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The air was just warm enough to stave off the lingering cold effects of Spring yet still retain its chill to stave off any burdensome humidity. Malleus had left the windows of his bedroom open, the wet earthy smell of the garden wafting in and the song of the wind chimes twinkling in the wind.
It was indeed one of Briar Valley’s most pleasant days weather wise. With the gray clouds concealing the sun, Lilia had tried to encourage Malleus to go outside. His guardian was in fact enjoying the garden, tilling to the earth and no doubt disturbing the little creatures residing in his flowerbed. Malleus had briefly considered venturing out, but for the time being, he remained indoors until the inspiration to grace the world with his presence struck.
Malleus casually flicked his hand, the book he was levitating turning its page, when he felt the stirring of magic in the air. Pausing to look up, he detected the disturbance as the source of the young human living with them. To his surprise, the energy was growing stronger and clearing the distance between them. He wondered how long it would take for his visitor to arrive.
Sure enough, Silver barged into the room, his face twisted into what was meant to look fierce but actually made him look pouty. Malleus hardly felt threatened, if that was Silver’s intent. In fact, he felt like he was being held up by a child.
The boy straightened, the look of sheepishness suddenly replacing the previous expression of determination. “My lord.”
Malleus tilted his head, amused. “Silver.” He watched with further intrigue as the human carefully examined the room with watchful eyes. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I am…” Silver hesitated, “looking for something.”
“Oh?” Malleus set aside his book. “Did Lilia disturb the moles again?” He had not detected any critters sneaking into his room for shelter. But then again, the moles and mice were increasingly determined to make a home beneath their furniture.
Silver paused. “Possibly,” he admitted with a grin at the thought of his father’s antics. “But no, I’m looking for my raincoat.”
The careful inflection caused Malleus’ lips to twitch in amusement, though he did his best to hide it. Humans could be very sensitive with their egos, and though Silver was an easy child with a calm temperament, his recent growth spurt had shown a different level of sensitivity and emotions.
“Which one are you looking for?” Malleus asked, sneaking a peek at the young child. Or, by human standards, not so young. Silver was just on the cusp of his teenage years and growing into his young adult frame, but Malleus still saw the little toddler he would visit. As he had learned a few months ago, Malleus kept that thought to himself.
“The green one.” Silver’s yellow rain boots trudged across the floor as he hurriedly peeked under the bed, but not before Malleus caught sight of his pinched expression, brows furrowed with worry and eyes glowing with frustration. Malleus felt a small twinge of guilt at the distress the little human was portraying, even though he didn’t know what hand he had to play at causing such distress. “Father said it looks like there might be rain. I’m not allowed outside without my coat.”
“What makes you think I have it?” Malleus sat up to peer over the edge of the bed. Silver looked up, expression disgruntled and hair out of place from his search attempt.
“Because you have a habit of permanently borrowing things.”
Malleus looked affronted. “I do not.”
Silver picked up a random item from under the bed, took one look at it, and waved it in Malleus’ face. “And whose is this?”
Malleus actually blinked. “...what is it?”
Silver sighed. “Well, it was the uniform shirt I wore for the spring jousting event.”
Malleus smiled, remembering the jousting event fondly. Well, there were hardly any ‘jousts’ as it was merely an event for children to charge at each other with their Shetland ponies. Even far up in the crowd and on a lonely bench with just Lilia, as the gathered crowd gave them a wide berth, he could still remember a young Silver eagerly charging at his opponent. “You were so tiny.” He went to grab the shirt, only for Silver to pull back with a huff. Disappointed, Malleus looked at the garment forlornly.
“And this…” Silver tugged. “Isn’t this Lilia’s apron? Why do you even have this?”
“I was hoping to discourage him from making any more meals.” Malleus shrugged. “Now he simply has stains on his shirt instead of wearing an apron.”
More items were tossed on the floor. “When did Sebek give you his gloves? Or,” indignation turned to shock, “my practice sword!”
“You grew out of it,” Malleus defended.
“I was seven. I didn’t have time to grow in to it.” Silver huffed, sitting back before rummaging under the bed again.
The mattress creaked as Malleus jumped off. With a tired sigh, he grabbed Silver’s feet and attempted to drag him out. However, the boots slid right off, and Malleus frowned. “You’re not wearing socks.”
Silver rolled under the bed, hiding from view. “I don’t need to.”
“Your feet will get sore,” Malleus sighed. With a flick of his fingers, magic swirled around Silver’s feet before the child was dragged out from under the bed. But that did not stop Silver from grabbing a few more boxes on his way out. “Where do you find the time to sort through all of these?” the boy asked.
Malleus dropped Silver, shrugging. “It…just happens.”
With a look of determination, Silver scrambled up and pulled back the covers of the bed to reveal a nest of clothing. The intrinsic placement of the different shirts, jackets, and sweaters were piled up to form a nest. Silver recognized some articles of clothing as his and Lilia’s, but none belonged to the prince.
Malleus fingered the hem of a blue sweater before pulling it from the neat pile. “Here, you can take this one back.”
Silver frowned. “Why?”
“It’s lost its scent. But once it regains it, I’ll want it back.”
“It’s my sweater.” Silver rolled his eyes, though the annoyance was gone, replaced with a look of fondness. Malleus wished he knew what brought on the sudden attitude change.
“You know,” Silver mused, fingering the thick fabric of the sweater. “It’s not that cold, and if I wear this sweater, it’ll restore the scent.” Silver disappeared into the closet, voice becoming muffled before he emerged again, wearing the sweater but holding out his old shirt. “You can keep this for now.”
Malleus blinked, staring at the proffered clothing. “No thanks.”
Silver looked startled. “What?”
“Why would I want that shirt?”
“B-but you have…” He tugged on the sweater. “What’s the difference between this and my shirt?”
Malleus shrugged. “It has no appeal.”
Silver raised an eyebrow. “And what gives it an appeal?”
Malleus hesitated, unsure how to answer.
“Is it the scent?” Silver asked. To experiment, he sniffed at the shirt, but both Malleus and Silver knew that it would carry the faint, clean smell of the cleaner Lillia used.
Malleus mulled over that thought. While he did find some of the scents on the items he collected appealing, it wasn’t a particular factor that drew him to collect his items.
Silver understood his silence. “So, it’s not just that then.” He looked around the room. “What about the color?” But just as quickly, he disregarded the idea. “No, that’s not it.”
Malleus took Silver’s distraction as an opportunity to snatch the small t-shirt from the jousting event. Silver watched him. “So…what makes this particular sweater stand out?”
Malleus thought for a moment before smiling. “You were wearing it for your first tournament. Lilia wore that apron when he made us ice-cream cake.”
Silver’s eyes brightened. “Ah, I see.”
“See what?”
“Nothing.” Silver was smiling now, a look of fondness he often saw on Lilia, and Malleus felt affronted. Now he really wished he knew what he had done to earn that look.
“Is there anything else that might have lost its scent?”
Silver actually waited for Malleus to take the initiative. Looking at the intrinsic nest he had made, Malleus inwardly cringed at the thought of taking it apart. But, as Lilia had often stated, a good cleaning was necessary. Sorting through the items might do him some good.
Silver sat at the foot of the bed, folding anything that Malleus passed down. When Malleus uncovered small baby boots, he paused. Silver looked up and frowned. “Whose were those?”
Malleus smiled softly. “Yours.” He tenderly held the small items, noting their tiny size, and he remembered the little infant that used to run through the cottage and sleep in the warm fields. When he looked, he saw that Silver’s cheeks were a light pink.
“I see no reason to keep those,” Silver stated, embarrassment coloring his tone.
“On the contrary,” Malleus commented. “These are very precious to me.” He grinned. “You should see Lilia’s collection.”
Silver actually buried his head into the folded clothes, an embarrassed sigh emerging. Malleus set the small boots aside, intent on placing them away in a safe spot where he could see his carefully held treasures.
The sound of thunder rumbled in the air, and both Malleus and Silver looked out the window. The sky had indeed darkened, and Malleus supposed that the smell of the wet earth had merely been the oncoming storm.
“You’ll need rain boots if you plan to traipse outside,” Malleus noted.
“Not those,” Silver commented, eyeing the little infant boots. He quickly went to reach for them, but Malleus was faster and snatched them up.
The prince grinned, holding the infant boots out of Silver’s reach. “And what were you planning to do with these? You certainly can’t wear them.”
Silver pouted, scrambling up to hopefully improve his chances at stealing back his missing shoes. Malleus simply levitated the boots in the air above Silver’s head.
“My lord!” Silver protested.
“Really, what is with the sudden desperation?” As if to mock Silver’s efforts, the boots danced in circles above his head.
“It’s…kind of embarrassing,” Silver muttered. “I don’t wear those anymore and they have no use.”
“They do for me.” Malleus ceased his teasing and merely set the boots down on the dresser. Silver made no effort to dash for them. “They remind me of a small child playing in the rain, of a child muddying his clothes yet still searching for frogs in the pond.” He smiled. “And now that child has grown up, yet those memories are still so important.”
Silver blushed, averting his gaze. The first drop of rain splattered against the windowsill, and Malleus watched as the gray clouds unleashed the first torrent of rain.
“Ah,” Malleus said, reaching in the pile of carefully folded clothes. “Your raincoat. Perfectly preserved.”
Silver tentatively accepted the coat, sliding it on. Malleus noted that the boy would need a new coat by the end of the summer, and his heart tinged with sadness at the thought. He was with Lilia when he made the purchase for the coat. Perhaps another visit at the market was in order.
Malleus pulled the hood of Silver’s raincoat up, smiling at the child. “So, what pond are we visiting today?”
Silver blinked, surprise flashing across his face. “How did you-?”
“You’re not wearing socks. Of course you planned to visit the water nymphs and the tadpoles.” Malleus retrieved his cloak. “I’ve been meaning to head out as well.” He held out a hand. “Shall we?”
Hesitant, but just like he used to do when he was a small child, Silver grasped Malleus’ hand and followed after him. Malleus cast one last look at his room, noting the carefully folded items, tenderly placed back in the nest, before he closed the door on his treasures.