Prince of Lies

Chapter 4

Haruto  and Jace met by chance when Haruto  tried to run away.

Or, he didn't get far. A small kid trying to tack a horse by himself caught a lot of attention.

At least, until the saddle came sliding off the horse's back. Admiral reared, sending the stable and his sire, Sergeant, into a panic.

Jace slept next to the horses, in a special loft above with all the hay.

When the king's steed started neighing, Jace climbed down and rushed to see what was wrong. An eighteen-hand warhorse was not something to be taken lightly, especially by a ten year old, but Jace somehow managed, calming Sergeant down until the horse gestured towards another stall with his nose.

Jace checked there next, calmed the horse, and peeked in and saw the crown prince lying in blood soaked hay.

Thinking quickly, Jace yelled for help and led the distressed horse over to his father's stall, then knelt at the crown prince's side.

Jace vaguely knew his name was Haruto. And he was around his age, and loved horses just as much.

The response time of the castle guards was slow at this time of night. The king's medic arrived first, and then the king himself. There were rumors that the king could tell when his horse (or his son) were distressed from miles away.

Oh yeah, and there were also rumors that he was sleeping with the medic. Jace didn't know what that meant, but lots of adults thought it was funny.

"Who found him?!" The king demanded. He was an imposing man, taller than Jace's late father, but he was also very kind.

"I- I did, sir. I followed him here, not knowing what he was doing out late." Jace didn't want the king to know that he slept in the stables in case that was wrong.

"He was running away, that's what." Said the medic.

"Again?" The king asked.

"And it doesn't look like he's been taking his medicine, either."

The men's chatter faded to the background as Jace slowly backed out of the stall.

Why would a prince run away? What medicine?

He stiffened back up when he heard the king call for him. The medic was carrying Haruto  away, and Jace had been caught climbing back up his ladder.

"What are you doing out here, too? Shouldn't you be home?"

"I don't have a home, your highness." Jace whispered, looking down. "My mother's gone and my father... I'm not sure what happened to him. I stay here every night." His voice got quieter and quieter as he spoke.

"And you still take such great care of the horses. You shouldn't be living like this." The king looked him up and down, taking in Jace's pants that hardly reached his mid shin anymore, and his tattered jacket.

There was an awkward silence. Jace wanted to run. But then the king put a hand to his chin in thought. "You know, part of the reason I think my son wants to run away is that he feels like he has nobody else his age, and a life so different from anybody else's. How old are you?"

"Ten."

"Ten." The king repeated, then shrugged a bit. "That works. Come with me. I'm about to find you a better place to live. And a better job."

And Jace upgraded to one of the most important jobs of all: the crown prince's Hand, or second in command. Even though he (and Haruto) still spent a lot of time with the horses. It had been a little disorienting for Haruto  to wake up with a boy he hardly met sharing his room, but they became fast friends.

Haruto  told Jace that he didn't like how many bruises he had all over his body from his disease, and that he had tried to run away because he was jealous of other children and their easy lives.

Jace showed him the hoof sized scar on his chest. Haruto  showed him his horseshoe shaped birthmark.

And the rest was history.

Jace and Haruto  did everything together. They ate together, went to school together, and spent leisure time together. Jace slept at the foot of Haruto's bed on a futon every night, but as they got older and Haruto  began having more and more nightmares and getting more and more hurt, Jace found himself sleeping beside his best friend instead.

"Dad says that his advisors want me to get married." Haruto  said into the dark silence one night.

"Married?" Jace demanded,  incredulously. "But you're only just turned sixteen!"

"When my dad was prince, he and mom were engaged since they were children. It's uncommon for a prince to not be married, much less engaged at my age."

"At least they haven't arranged you anything."

"I know. But I don't like all the girls coming after me." Haruto  buried his head. "I don't like any of them, Jace!"

"I know. I don't either. There's nothing to be appealing about that."

Haruto  sat silently in thought for a moment. "Jace?"

"Yeah?"

"What does it mean if I don't like anybody?"

"You mean "like" like?"

"Yeah."

"I dunno." Jace shrugged. "And besides, I thought you liked me."

Haruto  huffed and covered his ears. Jace laughed at his expense for a bit, and then Haruto  sat up like he had something to say.

"Maybe we should just marry each other, then." Haruto  said loosely, but then they both blushed and looked away.

"I have an idea." Jace said. "If you're still single on your twenty first birthday, we can get married."

"It was a joke, Jace."

"I know, Princey."

But in the back of Haruto's mind, the idea didn't seem that bad.

As for Jace, he wasn't sure if Haruto  realized the impact of what he'd said. Although Jace usually knew if Haruto  was serious or not, it seemed that Haruto  didn't know when he was serious or not sometimes.

He did know one thing, though. He was Haruto's guard. It was his job to make sure that Haruto  even made it to twenty-one safely. After all... they never really caught the person who had poisoned his father all those years ago. They could still be out there... waiting.

That was one of the many reasons Jace slept with a sword handy. There may be a need to spring into action at any given moment-

Haruto  sneezed, causing Jace to jump. When he looked over at his charge, Haruto  had on a cheeky grin.

"I hate you."

"No you don't." Haruto  flashed a grin before lying back down. "And even if you did, it's your job to at least pretend to like me."

"I don't need to pretend. I would give my life for you, Haruto. I hope you know that. Immediately and without hesitation."

"Don't say that."

"It's the truth."

"I don't care. I don't like thinking about it. I need to imagine that you'll always be here beside me. Even if you snore and take up most of the blanket."

A scoff. "I think you're talking about yourself, Princey."

"In your dreams, Jace. Now hush. I'm actually tired now."

"Okay, Haruto. Remember, we're scheduled to go riding tomorrow."

"Of course I wouldn't forget that. Now I mean it- shh!"

Chuckling to himself, Jace finally closed his eyes.