, Artham added a bit of milk in hopes to soften the chunky texture and mask the horrible taste and smell.
“WHAT DO YE THINK YER DOIN’?” Podo bellowed when he turned to find Artham meddling with their breakfast.
Artham stopped midpour, turning to find his father-in-law stomping toward him with a wooden spoon in hand. He immediately capped the bottle of milk with a sheepish smile, stepping back from the pot.
Podo growled something unintelligible as he stirred the milk into their breakfast. To Artham’s disappointment, Podo added more rosepepper into the pot.
Leeli was giggling as she emptied the ashes into a pail.
“Artham, those pesky thwaps are stealin’ our totatoes again,” Podo said without looking up.
“I’ll handle them,” he nodded, taking Podo’s patched burlap sack. “Come on, Leeli. Bring Nugget.”
Without a word, Leeli took her pail of ashes and followed her uncle outside, Nugget bounding before them with vicious barks.
Oooooohhhh! Love, love, love it! So cute! And not. I just think its splendid :)
(dont forget to study tho)
I like this Artham hahaha