The kingdom of sage

II

I'm not fond of birds. I don't like when they sit on my windowsill looking at me with their beady eyes judging me. They make waking up ever so harder. Getting out of bed I hear a knock on the door telling me that it's time for me to get ready and dressed. After a full two minutes of me preparing for the day, Adrianus barges in with a stupid grin on his face. "Guess who gets to go have breakfast with their obnoxious uncle. You do." he says putting his crooked fingers into guns. Adrianus has been my best friend since we were 14 and in hand-to-hand combat training. He's about my height maybe a little shorter and has just the wildest curls you'll see. Adrianus was there for me when my parents disappeared. "My uncle is not obnoxious. No more than you anyway." Adrianus feigns an insulted face. " How could you say that to me I'm wounded you might as well have pierced my heart with your blade." We laugh together at his ridiculousness.
"Dri go and tell my uncle I'll be down in a short moment. And tell him exactly that don't go warping my words again."
"Nova buddy it was a harmless prank" he says in his defense I roll my eyes at home. "GO dri." he smirks at me and walks out. I have no idea how we've stayed friends this long. It's a miracle really. I continue to get dressed and make my way down the stairs. My uncle is wearing his signature purple robe and my father- no his crown. The table In the dining hall is a long rectangular shape with a white tablecloth and a long purple tablerunner decorated with embroideries of gold sage. It used to be that the table was round. The hall itself was also wondrous, It had a gorgeous glass pane ceiling to let in the natural lighting and the walls were covered in gorgeous artwork.
"Good Morning uncle" I say to him as I begin to walk towards my seat. My uncle gets up from the table and comes around to hug me. He smells of cigarette smoke and leather. "Nephew" He says in his booming voice. "Welcome good morning. Please hurry and sit down we have much to talk about it." He leads me towards my seat at his right hand side. Then he snaps his finger at the servants to bring out breakfast. "Now Nova I wanted to talk to you before I leave. We both know that the times of change are upon us. The riff raff that threatens to burn our beautiful city down is gathering more and more recruits." I nod at him in understanding. The rebellion as they call themselves has caused much trouble for my uncle constantly accusing him of things with no evidence, they are very dangerous as my uncle says. Part of the reason why I am not allowed to voyage outside of the castle to keep myself out of harm's way. It is also the reason I train endlessly in all forms of combat. "The rebellion has moved northbound so that is where I will be headed on my next voyage. I want to see if I can talk sense into them." My uncle often goes on these voyages. After he leaves for a town or city that has an active rebellion we never hear from that town again. "Uncle please be safe on your trip. If they are as dangerous as you say..." My uncle cuts me off " They are dangerous nova, Which reminds me, promise me you will stay in the castle. I can't have my future king killed by riff raff." I nod at him. "I promise uncle. I will be safe." I say. My uncle lets out a sigh of relief. No matter what anyone believes or says I know that my uncle loves me truly. He is always worried about me and my well being. "Also I have one more small bit of information, since this will be a long voyage I will be taking some of the servants with me. Do you remember Antony?" How could I forget my uncle's closest compadre and friend. Antony Grey was an ugly and fat man who looked like he drank the tears of babies. I nod at my uncle. "Well, he has offered to lend us some of his house workers they will be coming in tomorrow. Just a few some new people he won't miss." My uncle says as he began to have his breakfast. This let me know the conversation was over. We are not allowed to speak once the eating has begun, my uncle finds it rude. Another small thing that has changed since my uncle came into power. My parents loved a dinner table full of laughter.

╓┈♔◦☓◦☙◦♔◦☙◦☓◦♔┈╖

After my uncle has left for his trip I head down to my favorite part in the castle. A small hidden room my mother had made for me. The room was hidden through a small door in the kitchens. The room itself had black painted walls and a matching carpet, there were pictures of me and Adrianus up on the walls. My favorite part of the whole room was the fireplace on the wall it gave the room a homey vibe that I've always loved. Right above the fireplace is the last picture I ever took with my parents. Sitting down on the couch I try to relax a bit. I come here to clear my mind often it's the only place in the castle I feel is truly mine. I'm torn out of my relaxation when I hear a loud and annoying knock on the door. I already knew who it was. Adrianus walks in with a smug smile on his face as always. "Dude you'll never believe how hot some of the babes are in the city like I saw this one chick with long brown hair blue eyes looked just like the princess of seovell empire." I roll my eyes at him. Women they're I can honestly say that they are dri's favorite topic. He continues despite my obvious look of annoyance. Adrianus being my best friend knew of this place a bit after I met him. I had never had a friend I felt as close to as I did to him. "Bro I got her number if you want me to hook you up." Adrianus says interrupting my thoughts. I roll my eyes t him once again. " Dri you know I'm not interested in women at the moment, I have too much to worry about with the rebellion and all."
This time he rolls his eyes at me. "Excuses Nova EXCUSES! No one is ever too busy for women," he says laughing. "They're the best thing since sliced bread."
He's an idiot "Dri I'm sure women came before sliced bread."