The False Prince Chapters 8-9 | A Sage's Bath and Connor's Dark Plan

[00:00:01]welcome so today we're going to read uh chapters 8 and 9 of the false prince i hope you enjoy it errol was calling my name when i returned to the room sweaty and tired i hadn't been gone long just enough to have a look over conor's grounds for myself still i wondered how long he'd been calling me must have fallen asleep i called back to him splashing some water with my hand what do you need your water must be cold by now he said may i refill it the water was cold but it was also perfectly clean and i was filthier than when he left me the water is fine i said undressing as quickly and quietly as i could i won't be much longer the other boys left their baths long ago yes but they were probably cleaning themselves while i was sleeping give me a few moments i dove into the water and scrubbed everything that would show outside my clothes a thick stack of new clothes from arrow waited for me beside the tub they were gentlemen's clothes and probably cost connor a fair amount of silver to purchase for all three of us mine had a linen shirt that laced up the front somehow a soft leather half-sleeved vest with carved bone buttons long linen pants and a pair of calf high boots i didn't think much of my skin would show this was only my first bath because after i emerged from the broom arrow inspected my arms above the sleeves and observed that i still smelled like an orphanage he insisted on scrubbing me the second time the water is freezing he said do you like your bath this way it's colder now i said grumpily and i never said i preferred it only that it was fine ariel's gentle manners were not reflected in his bathing assistance it surprised me how much dirt came off the second time while he busied himself with a brush on the bottom of my feet i looked at my fingernails i don't remember them ever being this color i said then yanked my foot away that tickles are you finished yet i don't like having a man help me with my bath aerogrind shall i have a woman sent in i laughed and told errol i wouldn't need anyone's help for my future baths obviously master connor has a different standard of clean than the orphanage did now that i know you want the entire body washed i'll make the necessary adjustments after we finished i sent arrow out while i redressed i had to admit that he'd done a good job it was possible i'd never been so clean wearing my old clothes i asked arrow after i finished dressing off to be burnt i guess they're not fit for much else get them i said firmly and then added just as they were before errol exactly as they were errol considered that for a moment then said i can get them back i suppose if you do i'll see that you get a silver coin for your service errol tilted his head where would you get it that's a small detail and my concern not yours but it would buy months off your debt to connor i widen my arms these clothes aren't mine and they're and they're not me i suspect i'll want those other clothes back in two weeks errol shrugged i'll see what i can do now come the master's expecting you at supper connor had bathed and shaved as well he cleaned up nicely now looking more like a noble and less like a road-weary traveler roden and tobias had all were already seated when i walked in this small dining room appeared to be reserved for everyday meals and more intimate affairs it was clearly designed to impress whoever ate here with an idea of conor's wealth i wouldn't help i couldn't help but do the math on how much a clever thief might earn from stealing a polished silver fork or a gold-rimmed goblet or a single crystal hanging in beads from the sconces on the wall sit please connor said motioning to the plate on his left tobias was at his right and roden was beside tobias rodin had clearly just was clearly distressed that i had been seated closer to conor than him as soon as i sat servants began bringing in the food they started with cheese as soft as butter and fruit in the prime of ripeness at the orphanage we got the leftovers from the kitchens of the wealthy after they were too wilted or brown to be served at their tables usually within minutes of the scraps turning to mold connor was served first but he waited for the rest of us to be served before he began although i was served second i assumed i had to follow the same guideline it was a horrible temptation to ignore conor's example and begin eating my senses were overwhelmed by glorious smells on my plate and others coming from the kitchen do you eat like this all the time i asked enthusiastically all the time connor said would you like a life of this luxury this exceeds any expectation i might have had from my life i answered it's a humble meal compared to a king's feast conor said but who would need a king's feast if they had all this rhoden asked as his plate was served then he looked at connor knowing he'd made a mistake but not sure exactly what it was he searched for the words to correct himself and failed tobias took his opening i'd need a king's feast a girl reached over my shoulder and set a bowl of burnt orange colored soup in front of me she had dark brown hair pulled into a single braid down her back she wasn't necessarily beautiful but something about her was definitely interesting her eyes fascinated me the most warm and brown but haunted maybe afraid she frowned when she caught me looking at her and returned to serving the others thank you i said getting her attention again what kind of soup is this i waited for her answer to my question but none came maybe in connor's home the servants weren't permitted to speak at his table i turned away quickly hoping i hadn't got her into trouble connor prattled on telling us what we could expect to eat for dinner that evening crisp of bread still steaming from the oven glazed roasted duck with meat so tender it could be cut with a spoon fruit pudding chilled from an underground cooler i heard him but continued to watch the girl as she refilled drinks for each of us when she leaned to refill tobias's cup another servant bumped her with his shoulder and a little water splashed onto tobias's lap conor glared at her irritated i opened my mouth to defend her but she handed him another napkin and hurried from the room before anything could be said when we were all washed up connor picked up the spoon at the top of his plate and said this is your soup spoon it is for the soup and only for the soup following his direction i grabbed my spoon trying to hold it the same way he did it was an awkward uncomfortable position maybe gentlemen had to feed themselves this way poverty-stricken orphans didn't i was using i was used to holding my spoon the same way i might grip an axe you eat with your left hand conor asked me that's unacceptable can you do it with your right can you do it with your left eye counter conor sounded offended no yet you asked me to switch to my right just do it i switched hands but made no attempt to imitate conor's delicate grip with this hand instead with my axe grip i went straight for the soup no sage connor said scoop the soup into your spoon by pushing the liquid away from you like this he demonstrated and added that way if you spill it will go onto the table not onto your lap the last bowl of soup i'd eaten had been consumed by holding both sides of the bowl and drinking it as if from a cup my right hand was sloppy and as soon as conor looked away i switched back to my left he noticed but said nothing connor corrected rhoden on on how to hold his spoon it's not a hammer boy he lectured tobias on leaning over his bowl bring the food to your mouth not the mouth to your food but he said nothing else to me about matters i suspected he'd given up following the soup we had some bread and more cheese connor demonstrated the use of the cheese slicer and bread knives i thought both of those were obvious so i didn't pay much attention roden and tobias seemed captivated the girl who caught my attention before returned to clear our soup bowls and the bread and cheese while other servants brought us the main course she frowned at me again which bothered me because i didn't see what i possibly could have done so soon to irritate her this much i'm already full tobias said it's considered rude to say that conor said a host plans to serve his guests throughout the entire meal and does not want to think that he is forcing half his meal down their throats tobias apologized and said his dinner smelled good which connor also seemed to think was a little rude i didn't think tobias meant to be rude it's just that the way he said certain things made him sound haughty i was plenty hungry even after the first two courses it had been nearly two days since i'd eaten anything substantial and months since i'd ever eaten anything and eaten enough to consider myself full food is considered a luxury in cartha carthinian orphanages they operate on whatever money an orphan inherited upon the deaths of his parents which is inevitably a little more than the shirt on his back after debts were settled private donations come in from time to time by wealthy citizens hoping to buy forgiveness for their favorite sins and like what had just happened to the three of us an orphan was sometimes purchased from the orphanage by a wealthy family to be a servant upon his until his debt was worked off since there was so little to eat we learned to eat fast and to eat selfishly which is why i hadn't understood mrs turbo this anger about my stealing that roast yesterday it was meant for all of us the final course was dessert a cherry tart with cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on it the same girl returned who had served me before but this time i gave her no extra notice even if she had difficulties here i had plenty of my own to worry about i needed to focus on conor who had yet to reveal the worst of his intentions for us leave the room now conor ordered all his servants i won't need you again until we finished our supper when the last of the servants closed the doors conor set his knife and fork down and clasped his hands together we've come to it at last he said looking at us carefully i am ready to tell you my plan an hour seemed to pass before conor continued when he finally did it was in hushed tones as he expected the servant's ears were pressed against the doors of our room some of you may believe you've already guessed my plan he began but i assure you it is not treason indeed in a roundabout way it may prevent treason in king ekberg's court carthia is on the brink of civil war and very few citizens are aware of it a major change is coming to this country what is it tobias asked we all had that same question but conor's glare reflected his interruption at being in his irritation at being interrupted i will come to that in a moment he said do you remember when i told you about veldergrath he has long planned for this day and even now has begun to amass those loyal to him so that he can force the rest of him the rest of us to give him the king's crown but other regions are also aspiring to the crown they are quietly gathering their supporters in two weeks war will erupt in karthia it will split the country along lines of loyalty or alliances and may pit families against each other friends against friends and town against town thousands will inevitably die in that war alvinia the country of your origin sage is watching closely waiting for an opportunity to strike they are hungry for our rich farmlands and the minerals our mountains provide when carthia is weakest and most divided a veneer will strike and swallow up carthia with the force of a tidal wave avinia is a cesspool at best and a generation will be no better connor tilted his head at me don't pretend to look horrified in my word sage you know my description of any as true it is i quietly agreed then you hope to prevent the civil war tobias said but you said yourself that you could never hope to become king do you remember this morning when i asked how many heirs king eckport has connor said what was your answer sage two but as tobias pointed out i was wrong there is only the crown prince darius still alive eckworth's younger son was lost at sea the younger son's son was named jaren since coming to court i've been told many stories about him some of which could not possibly be true with the castle still standing in one piece i heard he set fire to the throne room as a child tobias said and he challenged the king of benindol a to a duel of honor when he was 10 years old rodin added he lost of course but not by much so the story goes we've all heard the stories i snapped what's the point let me finish conor said four years ago when he was nearly 11 years of age darren was to be sent north to the country by mar always a friend of karthia he was sent there not only to be educated abroad but frankly to stop embarrassing the king and queen however on his way his ship was attacked by pirates there were no survivors pieces of the boat washed ashore for months but jaron's body was never found i did hear about this once i said alvinia was accused of hiring the pirates if king ekbert had any proof he could would have gone to war at least you know about your own country conor said it probably was alvinia piracy is certainly their style some say the pirates have more power there than the avinia king but king but expert couldn't rule out the possibility that as a porter country to avenia guylin had hired them both countries have easy access to the waters where jaron's ship went down my father followed that news carefully i said he didn't want war no no matter what else was sacrificed if he is still alive my father would have been honored to fight on behalf of karthia tobias said i'm not the son of a coward it would have felt good to defend my father's honor by punching tobias in the face but although my father was not a coward he would have been he would have avoided being in a war at any cost that fact was one of the last things he and i ever thought about three regions have made the trip to azell the seaport town from which prince geran's ship launched they seek any proof of his death or his life his life wrote and sat forward in his chair is it possible jaren's alive a body was never found rhoden but if prince jared were alive then he would be next in line for the throne not vildergrath or any other noble could claim it and karthia could would be saved from civil war then elvinia would not attack but it's irrelevant it's irrelevant it is irrelevant tobias said ekbert and aaron rule now eventually crown prince darius will take the throne conor leaned in closer to us and this is the greatest secret of your lives thus far they are dead all three of the royal family the few of us who know the truth have said the royal family is on a diplomatic mission to guilin meanwhile their bodies secretly lie far beneath the castle we sat there beyond shock and too horrified to breathe the news that not just one but all three royals were dead was impossible to bear my stomach grew queasy at the thought of it but i pushed those feelings down how did they die i whispered murder we believe they were administered some sort of poison at supper they never awoke any suspects wrote and asked connor dismissed his question with the wave of his hand don't be naive ekberg had many enemies and frankly i wouldn't trust most of his friends i believe all three family members were intended victims clearing the path for a noble to become king so was it veldergrath i asked a lot of regions suspect him but there's no evidence of it conor said we shall see who puts themselves forward to be king and then judge and you hope to find prince jaren and stop the nobles from fighting over the throne tobias said not exactly conor said prince jaren is long dead and i can prove it how i asked connor smiled i'm afraid for now i must ask you to trust me on that it's a secret it's my secret and mine alone however since the regents are unaware of my proof their trip to iselle is only to end any official doubt before another king is chosen that is where you come in because you see many carthenians have small hopes that jaren is alive nobody has seen him for nearly four years he would be 14 today about the same age as you boys surely the three of you have noticed certain physical similarities between one another he paused a moment and his smile widened you also have similarities in appearance to prince jaren as he might look today my plan is simple really i intend to convince the court that prince geran is one of you