He was asked to remain in the city for the past three days, which had gone by agonizingly slow, despite the amount of shopping and housework he was able to achieve. "How many times do I have to do this?" he said aloud as he sat on his roof, sharpening his collection of various weapons. As the sun began to climb higher into the fair sky, a gentle breeze stirred over the peaceful city.
He heard knocking on his front door below and looked down to see Draco standing there, peeking through his keyhole. "I'll be right down, my door doesn't feel like being kicked in today!" Draco just waved back at the hunter's friendly banter as Orion began to head downstairs to get dressed for his royal audience.
He had on his usual black loose-fitting pants tucked into boots and fastened at the ankles by golden braces. Upon one of his shelves rested a sleeveless black shirt, which he put on. Then and over it, his traditional open loose shirt, sleeves going to the middle of his forearms, collared in gold down the inside and around the back. Lastly, he clipped long golden bracelets onto his wrists and began to head out the front door to greet his guest.
Looking past the red prince as they shook hands, he noticed a horse-drawn carriage parked nearby. "Seriously? I don't live that far away," Orion said teasingly.
Draco turned around quickly in response, his red cape accidentally slapping Orion in the face. He gestured toward the driver's seat, "I ran errands before this, and let the servant who was driving me leave go early. So, you are going to be giving me an escort back to the palace." The hunter's face showed a bit of indignation as he climbed onto the bench that felt like a splintering stiff board and grabbed the reins, horses eager to go.
"You do remember how to drive these, right?" Draco called as he entered the expensive royal carriage, made of redwood and furnished with gold. Instead of responding, Orion just took off towards the palace, the carriage jostling them around making it all the more uncomfortable for both of them.
He studied the palace as he handed off the goods to the servants that Draco had purchased. Towering white walls and ornate carvings were a very stark contrast to the rest of the city. "I swear it has a faint glow sometimes, but I can never tell, the night is never dark enough."
The red prince spoke behind him as they began to ascend the steps into the main hall, the open floor covered in white marble accented with gold, and white pillars stretching into the ceiling. "Shall we go pick out your prize? The treasure hall is in the palace." Orion just looked at him, confused.
"Isn't it just a large sum of gold?"
Draco shook his head as he walked toward a white stone wall on the left side, "Remember you also get a pick of the Arcadian treasury, the gold will get sent to your house anyway."
The hunter's eyes lit up slightly as he recalled his conversation with Achilles. The red prince put his hand to the wall and it moved to the side to reveal a hidden passage with stairs leading upwards.
"How come you've never shown me the treasury anyway? I thought we were friends." Draco laughed as they ascended the white steps, sunlight filtering through from the top, "It's because we're friends, I know you have a talent for swiping things without getting caught."
The hunter was shocked as he responded, "Without getting caught?! Then how do you know?"
Draco kept his eyes in front of him as he responded, "Orion, do you think your house just magically cleans itself when you're out? When I open the door for the cleaning crew and find random valuable objects that were reported missing by city nobles, I think anyone could piece that together."
The hunter's confusion began to fade as he replied, "I was convinced a mage put some sort of curse on that house that kept it clean. No wonder all of that stuff kept vanishing, I always thought it to be was some sort of fateful punishment."
They reached the top after a few more steps to see a large room decorated with all kinds of weapons and artifacts and piles of gold scattered everywhere. "Seems unorganized," Orion commented as he began to slowly inspect the treasures. "This room is for safekeeping, and we don't use most of this stuff anyway, so no one usually cleans it."
"That's unlike your father," he commented.
Draco watched to make sure Orion was only looking as something caught his eye, "Where is this from?" The hunter was holding a wide black blade with a slight curve, the whole sword reaching almost up to his ribs in length, the handle wrapped in a white cloth, and nothing but some black spiky fur for a hand guard.
"You unfortunately found one of the only weapons where the origins are unknown. It was actually found in this room, but when someone tries to hold it, they get a sort of dreadful feeling which dampens their abilities." He swung it around with ease, demonstrating himself as an apt swordsman as Draco spoke, "Getting tired of spears, huh? I thought you broke your bow the other day. Why not pick out another one?" Orion shrugged as he continued to look around with the sword still clutched in his hand, "To be clear, I broke another bow, and I like this sword; it feels indestructible like my great polearm."
They break without fail over and over.
The red prince yawned as he inquired, "Do you only have one weapon bound to you right now?" Orion turned toward the exit as he answered, "Only the polearm, but I would like to have a good sword and bow that I can summon and won't break randomly like those merchants' bows do."
Binding was an ancient magic technique used to summon and return weapons from a distant safe space. It was quite convenient and allowed for many different fighting styles. Orion only had one weapon bound to him at the moment, as represented by the invisible ring on his wrist, these marks only being revealed when used. More would show up if he had multiple weapons.
They descended back down the steps and out of the wall to the main stairs in the center of the palace, which led to the royal quarters. Draco questioned, "Where did you get your spear anyway? You've had it for hundreds of years."
The hunter snapped as if annoyed, "Don't call it that, it can do more than a common spear can. I found it in an area near the castle; freshly washed up on the shore of a river all those years ago."
"If you've decided on that, then let's go ahead and see my father," Draco said as he beckoned him towards the exit.