Young Writers Society

He didn't like the idea of getting into a fight, but he just nodded in agreement to avoid any more arguments. He had already given him an awkward first impression; Nen wasn't even sure he believed that he was a prince right now. Something told him he was just a fun new adventure to him. While that did mean he would be getting the help he needed - figuring out where he was - it still meant that he wasn't seriously considering a friendship.

...Maybe that would change.

But even if he didn't, he did to get home soon. He didn't want to think about what would happen if his parents couldn't find him, or found him here instead of in the castle. And if his uncle found out about Engel...

If Engel wasn't going to direct them towards what he needed, he would have to do it himself.

Step 1: Don't stand out. Maybe that would make it harder to find him while he was here - his clothes didn't resemble the clothes of the people in the tavern in the slightest. He didn't even need to look at Engel's clothes to know that he couldn't possibly ask him to buy him some new ones - he remembered how much money had been a strain for Az's family, and how he could never burden them.

So he needed clothes, but he didn't have any money.

He glanced down at the sword at his side.

...He could say he was robbed...

Step 2: Figure out where he was. Then he could figure out how to get home from here, or ask for directions if he wasn't sure.

"Shouldn't we get me new clothes?" he hesitantly asked. "I stand out right now. We could sell my sword and use that money to get me clothes, and anything we might need."

He paused.

"And...um...where exactly are we?"

Well, he wasn't wrong. It was dangerous to look like a noble, or anyone with money, out here. The sword would more than pay for the clothing. Maybe--just maybe--he could pocket some of the spare change. A tax, for his services. He was certain the well-dressed figure could afford it.

Instead of voicing any of this, however, Engel merely nodded. "Alright, then, I'll finish my drink, find my fox, and then we sell your sword and get you some new clothes." He paused, looking the man over again. Did he really not know where they were? Well...stranger things had happened. "Paris, France."

Part of the response hadn't made much sense to him, but it was the last two words spoken that caught Nen's attention. The most he could muster was a blank stare at first - Paris, France? He had never heard of either of those places!

"...Where is that in relation to the kingdom of Laetae?" Nen asked, a wave of nervousness washing over him. He couldn't have been far. Maybe France was some small kingdom that no one ever paid attention to, so he was never taught about it. "Is it....Is it close?"

His eyes narrowed. Laetae? Kingdom? Where the hell was this guy from? Had he just been drinking a lot more than it seemed? He blinked, studying the man clad in blue. He seemed sober enough.

"Uh, no. We're mainly bordered by Spain, Prussia, and Italy, along with a few smaller countries like Switzerland. Great Britain is over the water to the north, though," he explained before taking a long swig from his mug.

"...Oh," he quietly said. He was trying not to sound horrified, but knew he was failing miserably at the attempt. He hadn't heard of a single one of the places that Engel had mentioned - Spain, Prussia, Italy, Switzerland and Great Britain all sounded as unfamiliar to him as Laetae had sounded to Engel.

Which meant he wasn't anywhere close to home.

It wasn't a matter of figuring out which direction he needed to walk in and buying some method of travel; it was a matter of figuring out how he was supposed to get back to a place that should have known him and his kingdom. He looked back at Engel and the people around them, an idea - it was the worst one yet - suddenly coming to him.

"...What...What world is this?" he asked.

This could have been another part of Seraphinity. But for someone to act like he was lying about his royalty and how he had arrived...

...it suggested that Engel wasn't acquainted with either one of them.

World? What in God's name was this guy talking about?

"Uh...What? You sure you haven't been drinking?" he asked, thoroughly confused. "Look, I don't know where you're from, and honestly I don't care." The boy shook his head. "Just...be normal."

Be normal. Not like whatever killed Aurick with him standing there. Not like whatever was happening to him. Not like the whispers of creatures more than human haunting the woods. Not something out of Heaven nor of Hell like that silver-eyed being he still couldn't name.

Normal.

Please, God.

Be normal.

The words were words he had heard a hundred times before, though the meaning was never the same as it was now. His parents had said that, back when he hung out with Az all the time. His uncle, too. It was a phrase associated with what happened afterwards - with the blood he was desperately trying to come up out of his mind right now, because him retching all over the tavern floor wouldn't have been normal in the slightest.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I admit I was just pulling your leg - my name really is Nen, but I'm not a prince. I'm an actor. I was just practicing for my next role. It's a story about a prince who gets transported to a faraway land."

He looked down at his sword.

"The sword is real, though," he said. He felt horrible about lying, but he had realized that telling the truth wasn't going to help him in the slightest. "And since I lost all of my belongings, I think selling it is a good way to get me out of these ridiculous clothes."

He gave Engel a grin that reached his eyes - it was as fake as his grins always were, but there was no way for anyone to ever realize that he wasn't half as happy as he seemed.

An actor. More plausible than anything else, but something about the way he said it--or maybe simply the seeming authenticity of his former claims and his confusion--made Engel wonder. Something about it just seemed a bit...off. Nothing he could put his finger on, but it was enough to make his eyes narrow ever so slightly.

Besides, players were certainly present in Paris. More than they were in Prussia, anyways, so who was he to contradict Nen's words? For now, he'd go with it. It wasn't as though he had much of a choice or a better explanation for what was going on.

"I see. Where you from, then? Where'd your things get stolen?"

The question made him hesitate for a moment - he knew it would draw suspicion to his claim, but he also knew that Engel had no intentions of believing him when he told the truth. He'd push aside any doubt if he thought it would make everything easier.

"I'm from a small town in Great Britain," he said. Engel had thankfully given him all the information he needed, and had even provided the additional information of Great Britain being across the ocean to the north. "And my things got stolen when I made the mistake of putting them on the side of the street - I definitely won't repeat that stupid mistake."

Something about it was off, but he couldn't put his finger on it, so he finally conceded. "Ja, 'specially not around these parts," he replied, finishing the rest of his drink.

"Come on, let's see if we can't get you something other than that horrendous costume," he said, standing. "Also, find Dame 'cause I don' wan' her t' get grabbed by a dog 'r nothin'."

The last he'd seen her was when he was coming into town. She came back more often than not but it'd been a little longer than usual. He wasn't terribly concerned but he wanted to get his eyes on the fox as soon as he could.

At least he could agree on how horrendous his outfit looked. He hated the type of outfits he had to wear for formal occasions - which, as a prince, was almost every single time his parents did something.

He stood as well.

"Who's Dame?" he asked.