Back on Olhoe, a servant strode purposefully through the halls of the palace, stopping in front of the King’s doors. He knocked and smoothed the wrinkles in his suit. Every time he walked, wrinkles just seemed to appear on his shirt sleeves like magic. He was old, and had been serving as the king’s butler for several years, but he had never been this nervous to approach the king’s rooms.
“Enter!” King Frederic’s voice thundered from the other side of the double doors. The servant shook so badly, he almost dropped the tray he was carrying. He took a deep breath and slowly opened the door. King Frederic didn’t even look up as the servant entered.
“I-, I brought your t-, tea, your majesty,” he stuttered, shaking badly.
“Fine,” King Frederic said indifferently, “just leave it on the table.” The servant jumped to do as asked, almost spilling the pot of tea. He took another deep breath and calmed down enough to set the tray down on a small table near the door.
“Is there anything else I can d-do for you, majesty?” he asked, wanting to leave the king’s rooms as quickly as possible.
“No. Get out.” King Frederic said, shifting his gaze from one paper to another.
“Yes, majesty,” the servant bowed, even though he knew that the king wasn’t paying any attention to him. He knew, also, that the king had someone sent to the dungeon just for breathing wrong the other day, so he didn’t want to give the king any reason to send him to the dungeon. He had heard there were rats down there. He shivered at the thought. He backed out of the room and closed the door, letting out a sigh of relief once he was safely in the hall. After a few shaky steps, a maid turned into the hall and caught up with him.
“You okay?” she asked, striding up beside him.
“Uh, yea,” he said, still trying to catch his breath. His steps were more sure.
“You look a mess,” she glanced at his sweaty face, “Here, let me help.” She pulled a clean cloth from her belt and began wiping his face. “Been to see the king, have you?”
“Uh-huh,” he said, shivering at the thought, “and I ain’t never been that nervous in my life.”
“I hear ya,” she said as she replaced her cloth. “He’s been in a right awful mood since he got back from the moon. Why do you think he didn’t bring the prince back with him?”
“I heard that the prince was brainwashed into thinking he’s one of them,” the servant whispered.
“You mean a lunimorf?” she asked astonished. He nodded. “How could that be? Lunimorves don’t know ninmisn.”
I don’t know,” he said, “But whatever’s going on, I hope Prince Orion will be back soon. If not, we could all be in a lot of trouble.”