- Bring it to me. Only quietly, so that no one will know. And then, if asked, you can tell me that I am from a distant village. I got lost. I will eat and go back to my place. Did you understand?
- I understood. What can't be understood? Where are you really from?
Alexander smiled sadly.
- From afar... Only this is a secret. If you give it away, there will be trouble.
Igor's eyes were burning with an intolerable desire to hear the story of Alexander as soon as possible. But he was not stupid and understood that first, as it should be, the guest should be dressed and fed, and then asked questions.
- Okay. I went. And you wait here, - Igor looked at the prince strictly. Don't go anywhere! - and ran towards the village, only the bare heels sparkled.
It wasn't long before I waited. Soon the barefoot boy came back carrying a bundle of clothes under his armpit. When Alk tried on his pants and shirt, he realized that they were a little too small for him, but Igor looked like a connoisseur and said that this was not a problem. They say that half of the guys in the village walk in this way.
Igor's house looked like a hunting lodge, where Alexander spent so many days. Only this house was well-groomed, clean and warm. Alcus looked with interest at a wide table in the middle of the room, a mighty stove, on which even a bed was on, as if, as well as a lot of other details of the village life. Some of them were familiar to him, while others he had never seen before and wondered why he might need such strange things. There was nothing like this to the heir in the palace...
However, when Igor put a dirty round vessel on the table and removed the lid from it, Alcus forgot about everything. The black pot smelled like soup! A real meat broth! Still warm and so nourishing... Alexander clung to the spoon that Igor had given him and greedily began to eat.
He came to his senses only when there was less than half of the food left in the pot. Igor looked into the bowl with respect and respectfully hummed.
- Where are you going now? - He asked.
Alcus thought about it. By and large, he realized that he didn't have to go back to the city anymore. The old country clothes, unlike those he had got before, had really made him look good for the countryside. So all he had to do was figure out how to get to the big track, and there he had to catch a wagon to the village of Valentina.
Igor was waiting for an answer.
- I'm going to the city," Alcq lied. - Tell me, where is your big road here?
- Ooh! - Igor waved his hand. - Farther away. You have to stomp all day long. You'd better come out tomorrow morning, just in time for the evening, and there's a living room, you see, they'll let you spend the night with their servants.
Alexander did not say that he had a wallet in his pocket with a lot of money and that he could sleep in the best room of this living room. As is the case with the Emperor's son. He simply nodded back and decided that it was really best to stay in Igor's house until morning.
- Who do you live with? - He asked, fearing unnecessary meetings and conversations.
- And there is also an older brother. They all went to their grandfather's house in the neighboring village, maybe they will spend the night there, or maybe they will come back today. Don't be afraid, I can take you to the attic, it's warm and smells like delicious dried herbs. I like to sleep in the attic myself in summer! Together and overnight. And until then, do you want me to take you to the creek? You're not from around here... I see. There is no other stream like ours. Does he know how to sing? And mushrooms grow along the banks. We gather for dinner. I'll press it. Don't be afraid, I can tell the difference between good and fungi!
Alcus wasn't afraid. But after the meal, he was completely defrosted, and he did not want to go anywhere. Especially since he had more than enough walking. His legs kept ringing, and his shoulders were saddled by the rope on which he held the blanket. In the house of Igor Alexander immediately threw a malicious twist under the bench on which he sat.
- No," he shook his head. - I will not go. You better take me to your hayloft or somewhere else where there are no people. I'll sleep for a while.
Chapter 3. My aunt's aunt
Lisa gently wet her lips with a napkin, said thank you and got up from the table. She didn't have a room of her own, so she couldn't go further than a couple of chairs, though she wanted to.
Her aunt nodded ceremoniously, swinging a curly tower over her head, and once again turned her attention to the plate of oatmeal porridge.
Lisa hated this oatmeal - empty, fresh, slimy... She was jerked at one thought of breakfast, but nothing else was served in this house for breakfast...
Continuation in the next part 42.