In Pidgeon's outstretched hand lay a small straw doll. Some woolen threads were wrapped around its torso and hips, probably representing clothing.
Arian's brows furrowed. He had not known what to expect when he heard Pidgeon had a present for him. Of course, given the boy's background, he hadn't expected anything grand, but this...
This was a child's toy.
Arian had such a doll lying in his cradle as a toddler. The prince couldn't help but feel insulted.
"What is this?", he asked in a cold tone.
Pidgeon's brows furrowed even further in confusion. "My gift for you, my prince."
He raised his hand even closer to Arian. "Here, you can take it."
My gift, yes, of course, as if it weren't obvious. By now, Arian regretted speaking with Pidgeon directly.
Even though he found it humiliating to admit, he somehow agreed with Maloc.
This is so unnecessary. Arian stared at the bundle of worthless straw in the commoner's hand and had to restrain himself from shaking his head or making a snarky remark.
Instead, the prince only rolled his eyes in frustration, an action Pidgeon could not see thanks to the veil.
For once, Arian wasn't annoyed with the fabric covering his face as he tried to explain himself in a way a simple-minded commoner would understand.
"I mean, what is this in the sense of- is this really a doll? Why would I need a doll?"
Arian tried to sound friendly. Even though he was annoyed, he didn't want to be ungracious too soon.
Proving Maloc right, just after he threw him out of the room, felt too humbling, so Arian had to believe he had made the right decision, and Pidgeon wasn't just mocking him.
And yet, Pidgeon made it incredibly hard for him to keep his cool and not just throw the boy out and go back to sleep.
"Oh, you don't know what this is? Well, I thought you would since everyone I know does and it's a big part of our culture, and since you are the prince of our nation, I figured..."
"What is this?", Arian interrupted harshly. "Are you trying to make fun of me? By labeling me as a child?"
Pidgeon's eyes widened in shock as he stumbled over his words when he tried to explain himself.
"No, no, no. Sorry, you must have misunderstood me... This is not an insult to your intelligence, of course, my prince. I'm very sorry you understood it like that. Apologies."
The commoner bowed deeply, as sweat started to form on his forehead.
"It's... It's a worry doll, Your Highness. Because, well, when you left the classroom, you looked really worried, so I thought I might gift you one."
A worry doll. Arian had never heard of something like that. For all he knew, this was still a children's toy.
Arian understood his exit from teacher Nora's class hadn't been graceful. Quite the opposite, actually, since he had passed out. He could only imagine how embarrassing it must have looked.
So he could understand that the students might have felt sorry for him or had been disturbed by his strong reaction when Shivani mentioned his former beast.
In any case, it was one thing for the students to have a bad image of him, but for one to go so far as to bring him a worry doll... Arian felt how his stomach tightened.
He felt ill. He felt humiliated.
Which he shouldn't. Pidgeon, like all the other students, was a commoner. His actions shouldn't have such an effect on Arian. In truth, they shouldn't bother him at all. He was a divine prince of the empire. Why should it matter to him what his subjects thought about him?
"Yes, well, I don't know what happened between you and your beast, but when it was brought up in the class... I was really worried when you suddenly moaned in pain. It seemed like you have some hurtful memories. Well, you can give them to the doll now. You can lay it under your pillow when you sleep. And during the night, you will relinquish your worries to the doll. When you wake up, all your sorrow is gone. I hope it helps you overcome those painful memories about your beast, my prince."
Arian stared at the boy, contemplating his next words. It was clear Pidgeon made fun of him, and yet he behaved like this wasn't the case at all.
As if he believed every word he said. Such nonsense.
Arian sighed: "Who told you this shit, boy?"
"Shit?" Pidgeon's voice was somewhere between disbelief and shock. "But this is one of our most sacred traditions. The worry dolls are a gift from a god to my people, blessing us with calmness and relaxation for all generations."
Pidgeon probably expected Arian to retort, but when the prince stayed quiet and an eerie silence fell over the two, Pidgeon realized something was off.
"Have I said something wrong, your Highness?" The commoner sounded unsure. His voice was only a whisper.
And he shivered when Arian's gaze grew colder.
"Where are you from, Pidgeon?"
Pidgeon widened his eyes slightly as he hadn't expected this kind of response from the prince. Then he bowed hurriedly. "The steppes, my prince. The region above the dessert."
"North of the desert."
"What?"
"North of the desert. You don't say above the dessert. At least use the right terms," Arian grunted, annoyed and ignored Pidgeon's "I'm so sorry, your Highness. I'm trying my best to speak formally."
Arian renounced from telling Pidgeon that this had nothing to do with formal speech but was an issue of basic phrasing instead.
After all, a correct geographical description wasn't the main point of the conversation.
"So your people are from the steppes." He concluded softly. His voice sounded like velvet.
Pidgeon shivered under the scrutiny of the prince's gaze.
"That means you weren't part of our empire originally. Instead, you were nomads who had refused the sanctuary of our empire for hundreds of years. The empire led by my family, the descendants of the gods. And yet you claim the gods have blessed your land, your people, with something as powerful as a tool to take away someone's worries. Is that correct?"
Pidgeon hesitated. "But-but-but my prince... I don't understand. Aren't we a part of this empire? I mean, teacher Braxton said you are the prince of our empire. That means the dessert is part of the empire, so shouldn't the steps be as well? After all, most of the people going to the academy are from this area."
Arian couldn't understand how someone could be so stupid. He laughed hysterically.
"Yes, you are part of the empire. Because my father conquered your lands, you fool! He saved your people from extinction. Because without us, you would have all been killed by the wild beasts a long time ago!"
Arian snorted contemptuously as he looked at the pitifully trembling Pidgeon. The boy was scared, again, but this time Arian did nothing to ease his worries.
"Do you know what that means?" It was a rhetorical question. Arian didn't expect Pidgeon to know the answer. It was hard for the prince to fathom how someone could be so misinformed about the world he lived in.
"Whoever gave you these dolls was lying. They weren't a god. It couldn't have been one of my ancestors."
"But..."
"Or someone made up this story. Either way..." Arian took a deep breath. "What you are saying is blasphemy!"
Pidgeon had no answer to that, but his gaze alone told Arian that he didn't know what 'blasphemy' meant.
Oh, how stupid commoners are.
"I'm telling you that you and your people are spreading misinformation about the gods, thus offending the very beings who made this world inhabitable for humans."
Again, Pidgeon didn't answer, but his mouth was formed into a silent "Oh", while his body continued to tremble slightly.
A bead of sweat came off his forehead and fell to the floor.
"Do you want to know what the empire does to people who spread blasphemy? To put it nicely, they kill them."
Arian let his words sink in.
"Don't worry. I will not kill you. I've already tried, and Teacher Javis stopped me. Since he is the principal here, I don't want to anger him too much. But sleeping outside, without a blanket or a pillow, for the next three days should be a sufficient punishment."
While the dessert was hot during the day, at night it became unbearably cold. To survive one night without proper warm clothing was a feat in itself.
Apparently, that was a truth even Pidgeon understood. Needless to say, the boy was horrified.
"I-I-I, my prince...but", he stammered as no proper sentence left his mouth. By now, the sweat on his forehead had started to wet his hair.
"My prince, this wasn't my goal, I'm deeply sorry, really-"
"Get out!" Arian said firmly as he gripped the wheels of his wheelchair and turned himself around.
"But, my prince, giving you a present is not the only reason I came here. I have something to report to you."
"Get out!"
"But it's something really weird and the teachers can't..."
"GET OUT!"
Maloc speaking against him was one thing. He was Arian's deputy, but Pidgeon was not Maloc. He was a commoner, while the other one was a noble.
Pidgeon had no right to disobey Arian's command.
"That's enough. You've overstepped the hospitality I showed you. For the next week, you will spend the night outside."