After everyone returned upstairs Aaron explained Ashton's ministrations to Lucian and the rest. While there was progress on a suitable identity, Lucian wasn't thrilled by the idea. Still Lucian agreed not to interfere for now.
Damian had met with the city lord of Kodiak and borrowed a guard to replace David on their travels. Hogarth Ripley was 6'2, 29, black hair, brown eyes and built like brick house. He was a rather cheerful individual who had taken to chatting with Shawn.
Ashton was visibly happier as they set out, Devlin wasn't sure if it was because David was gone, he'd been able to sleep out of the cold for the first time in four days, or because his plan to make an identity was working, there were too many variables that had changed in a single day.
Damian pulled his horse up beside Devlin, "He's in a good mood," he observed nodding to Ashton.
"Yeah, humming and everything. Think David leaving put him in that good a mood?" Devlin asked keeping his voice down.
"You could go ask." Damian teased then kicked his horse into a trot.
Ashton pretended to not hear them chatting, honestly, he was just happy Shawn wasn't nattering in his ear for the last three hours. He hummed along to the overlapping voices in his head for his next song. Hmm hmm, hmm will the truth still hide. Hmm. All the while a hummingbird sized eagle flew overhead. Lazily circling above... how oddly reassuring.
Devlin thought about throwing a fireball at Damian's horse, Devlin could ask, but who knows what would set that boy off?
Shawn and Hogarth chatted about pretty much everything, then Hogarth hesitated as he glanced to the bard, "So, how'd you all meet him?"
Shawn glanced at Ashton was continued to hum along and sighed... "I didn't know anything about him until we arrived at our last stop in Palmer. We stayed a month, and he is now traveling with us. His Majesty is quite fond of him." He added in a whisper, he really wasn't sure what to say.
Hogarth understood, so Ashton was the new favorite of the emperor, but... then why was he on a horse instead of in either of the carriages? "Is he, easy to get along with?" he whispered back.
Shawn glanced at Ashton, "He's... been rather cross with us since Palmer, though everyone else had good things to say." Shawn explained rather sheepishly.
Hogarth nodded, "I've met the Count's son David before, he's ... rather vocal about commoners." He'd been made aware of who he was replacing, and why.
Shawn sighed, even guards from other cities were aware, and referred to him as the count's son rather than an imperial guard. "This will hopefully be a good lesson to humble him," Shawn agreed.
Hogarth sped his horse up to a trot to ride alongside Ashton, "Master Ashton, how old are you this year?" he asked trying to strike up a conversation. When he glanced back he saw the horror on Shawn's face. When he looked forward Mage Devlin was also staring in despair... was age a taboo subject?
Ashton turned a polite smile to the new guard, "I turn 17 in a weeks' time lord Hogarth." He informed lightly, Devlin was so startled he almost fell from his horse. Ashton then glanced back at Shawn who was rubbing his face.
Hogarth knew he'd stepped into a pit, he just wasn't sure how deep it was or how to safely pull himself out. "So young to have impressed the emperor," He praised trying to navigate the unknown traps.
"Ah, yes, well when his Majesty orders a commoner to the capital, age is inconsequential." Ashton informed with a beaming smile. Hogarth paled in absolute horror.
Hogarth whipped his head to stare at Shawn who looked ashamed... Ashton had just accused the emperor of kidnapping him... and no one denied it. Hogarth was tongue tied, "Ah, well, he is the emperor," he mumbled when suddenly a gust of wind hit him in the face.
Devlin was glaring at Hogarth as he fell back to ride beside Ashton, he looked glumly at the now familiar polite smile. "His majesty didn't mean it like that," He sighed, which was the wrong thing to say as Ashton's smile faded and his disinterested gaze passed over the retinue.
"This commoner doesn't dare assume the will of the emperor." So much for a more pleasant journey, Ashton pulled his cloak closer as if to ward off the chill instead of the gazes. The miniature eagle had landed on the carriage, watching the battle mage with an eerie intensity, not that anyone else seemed to notice.
Hogarth fell back and silently followed the group, no longer in the mood to chat. Who would want to befriend their kidnappers? After a full rotation of the guard they finally stopped for a noon break. Hogarth hesitated then decided to leed his horse over to also be brushed down and get some water near the youth.
Ashton gave Hogarth the side eye, "Yes sir?" He asked neutrally as he continued to take the saddle off his horse, then start brushing her down.
Hogarth felt conflicted as he took the saddle off his personal mount. "Are, are you okay?" He asked in a whisper not making eye contact. He regretted the question immediately as Ashton's his gaze flickered to his majesty's carriage cooling noticeably.
"I'm used to the days traveling my lord. I will not slow the group down." He informed coolly. While the guard was an honest one, there was nothing the guard could do for him... at least not at the current moment. For now, he would rather Hogarth be quiet and leave him alone for their travels.
Hogarth was tongue tied again, so he just nodded and continued to brush his horse down. When they sat down he didn't follow Ashton but didn't sit with the other guards either. As one of three elite guards to the Viscount Harlow he wasn't unfamiliar with court, but just because he wasn't aware of his majesty's proclivities didn't mean His Majesty didn't have them.
When Hogarth was driving the carriage Aaron was sitting with him, holding an enchanted ruby to keep warm and dry now that snow was falling lightly.
Aaron sighed, well this had gotten awkward, "You're quiet Guard Hogarth."
Hogarth jolted, "Ah, well, just thinking." He mumbled; Ashton had politely declined entering the carriages to stay out of the snow... Hogarth wasn't sure exactly what was going on but Ashton's desire to keep a distance was clear.
"It's not exactly what you think, his Majesty hasn't slept with him." Aaron explained looking forward. Not that the truth made anything better, at least Ashton wasn't being raped.
Hogarth side eyed Aaron, "Is that a choice of principle or practicality?" he tried to hide his hostility, he'd seen some truly garbage nobility who taunted that they would eventually have some pretty villager at their mercy after they returned to their own lands.
"You dare question your emperor? Don't forget yourself Hogarth Ripley." Aaron snapped, then regretted it when Hogarth gave a tense nod but couldn't hide the disgust in his eyes.
"Please forgive my insolence." Hogarth stated neutrally after a moment. Then he just kept staring forward. He really wasn't in the mood to talk anymore.
Aaron sighed, maybe Hogarth would be able to bond with Ashton over their mutual displeasure. Now he was stuck outside in the snow for two hours with an unhappy guard.
During the evening Hogarth didn't say anything as he sidled up to Ashton who was lying face up on his horse having tucked himself into three extra layers. While Ashton horse was following the group without direction, Hogarth didn't want to leave anything to chance.
Ashton pulled his hood down enough to look at Hogarth, when Hogarth didn't meet his gaze he just snuggled back in for the long night.
Hogarth was tempted to offer another cloak that would protect Ashton from any melting snow but... couldn't bring himself to speak. He just followed along stating he would sleep after they stopped for the morning.
Ashton eyed the clearly haggard Hogarth; he looked half frozen... nearly falling as he dismounted. Ashton watched worried the burly guard would stagger, but this time crush the battle mage warming food. A single night had passed... were the guards of the Empire so frail? Ashton ate his chilled cheese and bread which had once again been kept close to his chest so they wouldn't freeze solid.
Devlin watched Ashton, even if Ashton had been wearing layers, there's no reason a seasoned guard would be worse off after a single night of riding. He tried feeling for any enchanted items but... nothing. No fluctuations, no resonance, no enchantments, no leaking telltale power that he might be a mage. Devlin walked over to Lucian and Aaron to explain his observations.
Lucian glanced at Ashton who was by a small fire warming his hands and baking a wrapped potato. Everyone else was wearing items to dispel the cold but even they were chilled... Ashton was in nothing but home sewn clothes yet acted like it was early spring.
"If he's using anything it's enchanted by a real master... I'd have to be in direct contact to see what it is and what it does." Devlin explained while they waited for their soup to warm.
Lucian glanced around, "Only if he doesn't suspect anything."
Hogarth hadn't been close enough to hear the conversation, but he saw the shady looks... apparently so had Ashton since he had sharply glanced up as soon as Devlin turned his back. Hogarth half crawled into the enchantedly warmed carriage, under a blanket to pass out.
Ashton didn't let his internal sneer out, even if Devlin was making skin to skin contact, he wasn't incompetent enough to let any excess power out. Besides he was used to the cold, he'd trained in both lives to endure far more than this petty chill.
Devlin tried for the next week to get closer to Ashton, but he was quickly deflected or left behind. They had also been watching Hogarth have a very tentative cooperation with Shawn, but nothing as close as the first day. Though Hogarth wasn't any closer to Ashton despite his subtle attempts.
Hogarth was impressed with Ashton's perseverance refusing the carriages to tough it out in the cold. He had to say if he'd been in the same situation... he would have probably caved. While his majesty hadn't made any obvious moves other than to occasionally offer the use of their supplies and carriage, Ashton always declined politely, but firmly.
Devlin was ready to just tie the boy up and search him... but he was as slippery as an eel. Devlin stared gloomily at Ashton while they set up came for the night. It was snowing making ground too wet to safely continue in the dark, and they were still about three hours from the closest town.
Ashton set up his own tent then proceeded to gather some wood for a fire, he inconspicuously dried it as he walked around. He then started his fire with a flint under his tent canopy to keep the snow from snuffing out the small light. He felt Devlin's gaze as he continued about his ministrations.
Devlin wanted to put Ashton's tiny fire out, so he'd have an excuse to help him start a new fire... but their fire kept going out... were they really not as well prepared as a farm boy for snowy weather? He once again used a small flame to keep the fire from dying out.
Hogarth also set a canopy of their fire to hopefully keep it from going out, while the wind still threatened its small life the melting snow was avoided. He also went out to find more useable wood they could keep close to hopefully dry out a little. The last several nights of smoky fire had irritated his nose.
Ashton noticed Hogarth looking for wood and sighed, Devlin might be able to bring a building to the ground in a heartbeat... but his control was nil. Ashton started to wonder if the one man... was because Devlin's control was so lacking, even allies would perish if they remained close. Ashton walked up to Hogarth with some pity in his eyes, "Here, this wasn't directly exposed so its drier than most."
Hogarth wanted to choke up as he accepted the wood, his feet were freezing and until the main fire was going, he'd continue to suffer. He hurriedly returned setting the drier wood around the tiny struggling flame, two of the smaller logs quickly caught fire. Devlin happily increased the heat of his own flame, finally bringing the campfire to life.
Ashton returned a few minutes later to his own cozy fire, he placed some wrapped potatoes in the ground to slowly bake for a nice breakfast. Ashton set up his tent as close as safely possible, the trees and second carriage blocked most of the wind so the heat was able to flow directly into tent, he slowly led his horse into the tent then set up his bed in the leftover space.
Devlin watched Ashton cajole the horse into his tent... they'd set up a canopy for their horses to share, Ashton was too careful which made everything even more suspicious. He watched as Ashton would occasionally poke his head out to add more wood or use a stick to move the coals around.
Lucian stayed in the carriage with Aaron and Damian, the second carriage was only large enough for the gear and two of the smaller guards to fit, Devlin was staying up to make sure there weren't any unexpected visitors. He sighed, he had been hoping to have some kind of breakthrough with Ashton at this point. All the mounting suspicion led them to believe he really might be Alphonse's hidden son but that also seemed to make less sense the more they thought about it.
There were a dozen countries who were on better terms with the Seibel kingdom and even had personal relationships with Alphonse, while the empire had made no secret of the desire to increase their territory. At the same time, the most dangerous was often the safest.
Aaron bundled up sighing, "If something doesn't change soon I don't think Ashton will ever warm up to us."
Damian was also rolled up snuggly, "You don't want us to force anything, and he's got his guard up, what do you suggest?"
"I didn't think a child would show such resolve, first step was wrong and now every one after is just making it worse. We may at best, be able to have a political relationship if he really is Alphonse's son." Aaron admitted ruefully.
Lucian sighed, "Was Alphonse ever so stubborn?"
"Alphonse was well known for his political maneuverings, being flexible about everything except his younger brother Theodor and fiancé Rosaline. Perhaps that's the problem, we touched Ashton's reverse scale when we approached his parents." Aaron reasoned, Damian looked uncomfortable.
"Yes, but he was on edge as soon as Wesley and Matthew approached him years ago. I really don't think anything we would have done would have changed the situation other than... well it doesn't matter." Damian stopped himself from saying Lucian had ordered Ashton to come to the capital.
Lucian glared at Damian, he hadn't missed the implication. "He wasn't budging, now We need a breakthrough. Almost two years of intelligence surely something else is important enough to bribe him."
Damian wanted to sigh... "We should see if we can meet Wesley or Matthew, they may have noticed something they think wasn't worth reporting, but honestly I can't think of anything your majesty."
Aaron jolted up, "When's his birthday again?" He practically shouted; he knew it was any day now but not the exact date.
Lucian jolted tomorrow, the 17th of November, was his birthday and they would be on the road. He had of course been aware, but it was just now hitting him. "Call Devlin in for a bit." He ordered promptly.
Aaron wanted to curse as he wriggled out of his covers, then propped the door open to call for Devlin. When he finally was in the carriage all of them shivered from the blast of frigid wind.
"We need to make town by noon tomorrow, send word to Marquis Silas to have Matthew and if possible, Wesley to meet us as well." He ordered.
Devlin was dazedly kicked from the carriage to carry out the correspondence... was he not pitiful enough being forced to sleep outside in the snow? Now he had to set up a portable mage relay, send the message, wait for an answer... then would he be allowed sleep?