Page 42 of Suffer No Fools
Chapter 7
Hugo
Instead of choosing a destination for their date the next afternoon, Stan let Hugo pick. Hugo didn't know the first thing about dating, especially not on Aquarion. There were places he would have taken Tovey and Stan in Hearthstone. Here, he was out of his depths.
He deferred to Stan, instead. "Did you have somewhere in mind?"
"Let's visit Gulde," Stan said. "On the way back, we can grab a bite to eat at Petri's food stand and bring something home for Tovey."
"Ooh, the elusive Petri."
Petri had helped with their home renovation and had visited along with Efren while Hugo and Tovey were on their date. Meanwhile, when Hugo had walked by Petri's food stand on his way to the practice circle beyond the old barracks, they weren't around. Stan reassured him each time that they were busy between meals. He was excited to meet them today.
First, he and Stan dressed in their finest suits Gulde had made them. Hugo's was perfect for greeting their visiting dignitaries. For someone who didn't have elemental magic, Gulde found her true calling with the intricate silver brocade decorating the bespoke suit. The design gave Hugo room to spread out through the shoulders while still accentuating hisnarrow waist. He had never looked so dashing, and he'd been wearing tailored garments his entire life.
Meeting Gulde in person was the real treat. She was a tiny woman with a huge smile and sharp wit. She also showed Hugo the sparks she could make by snapping her fingers together.
"Perhaps I shouldn't have shown you," she said. "Are you going to reinstate your great-grandfather's ban on fire weavers outside the royal family?"
"Not a chance," he said. "If there was a way to restore your magic, I would do it."
Gulde hadn't yet heard the rumors about Coryn's undead army, so Hugo told her what he'd seen outside the academy tower, including how Klaus had single-handedly destroyed them with what Yvette described as a thick purple haze that merged with their cores and then disintegrated whatever dark magic reanimated them.
"Since Klaus is the only grand seeker we know of, we'll need a backup plan if he's not available," he said. "The only element I know will stop them is fire."
"These are dark days, indeed," Gulde said. "I once met a healer with an undead servant. The poor thing was nothing but bones. It only remembered basic commands. She could point and tell it to fetch, but she couldn't give it specifics like, 'Hand me the glass of water.'"
That had been Hugo's experience, too. "Coryn once tried to tell one to shine her boots, but it pulled her boot off instead."
Stan howled with laughter at his story, but it wasn't that funny.
"Aye, he's a goner," she said under her breath. "Do you intend to keep him?"
Hugo was taken aback. They'd tried to separate themselves in the shop so she wouldn't know they were together, but she'd already guessed.
"If he and Tovey will have me, yes."
She cackled and clapped her hands. "You are the best thing for the two of them, let me tell you. You are sweet and soft, but I can tell you have an iron backbone, and I don't mean that garbage Yvette pulled out of your body."
Once again, Hugo was stunned at the pace of island gossip.
She leaned toward him and whispered, "What they need is someone to talk some sense into them when they get too set in their own ways." She grinned. "Aye, you'll do just fine."
Hugo had yet to test his imperial authority, especially against Coryn. He was pleased with Gulde's assessment of his place within his relationship. He was even happier to take home another bundle of beautiful clothes she'd made from the garments Tovey had given her.
She shooed them out the door a moment later. "If you don't leave now, you'll be stuck in line with the children begging for their afternoon snacks. Go!"
They walked hand-in-hand to the little food stand behind the slightly singed abandoned building everyone still called the barracks.
The stand was open for business, when before it had been boarded up with a "Be back soon" sign tacked to the center. Olivia bent over the counter with her elbows resting on the polished wood, and a person who looked half her age smirked back at her.
"They're older than you," Stan said. "I know they don't look it, but she's not robbing the cradle by any means."
"I didn't say anything!"
"You'll need to work with Tovey on your tells before you greet any foreign leaders." Stan shook his head. "You wear your emotions on your face, more than anyone I've ever seen. I'd loveto play cards with you, but you shouldn't be betting the entire empire with that face."
Hugo frowned. "What's wrong with my face?"
