Let Me Tell You a Secret

Chapter Ten

The bluenette pulled his hood further over his face the closer he approached the gates. Still a little bit of a distance away from the entrance, he surveyed his surroundings before wandering off the beaten path.
 
Luckily it was still very early morning with barely any other pedestrians around. Being careful not to attract the attention of the guards at the gate of the city, the bluenette snuck around the walls until he was hidden from view.
 
He approached a flag attached to the city wall adorned with the Kingdoms emblem. It rustled slightly in the morning breeze. The young boy glanced around himself once more then quickly slipped behind the heavy, thick material as if vanishing into thin air.
 
The boy squeezed through a hole in the wall, popping his head over a couple of large crates that were used to conceal the entrance within the city.
 
Even though he was in the darkest shadows of a dingy alleyway, he could still hear the bustle of the early morning market being set up in the square not far from his secret entryway.
 
Bright blue eyes peered over the boxes, piercing through the darkness and confirming there was no one about. 
 
Acting as casually as he could, the bluenette strolled from behind the boxes, letting out the breath he had been holding in his anxiety. Fortunately there were no other people about.
 
The bluenette's heart was pounding as he emerged from the dark alleyway. He'd made this journey many times before but this was his first time going alone.
 
Sticking to the shadows, the young boy ventured through the city, his cloak firmly wrapped around his body and hood pulled down to cloud his features. 
 
He wandered through the empty streets until he found the market square, the stallholders just finishing up their displays and calling out to any and all of the few meager citizens around. It wasn't long until the hooded bluenette was recognised.
 
"Hey, it's you! On your own today?"
 
One of the stallholders recognised the cloaked figure, they didn't get many customers that dressed in a way where they clearly wanted to hide themselves. The merchants didn't care about this fact though as they were more interested in the business they would gain from them as customers.
 
The bluenette jolted as the stallholder called out to him. Hissing out his breath, he calmed his nerves and slapped himself for being too suspicious. He approached the stallholder and greeted them in as little words as possible.
 
"So what are you having today? The usual?"
 
Thankfully the family always bought the same products each month from the same stalls and so the shopping trip would hopefully go much smoother than the young boy had initially expected.
 
The merchant packed away the items passing the bags to the young boy, accepting the golden coins handed to him, but the bluenette hesitated to leave once the transaction was completed. He wanted to ask about his father, V, however the more he thought about it, the more strange it would seem.
 
Could he really ask this stranger, the merchant if he had seen his father? Wouldn't they find it odd? Would they start asking questions?
 
These thoughts turned and turned in the young boy's mind. However, the answer was soon provided for him, before he could come to a decision the merchant was soon distracted as a new customer arrived, pushing the bluenette to the side.
 
He stumbled slightly and stared at the new customer and the stallholder. Nothing else could be done. Resigning himself to the situation, the young boy carried his bags and made his way to his next destination.
 
There were a few more stalls for the young boy to visit and the interaction from the first was repeated at all of them.
 
The merchants would recognise the unusually small cloaked figure, make offhand remarks and collect all of the usual items for the young boy. Before the bluenette could ask about his father's whereabouts, another customer would barge in, shoving the child out of the way to get service.
 
By the time the young boy had finished his shopping, his limbs were sore and aching, shoulders pushed to the limit with the weight of the bags, and still none the wiser as to where his father could be.
 
He staggered away from the last stall, each step he took more painful and exhausting than the last but he still needed to get home.
 
The market square could now be described as bustling. Many residents of the city had emerged, keen to get the freshest items and the best deals. Most didn't have the inclination to take notice of the struggling boy, and those that did had underhand reasons.
 
The bluenette had made it to the edge of the square, a couple of guards were marking the entrance, facing the opposite direction. As the bluenette emerged from the crowds he felt an arm slip around his middle.
 
"Hey!"
 
The arm had barely touched him, the skills of a seasoned pickpocket, however the boy's Royal upbringing plus his unfortunate experience as a slave, had taught him to be wary of others and always on guard. Sensing something happening, he glanced down, saw the hand reaching into his pocket, called out and quickly turned to face the offender.
 
As he span, the pickpocket panicked, they could tell the young boy was unsteady on his feet due to his luggage and so they pushed him as hard as they could before grabbing the coin pouch from his pocket and vanishing from sight into the throngs of people.
 
The bags were flung into the air, items spilling all over the floor, the young boy felt the world tilting as he crash landed on the floor, a sharp pain tingling his spine as he landed.
 
Needless to say the commotion had caught the attention of the crowds in the market square. It was as if time had frozen. The boy lay sprawled on the floor, the pedestrians all stopped to stare at the poor bluenette. A cold fear ran through his entire body as what seemed like thousands of pairs of eyes stared at him, his cloak thrown open and hood no longer covering his face.
 
He panicked and his first thought was to hastily pull his hood over his eyes again. His cheeks a bright red with humiliation and fear, he jumped to his feet and ignored the pain throbbing through his body.
 
"Get him!"
 
Someone shouted and the young bluenette froze once more, a quick look and he confirmed that someone had notified the city guards.
 
"Get the thief!"
 
Another cry from the audience and the bluenette sighed with relief as he scurried about, collecting his items that had been scattered. At first he thought he had been recognised and someone had told the guards to capture him, however the second shout confirmed they were only after the pickpocket.
 
His hands trembled and his lip quivered as he picked up his items, hearing another commotion as the guards ran over to him, he assumed to run after the thief that had disappeared into the crowd.
 
Pulling his hood over his eyes once more, he focused his gaze on the floor and hurried to collect his shopping. 
 
Suddenly, he felt a hand on his arm, pulling him to his feet. With no time to react, the young boy had no opportunity to prevent the person from ripping his hood away.
 
"Look! It's blue! It's gotta be him!"
 
An excited exclamation from the person holding his arm and the surrounding crowds were soon silenced.
 
It appeared the two city guards were far more interested in the young bluenette than chasing after the offending thief.
 
The bluenette didn't dare say a word or put up a fight. 
 
The other guard agreed wholeheartedly with the first and grabbed the boy's other arm.
 
The purchased essentials for the small family were abandoned in the square and the young bluenette was involuntarily dragged away.
 
He glanced over his shoulder once at the scattered items, his face twisted with so many emotions. 
 
Now how we're the two left at home going to survive?

Arlene stood at the kitchen window, the same spot that she hadn't vacated for days. Completely unaware of the world and their current situation. Her dry, golden gaze stared at the same opening in the tree's, awaiting her husband's return.
 
She didn't even hear the shouts of her son upstairs, the banging as he recklessly ran down the stairs, the crack as the wooden door to the kitchen was flung open smashing against a wall, and the wails escaping the brunette's lungs.
 
The brunette flung himself at his mother, tears spilling down his cheeks and choked sobs caught in his throat. Arlene was pushed a few steps at the force with which her son hit her.
 
Blinking a few times, she hesitantly raised a hand to her son's head, patting his hair a few times as if only just remembering she had a child.
 
Hands were tightly gripped around her waist and she furrowed her brow. Being brought back to the present, she glanced around the kitchen. She was missing a boy, one that her own young son would never willingly be parted from.
 
"Shhh, it's okay sweetheart. Where's -"
 
Before she could finish her question, the brunette cried once more.
 
"He's gone! He's gone!"

The bluenette was taken to the castle, kept in a luxurious guest room and waited on hand and foot by the castle servants. He recoiled from the extravagant treatment, it had been years since he had received anything like this sort of luxury.
 
The guards had quickly brought the boy to the castle and with the reason being his potential identity as a missing Prince, of course the castle didn't dare offer anything less than the royal treatment.
 
He was kept in the waiting room for hours, never once left unattended. The bluenette had tried to shoo the servants and guards away in the hope of being able to escape, however now that they had possibly found the missing Prince, they weren't going to leave him alone in case anything else happened.
 
It was hours later that the bluenette was finally granted an audience with the king.
 
He was escorted through the castle and into a large hall, he spotted a regal throne at the other end of the large room and a harsh looking blonde wearing a crown.
 
Narrowing his eyes, the bluenette walked along the red carpet and finally knelt before the throne, bowing his head and showing his respect.
 
At first, he had planned to play dumb and pretend he knew nothing of the Prince, but now that he had seen the king of this kingdom, he knew resistance was futile.
 
It was many, many years ago. The bluenette could hardly remember it, at the same time he couldn't forget the cold, dense aura that radiated from this king who had visited his father's castle. All of his fathers children were gathered at the time, regardless of position and station, just to greet the King. 
 
This king would surely recognise him from that time.
 
The king waved a hand, indicating the boy could stand. The bluenette gracefully rose to his feet, suddenly all of his original families teachings rushing back to him making his recent life feel like a distant dream.
 
A few moments of silence.
 
"Well, who would have guessed you really were in my Kingdom still."
 
The bluenette didn't respond to the King. For one, he hadn't been told to speak, for another he didn't want to cause his adoptive family any trouble.
 
"Though it doesn't look like you have been treated as a slave at all."
 
Rising to his feet, the king approached the Prince, walking in a slow circle around him.
 
"You're much older now but you can't escape your fathers genes I suppose. Blue hair and blue eyes. Even if I hadn't met you before I could easily tell which family you belong to."
 
The king scoffed and returned to his throne. 
 
"Well, it's a good thing we found you. Your father has been looking for you. I'll send a messenger to him at once and you will be sent to his Palace in a few days."
 
All of this was said without any input from the Prince and, of course, the king didn't want to hear anything anyway. He was already considering his stance on sending the boy back - what could be gained from finding him, what would be lost as he had been hidden in his kingdom…
 
Another glance at the blue Prince.
 
"Someone will take you to your room. Please, make yourself comfortable."
 
Finally, a friendly smile on the King's lips, a shame that the sentiment didn't quite reach his eyes.
 
The Prince was dismissed and taken to his room. He had hoped that he would have a chance to escape from the room he was being provided. Unfortunately, the King was suspicious in nature and ordered for the Prince to never be left unattended.  He had considered the circumstance with which the bluenette had been discovered - shopping in the square. The clothes he was wearing, comfortable home made clothes, clearly not for a servant. The boy's complexion and lack of relief at being found. 
 
The king had already guessed that the boy was looked after wherever he was, probably more so than he would be in his home kingdom. But that didn't matter. He is a Prince. This is politics.
 
The boy must go home to his father.
 
And so, a few days later, the bluenette was placed into a royal carriage and sent on his way.