Suddenly, it wasn't that indifferent, but somehow surprisingly calm. When her mother was still alive, she often said - to God's will. Little Alexander did not particularly understand the meaning of this phrase, and when she grew older, she began to anger him. What does a god have to do with it, if a man is the master of his life? And he decides what to be or not to be in his face.
But now Alcus suddenly began to understand what his mother meant by that.
It's as if you trust yourself with a certain power, much more than you trust yourself. Just because you don't have the urine to fight the world around you anymore...
Sitting on his curled blanket at the side of the roadside, Alexander put the sun in his face and squinting with pleasure. One thing was bad - he wanted to drink for a long time... Several times Alcus licked raindrops from the leaves, but it did not hurt. Sweetly reaching out, he decided to go a little further into the bushes of the road and look for broad leaves on which water could survive.
And almost immediately noticed bright red beads under his feet.
Berries!
Alcus knelt down on his knees and spread the blades. The truth is, the berries! The whole scattering of ripe loganberries! He started to tear down the juice poured beads one by one. The berries burst out on his tongue, filling his mouth with a sweet and sour taste. Soon all Alec's hands became pinkish red, but he didn't stop until he felt that his tongue was already hurting.
Then he got up off his knees and looked around. In search of berries, he was in the middle of nowhere... For a moment, Alexander was afraid, but he quickly pulled himself over and, remembering approximately how he crawled between the bushes, soon got out safely to the road. But for some reason, the bag and blanket turned out to be much farther than he had imagined. But it was nothing.
He quenched his thirst and even partially starved, he was waiting for the road and adventure.
When his legs and shoulders began to whine from fatigue, the road split in two again, and Alcus clearly saw a few dark wooden roofs ahead.
The village.
Joyed, he added a step, but soon stopped fearfully. Alexander remembered that he shouldn't show himself to people, but he didn't know how to get food secretly... At a loss, he stood behind a tall, flaky tree and stared greedily into the thin streams of smoke above the roofs. The berries were long forgotten, and we wanted to eat unbearably. Alec understood that he should have waited for the night and gone to someone else's barn for food, or moved on to the next village, to the big roadway, where the stranger would not be so visible. But he just couldn't imagine it... All his thoughts were only about food. He couldn't imagine that... All he couldn't imagine was food...
Alexander gritted the trunk of a tree with his fingers, fighting with himself.
He had no right to be weak. He could not fall into the hands of the enemy!
But the hunger was so terrible...
Alcus sobbed and angrily sobbed tears on his cheeks.
He is the son of the Emperor!
Hungry, tired and unwanted...
- Hey! - Alexander heard a sudden scream and turned around frightened. The local boy was also wary of the Emperor's son from the nearest bush, but with great curiosity. His shaggy blonde hair protruded in all directions, and his fingers were blue from the berries, just like Alcus himself. - Where will you come from? From Prudkov?
Alcus quickly wiped the rest of his tears off his face and asked for a frown:
- What's your business?
He waited for the villager to get into a fight or whistle to help his friends, but the whitehead boy turned out to be easy on the eyes.
- Just like that... - he scratched his cheek with his shoulder. - Interesting. We don't have many guests here. All our own only. And my name is Igor - he hesitantly wrinkled in his place and suddenly offered: - Do you want berries? There is a big glade close by. I know one of them, others did not think about it.
Alcus shook his head without a smile and showed his own juicy fingers.
- No more climbing," he said. He sighed and added: - I'd like a normal meal...
- Which one is it? - Igor asked me businesslike. - My mother made soup at home. Will you?
Alcus swallowed his saliva.
The soup...
- You know what... And the clothes are useless, the old ones you have? Is that how you are wearing it?
- Ports or something? - The boy looked at his simple outfit in surprise. - There are.
Alcus was quick to think.
Continuation in the next part of 41