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I’m posting from my current writing WiP, Song and Shadow, a prequel to Song and Sword. It’s a rough draft and I still don’t have an actual outline for it so it’s going to be a fun ride.
Picking up from last week’s snippet.
The castle courtyard was filled with vendors and crowds of people celebrating a holiday, the birthday of the Crown Prince, and Pashevel roamed from booth to booth, sampling the foods and listening to the conversations.
From the commoners he gathered that the prince was not well known, that most would not even recognize him, and that all that they knew of him was what they had heard from servants – either of the castle or those belonging to lesser nobles. And none of it was flattering.
From the other nobles he learned little new; their comments merely reinforced what he had gathered from the tavern the night before, and what Hierik himself had told him.
But there was a slight uneasiness among the nobility, especially those who were close in age to Hierik: a fear of being chosen as his traveling companion.
He also took note of those who were speculating about the fitness of the Crown Prince to eventually lead the kingdom. He was too scholarly, said some, and not decisive enough. It was rumored that even the palace guards and servants had little respect for him, and Pashevel began to get a deeper picture of the boy, growing up alone, friendless, mocked by those who should have supported him. And now there was a Crown Prince who lacked the confidence of his people because he lacked confidence in himself.
A fanfare of trumpets interrupted his thoughts and the crowd quieted, turning toward the castle. Pashevel turned with them, caught up in the expectation.
Novel Notes 