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Alfred shuffled through his notes, making sure he had everything he needed. He wasn’t sure why Vasu and Balthazar insisted he attend their meetings, but he wasn’t going to disrespect them by not showing up prepared.
Still, he couldn’t come up with a reason for them to include him. Alfred certainly didn’t command respect from either the Patryns who followed Vasu or the Sartan Balthazar defended with every fiber of his being. In fact, Alfred suspected the only Patryn who respected him was Haplo, in a half-hearted kind of way. They had closed Death’s Gate together and that had earned Alfred something from the self-sufficient Patryn. Then again, Haplo really didn’t respect him enough to treat him as anything but a friend who needed to be protected from himself.
Alfred shook his head and left the house. He made it without tripping on anything, which was a blessing. Last week, he’d stumbled over the doorstep and Haplo had shot out of bed with a wickedly long knife to see what the trouble was. Luckily, there hadn’t been anyone in the street to see him.
Of course, Patryns had different standards than the people Alfred had spent his life among, both Sartan and the mensch. Their Patryn neighbors wouldn’t have cared that Haplo was naked. Alfred felt his face heat up as he remembered. The early morning air was chill enough to make it painful. The rune-covered Patryns actually tried to keep as much skin as possible exposed, when they weren’t trying to hide what they were. The tattoos acted as an early-warning system for the dangers of the Labyrinth, among other things.
Alfred fanned himself with his notes, hoping to regain his composure before reaching the courtyard Vasu used for these meetings. Honestly, there was no point in getting so embarrassed. He’d seen Haplo without clothes before and it was silly to make anything of it.
Even if a traitorous part of him had wanted a longer look when he wasn’t pressed for time.
Don’t be stupid, he told himself. Haplo was too practical to ever entertain Alfred’s silly crush. That was, if he ever got to courage to mention it, which was doubtful. Alfred’s last romance hadn’t gone very well, and he didn’t want to repeat the experience.
Although, the situation was totally different. Orla had been another man’s wife and Haplo was single. Alfred exhaled a hard breath, annoyed with himself.
“Don’t even think about it,” he said to himself. “There is no way Haplo would ever love you, no matter what might have happened in the past.” After all, he was a clumsy Sartan and possessed no qualities the practical Patryns would value. Ability to turn into a dragon aside, he wasn’t a warrior, able to protect Haplo against the wiles of the Labyrinth. Alfred had overcome his fainting problem, but he still wasn’t much use in a fight. His magic didn’t function the same way a Patryn’s did and the last time he’d blended his magic with Haplo’s, they had been seconds away from death.
Alfred seriously doubted he would ever be able to do it again.
"There, see? You have nothing to offer him and you know it. Stop daydreaming and get some actual work done."
He stood a little straighter and focused on the task ahead of him.
“That could have gone better,” Marit said, appearing at Alfred’s elbow with her usual silence. Alfred was stewing so badly, he didn’t even jump.
“How are our people so stubborn?” he said sourly. “I understand the history and everything else, but there is no reason to cling to the old beliefs! People are dying in the Labyrinth and all our people can do is cast blame. Can’t they see that working together is the only way?”
“Some of them do. We must show them it can be done, those of us who already stand side by side,” Marit said. “Don’t trouble yourself, Alfred. We knew it wouldn’t be solved in a hurry.”
Alfred scowled, but his temper was already burning itself out. He had never been very good at keeping a sustained rage.
“Thank you, Marit,” he said, giving her a brief smile. “What brings you here? I thought you hated this kind of thing.”
“I wanted to speak to you,” Marit replied. “If I went to your house, I’d never get you all to myself.” Mischief sparkled in her eyes, though Alfred had no idea why.
“Oh? I don’t see how,” he said vaguely and led her out of the walkway so that they wouldn’t be in anyone’s path.
“Never mind,” Marit said. “Alfred, tell me something. Are you happy with your arrangement with Haplo?”
“Well, yes,” Alfred said, baffled. “To be honest, there wasn’t much arranging. He just moved into my house one day and said he was going to live there. He said I couldn’t be trusted to care for myself. I can understand that, in a manner of speaking. I do get absorbed in my work sometimes. Are you worried about me?”
Marit rolled her eyes. “No, I know Haplo will take care of you. I just wonder if there’s anything you would want to change.”
Perhaps my relationship with Haplo, Alfred’s thoughts whispered. He ignored that in favor of trying to puzzle out what Marit was after. It wasn’t like her to care if he was unhappy. For a Runner like her, happiness was a luxury that would get him killed. She only cared if he was alive.
“I don’t know. Actually, I quite like having Haplo in the house, when he is. My life was very lonely before he came to spy on the mensch. I just wish there was a way to help him feel less protective. He’s been acting odd and I want to show him I’m not helpless.”
Marit narrowed her eyes in a look of predatory satisfaction. “I believe I can help with that,” she said.
“Are you sure about this?” Alfred asked doubtfully. “I don’t see how a change of clothes will make Haplo less worried about me.”
“If you dress like a Patryn, it’ll help Haplo forget who you were before coming to the Labyrinth,” Marit explained. “These lacy clothes of yours just scream that you don’t know anything about the Labyrinth. You’ll be more comfortable, too.”
Alfred wasn’t sure about that. After all, Patryn clothes were far more revealing than anything he was used to. Marit had kindly found him a vest that fastened in the front and trousers that covered his legs to the ankle. Or at least, they had covered him after a bit of magical adjusting. Alfred’s gangly form didn’t lend itself to fitting the clothes of others.
He was a bit self-conscious about how pale his skin was and the lack of tattoos, which would certainly get him some looks on the street. Still, Marit knew Haplo better than anyone. If she said this would help, Alfred believed her.
“Well, I’ve been gone so long that Haplo is probably thinking of mounting a search. Thank you for the help, Marit,” Alfred said sincerely. He considered it a personal victory to have won her over as a friend.
The Patryn woman smiled briefly and shooed him away, her eyes once again dancing with unexplained mischief. Someday, when Alfred was not in a hurry, he was going to have to ask her what was going on. But not today, because he hadn’t been joking. Haplo really would search for him and it wouldn’t be comfortable for Alfred when he succeeded.
Alfred hurried down the street and found himself marveling at his new clothes. Marit hadn’t exaggerated when she said he would be more comfortable. Alfred might not like the exposed skin, but he had to admit it was less confining than his court finery. Well, it was clothing made for surviving in one of the worst places that existed, so Alfred supposed it was intended to be that way. He’d been silly to hang onto his old clothes for so long.
He opened his door, looking forward to finding himself a proper meal. He’d only wolfed down a bit of bread and cheese before leaving earlier. The dog bounded over and barked a welcome. Alfred scratched its ears.
“Hello, boy! I’m glad to see you too, but don’t carry on so much. You’ll have the neighbors after us,” he said cheerfully, his unhappiness completely forgotten.
Haplo leaned around the corner to see what the commotion was. Alfred shot him a smile, which faltered at the swift frown Haplo developed.
“Erm, I’m back,” he said weakly.
“You’ve gotten different clothes,” Haplo said flatly.
“Well, yes. Marit said it would help the Patryns accept me if I looked a bit more like you. There’s been a lot of difficulties getting our people to get along, you see.” Alfred knew he was babbling, but he couldn’t bring himself to admit he just wanted Haplo to see him as an equal. He must have made a bit of sense, because Haplo’s scowl faded back into his usual neutral expression.
“Marit, of course. She knows how to deal with Patryns. Hungry?”
Alfred decided he was never going to have time to question the thoughts of Patryns. They were too complicated and mysterious.
“Yes, if you don’t mind,” he replied and ended up heading to the kitchen himself. He didn’t have many skills, but he was determined to use the ones he did have to prove he had a place here.