Page 13 of The Lost Art of Revealing Hidden Truths (The Lost Arts #3)

Chapter Six

T he water splashed to the floor and then disappeared, and everyone looked to the door at the sound of the frigid voice and froze.

Well.

At least it wasn’t just Cormal?

Perian wasn’t altogether certain that the doctor, the Queen, Brannal, and Cormal was an improvement. But it was… not just Cormal?

The group who’d just funneled into the room was staring at them with various blank or censorious expressions.

Perian cleared his throat.

“Get down off the table this instant!” Cormal snapped.

A brilliantly flushed Chamis very gingerly stepped down and then carefully set Renny on her feet.

The Queen demanded, “Explain yourselves!”

Perian was still trying to come up with the best way to explain when Renny spoke.

“It was my idea,” she said firmly. “I asked them to play with me.”

Perian knew that Renny unquestionably had the most latitude here, but he definitely couldn’t let her take all the blame for this debacle.

“The, er, idea for the play was mine,” Perian told them, even though Renny shot him a look that was probably meant to shut him up. “I wanted a good reason for the picnic to be indoors today.”

The Queen raised an eyebrow, and her voice was bone dry as she asked, “Is my daughter’s health not an adequate reason?”

Ouch.

“Mother!” Renny exclaimed.

“Your daughter’s health is the very best of reasons,” Perian responded earnestly. “But maybe it’s sometimes tiring to hear that it’s the reason things must be done a certain way.”

The Queen considered him for a long moment. “I hardly dare ask. Why was one of my Warriors standing on a table?”

Chamis shifted his weight awkwardly, eyes on the floor, cheeks still flaming.

“The room was flooded,” Renny supplied. “He was saving my life!”

Those who hadn’t been present were looking at everyone who’d been playing incredulously.

“The room was flooded,” Cormal repeated like they were idiots.

Renny nodded enthusiastically.

Perian explained, “That’s why we couldn’t possibly have a picnic outside. Terrible storms. Horrendous. So bad that the castle was slowly flooding.”

“Is that why you’re wet?” Brannal asked, and though he looked like he was trying not to, a smile was lurking at the corners of his mouth, Perian was sure of it.

Perian nodded. “To climb up here, I had to wade through the water.”

Brannal was shaking his head, but there was no doubt that he was amused now. Cormal still looked completely unimpressed.

“Then we got news that the ballroom had gone underwater, and we knew the water levels were rising,” Renny told them.

The doctor pointed at the chairs. “Did you attempt to rescue yourselves?”

Renny nodded. “But the vessel proved to be sadly unseaworthy. So then the strongest swimmer volunteered to swim me to safety,” she said proudly, pointing at Chamis, who maybe didn’t want to get mentioned, but it wasn’t like they were going to forget that he’d been on the table with Renny. “So he carried me as he swam. ”

“And I jumped into the water and tried to save myself,” Perian explained, “but I was clearly not as good a swimmer. Chamis and Renny made it to dry land, but I was just about to drown quite theatrically when you arrived. So thanks for that!”

There was a moment of somewhat-stunned silence.

“So in fact,” the doctor said, eying them all, “although the Princess was able to engage in what looked like very boisterous play, she did not, in fact, exert herself?”

Everyone shook their heads.

“No,” Perian agreed. “I pushed the chairs together after Renny had already sat down in one. And then Chamis carried her around. We wouldn’t risk her health!”

Cormal was looking at him like that was exactly what he’d done. The doctor looked supportive, Brannal looked like he was still trying not to laugh at Perian, and the Queen had the best impassive expression that Perian had ever seen.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of waiting to see if they were all going to be banished to the dungeon, the Queen spoke.

“I am glad to see that my daughter is able to experience some light-hearted moments. I would not, however, desire that these light-hearted moments interfere with anyone’s duties. Is that clear?”

They all murmured a “Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Queen smiled at Renny. “I’m glad to see that you’re still feeling well.”

“So well, Mother. I promise! It’s so much better with Perian here!”

Perian flushed as all attention shifted to him.

“It’s a lot of fun spending time with you, too,” he assured Renny.

The Queen gave him a fierce eyeball. “I still have a cell in the dungeon that could have your name on it.”

Perian nodded, pretty sure that was her way of saying that she forgave him for being a bit of an idiot. “If anything happened to Renny, I would lock myself in there.”

She gave a firm nod. “Doctor, if you would complete your examination. Let me know if there is anything untoward. Gentlemen, with me.”

And then, even though Cormal had his mouth open like he wanted to say something, he snapped it closed and followed after the Queen instead.

There was a moment of very pregnant silence, and then Renny burst into giggles.

“Oh, your faces. I know it’s not that funny because she’s not your mother, but your faces . ”

Yeah, they probably had looked as though they’d been caught climbing on the furniture by the Queen of their country.

“I’m really sorry about that,” Perian told them all. “But thank you so much for joining in.”

Renny’s smile was huge, not full of humor anymore, but affection. “Oh, yes, it was so wonderful! Thank you so much for playing with me!”

Because Renny was a little girl who didn’t get to play with other children, and this might well have been the most play that she’d had since she was six.

Chamis smiled at her. He was still red-faced and red-eared, but his expression was soft. “I’m very happy to have helped, Princess. I do apologize if I took any liberties.”

Renny waved this aside as though it didn’t matter, because of course, it didn’t, to her. Perian was pretty sure that for those long minutes this afternoon, they’d let themselves forget that she was a princess and had just seen her as a little girl.

“I will do my very best not to ever get you yelled at by the Queen again,” Perian assured him.

Chamis looked at him with a thread of amusement. “But you’re expecting to get yelled at again?”

Perian shrugged. “To be honest, it seems entirely likely.”

They grinned at one another, and Perian was pretty sure that he’d just made more friends today.

It was, probably unsurprisingly, the main topic of conversation at dinner.

Molun and Bennan were both outraged to have missed it. Chamis had already quietly told Bennan that he could have had his position, though he was happy to have helped out the Princess. Bennan squeezed his hand and leaned into his side.

“How could you do all that without me!” Molun wanted to know.

“You helped,” Perian told him.

“Barely a bit!” Molun pouted. “I could have given you a whole ocean of water to chase you around the Princess’s rooms!”

“There was more than enough water in the Princess’s rooms!

” Brannal said a little quellingly, because as amusing as he had found the entire thing, he was still Summus, and this was still Renny they were talking about.

“No one would want a joke to get out of hand and cause actual injury, now would they?”

They all shook their heads, chastened, because harm coming to Renny was the last thing they wanted.

Brannal glanced at Perian, “Explain again how we interrupted your glorious and noisy death?”

Somewhat snidely, Cormal interjected, “Such a shame we missed that.”

Perian flashed him a grin. “You’ll all have to see my tremendous acting expertise another time. I was going to flail a lot, of course.”

“Of course,” they all agreed.

Perian stared at them suspiciously, wondering if they were trying to tell him something.

“And I was going to fall over dramatically ,” he continued.

“That sounds like something you would do,” Nisal agreed, and there was more nodding.

Narrowing his eyes, Perian added, “And then I was going to go into extremely affecting death throws that probably involved a lot of wriggling around on the floor.”

Molun was the one who said, “I am trying so hard not to say anything right now.”

And that was the end of that; the entire table dissolved into laughter.

Brannal squeezed Perian’s shoulder. “You’re very good at lighting up people’s lives.”

Perian beamed at him. He didn’t mind being the butt of a joke for something like this. He always wanted Renny to be safe, but he wanted these light and silly moments, too.

Dinner broke up with Perian getting a more-than-usual number of pats on the back and a goodnight from Chamis, Simiala, one of the Warriors who’d been outside Renny’s rooms, and three other people whom he didn’t know very well but who apparently knew him a lot better from this escapade.

Heading back down the hallway with everyone, Brannal said, “Life with you is never boring, Perian.”

Having lived boring, Perian definitely didn’t recommend it .

“That makes it more fun,” he offered.

“It definitely does,” Brannal agreed, and the others nodded.

“I’m sorry I missed it,” Molun said.

“Me, too,” Nisal agreed.

“I would have probably tried to stop it,” Brannal admitted.

“Good thing you weren’t there!” Perian said, but he made sure to smile at the other man to indicate that he understood.

He wasn’t actually sure if Brannal would have stopped it or not.

Had he been in on it from the beginning, he would have seen how little activity it was for Renny.

It was possible Chamis could have tripped or something, but it didn’t seem very likely.

The world was full of risk, and you had to assume some of them, or you’d be left, what, lying in bed and never moving?

That would never work, especially not for Renny, who was sometimes trapped there against her will.