The Orphan King and The Witch of the Woods (KINGDOM Arthur X Female OC)

Ch. 4: An Ominous Message

The lake water shimmers under the sunlight, reflecting onto Arthur who sits at the bank, looking down upon it thoughtfully.

Alone and quite far from the orphan house, he had come here, wanting to have some peace to think about what he and Peter had talked about last night.

Nothing much comes to mind to relieve him of his growing confusion, however. And the boy, in his restlessness, picks up a flat stone and throws it into the lake.

It skids three times, then it sinks into the water, never to be seen again.

"If it skids three times, then it means good fortune. Four, and it mean misfortune," Lily had told him once, when the both of them had come to this lake to escape the orphan house and their cranky matron.

"And what if it's one or two?" Arthur had asked in return.

Lily responded with a bright smile. "It just means you're really bad at it."

Arthur sinks back down with a defeated sigh and a hopeless expression, moments after he had stayed looking at where the stone had disappeared.

"So I just have to try and aim for exactly three, right?"

"Mm-hmm."

The sun was setting then. And the light shimmered strongly against the waters as the two children watched the stone the boy had thrown skid across it, breaking the reflections.

One.

Two.

Three.

And four.

Then it fell into the water.

Arthur lets out a long, deep sigh as he hangs his head. "Ah..."

"Ah... I guess it's bad luck for me then."

Lily laughs loudly, and Arthur turns to her with a nervous smile.

It's true what Peter said.

Arthur truly cannot stop thinking about Lily. For as long as he can remember, he had always been caring for her, making sure she was safe and happy.

So when faced with a huge dilemma such as this...

"It's what she wants, isn't it?" Arthur mumbles to himself, his hands now clasped as he rests his head onto it, his lips brushing onto his hands. "And I can still have her taken care of by bringing her into the castle. She'll be better off there."

He mulls the thought over for a few more seconds, before he groans yet again and rests his forehead on his hands. "Ugh, what am I thinking? She'll feel lonely if I bring her with me. And what will others say? I've already been mocked just for trying the sword. If I am mocked even more by taking the throne, won't she be affected as well?...

"But then again, I only moved the sword. There's no saying if I can completely take it out of the stone."

"Then why don't you try it?" Suddenly, a voice Arthur had never heard before speaks behind him.

The boy's eyes widen, and he quickly stands up and turns around to see a cloaked figure standing a small distance from where he stands. The figure's face is hidden by the shadows of his cloak, but Arthur could clearly see his eyes, looking at him sternly. "Who...

Arthur's brows furrow in confusion, whereas the man continues looking upon him grimly.

"Who are you?"

•●•

"Arthur! Hey, Arthur!" Peter enters the barn, still calling his roommate's name from the moment he left the orphan house in search of him.