Chapter 28: Operation get them together begins!

 Darius was bright and early in the tavern. He wanted to see Baliel. Seeing as the lord had gone home straight away, Darius doubted that he had told the elf about the change. Not that Darius blamed him. When Andiel had taken him off the streets, the demon boy had not rushed back out. 

The tavern was just as busy as always. Baliel was sitting by a table, eating the breakfast before him, and staring out into space. Darius made a beeline for him, and hopped on the chair opposite the elf. 

"Good morning, Baliel," Darius said with the brightest smile he could muster. 

"Darius, have you seen Orion? He didn't come back to the room last night," Baliel sounded worried, and Darius's smile dimmed somewhat. 

"He came by the house, and dad gave him an antidote for the potion he drank, so he doesn't look homeless," Darius told the elf, whose shoulders sunk. 

"This is it, then. He goes back to his old life, and forgets all about what he had learned?" Darius began shaking his head at the elf's words. Orion would never forget. He had been out in the streets, just as the demon boy had been. Had felt the scorn, the lack of compassion that others showed the homeless. 

"When do you start work, Baliel?" Darius asked, and Baliel sighed. 

"I have today free because I watered and fertilized all the plants yesterday. Still, I get paid a monthly wage. Why? Do you need someone to go with you on errands?" The elf asked, and Darius shook his head. 

"Let us go visit Orion," the demon boy suggested. His tail began to wag behind him, and his ears began to twitch. Baliel let out a soft chuckle. 

"You know, when you get excited like that, you look like a puppy," Baliel commented, and Darius puffed up his cheeks. 

"I am so not a puppy! I am a demon, and will become a ferocious bounty hunter," Darius said, as Baliel chuckled again. 

"So, you can save princesses?" The elf teased, and Darius shook his head. 

"So, I can be a hero," the boy clarified, and Baliel nodded. 

"Are you certain that Orion would want to see a poor guy like me? He is a lord again. Chances are, he might have already forgotten about me," Baliel let out a sigh then. It was full of regret. Darius wondered if the elf wasn't regretting not making a move on the Fey, when they had been equal. 

This is just like Anastasios and me. Darius thought, eyebrows furrowing. A pauper loves a prince. Just like in Beth's stories. If I can get Baliel and Orion together, then there is a chance for me, too. 

"Don't speak like that," Darius said, and then smiled brightly at the elf. "Orion is a good man. I bet he spent the entire night going over laws. You have free today, and I am tired of my routine. Let us go and visit Orion. It will be fun." 

"You shouldn't ignore your studies," the elf chastised, but then Darius hit him with his best puppy dog eyes, and his tail began to wag behind him. The elf stared at the picture for a moment, and then sighed. 

"Fine, let us see the lord," Baliel pointed at his food. "Let me just finish that." 

Darius nodded. When Baliel took a napkin, and placed a sausage on it from his own plate, Darius didn't complain. Sure, neither of them were starving anymore, but they both knew that food should never be refused.

The two finished eating, and went to wash up. On the way, Darius saw the bounty poster wall. He stared at it longingly, but he saw that Baliel was frowning at it. 

"Children shouldn't be allowed to take the jobs," the elf said, and then turned to Darius. "Demons become adults at fourteen. Until then, you have to promise me that you won't take another job." 

"Must I?" Darius whined, but the frown of the elf deepened, and the boy gulped. "I promise, uncle Baliel." 

"Uncle?" Baliel asked, and Darius gave him a cheeky grin. 

"You are uncle Baliel, and Orion is uncle Orion. So, there. Seeing as the two of you are going to get married, I don't see why I should think up different titles for the two of you," Darius said. Baliel blushed at those words, and cleared his throat. 

"Orion will never marry me," Baliel murmured, but he sounded wistful. 

"Sure, he will. He is kind, and he knows you care about him, and not his wealth," Darius said, and then went to the washing basin and washed his hands. Baliel mirrored him, after the boy was done.

The two walked out of the tavern, and into the sunny day outside. Darius took the appearance of the sun, after a whole week of rain clouds hovering over Brukleon, as a good omen. 

Not that it had rained, but the bad weather still gave a feeling of unease to Darius. Months of being Darius couldn't wash away the memories of being Beggar. No matter how much Andiel tried to make the bad memories go away. 

But I don't want to forget, not really. Darius knew that the memories made him stronger. If he ever wished to become a bounty hunter, then he needed to know how to rough it in dimensions that were mostly wilderness. Because that is where the bad guys hide. In the realms of the Forgotten Times. 

Just thinking that he would need to go to some of them and hunt bad guys inside made Darius shiver. There were so many jobs for the lands of the Forgotten Times.

The necromancer Arachne was said to be in a desert realm, in a tower so high, and surrounded by so many ghouls, that no one dared to hunt him down. That man had escaped justice for his many crimes, among which was cannibalism, for thousands of years.

But I will bag them all. Because I will be a hero, and heroes don't cower before impossible odds.