Chapter 11

Beowulf was in good spirits after spending a pleasant evening with Emil. The noble was starting to become a good friend of Beowulf’s, especially after he began letting down his walls and mean facade to show that he actually did care about other people. This had particularly been demonstrated that night when Emil had taken Thedrick a blanket when he was in the dungeons, and he ended up cuddling the vampire to warm him and feeding him as well, which the jester had told Beowulf about once he had completed his punishment.

Of course, Beowulf had been appalled at himself for letting Thedrick’s secret slip so casually to someone when he was inebriated. Luckily and surprisingly, it seemed like Emil was completely unfazed about the revelation, and he hadn’t felt the need to reveal it to anyone else. Not that the noble had any other friends to gossip with. Still, Beowulf needed to keep his guard up, and make sure he didn’t betray the jester’s true nature to anyone else.

One of those people was Effie, who spent the most time with the princess apart from Beowulf. It was a wonder how Beowulf had managed not to arouse the nursemaid’s suspicions to date, though he had been very careful, especially when it came to secretly feeding the princess his blood. Maerwynn didn’t appear to be as reliant on it as Thedrick was, being more human than him seemed to allow her to consume some amounts of normal food as well, which she did at every dinner she attended with the king. Everyone just thought that she was a small eater.

But at night, once Effie had left them for the evening and Beowulf put the princess to bed, and he lay down beside her to sleep as she preferred as it made her feel safe to cuddle up to him, he would offer her his arm to allow her to feed. This just meant he had to be sure to wear long sleeves whenever he didn’t have his gauntlets on to hide the bite marks. Sometimes Thedrick would sneak into the room to join them, then the large guard would have two small vampires feeding off him at once. And the nursemaid remained none the wiser to it.

Beowulf and Thedrick had trained the princess well not to talk about drinking blood or show her fangs to anyone else but Balthasar and Cassian. Hopefully, Thedrick had briefed his friends on not discussing the topic of his and Maerwynn’s vampirism around Effie, who as one of the princess’s primary carers would be expected to attend the formal tea gathering. Beowulf prayed to the goddesses that it would all go smoothly.

The majority of the morning was dedicated firstly to Maerwynn choosing matching outfits for herself and her favourite doll. The doll was modelled after the sun goddess Arcadia, with bright blue eyes and short curly golden hair through which protruded a pair of golden ram horns. Though Maerwynn herself was more a child of the moon goddess, with her pale white hair and bright red eyes, plus dark creatures such as vampires were considered to fall under Calliope’s domain.

After that, the rest of the time before noon was occupied with setting up the tea table in the glass atrium tearoom that sat in the late queen’s roof garden. The room was filled with a variety of potted and hanging plants around the edges, and it had views of the surrounding garden in all directions. It was even equipped with a crystal chandelier hanging over the tea table, which Beowulf could easily reach to light the candles without even needing to lower it.

Beowulf had not seen Thedrick around at all that morning, and he could only assume that the jester had spent the night with his friends, ready to bring them to the castle come noon. Maerwynn was very excited about it, as she saw the event as being akin to the way the king would meet with guests, which made her feel quite grown up. The princess could barely keep herself still, and she kept talking to Beowulf animatedly about fulfilling her royal duties.

Once noon rolled around, the table was covered in plates and cups and cutlery, with steaming pots of tea, pitchers of milk, and many sweets and desserts sitting under glass cloches. Maerwynn sat with her doll in her lap, squirming in her seat with excitement. Her eyes were locked onto the entrance into the atrium, and as soon as she saw her father appear in the doorway with a small group of his friends following him, she had to stifle a squeal, which probably only Beowulf heard.

Thedrick grinned as he led the guests inside, of which there were just three. Joy, her husband, and a young woman Beowulf didn’t remember seeing at the fair but who looked similar to the other two and was probably their daughter. She was probably the ‘Lottie’ Thedrick had been asking after the previous day. The group approached the table and Thedrick introduced each of them to Maerwynn, confirming that the young woman was indeed Loretta. They each bowed or curtsied to the princess, before Effie offered for them to be seated. Beowulf and Thedrick sat on either side of Maerwynn, while the other sat across the round table from her. Beowulf removed his helmet and set it down on the ground, while Effie started pouring them tea.

Beowulf soon realised that Joy and her husband were looking at his now uncovered face with keen interest. Beowulf tried to hold back a blush, feeling flustered and quickly looking away from them. He noticed Loretta staring at the princess in apparent delight as her parents began thanking Maerwynn for inviting them and commenting about the lovely tea set up. Loretta kept looking between the princess and Thedrick, who she was seated next to, and then gently elbowed him in the side and smirked at him. Beowulf noticed Thedrick flush slightly at that, glancing down at his cup.

Joy took lead in the conversation, first asking Maerwynn all about her kingdom and castle and subjects, which completely delighted the small princess, who babbled away excitedly. Joy smiled and nodded, and she asked follow up questions. Beowulf couldn’t help but feel grateful towards her for so easily initiating discussion to make the situation less awkward, putting everyone more at ease. There was just something so warm and inviting about the woman that made her feel so comfortable to be around and to talk to.

Once Joy seemed to have exhausted most questions she could ask of the little princess, Beowulf decided to try and set a good example for Maerwynn and demonstrate you should also ask questions of your guests in return, to show interest in them and their lives and stories as well. Beowulf asked Joy about the entertainment troupe that she led and where they had travelled, and soon she was regaling them with tales of their journey all over the continent, to settlements in all the different kingdoms and countries.

Maerwynn listened, clearly enraptured by the stories, and actually started asking questions of her own about the group's adventures. Then, much to everyone’s surprise, she was suddenly declaring that she wanted to go on adventures to other kingdoms, to see other interesting places in the world.

“Well, your highness, once you are older you will possibly be able to accompany King Richard on his diplomatic missions to other countries,” Effie told the princess in a very sensible manner.

Maerwynn looked surprised at this, and then turned to look up at Beowulf with slight apprehension. “Will you come too, Wulfy?” she asked tentatively.

“Of course, your highness! I will always be with you,” Beowulf reassured her with a warm smile.

The princess smiled back up at him with delight, excitement returning to her demeanour once more.

“What about me? Don’t you want me to come too?” Thedrick asked pleadingly, acting slightly crestfallen that his daughter had wanted Beowulf first and not him.

“Who needs a jester on a diplomatic mission?” Effie huffed in a slightly derisive manner; arms crossed over her chest.

“I can charm the other delegates in negotiations!” Thedrick suggested in a quite defiant manner, glaring at the nursemaid.

“I hope not!” Effie suddenly exclaimed, slamming her palms down on the table and pushing herself to her feet. “The last thing we need is more illegitimate royal children sired by you running around!”

Everyone else at the table fell into shocked silence as they stared at Effie, blinking with disbelief at her sudden outburst but otherwise unmoving.

“I didn’t say I was going to fuck them!” Thedrick suddenly snapped back, also getting to his feet, not that it gave him much more height in comparison. “Is that all you think I do? Try and sleep with everyone?”

“That’s what the evidence suggests!” Effie retorted haughtily.

“What is your problem?!” Thedrick barked back at her, which surprised everyone as they had never really seen the jester truly angry before.

“Stop it, both of you!” Beowulf commanded quite loudly and firmly, which caused the two to glance at him in surprise now. “Is that really any way to act around our guests?”

The two of them glanced away from Beowulf guiltily, then slowly sat down. “She started it…” Thedrick muttered quietly, crossing his arms over his chest defensively. 

“I don’t care who started it, I’m ending it,” Beowulf said firmly, and then sighed with disappointment. “I apologise for their behaviour,” he offered to their guests.

Joy simply smiled awkwardly at him and shook her head. “Don’t worry, it has not ruined the experience by any means. We have still greatly enjoyed this meeting,” she reassured, looking at the princess in particular, who appeared a little distraught by the argument. Then Joy turned her attention to Thedrick for a moment. “Thedrick, you mentioned your good friend Balthasar to us yesterday, and you said he was the castle chirurgeon right? I would very much like to meet him.”

“Oh,” said Thedrick, dropping his defensive posture, “yes, of course. I can take you to the infirmary and introduce you, if you like?”

“That would be lovely,” Joy agreed with a disarming smile. “Thank you very much for the tea, your majesty, it was most pleasant.” The princess returned her smile happily.

The group all started rising to their feet, with Thedrick being the first to head over to the door. “I wanna come too!” Maerwynn suddenly demanded, standing up on her chair and reaching up towards Beowulf. The guard scooped her up into his arms and turned towards Effie.

“I’ll take her while you pack up here,” Beowulf instructed the nursemaid, who gave him a slight scowl, but nodded nonetheless.

Thedrick led the group of them out of the atrium, through the garden and back into the castle, with Beowulf and Maerwynn bringing up the rear. They then made their way down through the castle to the first floor, and then around to the infirmary. As they all piled through the door into the infirmary, Beowulf could see Balthasar look up from where he was sitting at his desk and his expression changed to complete confusion.

“Thedrick?” the chirurgeon said with bewilderment. “Who are your friends?” he continued as he got to his feet, looking between the faces of the guests.

“Hey Baz. When I first ran away from home, Joy here and her family found me in the woods and took me in, giving me a home and caring for me. They are sort of like my… family,” Thedrick explained awkwardly as he led the others over to Balthasar’s desk.

“We are in town for the fair, and happened to run into Thedrick,” Joy explained as Balthasar came out from behind his desk, looking the guest up and down scrutinously. “He told us about his new friends, including you, so I wanted to meet you… and thank you for taking care of him.” Joy reached out a hand towards the chirurgeon.

Balthasar looked down at the shorter woman with some surprise, usual steely expression leaving his gaunt features. Then the corners of his mouth turned upwards in a small, rare smile, as he reached out and shook her hand. “I could say the same to you,” he said in an uncharacteristically warm manner.

Beowulf and Thedrick watched on in shock, completely taken off guard by Balthasar acting so warmly towards someone. Joy, unaware of the chirurgeon’s usual nature, smiled away obliviously as they shook hands.

“I’m glad that Thedrick has such lovely friends around to take care of him, and protect his secret,” Joy said merrily as they broke off the handshake. “He never told us, though we all knew. But he must have really trusted you both to tell you.” She looked between Balthasar and Beowulf.

“Ah, well, yes, about that…” Balthasar said rather awkwardly, glancing away for just a moment. “I actually found out by happenstance… Beowulf as well. It seems no matter how careful Thedrick is, the truth comes out eventually…”

“That is what I am concerned about…” Joy said in a more serious tone, her cheery countenance dropping away. She glanced over at Thedrick at the moment, who was looking rather awkward. “I wish I could do more to protect him, but we can’t stay. I’ll just have to put my trust in you both to keep him and Maerwynn safe.”

“Well perhaps Thedrick could make it a little easier on us if he would stay out of trouble,” Balthasar said pointedly, looking at the jester.

Thedrick put his hands up in surrender. “It’s usually not my fault, these things just keep happening to me!” he said in his defence.

Most of them couldn’t help but chuckle at that, while Thedrick shot them all indignant looks. 

After finishing their chat with Balthasar, the group left the infirmary and headed back through the castle to the main gates. There they stopped to bid their farewells.
“Are you leaving today?” Thedrick asked, giving Joy a forlorn look.

Joy nodded, her expression very controlled. “We did most of our stocking up this morning, and we need to be moving along to the next town.”

She noticed the big sad eyes the jester was giving her, and offered him a small smile in return, reaching out to pat him lightly on the head. “Did you consider my offer, Thedrick?”

Thedrick frowned up at her. “Yes… but… I still have to decline… my place is here, with Beowulf and Maerwynn and Balthasar… I can’t leave it all behind again.”

“Of course sweetie, I was by no means trying to coerce you into doing something you don’t want to,” Joy said gently. “But if you ever change your mind, you will always have a place with us.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small object, then passed it over to Thedrick.

Thedrick accepted the object into his small hands, and then looked it over. Beowulf also examined the item over the jester’s shoulder. It appeared to be a small flattish wooden box with a sun symbol carved onto the top. Thedrick opened up the top, which was attached by a hinge to the bottom. Inside, glass covered a sun shaped piece of metal set into the wood. It somewhat resembled the face of a compass, only there were no cardinal points or numbers for bearings.

But as soon as Thedrick had fully opened the box, the image of a bright blue butterfly suddenly appeared, hovering over the glass on gently flapping, partially transparent wings, and facing towards Joy. Thedrick reached out a gloved finger to try and touch the butterfly, but his finger passed right through it, showing it was not solid but an illusion of some kind.

“What… is this?” Thedrick asked the question both he and Beowulf were thinking. Beowulf had barely ever seen any magical items before, as any sort of magic was very rare in this area.

“It’s a wayfinder that I enchanted, it will guide you to me if you ever need to find me,” Joy explained to Thedrick, reaching out and taking his hands in hers to show him how if the wayfinder was turned, the butterfly would still point towards her. “If you are ever in trouble and need my help, come find me,” she added as she closed the box and then held her hands around Thedrick’s.

The jester nodded, looking between their clasped hands and her face, which was full of concern. Then suddenly Thedrick pulled his hands out of hers and surged forward, throwing his arms around her in a hug, the wayfinder still held tightly in one hand. Joy looked surprised for a moment before her expression softened, and she wrapped her arms around the small man too, holding him against her.

When Thedrick eventually pulled away, Beowulf noticed that his red eyes were very moist, and the jester sniffled slightly. Then Loretta stepped up to him and grabbed him, pulling him up into a tight hug as well.

“Oh Teddy, we will miss you terribly! Hopefully we will meet again soon, perhaps at the fair next year,” she said as she held him, and after a moment of him being caught off guard, he pressed his face into her shoulder.

Once Loretta set the jester back down, Clay approached him as well, and Thedrick stiffened as if preparing himself to be picked up again. But the large man just rested a hand against Thedrick’s back and smiled down at him. “Take care of yourself my boy,” he said encouragingly, patting him on the back very lightly before withdrawing his hand again.

“I’ll miss you guys too,” Thedrick choked out, appearing as though he was about to cry. They all gave him sympathetic smiles.

“Goodbye Thedrick, and you two as well, Beowulf and Maerwynn. I hope we will see each other again someday,” Joy said, smiling at all of them. Then she and her husband and daughter turned and started walking out of the castle gates, looking behind themselves and waving once more. Thedrick, Beowulf and Maerwynn waved back as they watched them leave.

Once they were out of sight, Thedrick finally broke out into huge, choking sobs. Beowulf’s eyes widened, and he quickly crouched to set Maerwynn down on her own feet. “You’ll be alright to stand on your own for a moment, right your highness?” he asked, and she nodded, though her expression was worried as she watched her father cry. 

Beowulf quickly scooped Thedrick up into his arms and held him against his chest as he sobbed, tears quickly rolling down his cheeks. The guard spoke to the jester sweetly, trying to sooth him, while the princess held onto his pant leg with one tiny hand as she looked up at them with concern.